It took Danny a week to get over the flu. I wasn't so lucky. I never full recovered, to the point that Grandpa started cutting classes. In those two weeks, Zane moved out of our house and in with his friend. Dad installed locks on the inside of my window for some odd reason, and insisted I keep them locked at all times.
On Christmas, a handful of weeks after we got the flu, I realized that something was wrong with me. I was standing in the kitchen at the sink, filling the kettle with water so I could make some hot tea to settle my stomach when I got the urge to vomit. It was so sudden, that I just bent over the sink and let it go. Grandpa walked in while I was struggling to catch my breath mid-barf, and he uttered a curse before rushing to help me. He held my hair and rubbed my back until it was done. While I rinsed my mouth, he cleaned the sink out.
"Sorry, Grandpa. I couldn't hold it back." I whispered hoarsely. He pulled me in for a hug, and I felt him stiffen against me.
"Charlie." He started softly, pulling away to gently rest his hand against my belly. It wasn't as flat as it had been nearly a month and a half ago. I'd chalked it up to my random cravings and not working out like I had been. "Are you-"
"That's crazy, Grandpa." I assured him as I pulled away from him. "I would know-"
"When was your last period?" He pressed, crossing his arms over his chest. The look on my face when I realized that I hadn't had a period since my birthday told him everything he needed to know. "Who was it?"
"Grandpa-"
"If you want me to keep quiet, I want to know who knocked up my little girl." I rolled my eyes at the tone in his voice. "Charlie-"
"Grandpa, please. I'm sure that's not even the case here-"
"We'll see." He waited until I'd made my cup of tea before he took it into the dining room for me. I had no choice but to follow. I'd been hiding in the kitchen like I did every time we had family dinners now because Zane and Olivia were very hard to look at across the table. And Zane spent a lot of time glaring at me and grilling me with questions.
"Thanks, Grandpa." I whispered when he set my cup of tea beside my plate as I took my seat.
"Anything for you, kid." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head before taking his place at the head of the table. "Now that we're all here, let's eat."
I did my best to avoid looking at Zane and Olivia, but it was so hard. He always filled her plate for her, knowing what smells bothered her. He would refill her cup with water, would help her up and into the bathroom. But the whole time he would stare at me, question me. A few times, he'd managed to catch me alone. Those times, I was ashamed to say that we didn't speak much. It always ended with me filled with cum and a deep ache in my chest. Just thinking about it now brought tears to my eyes. Being with someone for awhile and then going no contact had been heard enough without all the complications.
"Are you ok, Charlie?" I glanced over at Uncle Ben's voice. At his question, everyone stopped talking to look at me.
"I'm ok, Uncle Ben. Just a mild headache." I whispered softly, glaring at my plate as I cut my steak up. I could feel the gaze from across the table, inspecting every inch he could see.
"Charlie hasn't been well since the flu." Mom offered, brushing some hair from my face. "Oh, darling, you're burning up." Her hand felt so cool against my cheek. So Gram hadn't turned the heater up so high; it was just me.
"I'll get my bag." Dad started as he stood to leave, no doubt heading outside to the car.
"I feel fine." I assured everyone when Dad returned with his bag and everyone had stopped eating to watch him check my temperature. "Honest."
"She isn't fine." Grandpa added. I glared at him in response. "She had the barfs, in the kitchen. She's barely eating, Jason. You can't say your doctor senses aren't tingling."
"Unfortunately, Dad, I'm not Spiderman." Danny and I chuckled at Dad's words. "But she does have a serious fever. Come on, kiddo. Let's go to the office-"
"After dinner." Grandpa insisted, cutting him off. When Dad glanced at me, I nodded. "She needs to eat."
"Ok. After dinner." Everyone watched me throughout dinner. And when I got up to go to the bathroom, Danny was there, helping me out of my seat.
"I'm not disabled." I insisted, trying to jerk my arm out of Danny's grip.
"Charlie, you look like you're going to pass out." I frowned, and moved to go around him. I don't remember making it around him, or to the bathroom.
I woke up as Dad wrapped the blood pressure cuff around my arm. We were at his office in an exam room.
"Hey, kid." He started when he noticed I was awake. "You took a pretty hard swan dive." I turned at the sound of the door opening and frowned when I saw it was Grandpa.
"Figured I'd come check on you." He started, crossing his arms over his chest as Dad started the blood pressure cuff. "Jason-"
"Grandpa." I cut him off, knowing exactly what he was about to say. He was going to tell Dad what he suspected, and I didn't need that dilemma right now.
"What, Dad?" Dad asked, not noticing the stare off. He was too busy checking the screen. When Grandpa didn't answer, Dad glanced up at him.
"I think we should cut back the classes in the new year." He narrowed his eyes at me. "And I think it's time Charlie give up Friday Night Fights-"
"No way!" I stood from the bench, stumbling at the weak feeling in my legs.
"You can't even stand up straight!" Grandpa accused.
"You can't do this!" Dad took a step back, startled at the anger in our tones.
"What's going on, Dad?" He pressed, turning the machine off when it started blaring at my high blood pressure. "Charlie? What aren't you two telling me-"
"Nothing." I snarled.
"She might be pregnant." Grandpa confessed.
"Grandpa!" Dad didn't say anything for a few minutes.
"If she is, it's your son's fault." Dad finally answered when he spoke.
"Zane?" I flinched at the tone in his voice. "I'm going to-"
"Dad, you can't." Dad started, moving to stop Grandpa from leaving the room.
"He knocked up my little girl, and you want me to what? Let it go? Not when he's got that blond viper sitting at my dinner table every Sunday night!" Whoa, I'd never heard Grandpa talk about someone with that much hatred before. "I will-"
"He can't know, Dad." I frowned at the look they shared. They knew something they weren't telling me. "It would only make things worse for Charlie. Zane can't ever know she's pregnant." I took a step back at the tone of his voice.
"I-"
"We'll just hide it as long as we can." Dad started when they both turned to look at me. "Let's check first, to make sure before we work ourselves up."
Ten minutes later, the test was positive. The ride back to Grandpa's house was quiet. Apparently when I'd passed out, Grandpa had been the first out of his seat and he barely managed to catch me before I hit the floor. He'd carried me out to the truck and rode with Dad to the office so they could check on me.
When we got back, everyone was peeking out of the window.
"Charlie-" Grandpa cut off at the look on Dad's face and the shake of his head. "Just, take it easy, kid. Ok?" I nodded and allowed him to pull me into his side. Together, we walked up the front steps and inside. Everyone was gathered in the living room now, passing out presents. I took a seat in Grandpa's chair, and only because he gently pushed me down into it after steering me over to it. He never allowed anyone to sit in his chair. Gram came into the living room a few minutes later, a fresh plate of food in her hands. She brought it over to me and ordered me to finish it.
"She ok?" Danny asked Dad when I started eating. I rolled my eyes but didn't respond.
"She's ok. She just needs to take it easy for a few weeks." Dad insisted. I think everyone could tell he was lying, though. Because Gram never let anyone eat in the living room, and Grandpa never let anyone sit in his chair.
While I ate, they started opening presents. We usually exchanged gifts here Christmas night, after dinner. Halfway through my plate, I got the urge to vomit. Grandpa caught the look on my face as I rushed from the living room, because he followed me into the kitchen.
"Tea?" He asked when I turned the kettle back on to boil.
"It helps." I answered as I grabbed a large cup from the cupboard.
"I need to talk to Charlotte." I stiffened at the sound of Zane's voice behind me. I didn't dare turn around.
"So talk." Grandpa ordered, leaning against the counter beside me. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
"Alone, Dad."
"This is my house, son. You don't make demands here." I heard his boots as he crossed the kitchen. I felt his warmth as he paused behind me. He grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him, lifting my chin so I was staring up into his face. And then he kissed me – right in front of Grandpa. "Zane, that's enough." I gasped for breath when he finally pulled away from my mouth and pulled me in for a hug.
"She's mine." He whispered, his lips brushing my temple. And then he turned and stalked back out, leaving us alone again.
"I have a feeling he's going to be a problem." I threw Grandpa a look of agreement before snatching the whistling kettle off the stove. Once I'd made my cup of tea, Grandpa and I went back into the living room.
I sipped on my tea while everyone finished opening their presents. I'd gotten Zane a matching set of Celtic torque bracelets that I'd found at an antique shop. For some reason, they'd called out to me when I'd walked by. I watched him open them now, peeking at his face to see his reaction. He gently tore the paper off and opened the box to reveal the matching bracelets. He stared at them for a full minute before carefully taking them out. He examined them in the light, a weird look on his face as he slid them onto his wrists. When he glanced up at me, I pretended to be engrossed with stirring my tea. The fact that he put them on instead of closing the box and setting them aside made me feel better. I chanced a glance at him and found him staring at my finger. I hadn't worn his rings since he moved out of Dad's house. On the way back over, I'd taken the ring off the necklace I'd started wearing it on and had slipped it onto my finger for comfort. The look on his face told me the ring was enough, for now.
After opening presents, Danny and I were allowed to leave. He didn't talk until we got to Grandpa's gym.
"What's going on?" He demanded when he cut the engine.
"Just remnants of the flu." He frowned at my lie but didn't call me on it.
When I got home the next morning around three a.m., Dad was waiting for me in the dining room. He'd been on his laptop, drinking coffee when I walked in. I took the seat across the table from him and waited.
"I haven't decided how we should tell your mother." His voice was quiet, and tired.
"Did you wait up for me?"
"Woke up about twenty minutes ago and realized you weren't home yet." He set his laptop aside to look at me. I mean, really look at me – he studied my face for a few minutes before he continued talking. "Charlie, if you don't want this-"
"Dad." He nodded once at my tone.
"Ok, just making sure." He took a deep breath and grabbed his coffee cup. "Want a cup?" He asked as he stood and walked over to make himself a new cup.
"No, thank you." He didn't speak again until he'd taken his seat.
"Charlie." He started then paused, at a loss for words.
"It's ok, Dad. I technically only have one class next semester. I'll be done before you know it." I'd confessed it all to Danny earlier. We'd spent hours talking about the best approach to this. "I also thought it best to take a few days off school and go to the doctor and buy a car."
"I think that's a good idea." He agreed, closing his laptop to look at me. "Any other decisions you've made or thought of?"
"I'd like to look at a few houses." He nodded once. "Nothing fancy, maybe a two- or three-bedroom house."
"Promise not to move out until after you graduate?"
"We'll see." I teased. Mom had threatened to hunt me down if I moved out before I graduated high school in the past.
That night, I understood why Dad said keep the locks on my window always locked. Zane came knocking, and when I didn't answer he tried to open the window himself. The locks prevented him from getting in. I didn't sleep much that night, too busy thinking about how much longer I'd be able to keep the secret from him.