Toxic 2: Lethal

Conversations

Chapter5-Conversations

She wasn't kidding either. The diner was packed with kids. There were two elderly men sitting at the bar, plates of sandwiches and soup in front of them. Other than that, it was kids only.

Ava immediately ran to a free booth and sat down before a couple holding hands could take it. They glared at her as they walked somewhere else.

I sat down across from her and couldn't help but laugh. "Do you do this every day?"

"I used to sit in the back. Always a spot open for me." There was a sadness in her eyes that I couldn't really place. Why would she be sad?

I took her hand and squeezed it. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, fine."

"You don't look okay."

She looked down at our hands and stayed quiet for a while. When she finally said something, her words were soft and hushed. "I don't have many friends so I came here alone."

"Why don't you?"

She sighed and her shoulders fell. "People think I'm weird."

"You're not weird to me."

"People around here... they go fishing and build fires and a lot of things I don't do. That's what makes me weird."

"No wonder I like you so much."

She smiled just a little.

I moved to her bench and wrapped my arms around her. "You don't need anyone else then. You have me. And our unborn baby."

She let her head rest on mine and closed her eyes. "Thank you."

"Two milkshakes, on the house."

Lydia and I sat up as a tall, thin black woman set two milkshakes down on the table. She smiled at Ava as she put the straws on the table.

"Are you two eating today?" She asked. A slight Jamaican accent covered her words.

Ava nodded. "Definitely."

The woman set two menus down for us. "Whenever you're ready. Take your time." She laughed before leaving us to go take someone else's order.

"Who was that?" I asked, my voice lowered.

"Penny."

I nodded and flipped through my menu.

"Oh my gosh, are you jealous?" She laughed. She really laughed at me. Did she think I was joking?

I sighed but said nothing.

"Lydia, she's interested in my dad more than she would be me. She's not gay."

"How do you know that?"

"My gaydar never goes off when I'm around her."

This time, I laughed. "Your gaydar?"

She shrugged. "I can tell. Just like I could tell about you."

"I just thought you were intuitive."

"It could be that. But that's what I call it. Makes me feel better about it."

I rolled my eyes. "What did I get myself into?"

Ava's dad got home early for work that night. It made me wonder if Ava said anything beforehand so he'd know to get home faster. It made me nervous just thinking about it.

Ava was calm, cool, and collected, flipping through the TV channels like she didn't have a care in the world. I, on the other hand, felt like I could throw up. Though I wasn't sure if it were from nervousness or from the baby inside of me.

The door opened and I heard his footsteps as he made his way into the room.

Ava sat up and turned the TV off. "Hey, dad. Can we talk to you?"

He lifted an eyebrow but sat down in the recliner across from his, setting a bad of food down at his side. "Is this a 'we're getting married and you can't stop us' talk? Or a 'we're running away to live as nomads' kind of talk?"

Ava smiled and squeezed my hand. "Neither. Though we may be having that marriage conversation in the near future."

"That doesn't surprise me." He leaned forward on his knees, bracing himself for what we were about to tell him. "But go ahead."

"Dad... Lydia's pregnant." There was no other way to put it but to just come out and say it. And I was glad she did. I knew if I did, puke would be following the words.

He rubbed his hands together before glancing at me. "Did this happen while you two were separated?"

My eyes widened at what he was referring to: that I'd cheat on Ava. "No, I swear! I would never cheat on her. I-it happened before I moved here."

"That boy that... was in that accident with you? Was it him?" Did Ava tell him everything?

I nodded.

He took a deep breath but said nothing. His silence made me even more nervous. Would he kick Ava out? Would he disapprove of us keeping the baby? There were so many ways he could take the situation. I was nervous about all of them, even the good ones.

"Dad? We... We know this is big and it's scary as hell. But this could be our only chance at having a family. I don't want to waste it because we're not ready."

"Are you sure about this? Really sure?" I couldn't tell whether he was happy or not. "This is your senior year. You could go to college or do an internship in the city... There's so much out there for you. I don't want you stuck here because you wanted to raise a baby."

Ava glanced at me and smiled. Tears were in her eyes. "I know I couldn't be happy if I went to college and got my dream job but never had a real family. It's a lot to give up over a baby but I really want it."

He looked at me. "What about you? How do you feel about all of this?"

"I'm scared. More scared than I've been about anything else I've had to do. I mean, it's a baby. I can't even take care of myself at this point. But I know that once I'm in that position, once I can't do anything but take care of the baby, I'll be okay."

"So you're going to keep the baby?"

Ava nodded right away. "We are."

Her dad got to his feet and picked up the bag of food. "I can help you guys out but you'll need to work at the diner. I can't pay you for not working."

"We better take you up on that soon. No way can you stay on your feet with a huge baby inside of you." Ava said, meeting my gaze.

Her dad laughed. "Smart. Well, you two figure it out and just come in whenever."

"Thanks, dad."

"And I want you two in bed at a reasonable hour since you have school in the morning. And make sure her dad knows where she is. I know how you two like to float between houses without telling us."

Ava laughed. "Yes, dad. We will."

He nodded, not really believing her, and left the room.