Chapter One... Learning Of Dad's Death
Jennifer's POV
I had awoken from yet another odd nightmare. This time, I gave birth to kittens. Kittens! I laughed as I climbed out of bed. My baby wriggled constantly in my belly; I'm sure it was a sign that I should call my parents. They didn't know about the baby... it was my little secret. Why? Because I was twenty years old, and had never managed to have the guts to tell them. Mom called me frequently, asking me about my "boyfriend" Sean. But mom didn't know that Sean and I had broken up, and I didn't tell her yet.
I had waited so long to tell her of my pregnancy, I would hate for her to turn up here now. What a shock that would be! It had been that long since I'd heard from my father, I doubt he'd recognise me. But mom would. I looked just like her. They would be so disappointed if they learnt I kept this from them; hell, even the baby knew that.
I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. I glanced at the clock; it was around 2am. I sighed. I was so used to getting up after these odd dreams, it kind of made it a sort of routine. I would have to get used to routines.
I slowly dragged myself back to bed; I had an exam tomorrow, and didn't want to be late. I was a hard worker, but I was rebellious too. When I was in high school I was expelled from school for accidentally blowing up a classroom. Luckily, nobody got hurt. When I started at College, I was warned not to do anything dangerous. It always amazed me how I got accepted into an Ivy League school; I wasn't exactly the best student. But in my time here, I had only been known as a hard worker who partied every weekend.
As I was about to fall back to sleep, the phone rang. Odd... nobody ever rang me at this time. I answered the phone nervously...
"Hello?" I said, my voice breaking.
"Jen?" mom sobbed from the other end of the phone. "Jen, I have to tell you something. It's about your father."
I had a feeling something was wrong...
"Is he okay?" I gasped.
"Umm, no Jen, he's not," mom cried from the other end, trying to be sympathetic. I feared the absolute worst.
"What? What happened?" I cried loudly. My neighbour would most likely have heard.
"Jemma found him this morning, Jen," mom whispered. "He... he was murdered. In their house."
I burst into tears.
"No!" I cried. "NO! No, I didn't get to tell him! NO!"
"I'm so sorry, sweetie," mom cried with me. "But he's being buried here in Malibu. You should come here, help us set up." Mom was struggling to comfort me from so far away... I would be on the first flight out.
"Mom, I'll be on the first flight," I sobbed. "I'll... I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Okay, Jen," mom cried, sniffling hard. "I love you, darling."
"I... I just... can't believe he's gone," I gasped, tears rolling uncontrollably down my face.
"I know," mom whispered.
We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. I booked a flight that left in four hours, and began packing anything possible. I was lucky; I only just was allowed to fly still. If it had been six weeks later, I would be trapped here in Rhode Island. After packing my belongings, I sat down and burst into an uncontrollable fit of tears. I curled up on the end of my newly-made bed and cried for a half hour.
After I cried, I left my apartment, ready to head to Malibu.
It had been three years, and I had a secret. I wasn't looking forward to mom's reaction.
I would never hide a pregnancy from them again; it was just too hard.
I took a deep breath as i boarded the plane two hours later, nervously wondering what waited for me when I got to my destination.