A/N: Super long chapter to make up for the lack of posting lately ;) ily guys
It had been one week since everything went down. Jacob and Steve still weren't speaking to us girls and tensions were growing high between Elizabeth, Annette, and I. We were constantly blaming each other for anything that went wrong, plus I was still grounded so my life simply revolved between school and home- causing a strain on my relationship with Josh.
On the positive side, I hadn't heard from Mike and Lisa. I think they figured out I was planning the paternity test when they found his things missing and skipped town. This made my guard go down about them, which overall decreased my anxiety levels.
Elizabeth and I were really on edge about the results from the test Tony sent in. We had to hide it from Annette to avoid further drama, but that just made us more anxious because we had to lie to her. He told us it would be 2-3 weeks before we would hear anything, but I was holding onto hope that the results would be rushed and we would know early.
One of the biggest fights the three of us had was about how to approach the boys again. Annette sternly believed we shouldn't speak to them at all and it was up to them to forgive over time, Elizabeth wanted to go to them and beg them to just put it behind them, and I just wanted to write them some sort of letter to communicate that we miss them but respect their space. We were all on completely opposite spectrums of the argument.
"If they wanted to be here, they would be." Annette said sternly.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Obviously they want to be here, they're just upset. We need to go apologize and talk things out."
"I'm not going over there and making a fool of myself, Elizabeth! Your father has made it clear he wants nothing to do with me."
I quickly jumped in, "I think we should just give this some more time before jumping to any conclusions."
Completely ignoring me, Elizabeth and Annette continued to bicker with each other- growing more and more angry by the minute. My eyes darted between the two of them as their tones became more annoyed and their voices grew louder. Eventually, Elizabeth had enough and screamed, "I'm sick of you lying and not caring about anything! Maybe I'll just leave too!"
"Oh, right. And go where?" Annette cackled back.
She crossed her arms and replied, "I'm sure Tony and his mom would let me stay there for a few days."
"Oh, great plan, Elizabeth. Just run away from your issues just like your brother!" Annette spat as Elizabeth spun around and ran up the stairs. She looked over at me and shook her head, "What do you have to say about all of this?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know."
Annette sighed and walked away from me, leaving me alone after all the chaos. I pulled my phone out and texted the only person I knew would be able to help in this situation:
Erika: Hey, can you come pick me up?
Josh: Thought you were grounded
Erika: Yeah i am, i'll walk down to the edge of the street and you can swing by. No one will know
Josh: Okay, whatever you need
I quietly rushed up to my room, grabbed my keys, and snuck out the front door. I knew this posed the risk of getting in even more trouble since I was leaving while I was grounded but I couldn't stay here like this.
I stood on the corner of the street at the stop sign and shivered. It was a dark, windy night and I had forgotten a jacket. I was wearing my pajamas already, athletic shorts and a tank top, and looked around nervously to make sure no one was around. After a few minutes, Josh's car came speeding down the street and slowed down for me to hop in. Once I was buckled in, he drove to the park- our usual hanging location.
We sat down on one of the park benches and didn't speak. I knew he was upset with me because I had been pushing him away and blamed him for the incident at school with Jacob last week. I continued to shiver from the cold night air, when he noticed he put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled as I put my head into his chest.
He ran his fingers through my hair and sighed, "Can you tell me what's going on? I'm just so damn confused."
"It's just been so confusing. Whenever I feel like I'm figuring out this new life, a curveball gets thrown at me. Everyone seems to be against me now, and I have no one but myself to blame. Jacob and Steve won't even speak to me, Annette is too ashamed to talk, Elizabeth is angry about everything, you're distant because I have been pushing you away, Becca is ignoring me because of the stunt I pulled going to Mike and Lisa's motel, and-" I began to explain before he cut me off.
"What," he questioned as he pushed me off of him and looked me in the eyes,"you never told me about that."
Shoot. I forgot he didn't know I went there.
"Oh, right. Um, I met up with Mike the night that everything went down. I stole some of his things for a paternity test. Annette doesn't know though. That's why I got grounded."
"You told me you were grounded because you sassed her about the Steve thing." Josh frowned. I shook my head and looked down in shame. He told me, "You have to stop lying and hiding things from me if you want this relationship to work."
I nodded and hugged him, "I really am sorry. I just don't want to burden you. There's so much going on."
"Hey, it's part of my job description to be here for you through everything." He joked as he shoved my shoulder.
I laughed and confessed, "I really miss Jake."
"Why don't you just go see him then?" He asked, clearly confused.
My eyes widened, "Wait, you've been talking to him?"
"Well, yeah. I've been hanging with him a few times this week." He replied.
I jumped up from the bench, "You what? You have to take me there. They won't answer us, we haven't even known where they've been."
"Okay, lets go." He smiled.
---
On the way, Josh explained they had rented out a two bedroom apartment. It came pre-furnished, ready to live in. They were leasing by the month so they could leave any time. That was good news at least, it meant they weren't intending to leave permanently.
Apartment #321. That's where they had been staying. I felt uneasy at the sight of their door. I didn't even know what I wanted to say to them.
Josh knocked hardly on the door and a few moments later, Jacob answered it.
"What's she doing here?"
Those were his first words when he saw me. It hurt knowing he wasn't happy to see me.
Josh crossed his arms, "She's your sister, dude. You need to drop this whole tough guy thing."
"Maybe she isn't." He commented. That stung.
I frowned, "Jake, regardless of who is actually my biological father, we still have the same mother. That makes us half siblings at least."
"Listen, I don't really want to talk to you. I think you should just leave." He told me as he began to shut the door.
I took a leap of faith and stuck my foot in the doorway, "No. This is ridiculous. I love you, J. You're my brother, I'm your sister, Steve is my dad, that's it."
"Let her in, bud." Steve's voice boomed from behind Jacob. He sighed and pulled the door completely open, motioning for me to come into their apartment.
Steve looked different. He hadn't shaved, so he had awkward stubble on his face, he was wearing some stained T-shirt and sweatpants, overall just had a sad vibe.
I walked over to him and smiled lightly, "Hey."
"What're you doing here?" He asked getting straight to the point.
I sat down on the couch next to his recliner, "I really miss you guys."
"I miss you and Elizabeth too." He responded.
I frowned, "Please just come home. Talk this out with Annette. You two love each other and we need you guys."
He cackled, "Need us? If she needed me this wouldn't be happening in the first place."
"There's more to the story you don't know." I argued.
"All i need to know is that your mother cheated on me and the girl's i thought to be my daughters aren't even mine." He concluded.
Without thinking, I blurted out, "I got a paternity test."
All eyes landed on me. No one said a word. I couldn't even imagine what was going through their minds right now.
"With Mike? How on Earth did you get his DNA? Did you see him?" Steve worried.
I sighed, "Listen, just come home with me and I'll explain everything. Annette doesn't know about it yet so I need to tell her too."
Steve looked over and Jacob, who nodded before telling me, "Okay. I'll go back home with you."
Question for the Reader: Who is your favorite character so far?