Apology Accepted

I'd been woken up rather early to head off for Christmas shopping once again. Only this time, I was going with Audri instead of Oliver. Audri wanted to go shopping for Tom and she insisted on dragging me with her as well. Which I didn't mind, because it was pretty obvious to me that when Oli woke me up, and he was already dressed, that him and Tom were headed out to pick up gifts for Audri and I. As Oli came barreling back into the bedroom to wake me up for a third time, he was pleasantly surprised to see I was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, just about ready to pull my shoes on.

I stood up and kissed him softly before heading into the hallway to hear Audri pestering a still snoring Tom. I didn't say much, I only waited for her to come into the hall. As she walked out, I could sense something wrong with her. She held her hands tightly together and attempted to put on a smile, leading me outside to her car. There wasn't much to talk about, so the conversation was extremely strained. I tried asking her what she was planning on getting Tom, but she responded irritably that she hadn't decided yet. She didn't seem irritated with me, but more so just with Tom.

There wasn't much reason for me going with Audri today, besides the fact that she didn't want to go by herself and Oli didn't want me around while he was trying to wrap my present. I'd already gotten Oli's present, so I was just along for the ride. I was being nice and decided to tag along, but now that I was with her, I wasn't so sure I wanted to be. She was being so quiet and just making me uncomfortable.

We pulled into a parking spot and she stopped the car. I watched as she closed her eyes and gripped her stomach lightly, like she was going to hurl or something.

"You alright?"

She nodded, "Fine."

"Cramps?"

She looked up at me and laughed slightly, "Yeah. Sure."

We both got out of the car and we started walking towards the entrance doors, "I always get really shitty cramps."

She nodded again, looking down at her stomach, "Me too."

The conversation, if you could even call it that, had hit a dead end once more as we walked into the shopping center. I ran my hand across the sweatshirts that lined the wall, much like a little kid would do. I thought about checking the price tags, but remembered that I still didn't know how to use British currency, since Oli had made it a point to help me out all day yesterday instead of explaining it to me. I would have asked Audri about it, but she seemed to be walking a hundred miles an hour, so stopping her just seemed like a bad idea, considering her current mood. So, I just continued walking behind her at a steady pace.

Out of nowhere, she started walking slower, I figured that she wanted me to catch up to her. Once I caught up to her though, I could tell her face was flushed and she looked like she was going to pass out. She grasped onto a shelf covered in t shirts and stopped walking.

"Are you okay?" I asked, "Do you need some water or something?"

She looked away from me and mumbled something incoherent, picking at the hem of her shirt.

"What?" I asked.

"I said I need a fuckin' Midol." She laughed uneasily.

"You know, this is one of those times where I realize I really should start carrying around a purse."

"Well, 'm pretty sure I can last until we get Tom's present."

"Did you decide what you're getting him?" I asked, following her as she walked towards the electronics store Oli and I were in just the day before.

"Well, I dunno yet. I was thinkin' of gettin' 'im some film for 'is new camera, but he's been goin' on and on 'bout this photo editing program too, so 'm not entirely sure."

I nodded as we walked into the store. As she made her way over to the counter to talk to someone who worked at the store, I moseyed my way over to the movie section again. I tried finding something interesting, but I didn't have the easiest time concentrating on the movies when I knew something besides cramps was wrong with Audri. It seemed like she was really upset with Tom. After she tried talking to him this morning and he shooed her out of his room, she looked like she was about to cry. And as far as I knew, Audri seemed more like the type to get mad than start crying. She just looked so scared and upset, I felt the need to worry about her.

I didn't want her and Tom splitting up or even arguing over something stupid. It'd been a while since I'd had a friend that was a girl that I actually gave a fuck about. So, it was hard to not want to ask Audri if something was going on besides just her cramps. I just wasn't sure how to go about asking her without seeming nosy. As far as I knew, there was nothing wrong with them. And even if there was, it was most likely none of my god damn business anyways.

Couples fight. They get into little arguments. I know how that goes. When girls are on the rag, they tend to over emotional. So maybe that was all. Audri was just a little upset when Tom told her leave his room this morning. He was tired and he told her to leave, and maybe that just hit a sore nerve.

"Sam?"

I turned around to see Audri standing behind me with a plastic bag clutched tightly in her hand.

"Yeh wanna go get some coffee?"

"Sure."

As we walked past a few stores, I noticed Audri didn't seem to be as sick as before, because she started becoming talkative, "What did yeh get Olleh?"

I grinned, "Remember when they were practicing and I asked you to take me to an art store?"

"Yeah."

"It had something to do with that."

"Oi, no way!" She giggled, "I can't wait teh see it!"

I nodded, "I hope he'll like it."

"I'll bet 'e will." She said, walking into a coffee shop and taking a seat, "Olleh likes stuff like that."

I was about to reply, but was cut off by a guy walking up to our table, "Yeh can't stay 'ere unless yeh're orderin' somethin'."

"In that case," Audri said, pulling her wallet out, "Why don't yeh get me a green tea? And Sammeh, what do yeh want?"

"I'll have a blended mocha." I said quietly.

The barista took Audri's money and walked off, a snooty look on his face.

"Fuckin' arse." She mumbled.

"I could've paid for my own coffee," I said, "I didn't even think about that."

"Oh no, don't worry 'bout it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," She nodded, standing up.

I watched as she went and picked up our drinks at the counter and taking her change, not bothering with a tip. She sat back down at the table and handed me my coffee.

"Thanks." I said, licking the whipped cream off the top, "So are you coming over for Christmas?"

"Yeah, of course."

"That'll be fun." I smiled.

"It will." She paused, "Are yer parents mad 'cause yeh ain't gonna be 'ome fer Christmas?"

I shrugged, "No. I think they get it."

The conversation quieted once more and Audri looked around thoughtfully. She stirred her tea and looked up at me, "Was it 'ard for yeh teh get adopted?"

I grinned slightly, "Well it took me about seventeen years, so yeah I'd say it was pretty hard."

"No, I meant like," She laughed slightly, "How long did the adoption papers take to sign and all that?"

"Um, not that long. But that's only because I was a ward of the state. I'm pretty sure if I was being adopted from my legal parents, it would have taken longer."

She nodded, "Why'd they adopt you? Like, usually couples adopt younger kids. You were almost eighteen."

"Well, they never really got the chance to adopt. It's the whole 'lesbian lifestyle' thing. They tried getting a baby, but no one wanted to give their baby to a couple of lezbos. The only reason they adopted me was because Marilyn's mom took care of me while I was in the hospital and they knew I had nowhere to go but to another foster home, so they agreed to take me in."

She nodded, "Do yeh think they still want a baby?"

"I don't know. I never really asked them. I'd imagine so."

"Why doesn't one of them just get pregnant? Yeh know, where they like artificially inseminate or whatever?"

"Um, Marsha refuses to get pregnant and Marilyn had to get a hysterectomy because she had an infection in her uterus, I think."

"That's 'orrible!" She said loudly, "Why won't Marsha get pregnant?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. I think Marilyn wants a baby more than Marsh. You'd think that if Marsha loved Marilyn so much, she'd do it."

"That's so sad."

"I know. And Marilyn is such an amazing person, she's been there 100% since they adopted me and they honest to God just want what's best for me."

"What do yeh mean?"

"Like, I'm pretty sure If I asked to stay in Sheffield, even though I'd be seriously letting them down, they'd still support me and care about me."

"So why don't yeh?"

"I can't do that to them. Not after everything they've done for me. I would just feel horrible."

She nodded, "Yeah. I see what yer sayin', that's just gonna be sad when yeh 'ave teh leave."

"Yeah-"

I was cut off abruptly by Audri's phone buzzing against the table and blurting out lyrics.

"'Ello?"

"….."

"Yeah."

"….."

"Alrigh'. We're leavin' now."

"….."

"No Tom. I haven't."

"….."

"Yeah, 'm gonna."

"….."

"Tell Ol teh keep 'is knickers on, 'm bringin' 'is bird 'ome soon."

"….."

"Bye."

Audri hung up the phone and grabbed her cup of tea, getting up from the table. I quickly grabbed my coffee and followed her out of the coffee shop. She'd decided to be quiet again, so I guess I had to deal with a quiet ride all the way back to Oliver's. Oh joy.

The car ride was short, thankfully. And instead of the silence practically choking Audri and I, she put on a CD that I hadn't really heard before, but it was better than nothing. Once we arrived outside Oli's house, I figured she wasn't coming inside, so I reached for the handle and was ready to mutter a quick good bye. But I was stopped when she put the car in park and grabbed my forearm.

"'ang on Sam."

"Are you alright?" I asked, "Do you want me to go get Tom or something?"

"No." She paused, biting her lip, "Listen, 'm sorry if 've been rude teh yeh today er anythin'…" She paused again, looking out the windshield, "I really wish Tom wasn't makin' meh do this by myself."

"Audri?" I asked, suddenly becoming way too concerned, "What is it?"

She gripped the bottom of her t shirt and clenched it between her fingers, still looking out the window, tears clouding her eyes. Without even looking at me, she barely spoke above a whisper, "'m pregnant Sam. 'm so fuckin' scared."

"Oh, Audri." I said quietly, reaching out to touch her arm.

She threw her arms up and started sobbing, her voice becoming loud, "I tried tellin' Tom, I just started the birth control, it ain't gonna work right away. But 'e told meh it'd be alrigh. But it's not!" She cried, "I've got a fuckin' baby inside meh! 'm sixteen Sam! 'm still in school! What the fuck am I gonna do with a baby?"

I watched as Audri slumped over in her seat, leaning against the driver's door and crying. My eyes grew wide as her t shirt was stretched taut and I finally saw her stomach. I didn't even notice it all day. Hell, I hadn't noticed it the last three weeks. I never realized she dressed in big sweat shirts or t shirts. I quickly got out of the car and walked around to the other side, opening her door carefully. I figured it would be easier to comfort her if I could actually wrap my arms around her.

"Audri, it's okay," I soothed, rubbing her back awkwardly, "It'll be okay."

"No it won't Sam. 'm four months in. I can't just go get an abortion now. 'ts been too long."

"Audri, it will…" I paused, trying to think of something comforting, "You can always find someone to adopt."

"Yeh think so?" She said quietly.

"I know so." I said, still rubbing her back.

Suddenly, the front door to Oli's door slammed loudly and I looked up to see Tom running across the yard. I gave Audri a quick squeeze and stood up, letting Tom take over.

He didn't say anything to me, only kneeled down and took Audri into his arms, cooing to her. I smiled softly, trying to keep my tears in check as I made my way back into Oli's house. Once I was inside, I closed the door behind me. The house was quiet. I guessed that Ian and Carol had gone to their room to watch a movie, so I quietly made my way into Oli's room, where he was sprawled out on the bed, a comic book rested on his chest.

"'Ello love."

"Hi." I said quietly, sitting down next to him.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down beside him, kissing my cheek, "Missed yeh."

"You too."

"All right?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying Oli."

"Yes yeh are. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I snapped, turning away from him, not wanting to tell Oliver what was going on.

I trusted him, but it was none of my business.

Just as Oli was about to prod again, Tom knocked quietly on his door and pushed it open.

"Hey, Ols. Can I borrow yer Slipknot CD?"

"Yeah," He replied, "'ts over there."

I managed to catch Tom's gaze. He looked away quickly. He knew that I knew about him and Audri, and he looked just about as scared as she did. If not more.