Chapter Unedited.
Chapter 9: Your Ex Is Pregnant
I was forced to clean up the puking mess on my feet which I didn't. Instead, I threw a whole lot of napkins on the carpet. Nolan had to keep driving in order to avoid police trouble. It took a while to calm down Nolan though.
"By the way, where are we staying?" I asked as I sprayed air freshener on top of the napkins.
"My parents have a house in Manhattan. Cheap and convenient option," he replied. I didn't know why he worried about cheap options. He was rich.
I was happy when we finally reached our destination. Nolan's house--mansion, more of--was surrounded by a fence of trees. There was a small entrance and Nolan drove through the brick road to the actual house. The amount of empty land surrounding the house was dried out from the cold weather. I even saw a swimming pool to the side, though it was covered by a tarp. The mansion itself was a two story building with an open deck on one side.
I was impressed. Maybe once I graduated from Princeton and got a job with NASA, I can afford a house like this.
Nolan brought me inside the luxurious house and brought me to a room. There was a single bed with an attached bathroom.
"Your room for now," he said and walked out. "Relax."
I threw my things on the bed and did as he told.
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"She's not dating a rich guy." I was disappointed to find this.
His ex, Hanna, was actually dating an average boy. My thoughts about making a plan of her appearing a gold digger to her current boyfriend wouldn't work. Nolan sat with his laptop, conducting his research. One thing I noticed was: she hadn't updated any pictures within the last four or five months on social media.
"We'll figure out a plan," Nolan replied unfazed. I didn't like the sound of "we."
He ordered pizza for dinner. We ate and searched. I was sick and tired of being here already.
"I want to go home," I finally said frustrated. Leaning back on the couch, I set aside my phone.
"Go ahead," he said. I glared at him. Nolan was lying on the couch opposite mine. "I'm not stopping you neither am I forcing you to stay here."
"Yes, but blackmailing is the same as forcing."
"Then don't get in a situation which you know you can be blackmailed about."
"You're such a jerk," I said irritated. "I could have never imagined you as this--this maniac lover, obsessed with past girlfriends. Distant from family, friends, and . . . well everything."
He closed down his laptop screen and held my gaze. "You know what your problem is?" I knew he was going to start an argument with me.
"No, Nolan. I don't."
His face turned into a frown and without blinking, he said, "Just because I don't say much doesn't automatically mean that you're always right. You think I'm the bad guy. Have you seen yourself?" He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Sharply, he added, "Always so damn judgemental! Always acting like you're better than me--better than everybody. Distant from friends? At least, I had friends! You don't even have that!"
"I don't care either," I told him with a shrug. Sometimes I did, but not anymore.
He exhaled loudly. "Brat. A complete snob. You still act like you're superior to everyone. 'I don't care. I don't need anybody,'" he mocked. "Your name is 'Helen' and trait-wise, you own up to that name."
He got up with his laptop and left the living room.
Fuming, I grabbed my phone and Googled the traits of "Helen of Troy." I hardly had any interest in Greek mythology unlike my mythology-obsessed parents. I only knew about how Helen married some King and then met Paris and ran away with him. And started a war only to end back up with her original husband. What an idiot.
The results about Helen's traits were a little . . . upsetting. "Self-conscious," "selfish," "proud," "unfaithful," "complex," "deceitful," and "clever and vile."
None applied to me . . . except for maybe complex.
Whatever.
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"Hanna just updated her status!" Nolan said excitedly. We were sitting in a cafe for breakfast. Nolan and I weren't speaking to each other unless it was about his ex.
"Oh joy," I muttered unenthusiastically.
"She says she's chilling with her boyfriend at 'Bread Zepplin.'" He would make a great detective or FBI officer.
"'Bread Zepplin?' as in Led Zeppelin? The English Rock band?" I asked.
"Yes, dork. Bread Zepplin is a chain of restaurants here in this part of New York," he explained. "She's at one of them."
"How--?"
He immediately stood up and said, "We'll split. You go one way and me the other. Whoever finds them first can call the other one." He paid for the food quickly, even though I insisted to pay for myself. He grabbed my sweater sleeve and dragged me out of the cafe.
Pulling my coat on, I complained, "I don't know Manhattan at all. What if I get lost?"
Nolan rolled his eyes. "You own a cell phone. Give me a call and I'll find you."
"But--"
"Look for the restaurant in this street," he pointed to the street we were in, "and I'll go check the opposite way." Just like that, Nolan Milesblue ditched me in the middle of a crowded sidewalk and disappeared.
Groaning, I pulled out my phone and checked different locations of "Bread Zepplin." The first one was around the end of the street. I tried to find Hanna but I coulsn't. It wasn't that easy to spot someone you've only seen in pictures that were five months old. I went to the next restaurant which was buried between two other restaurant buildings. As I was about to enter the restaurant, people began exiting. Did they want to all leave at once?
I shifted to the side, accidentally hitting my shoulder against someone else's.
The girl dropped her phone.
"Shoot, sorry," I said, picking her iPhone and giving it to her.
"Hanna, are you okay?" a medium-built, blond-haired boy asked from behind. My eyes flicked to the girl's face. She was Hanna. The one from the photo Nolan showed me. The guy must be her boyfriend.
"I'm fine, Chace," she told him with a sweet smile. "Walking properly will take some practice." The words struck me when my eyes moved down to her bloated stomach. "Excuse us," she said to me and they walked away holding hands.
She was pregnant.
Damn it, Nolan.
I force myself to follow them. It was easy to stay inconspicuous within the crowds of people.
"Chace, you should really be home right now," Hanna told her boyfriend. "You know your parents don't want us together." That didn't sound good.
He put his around her. "We're both eighteen. Legally adults. Our parents can't force us to separate."
I saw Hanna grimace and clutch his hand. "Don't you have midterms to prepare for?" she asked changing the topic. I was surprised they had midterms the same time as my school.
"Yeah yeah. I will. Ever since you dropped out, I have no one to help me prepare for any exams," he said.
She dropped out of school? Oh damn. Nolan wanted this breakup. No, it couldn't happen. In my confusion, I lost the couple. Stopping by an empty area, I called Nolan saying, "I found her" and gave him the location.
He came running. When he saw me leaning against the outside wall of a building with a glum look, he asked, "What did you do? Where's Hanna?"
After telling him everything, I concluded, "This breakup cannot happen. Your ex is pregnant." This explained why we saw only photos of her from five months ago.
"How?" he asked himself.
"Don't take this offensively--well, I don't care even if you--but were you and Hanna--" I hesitated asking. His jaw clenched and I knew he didn't appreciate the question.
"I'm not responsible for her condition," he said.
"I don't believe you."
"I don't need to prove anything to you."
"Leave the girl alone, Nolan."
"No, we came here for a breakup and we're not--"
"You're joking," I said in disbelief. He looked away and shook his head. "She dropped out of school! She's going to be a teen mother! We don't even know how hard it must be to find someone to accept her in that situation!" I have always condemned of teen pregnancies but right now, that girl needed my sympathy. Nolan was a moron for the breakups.
"Hel-en, we're not leaving until he breaks up with her," Nolan said determined.
I clenched my fists and took deep breaths. "Go ahead." He raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead and hand Principal Pallardinneti the photos. I love Princeton . . . but not enough to do this to someone." My head was spinning just from thinking about what we were going to do. Nolan and I lied to everyone, came to New York, researched Hanna . . . only to face an already distressed girl.
"Even if I hand over the photos, I'm still going through the revenge."
"Her life doesn't need additional problems, Nolan!"
He pursed his lips and said, "If your parents find out we're not dating, what would they do? That is, if I called them right now. Don't forget, you and I are alone in Manhattan."
My face fell and I realized that Nolan wasn't giving up. He knew my weaknesses and used them all against me. I was stuck in this mess because of my own stupidity. It was one thing to be heartbroken over your ex but a complete another to ruin her already messed up life.
"You're awful!" I spat.
He didn't say anything. I figured one thing: Nolan really didn't get that girl pregnant. Because if he did, he wouldn't still go through the breakup scheme. Yesterday, he had ranted about me being a proud and selfish person. He was no less. I finally capitulated to helping him with the plan. In my mind, however, I decided that I wasn't letting this breakup happen. I would ask the guy for help. The schedule for Saturday afternoon was to find the boyfriend, get information about Hanna and him, and say things like he should leave her.
Nolan and I walked on the busy streets in hopes of finding the couple. He suddenly pointed to the left.
"There they are. Come on!"
He found Hanna and Chace, at least. We hurried over to them, casually. Hanna was surprised to see Nolan. Chace looked confused to see me again. After the introductions, everything cleared up. Nolan asked them to hang out so he could catch up with Hanna.
We sat in a cafe. I felt out of place even if Nolan had introduced me as his girlfriend. Chace was in a similar situation. Everything was awkward until Hanna began explaining.
"Seven months pregnant," Hanna said tiredly. "The idiot who put me through this left the town a long while back. If it wasn't for Chace, I would've probably killed myself by now."
I felt bad for her. Chace put an arm around her and whispered, "It's okay." I could tell he genuinely cared for her. Nolan showed no emotion. I kicked his leg under the table. He kicked back . . . harder. We chatted for a bit before Hanna had to leave for her doctor's appointment. After the couple left, Nolan began brainstorming different ideas on breaking them up.
"Chace loves her," I said softly and leaned forward on the table.
"Love, hate, whatever--I don't care," he coldly said. "I have a plan of breaking them up." He stood up and put his coat on. "Come on. Let's go home and I'll tell you on the way."
Pursing my lips, I followed.
I had no words left for him.
¤》¤《¤
Nolan's plan was quite stupid. He wanted me to call and talk on the phone with Chace and his parents. We were going to tell them how we were offering Chace a scholarship (all fake) to a college in Seattle. On the other side of the country. Nolan might as well have picked Alaska.
We had found his last name on Facebook. Apparently, Hanna had put "in a relationship with Chace Carter." Chace's parents' phone number was found in the old fashioned way: phone book.
The phone book was damn hard to find. We went through a full street of mailboxes before finding the thick book. I called the first "Carter" number we found. There were over one hundred Carters'. Nolan took the first half and me the second half.
"Hello, may I ask speak to the parents of Chace Carter?" I asked for the forty-third time.
"Yes. This is his mother--Darby Carter--speaking. You are . . . ?" the woman said. I kicked Nolan on his side and pointed to my phone. He understood I got it.
Putting the phone on speaker, I replied, "Hi, I'm Serena Barnes, the admissions counselor at North Seattle University." The university and counselor names were true but the phone call was fake. "We wanted to offer Mr. Chace Carter a four-year academic scholarship."
"Academic scholarship?" The mother sounded confused. I bit my lip uneasily. "He is an average student. Always getting B's and C's."
I glared at Nolan. He suggested the academic scholarship. Idiot
"You see, ma'am, we wanted to offer average students a chance to go to college too," I lied.
"That's very nice," she replied. "But I don't think my son applied for a university in Seattle. It's quite far away. Dorms will be expensive--"
"If he keeps his grades above a C average within the first semester, we reduce all excess costs to half." I tried to be convincing. "This is a good offer for his bright future. One of his teachers recommended him to us."
"That sounds fantastic. Could I get your email?" she asked.
Nolan and I quickly made a fake email and told her the name. Mrs. Carter genuinely sounded happier for her son upon this offer. One pillar down. All we needed now was to convince Chace.
The whole objective was to have Chace breakup with Hanna for his future education. Nolan said he would help the boy get into a college out of the New York. Just so Chace would be away from Hanna.
We got Chace's number from Mrs. Carter and called him with the offer. There was a slight problem.
Chace gave us one answer before hanging up: "Not interested. Thanks for the offer."
I had to talk to him alone soon.
If he pretended to go with this, it would get Nolan off his back.
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Nolan is a cold hearted jerk or nah?
Is Helen really the nice one?
How was the chapter?
Helen of Troy traits and characteristics--yes, I looked those up. The university and Bread Zepplin (real place but no chains in Manhattan) are half fake and half true.
I also realized something. Graphic designing drains out all inspo for writing (for me).
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