Without You, I'm Just Me

I felt a soft, warm touch against my cheek and smiled. I opened my eyes slightly and began to scream. Pete was sitting on my floor face to face with me. He immediately had his hand over my mouth before I could wake Patrick and the rest of the house. “Be quiet, you’re going to wake up Patrick!” Patrick groaned and burrowed his face into my hair, making Pete giggle. “What do you want, Pete? What on earth could be so important that you have to wake me up right now?”
Pete pulled a slightly scrunched note out of his hoodie pocket. “Your mom called and said ‘your sister will be around at 11 this morning’ that’s in about an hour by the way, and that ‘she wants you to come around ASAP to greet her.’ You never told me you had a sister.”
I groaned, and tried to climb out of bed. “Thanks for taking the message Pete.”
He smiled. “No problem, just one question though: is your sister hot?” I groaned in disgust and pushed him out the room. A muffled sound came from the bed, and a moment later Patrick was beside me. He frowned. “Was that Pete?”
I nodded. “Yeah apparently now he’s answering our phones. My mom called and she wants us to be around in about an hour. So, I’m thinking we should get something to eat?”
Patrick nodded as we walked into the hallway from his room. “Sounds good,” he sniffed the air, “although I’m pretty sure mom’s already cooking pancakes.” I sniffed the air to pick up the scent of Mrs Stump’s glorious cooking. “Damn that smells good.”
Patrick laughed as we entered the kitchen. I sat carefully in the dining chair, but not without a sharp pain in my abdomen. “Ouch!” Patrick and his mom looked up in worry. Patrick had his arm around me, ready to relocate me to the bathroom if necessary.

“Is everything alright? Do you need the bathroom?” I looked up at his worried face and tried to smile.
“No, I think the baby just kicked, I’ll be fine.” I rubbed the back of his hand as he sat down in the chair beside me. Pete was already seated across from us, frowning. Patrick’s mom came into the room carrying three plates of pancakes. She placed each of them in front of us, giving me the largest. Pete’s eyes went wide as he looked at my plate of pancakes. “Got enough food there Angie?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’m eating for two Wentz, what’s your excuse?” He shrugged and dug into his breakfast.

I fidgeted with the neckline of the deep blue blouse. The déjà vu by just being in this room was immense. “Nervous?” Patrick whispered in my ear. I nodded, and looked at my parent’s who sat on the lounge across from us. “Don’t be, she’s your sister, she’ll love you regardless.” I nodded, but I still wasn’t convinced. After what felt like a lifetime of awkward silences, a cab pulled in to the curb and the doorbell rang. My mom and dad were on their feet instantly, making their way swiftly to the door. I tried to stand up, but Patrick pulled me back down. “I think it’d be better if you stayed on the couch, let her adjust a little before she actually sees you.” I nodded and gripped Patrick’s arm. “Oh, Josie! It’s so great to see you again, your hair looks amazing!” I heard my mom making a fuss about Josie in the hallway and rolled my eyes. Patrick stifled a giggle and peered into the hallway. “I’ll have your father take your bags up to your old room, and you can come see Angie and Patrick.”
I felt a shiver run through my body. “Awesome, I can’t wait to see Angie again, I’ve missed her so much in the past few years, I mean I tried to write but the postal service over there sucks! Plus international calls are ridiculously expensive.”
I could feel the sinking feeling in my stomach becoming alarmingly stronger. Patrick tugged on my arm and helped me stand up. “Now Josie, before we meet Angie, you have to realise, a lot of things have…changed since you left.”
“Ok…I’ll keep that in mind.” Josie sounded very confused, and I couldn’t blame her. Why mom had to be so cryptic about this entire situation I had no idea. Mom opened the door, and Patrick stepped in front of me to greet Josie. “Josie, this is Patrick, Angie’s F-fiancé. Patrick, this is Josie, Angie’s older sister.” Josie’s eyes were wide in disbelief as she shook hands with Patrick. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Smith.” Josie smiled at Patrick’s well-mannered behaviour. “Wow, fiancé huh? Definitely didn’t see that one coming.” The knot in my stomach tightened and I felt another sharp pain. I tried to breathe regularly, in through my nose and out my mouth. It didn’t help to calm me, but it helped a little with the pain.
My mother lead Josie into the room, and Patrick was instantly at my side. Josie’s eyes were wide with a mix of emotions. Some of the emotions I could recognise: disbelief, worry, sympathy, anger, and last of all, joy. She walked over to me slowly, the emotions replaying across her face. “It really has been years, hasn’t it?” the question wasn’t really aimed at anyone, and sounded a bit more rhetorical. She studied my face, before looking down at my bulging stomach. “May I?” she hesitated her hand over my stomach. I nodded. “Go ahead.” she smiled, and ran her hand across the bump. “you’re carrying quite low, how far along are you?”
“7 and a half months, though there’s a risk of premature birth because I’m anaemic. “ she smiled, and nodded. This was probably the last reaction I had expected from Josie. It was more like the grandmother who’d been waiting for grandkids her entire existence than the ‘I’m too young to be a grandmother’ excuse my real mother had used when I told her. I felt another sharp pain, and she pulled away. She gripped at my elbows as Patrick rushed over. “What’s going on? Is she ok?” she interrogated Patrick. He frowned. “I’m not so sure, she says its probably only the baby kicking but what if its not?”
Josie’s frowned matched his. “She could be having contractions, we should sit her down. I’m going to call a doctor to check on her, Patrick could you get her seated on the lounge?” Patrick nodded and slid one arm around my waist and the other around my shoulders, supporting most of my weight. We were halfway to the couch when it happened, and a scream burst through my lips.