~Paul's POV~
She looked so pale.
I studied Shelly's worn out profile from the kitchen doorway, eyes taking in her hunched shoulder, the way her legs were shaking as she glanced around my home from her seat on the couch in the family room. She looked like a frightened rabbit, ready to take off with any slight movement.
No one knew this but I've known Shelly Shane since Kindergarten. Knew her before her mother died, before she became this helpless creature before me now. What happened to her? She had been such a bright girl, fun, warm, filled with laughter...but then the light died when her mother died. Her and her father moved away for a long time then came back.
But the Shelly I knew was long gone.
"Shelly?" I approached her slowly, knowing that she was skittish.
Shelly looked and me and blinked. "What's that?"
I handed her the coffee mug in my hand. "It's hot chocolate."
She hesitated before taking it. "Thanks." Her smile trembled.
I knelt down before her. "Shelly, Derek and Evan are on their way here."
Her delicate hands tightened on the mug. She stared at it before looking at me. "I know."
"And you know what we want?"
Shelly nodded. "Answers."
"Will you tell us?"
She looked away and changed the subject. "You have a nice home."
I sighed. "Thanks."
"You're lucky you know," she said, "you have both your parents plus you're rich."
"I'm not rich, my parents are."
She gave out a humorless laugh. "Right, whatever you say Paul."
She still wasn't looking at me but that didn't stop me from gazing up at her. She looked tired, worn out and beaten. I had went out with her for a while to find answers but she never let me in. There were times that I caught glimpses of the old Shelly but then it would disappear as fast as it had come.
"You can't keep running away, Shel."
She finally looked at me. "It's not like I want to. Do you think I want to keep living like this? You don't think that I wake up every day wishing that I could start over? That someone would push the god damn rewind button?"
"Then let us help you."
"You want to know who the father of my child is."
"Yes."
"And if I say that it's you?"
I didn't even flinch. "Then I'd take responsibility...but we both know it's not me."
Shelly laughed bitterly. "Yeah, that's right, I broke up with you cause you wouldn't sleep with me."
I shook my head. "It's not that I didn't want to...but if I had I'd feel like I was taking advantage of you."
"What a gentleman," she snorted. "And here I thought that guys like you and Evan had become extinct."
"Shelly, who is the father of that baby?"
"Well we both know that it's not you so you have nothing to worry about." She slammed the mug down on the coffee table beside the couch. "So you can just go about your merry way and be rich, live in this house, then go off to college, fool around but always know that you have a safe, loving home to go to."
"Damn it, Shelly, this isn't about me or you." I stood. "This is about the baby you're carrying."
"I'm getting an abortion," she shrugged, "problem solved."
I froze. "You'd kill your own baby?"
Her hands shook. "It's my choice."
I stared at her. "You're not going to go through with it."
She looked up sharply at me. "What?"
"Your baby is not the one at fault here and you know killing it would be wrong."
Shelly looked at her trembling hands. "Then what else am I suppose to do?"
"I know that you're scared, confused and not thinking clearly. You were desperate enough to involve Evan in all of this." She flinched. "But I do know you can start to fix all this by telling us who the father of your baby is."
"How will that solve anything?"
"For starters we'll make him face this with you. You wont be alone."
"I'm always alone."
I sighed. It seemed like there was no getting through to her. As fragile as she looked I didn't want to scare her but she was making it difficult for me not to shake her. Because that's what I wanted to do...shake her until her good sense rattles back into her brain. I'm a guy with a lot of patience but right now that patience was being tested.
The doorbell rang and we both looked to the direction of the front door. I glanced at her before walking over to the door and opened it. Derek bumped past me, walking in without invitation.
Typical Derek.
Evan gave me a smile before stepping in, following closely behind Derek. "Hey Paul."
"Hey," I answered back, following a step behind them. "You okay, man?"
Evan glanced at me with a smile. "Yes, thanks."
"You really scared the crap out of everyone back there," I told him, studying his skin color. Well, at least he wasn't pale anymore. When Derek had carried him to the infirmary he had been as pale as death. "Glad to see you up and running." I slapped his back, a friendly gesture.
"Thank you, Paul."
Shelly's eyes widened when we stepped into the family room, eyes landing straight to Derek who flanked ahead of us. She swallowed and visibly stiffened.
"Shelly," Evan rushed past Derek, kneeling down in front of the frightened girl. "How are you?"
"I should be asking you that," she replied in a soft whisper. "I'm so sorry, Evan. I know it's all my fault."
Derek snorted. "Hell yeah it's all your fault. You dragged him into your issues-"
"Stop it, Derek," Evan snapped, shooting him a glare.
Derek shrugged. "It's not like I'm wrong."
Evan ignored him and faced Shelly, taking her hands into his. "Have you eaten?"
Shelly nodded. "Paul was nice enough to get me something to eat earlier so I'm fine. Thanks."
"Shelly...you know why we're all here, don't you?"
I watched her give out a shaky laugh. "To gang up on me?"
Evan shook his head. "We want to help you."
"By forcing me to tell you who the father of my baby is."
"By setting things right, Shel."
Shelly shook her head sadly. "Nothing in my life will ever be right."
"Oh cry me a friggin' river," Derek snapped. "You think you're the only one in the whole god damn world with problems? Of course not. In fact I'm sure there's a lot who has it worse but unlike them you have people trying to help you but you're sitting here moping and groaning about how miserable your life is."
"You don't know anything about me!" Shelly shot back at him, shaking. "You don't know what I've been through..."
"I think the whole school knows what you've been through Shelly...and that's through half the guys in town."
"Derek!" Evan snapped. "You're only making things worse."
Derek ignored him and stalked towards Shelly who shrank back when he did. I followed him and place a hand on his shoulder. Derek glanced at me and rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to hit the girl, relax."
I let his shoulder go and stepped back. It's not that I really believed that Derek would hit a woman but Shelly doesn't know that. I just wanted her to see that she's safe, that she's not alone.
Derek knelt down beside Evan and stared up at Shelly. She swallowed and stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes.
"What are you so afraid of, Shel?" He asked her. "This bastard who did this to you, why are you so afraid of him? That's it, right? You're afraid. Did he tell you not to tell anyone?"
Shelly sniffed but nodded.
"Do you love him?" Evan asked.
She hesitated before shaking her head. "I thought I did...but I realized that it had all been just a game to him. I get serious about someone for the first time but in the end...in the end...he abandoned me too."
Evan reached out a hand and caressed her cheek. "Then he didn't deserve your love and certainly don't deserve any loyalty. And you don't have to be afraid of him anymore because you have people who cares about you now. Me, Paul...Derek."
She turned her skeptical eyes to Derek who scowled at her. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't care."
Shelly smiled wanly. "You mean you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Evan."
Derek shrugged. "True enough but here's the thing, I actually want to help you too. I'm still pissed that you involved Evan but I know you did it because you were afraid." He sighed. "I know I've been hard on you but you have to see things in my prospective. You said you were alone yet when you finally had back up you still want to run away. It pisses me off."
"Did the father of your child threaten to harm you?" Evan asked her. "Is that why you're afraid? Why you wont tell us?"
Shelly bowed her head, her red hair draping over her face. "Yes."
"Then don't be afraid anymore. Like Derek and I said...you have us now. We wont abandon you."
Shelly sobbed. "You have no idea how much I want to believe you."
Evan's hands tightened on hers. "Believe us."
"Evan told me about the situation with your father," Derek said. "We'll handle him too."
"What are we going to do?" She sniffed. "We're just a couple of teenagers."
"We're stronger as a group, right?" I smiled assuringly at her.
"Shelly," Evan said, "who is the father of your baby? Do we know him?"
She hesitated before nodding. "Y-yes."
"Does he go to our school?"
She nodded again.
"Who is he?"
Shelly looked away.
"Damn it, Shelly!" Derek barked, making her jump. "Stop avoiding the question! For god's sake! Enough is enough! Aren't you tired of it?"
"Yes," she whispered. "But sometimes I think I'm being punished. That I deserve what's happening to me."
And then Derek surprised as all when his hand shot out with a curse, grabbing Shelly's hand and jerking her forward into his arms. I made a move to stop him but paused when I realized that he was actually doing. He was hugging her, holding her tightly as she struggled against him.
"Stop doing that to yourself," Derek growled. "No more pity-party. When was the last time you were held like this? When was the last time you felt someone's arms holding you? Protecting you? Well listen to me. Feel my arms? Tell us what we want to know and I swear to god that I'd do everything in my power. I'll use these arms to protect you, Shelly Shane."
Shelly relaxed against his hold, small body shaking with the force of her sobs. She wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and clinged to him as if her life depended on it.
"You are so much better than your father and this guy is making you to be, Shelly," I told her, kneeling down beside Derek and stroked her hair.
"Who is the father of your child, Shelly?" Evan asked again, softening his words.
Shelly looked at him, green eyes swimming with tears. "Charlie. Charlie Caine."
---
Cookie: *blows nose" Long time no see!! *waves hanky*
Anywhooo, the song for this chapter is "Who You Are" by Jessie J. Such a perfect song.
Pic is of Derek of course...you can say that it's how he held onto Shelly and how she clung to him...*sniffs*
*throws arms around Derek and Shelly* Group HUG!!
Shelly: O.O er...who is she?
Derek: Shhh, act like you don't see her. Maybe she'll go away
Cookie: HEY!! *stands up and sings* Don't lose who you are! In the blur of the stars! Seeing is decieving, dreaming is believing, it's okay not to be okay!
Paul: O_o What is she doing now?
Evan: Shhh, be very still, don't make eye contact
Cookie: *drops down on knees and raises hands dramatically* Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart! Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, there's nothing wrong with who you are!"
Shelly: She's still here...
Evan: *throws chocolate chip cookies out window* Here, fetch!
Cookie: *jumps out window* COOKIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Evan: *Slams window close and locks it*
Cookie: O;