Finn's P.O.V
Turning the corner, I stormed up the street in fury and rage, being able to see only red! I needed to confront Lindsay about the whole pregnancy and abortion because I honestly don't understand why she'd keep something like that from me! I knew I had to have a clear and logical head on by the time I got to her house but somehow, I don't think that'll happen, especially not with the current mood I'm in.
Crossing the driveway, I trudged my body weight up the steps towards her house before pounding my fists against the door, seeing it open moments later to reveal her, unimpressed by how forceful I was being. "Will you keep the noise down?!" She scolded, pushing me backwards as she stepped in front of me, closing the door behind her. "What are you even doing here? School isn't over yet..."
"I could ask you the same thing..." I retorted, folding my arms across my chest and stared at her curiously.
"Well...I...uhm...I wasn't feeling well so Mrs. Diamond allowed me to come home early..." She stuttered and I let out a sarcastic laugh, reading through her lies.
"I can't believe you are still lying to me!" I yelled, seeing her facial expression change to one of confusion. "I know Lindsay." I spoke sternly, the look on her face not shifting at all.
"Know what?" She quizzed, acting all naïve and innocent.
"I know that you were pregnant and you terminated it..." I announced, dropping the bombshell.
Lindsay's P.O.V
"I know that you were pregnant and you terminated it..." He announced, dropping the bombshell, my mouth falling open at his words.
What? How? The only person who knows is Sian so either she went and told Finn behind my back or someone overheard the conversation we had in her classroom earlier on today.
"How did you find out?" I questioned, not denying it anymore because I'd just look even more stupid.
"Lauren told me." He simply responded, ineptly kicking his foot against the ground.
"Well, how did she find out?" I quizzed, even though the answer was obvious.
"Look, none of that matters!" He shouted, annoyed by my constant questioning. "All that matters here is that the one person who should have been told was one of the ones who wasn't..." He pointed out, his eyes now burning back into me. "Why couldn't you tell me?"
It was baffling to think about the scenario we were both currently caught up in. The pair of us, arguing on the doorstep of my house, in broad daylight. I was never brought up to discuss any personal matters I had going on in front of the neighbours and I sure as hell wasn't going to start now, even more so because my dad was upstairs in bed.
"Could we please go somewhere that's away from the neighbours?" I suggested, worried what would happen if we continued our slanging match in this particular spot. "I promise I will answer any questions you have, but not here."
Sighing, he nodded reluctantly, the two of us descending down the steps as we made our way into town. I felt a lot more comfortable knowing that we were heading somewhere that was a controlled environment because I was hoping that would make Finn react differently...
...even though he had every single right to be angry.
****
Finding a small, quaint café on the outskirts of town, we walked inside, the smell of freshly ground coffee hitting us as we entered. Taking a seat at a table in the corner, a waitress came over to us, each of us ordering a hot drink. Neither of us said anything for a while, besides 'Thanks' when the waitress returned with the drinks.
As we sat in silence, the only noise source coming from the coffee machine and the faint sound of my nails tapping against the ceramic mug. The odd person passed in and out but hardly anyone stayed, the workers making small talk to pass the time away that they had left on shift.
After having enough of the awkward silence, Finn eventually opened his mouth, which I was thankful for because I was hoping he would strike up the difficult conversation. "So, why couldn't you tell me?"
"Believe me, I wanted to..." I responded, making eye-contact with him. "I guess I just didn't know how. It took me so long to come to terms with it and I was worried about how you would have reacted, had I told you..." I rambled, my brain turning to mush.
"So, instead of coming to speak to me and discovering how I felt, you just decided to go ahead and abort our unborn child?" He spat, clearly disgusted by my actions.
"I didn't know what other choice I had, Finn!" I cried, feeling a small amount of tears start brimming at my waterline. "This wasn't supposed to happen for us..."
"Well, it obviously was!" He justified, taking a quick sip from the mug in front of him. "How do you think I am feeling? If Lauren hadn't have found out, would you even have told me?"
"Of course I would have!" I exclaimed, seeing droplets of tears land upon the wooden table.
"When? In a couple of days? Weeks? Months?" He reamed, making me think rhetorically. "How long have you known anyway?" Was his next question, making me sigh deeply.
"Does that really matter now?" I retorted, slumping down in the chair I was sat upon.
"It matters to me!" He scorned. "It's the only memory I will ever have about our unborn child..."
With his words breaking my heart, I confessed the truth. "I was only a couple of weeks. As soon as I found out, I wanted to tell you, but I was in such a state of shock that I acted on impulse. Sian found out about the pregnancy after discovering the positive test I'd been carrying around for days. As soon as she knew, I realised that I needed to do something about it and fast so I booked myself in for a termination. Having the abortion was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through and something which I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life. No-one can feel anymore guilty than I do right now!" By the end of my speech, I was full on sobbing, unable to control the flow of tears.
Through clouded vision, I looked at the boy who I was whole-heartedly in love with, his face showcasing a look of heartbreak, subsequently, breaking mine even more than it already was.
"I just don't understand why you weren't able to tell me yourself..." He questioned, his tone a lot calmer this time. "We were good together and I thought we had that trust between us..."
"We did!" I yelled. "We do!" I corrected. "Please Finn..." I begged, taking hold of his hand across the table, his gaze shifting away from me. "I never meant for you to find out this way."
Dragging his hand away from me, he came to his own conclusion. "Is this also the reason why you didn't want to move in with me anymore?"
"Yes..." I breathed out, nodding also. "I just felt there was a load of pressure on us both. I mean, we're in the midst of the most important academic year of our lives, we've got so many deadlines that we need to get through and if I'd carried on with the pregnancy, I couldn't have guaranteed it would have been plain sailing. So, what about my feelings Finn? Where do I come into all of this?" I ranted, becoming agitated because he wasn't looking at the bigger picture.
"We could have made it work..." He argued, his eyes feeling like daggers in my back. "Before the baby would have come along, we would have finished school and I could have gotten a job..."
"But you can't be sure of that!" I fumed, anger growing within me. "We're 18 Finn! We've got our whole lives ahead of us and even more time to think about starting a family. There's other aspects we need to prioritise first..."
"That's not going to happen Linds..." He whispered in defeat, choked up at the reality. "How can you expect me to stay with you when you've betrayed me?" He quizzed, his voice breaking with his words.
"Uhm, because we love each other!" I pointed out, trying to get him to see sense.
Standing up, he left me with one parting statement, "I love you so much Lindsay, but even that's not enough to get us through this. I'm sorry but it's over."
Turning away from me, I stood to my feet, "Finn, please..." I called but he didn't turn back, the bell above the door ringing which indicated he was gone.
My head in a massive scramble, I stood frozen, unaware of what to do next. Have we really just broken up?
Finn's P.O.V
Running down the busy street, I found myself a quiet spot in a secluded area, away from all and sundry. Allowing my current temper to take over, I punched the nearest thing in sight, hearing my knuckles crunch from the impact.
"Shit!" I winced, my tone not rising above a whisper.
Inspecting my hand, I watched the blood spurting out from the wound, mentally informing me that I needed to get it checked out. However, there was only one place I insisted on going...
...which was the only place that I knew was going to provide me with the comfort I so desperately wanted.
Lindsay's P.O.V
Eventually coming to terms with the fact that Finn had ended our relationship, I slumped my heavy body back down into the chair, running a hand over my face in annoyance and stupidity towards myself.
Why didn't I tell him as soon as I found out?! I'm foolish, that's why! This whole situation could have been avoided, had I discussed it with him straightaway but there's still that small percent of doubt in my mind. He would have tried to talk me out of it, I know he would have and where would we have gone from there?
Scrolling through my contact list, I found myself calling Lauren, needing a close friend I could speak to, one who I knew would provide me with advice. Placing the device up to my ear, I was relieved when I heard her soft, spoken tones transport through the other end.
Lau: Linds? What's up?
Linds: {voice breaking} Finn just broke up with me.
Lau: {sighs} So that's where he ended up?
Linds: What do you mean?
Lau: Me and Josh have been looking all over for him at school. Look, before you go any further, I'm sorry for breaking the news to him when it should have been you. I never meant to interfere, I just thought I was doing the right thing.
Linds: It's fine. Truth is, you've done me a favour. I just feel so horrible for going behind his back and just doing what I did without consulting him first. He's never going to forgive me, is he?
Lau: He's hurting Lindsay and clearly very upset. It's going to take some time for him to come around. However, it took a lot of guts to do what you did and you evidently had reasons for doing it.
As the conversation progressed, the quicker time passed and I watched a small number of people start leaving, followed by some of the staff. Before I knew it, the only people left were myself and two members of staff, both of whom were busy doing clean down jobs.
Walking out onto the main shop floor, a petit, brunette lady approached me, her face expressing a rather wary smile as if she was reluctant to say what she needed to.
"I'm really sorry darling, but it's coming up to closing time and I'm going to have to ask you to leave, I'm afraid..." She informed me, beginning to stack up the chairs on top of the tables.
"Of course..." I politely replied, picking up my bag and standing up from the table before I continued the phone call I was having with Lauren.
Lau: What's going on?
Linds: Nothing. It's just the café I'm in is closing soon and they need to clean down and everything so I'm just going to make my way home.
Lau: Well, why don't you come round here? My mother is at work and my brother is out so I could do with the company.
Linds: You sure? I don't think I'm the best company right now.
Lau: Don't be silly! I'll see you soon. Bye.
Linds: Bye!
Hanging up the call, I headed for the door but just as I was about to leave, I heard the same brunette lady shout:
"He'll come crawling back once he's realised what he's lost!"
Smiling softly to myself, I left the place, taking the quickest route to Lauren's house. It's clear that she had been watching us together and even though it wasn't the outcome I wanted, I suppose I'm still hopeful also.
Once he's calmed down and come to terms with the decision I made, I'm hoping there will be a chance we can work things out because I already know he's my future.
I don't want anybody else!
Finn's P.O.V
As the evening drew in, I strolled past several gravestones, searching for the one I wanted. Locating it, I sat down, reading the inscription on it.
"Hello you..." I whispered, speaking to the headstone of Sambuca. "I'm really sorry I haven't come to visit..." I added, pulling off a few overgrown vines that were covering the words.
Any passers-by would think I was strange, considering I was speaking to the headstone of my deceased girlfriend, but I knew this was the only place I could come tonight that would provide me with the comfort I sought.
"I could have done with your advice tonight..." I chuckled through tears, sniffling a little. "My girlfriend, well ex-girlfriend now, broke the news that she was pregnant with our child but felt she had no choice but to have a termination. You always knew the right words to say and I needed you to impart some of your wisdom but unfortunately, you couldn't..."
A rumble of thunder was heard, followed by lashings of rain, completely soaking me but I didn't care. I stayed sat, talking to Sambuca while the rain kept falling and the tears kept coming and before I knew it, I couldn't distinguish between my own tears and the raindrops falling onto my face.
"I suppose I've come here to ask you a favour..." I mumbled, wiping away a few salty tears that had rolled down my face. "Please take care of my baby. I know I never got to meet them but just let them know that they were so loved and a massive hole in my heart has been left..." I rambled, sobbing to the point where I couldn't speak anymore.
Coming here tonight has made me realise how precious life is, and even though it would have been a difficult transition, I would have stepped up to the plate and taken on my fatherly duties.
Lindsay means the absolute world to me, and being without her is hard but I couldn't carry on with our relationship with the realisation that I couldn't trust her was hanging over me. Once the dust has settled, who knows what could happen?
I think I just need some time to reflect back and decide on what I definitely want.
****
A/N-Sorry this chapter is shorter than ones I would normally write, I suppose it's more a continuation from the previous one.
This chapter isn't one of the best ones I've written, but I promise you that I've got more ideas up my sleeve that I hope I'll be able to do justice.
Thank you all for your amazing support! It means the absolute world to me 😄