We're forever; I'll remember that

Everyone was piling downstairs at the scent of Denise’s delicious cooking. The only people still here were: Nick, Kevin, Joe, Frankie, my parents, Eric, Blake, Abby, Mike, and Danielle, but that was enough to make me nervous about the future announcement.

“Good morning,” Nick whispered in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist carefully, pressing his soft lips to my temple. I smiled immediately, moving over to the side of the hall.

“Good morning,” I grinned, turning under his grasp, giggling at his bed hair.

“How do you feel?” he asked with a gleam in his eyes. I brought my hand up to his face, watching him close his eyes and lean into my touch. He was so… beautiful.

“Considering that I haven’t puked and that I’m noticeably hungry, I think I’m fine.” His eyes slowly opened, a small smile on his lips. His chocolate eyes flickering down to my stomach he bit his lip, picking up his shaky hand. Looking at him, I smiled encouragingly, watching his eager eyes. “You can… feel my stomach. It doesn’t feel any different, yet…” I trailed off, shivering as his hand lifted the front of my shirt, placing a hand on my stomach.

“It always amazed me, especially when my mom was pregnant with Frankie, that a baby was in there. I know I’m not a kid anymore, but to know that my child is actually… is actually in you... It sort of amazes me,” he said in his soft voice, rubbing his thumb in circles.

“Just hearing you say that makes this so much more easier,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck. His hand dropped, my shirt falling back in place, and he moved his fingers over my cheek, kissing my nose quickly. “I want you to know that I wouldn’t be anywhere without you.” His smile got bigger as he held me close.

“Thank you,” his breath tickled my skin. “Breakfast?”

We hurried down the stairs, the aroma of pancakes and muffins filling the air, my stomach growling in protest. Nick’s hand laced with mine as we entered, smiling at everyone in their pajama’s.

“Morning!” Frankie grinned, grabbing a hot muffin out of the tin.

“Franklin,” Mrs. Jonas scolded with a smile. “The pancakes are done, everyone help yourselves, alright?” everyone jumped up as soon as she was out of the way, her smiling eyes meeting ours. I bit my lip, wondering what she as going to ask as she came over. “Are you breaking the news today?” she asked with a smile, grabbing our shoulders gently.

“Yeah, we plan on soon.”

“If you’d like… I have a friend that’s in the real-estate business. If your looking into a house, you know? No pressure of course…” Nick glanced down at me and I smiled.

“That’d be nice, mom. Really, thank you,” Nick smiled, pulling her into a hug. She hugged me next, smiling brightly.

“This is all so exciting for me, my baby getting married… buying a house… having a baby!” she squealed in a hushed tone. I remembered why she was more like a mother to me. “Anyway, go get your breakfast.

I made my way over to the stove, Nick right behind. I watched him grab a plate for me and put the pancakes on it with a muffin. He seemed to know exactly how much I wanted, handing it to me with a smile. Glancing over at the table, there were two spots left… and I knew now would be the best time.

“Do you… want to tell them now?” I whispered, looking at Nick nervously as we made our way to the table, him pulling out the chair for me. He gave me a small nod, sitting himself down too, not touching his food yet. Denise looked over at our waiting features and squeezed Mr. Jonas’ hand.

“Umm, we have an announcement,” Nick spoke softly but clearly, grabbing my hand under the table, giving it a loving squeeze. Looking at his face, I could tell he as determined and I couldn’t see a hint of nervousness. Everyone stopped eating and looked up curiously.

“We know your engaged,” my father spoke intimidating, my mother smacking his arm.

“And we’re all very happy,” my mom smiled, knowing full well what we were about to say.

“Well… we’re going to look for a house, and start planning the wedding,” he started easily, taking a deep breath. I kept my gaze down, only looking up at Joe’s small smile for a second.

“Yes? Go on and say whatever you need, Nicholas,” Mr. Jonas spoke just as softly, watching us carefully.

“I’m uh, I’m going to be a dad… Mitchie’s pregnant,” he spat out confidently. I looked up at everyone’s faces, taking in their expressions.

Mrs. Jonas was beaming at the news she already knew, along with my mother. Danielle wore a shocked face, a hand covering her smile. Kevin looked with wide eyes and Joe stopped mid bite, his food falling off his fork. Glancing over at Mike, I saw his face was completely shocked, Abby’s mirroring him like a comic. Mr. Jonas looked somewhat surprised, partially emotionless, but my father… he was the only one that looked angry.

“Your what?” he snapped suddenly, making us all jump.

“Daddy,” I hissed behind clenched teeth, watching him stand, furiously.

“Nicholas, we need to talk,” he practically yelled. My eyes darted to the man I loved beside me, watching his whole body freeze, his eyes blinking slowly. I dropped his hand and pushed myself out of my chair, moving to stand in front of him somewhat.

“Daddy, we’re all right here… we can talk right here-”

“He got you pregnant and you want me to talk right here? Alright! I will. How dare-”

“Stop it!” I screamed, hearing the whole room grow silent. My heart was beating fast, and it wasn’t the fast I liked. My eyes narrowed at him and I instinctively grabbed my stomach, taking another step forward, feeling Nick grab my hand gently.

“Calm down, please,” Nick begged, leaning forward to look into my eyes, to plead with me.

“I’m calm,” I whispered, turning back to face my father. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming… you can’t be that unobservant.”

“Mitchie, don’t test my patience. Sit down young lady!” I stared at him with anger, taking a breath but not letting it out.

“I’m not a baby anymore. You-you had to know that we… that we were together that way, that we were taking that step. He’s always protected me, Nick’s never hurt me… and I was just so lucky to have him take me back. And you just sit there… saying how dare he. How dare he what, dad? How dare he hold me when I was sad? How dare he be there for me when I was alone? How dare he tell me that he loved me when you didn’t? Because I think I should be the one saying how dare YOU. How dare you sit there and judge me. How dare you sit there and yell. And how dare you speak to him that way,” I finished, my eyes becoming hazy as Nick squeezed my hand supportively.

“Harold,” my mother’s voice whispered, trying to get him to sit. Looking around, everyone was frozen in the same positions, staring at us in thought.

“If it wasn’t for him, you’d be in Florida with us. You’d be with your family instead of screwing around with some boy! Your nineteen, he’s eighteen… your pregnant for god sake!” I felt completely and totally embarrassed by hearing him say that. Was I… was I messing up? Was this all my fault?

“M-may I say something?” Nick spoke up bravely, standing on his feet. I couldn’t look at him, I just kept my gaze on my father… watching him in disbelief. My father switched his hard gaze to Nick, the veins in his neck about ready to burst. “I realize your furious, and under different conditions, my parents would be too, but I asked her to marry me before-”

“That was enough… but you had to go and get her pregnant-”

“Let him finish,” I demanded, hushing my father.

“She’s already about five weeks along. I-I didn’t know what happened…”

“Did you use protection?” my mother spoke up softly. Nick’s cheeks turned red and I didn’t necessarily want everyone to know our love life. We were at the table for goodness.

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her in any way. I didn’t know what happened, maybe it broke…” he trailed off, his eyes looking downward.

“You could’ve stopped. If you knew it broke, you could’ve stopped!”

“I didn’t know, though. I-I didn’t, honest! I’m sorry Mr. Johnson, but I didn’t lie there thinking about the damn condom breaking, okay?!” Nick finally snapped, balling his other fist up. My heart pounded in fear, my eyes watching every frozen figure.

“Don’t you dare use that tone with me! You don’t touch my daughter!” he snapped, grabbing Nick’s arm forcefully, ripping it away from mine. I stood, frozen, like a deer in headlights as everyone watched with wide eyes, Nick stumbling, but catching his balance. My hand flew up to my mouth in a late reaction.

“I’m sorry Mr. Johnson, but I can’t do that. She agreed to marry me on her free will and she’s carrying my child, and I love her. I love her more than anything-”

“Damn lies!” he spat, grabbing Nick’s shoulders, shaking him threateningly. Nick’s fist balled up again, but I saw him quickly loosen up. I could see his eyes slowly open and close and I knew something wasn’t quite right, and it wasn’t just the fact that Nick wouldn’t hit my father. “I forbid you to see her any longer!”

“You can’t do that!” I finally yelled, slamming my fist on the table, blocking everyone out. “You listen to me! If you lay another finger on him… I’ll-I’ll never speak to you again, and you can count on that. Let him go,” I demanded through gritted teeth. “I’m in love with him and I’m going to marry him, dammit! Whether you walk me down that aisle or not. And as for this baby… you better get used to it fast, because I’m keeping it and I don’t care if you never see it. Let him go!” He loosened his hold on Nick, his eyes narrowing down at him.

“Harold, please. He’s my son… I demand you let him go,” Mr. Jonas spoke up, using a firm but gentlemanly tone. My father quickly let him go and I watched him stumbled backwards, running a hand over his pale face, shutting his eyes tight.

“You’ll tell me what to do, yet you can’t even control your own son and his teenage hormones. Getting my daughter pregnant, she’s still a teenager!”

“Listen, please. I cannot control my son’s actions. We’ve always taught him the best to our ability and we see that this could be classified as a mistake, but they are grown… off in college and what they do, whether it be under this roof or the next, is not my responsibility. This family… we stick together, whether that be part of your life or not, Mitchie is apart of this family and we plan on supporting them fully. Nicholas is doing the right thing, on his own, without being told to. He loves your daughter, and I’m sorry if you do not approve, truly sorry, but this is how it goes, this is what’s happening right now and we think of it as a blessing. Please, calm down before anyone gets hurt,” he finished, holding out his hand in a gentle manner.

My eyes welled up with tears as I set a hand on nick’s shoulder, looking at him worriedly.

“Nick, are you okay?” I asked quickly, catching everyone’s attention. I didn’t care though. Gently pushing him down on the chair, I ran my hand over his face, gripping his chin gently. His innocent eyes bore into mine and he shook his head.

“I took my insulin off this morning… I-I uh, I need it,” he stuttered, running a shaky hand through his messy hair quickly. He was shaking from stress, fright, and now his lack of insulin.

“I got it!” Joe shouted, being one of the only people to speak up through this whole episode. I nodded quickly, turning back to Nick, bending down to his level.

“Nicholas… I’ll get you some orange juice,” Denise spoke quickly, running over to the fridge.

“Give him room, he looks faint,” Mr. Jonas spoke up, shooing everyone but me away; me who was clinging onto his arm like a lost child.

“I’m fine,” he muttered out loud, looking down with embarrassment. I heard a door slam in the background and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know it was my dad, but I had bigger problems than his childish behavior.