7. Bernadette

Iknew that I would be facing hell from my mom when I got back home, but that didn't stop me from sleeping over at his place. He just had such a convincing way of speaking, especially when he was half-naked and curled around my body in bed.

So, I ended up staying even later in the morning than I had planned to. It was late by the time that I even realized I hadn't bothered to text my mom that I was staying over with him.

"Lucas," I should get going," I finally said, seated at the counter in one of his oversized t-shirts and a pair of sweats. "By now my mom is really going to be worried about me."

He sighed. "But we haven't even had breakfast yet."

"But it's also very late. I don't know how much longer your ‘breakfast' is going to take, and I don't want to get more of an earful than I absolutely have to."

He came over to drape his arms around me and kiss my cheek. "You say that as if I have some sinister plans. Besides, it's simple, really. If you text her now where you are, then she'll have some time to cool down before you get home."

I sighed. "You know she would rather have me be home and tell her in person. Really, Lucas, it's like you don't even know my mom."

He shrugged. "I was just trying to come up with a solution that would work for both of us. You know how it is."

"I know." I kissed the tip of his nose, then held his face between my hands. "But you should also know that I need to get home, or else my mom is going to really freak out."

He sighed. "Fine, all right, you win. But only because you're looking at me like that."

I gave him another kiss, this time on the lips, and then got up to grab my stuff and head out. I said bye to him one last time before I did.

"I promise I'll get these back to you," I said, gesturing to his clothes that I was still wearing.

"Of course, I trust you." He gave me one final kiss before walking me out to my car and watching me as I drove away.

Just as I expected, my mom was waiting by the door, the expression on her face a mix of fury and concern.

"Bernadette, I know you're an adult, but that doesn't mean you can't text me if you're staying out. Where were you last night?" she asked, giving me a stern look.

"I ended up staying over with Lucas at his place," I admitted, but the rest of what I was going to tell her was a blatant lie. I found it was easier for me to make half-truths believable. Especially to my mother, who had a keen sense for that sort of thing. "It was a late night at the office, and when he offered that I could sleep over, so I didn't have to go all the way home I accepted. I'm sorry that I forgot to call you, or at least text you."

She sighed. "Bernadette, you know how I feel about that boy. About his family. I wish that you would be more careful around him."

"Mom, I am careful. Really, you don't need to worry about me."

"But I do, because that's my job. Now, have you had breakfast?"

I shook my head.

"That boy didn't even get you breakfast!? Really, the disgrace. He should know better than to not at least offer my daughter something to eat if he's keeping her for the night."

"He did offer me breakfast," I said with a laugh. "I just figured that you would be worried, and I should get back to you as soon as possible."

"Well, I guess that is good," she said. "But that still doesn't mean that all is forgiven. Come on, help me make something for the two of us. I was too worried sick to actually eat anything."

A twang of regret went through me at the fact that I had neglected to even call her. I really was a bad child if I couldn't even do that much for my mom. I made a mental note to make sure that it was something I did next time. Because there was bound to be a next time now that Lucas and I had finally figured our stuff out.

* * *

After breakfast, I headed up to my room, knowing that I had some stuff to think over. A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and I still hadn't even figured out the situation with the baby.

Shit, the baby.

I probably needed to get to a doctor soon to get a check-up, but I had no idea how to go about doing that, especially without my mom knowing.

Because if my mom found out about the pregnancy, she would flip. And I was realizing more and more now that if she found out I was also having an affair with Lucas; she would freak out even more.

I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hide both of these things from her, and that absolutely terrified me. I wanted to be able to tell her what was going on in my life instead of having to hide it from her for fear of what she would do or say.

But like Lucas had said, it was important for me right now to focus on the things that I could control instead of the things that I couldn't. And one of those things was figuring out how to get to the doctor so I could make sure that my baby was healthy.

I took out my phone, took a deep breath, and dialed his number.

He picked up on the first ring.

"Bella? What is it? Is everything okay?"

I almost laughed at how concerned he sounded. It was endearing, and nice to know that he cared about me so much.

"I'm fine, Lucas. I just figured there was some stuff that we should talk about."

"Oh, of course. What is it?" he asked.

"It's…um…" I lowered my voice. "It's about the baby."

"Oh, of course. Is everything all right? What is it about the baby? Your mother hasn't found out yet, has she?"

"She hasn't, but I don't know how much longer I can hide it. I'm worried she'll think it's yours and blame you for it, too."

"Bella, you don't have to worry about me. I can take your mother and her anger, you know that. Besides, it would be very easy to clear up that misunderstanding."

"I guess you're right." I sighed. "There was one other thing. When am I supposed to go in to see a doctor?"

"Oh shit, oh shit, I completely forgot, uh, give me one second. I can look this up."

The other side of the line went silent for a moment, presumably as Lucas scrambled to figure out when I should have seen a doctor."

"So, it looks like you should have scheduled an appointment when you found out you were pregnant, but that doesn't matter right now. I can work to get you in on Monday at some place."

"What about work?"

"Don't worry about it, this is more important. Remember, I said I was going to take care of you, and I mean it. Let me take you to this appointment. I want you and the baby to both be as healthy as possible. I'm not going to lose my best friend just because she didn't go to her appointments."

I smiled, glad that I had someone like Lucas looking out for me at this moment.

"Thanks, Lucas. Really. I'm glad that you're helping me through this."

"Oh of course. I mean, what kind of a friend would I be if I couldn't do at least this?"

"Well, I don't know. Most friends don't book their friend's prenatal appointments and then accompany them to those."

"Exactly. I'm not most friends. I'm your best friend. And hopefully more."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Lucas and I being more than friends. I mean, last night had effectively set the precedent that the two of us were no longer just friends, but the idea of that being something concrete was even better.

To call him my boyfriend…that would be more than I could ever dream of.

I was suddenly overcome by the wish that he was the biological father of my child, instead of a man who I knew absolutely nothing about. How much easier would it be then? So much easier, that was for sure.

"All right, I have an appointment booked for you for Monday," Lucas said on the other end of the line, breaking me out of my daydreaming. "I'll take you to it, so you don't have to worry at all."

"Thanks, Lucas. I really mean it, you're a lifesaver."

"Well of course. I care a lot about you Bella, I hope you can feel that in your heart. I want what's best for you."

"I think I'm coming to feel that a lot, especially now with everything that you've done for me."

"Good." He sighed. "Well, I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later. I'll have my phone on me if you need me, so please don't hesitate to call."

I smiled. "I won't."

He hung up, and then I was left alone again with my thoughts, in my room, wondering how I was going to solve the situation that I was faced with.

All I knew was that today was not the day that I was going to solve it. There was too much going on, and I needed to realize that it was okay for me to not have it all figured out, especially not right now when I still had time.

That was the most important thing for me to remember: I still had time before I could no longer hide things from my mom and the truth came all spilling out.