Pure Morning

20

"Fired?!" Rick exclaimed as he stared towards Jenna with angered, bulgy eyes.

"Hold on, what I'm trying to tell you is--"

"You know that job was helping towards paying bills in this house so why the Hell are you saying it like it's no big deal?" he continued, threateningly walking closer to her.

Jenna's Mom grabbed Rick's hand a gave it a light tug, an indication he was getting too temperamental.

"Did I not just tell you I had a hard time dealing with it, hence my lateness? And really Rick, why are you even talking to me right now? You haven't bothered acknowledging my existence for weeks, so why do it now? Besides, we both know you're nothing of mine. So whatever goes on in my life, well that doesn't pertain to you," she said and instinctively clutched her hand against her belly as she saw him gradually approach.

"Doesn't pertain to me? In case you haven't noticed, I am the man of this house and bring money into it. I'm afraid everything that goes on here is my business. That includes you, Jenna. Whether you like it or not. Now, why the Hell did you get fired?"

"You obviously don't bring enough money to the house, considering your reliance on me to help get bills paid. Now I have something important to tell Mom," Jenna nervously began.

"Okay then, tell her," Rick said and folded his arms across his chest.

"In private," Jenna said, suddenly feeling intimidated by Rick.

His posture was indicative that he would truly lash out on her at any given moment. She observed the expression on his face, it looked like he wanted to hit her more than anything. She then looked at her Mother's face, a much more subtle expression over her features. Of course, she had pretty much grown used to Jenna's unruly behaviour. Jenna felt that at this point, nothing she could have told her Mother would really shock her. But Rick on the other hand always sought to keep Jenna under a close guard, not letting anyone get really close to her, male company in particular. That was most likely the reason why he loathed wiL so much. Not even because of the influence with drugs he had over her. That of course, was her Mom's sole reason for wanting wiL away from Jenna. That and the difference in age. Jenna was now finding it more difficult to break the news of her pregnancy. She immediately saw Rick had no intention of giving them privacy to talk. She would have to deal with that and give the news in front of him. The thought of his reaction instilled fear in her, especially since wiL was outside of the house.

"Nope, I'm staying right here. Whatever news you have to give your Mother, I want to hear. I am just as much a part of this family as everyone else. Go ahead, say whatever it is you have to say," he said and began rapidly tapping his foot against the ground.

"Say it!" he yelled, causing Jenna to flinch.

"Rick, calm down," her Mom said nervously glancing back and forth from Jenna to Rick.

Jenna then heard footsteps become more pronounced and saw Josie make her way down the stairs.

"Can you guys please keep it down? I'm trying to study," she irritably said and then took notice of the tension in the room.

"Uh, is everything alright?" she cautiously asked as she looked around.

"No, it isn't. Just ask your lovely sister," Rick said in between clenched teeth.

"I got fired, okay? Not as big a deal as Rick here is making it out to be," Jenna responded and rolled her eyes.

"That's it," Rick muttered and charged at Jenna, roughly taking hold of her hair, scrunching the tips as he tugged.

"Rick, let go of me!" she whimpered and tried desperately to get his hands off.

"Rick, stop it!" her Mom called out, now visibly intimidated.

Josie stood by their Mom's side, repeatedly yelling for him to let go of Jenna, but this only infuriated Rick more. He reacted by tightening his grasp on Jenna's hair and yanked at it even harder as he pressed his chin against her shoulder.

"We're gonna go right to that restaurant and you're gonna get your job back. Go!" he said and pushed her towards the door as he maintained a firm grip on her.

He took one hand and forced the door open, harshly shoving Jenna out, causing her to fall on the cement.

"Get up," he muttered and picked her back up by the hair.

wiL's car door immediately flung opened as he got out and ran towards them.

"Let go of her, she's fucking pregnant!"

Rick instantly let Jenna go and stepped back.

"Jenna, you're what?" her Mom yelled and put her hand up to her mouth.

Jenna couldn't even find the words.

Brian

London

7:30 A.M.

Brian gave a low sniff as he snorted his last line. He leaned back against the wall and exhaled as he thought of what a dumb fuck he had been acting like lately. He'd pretty much gone back to his old careless self. Over two months had passed since his arrival back to London and instead of trying to spend time with his son and mend things with Cristi like he had initially set out to do, he spent most of his days alone and snorting cocaine. Stefan would come over some days and Brian would make his best efforts to conceal his inner hysteria, but he knew Stefan suspected he had gone back to his old ways. He never said much about Brian's behaviour but he definitely wasn't stupid. This cycle had to end. He must have had over thirty messages on his answering machine, mostly from Cristi and Steve. As he sat in thought, he realized the last time he had seen his son was over two weeks. Why hadn't Cristi bothered actually coming over to let him see Alex? Oh yes, his unkempt state would be enough to scar the poor boy for life. And Cristi definitely was aware of that. She was more than likely making arrangements to keep Alex to herself and never let Brian see him again.

As soon as this thought crossed Brian's mind, he jolted upright on his feet. He dizzily walked to the bathroom and leaned forward as he took a close look at himself in the mirror. He really did look like utter shit. His eyes looked clouded and gray, large dark patches circling under them. His face was extremely prickly, running all the way down to his neck and his nose was also red and irritated, slightly peeled skin crusted over the edges. His appearance alone was sufficient motivation for him to clean himself up. He proceeded to get in the shower and shave, ridding himself of his trashed look. After a little over an hour, he had finally finished. His apartment had grown to be dim and dark over the past few weeks, hardly allowing any light inside. Brian opened the blinds to each window; it felt as if he hadn't seen any sort of light in ages. Both literally and metaphorically. Steve suddenly came to his thoughts. He must have still been in California, enjoying himself while Brian was disintegrating in his own pity.

As he sat and listened to each message on his answering machine, Brian came to the realization that something had to be done to put his life back on track. He couldn't just sit there and waste the remainder of his life away. Each of Cristi's messages reproached him for his negligence and implored that he spend time with his son, while Steve's messages expressed concern for Brian's well-being, often speaking of his experiences in California. It then occurred to him that the best thing he could have done at the moment was put distance. Maybe join Steve in California and stop feeling pity for himself? Yes, that sounded like a rational thing to do. After all, Steve did invite him to join him before he departed. Brian began to think things over more carefully. He then decided he would first go spend time with his son to prove to Cristi he was perfectly capable of looking after him. Then, he would go to California. He mindlessly picked his phone up and dialed Steve's number.

"Steve, I'm going to California."

"What the Hell did this dumbass just say?" Rick questioned, his face even redder than before.

"You heard him. I'm pregnant. So don't ever put your fucking hands on me again," Jenna bitterly said as she sustained herself on wiL once he helped her back on her feet.

"Holy shit," Josie whispered and nodded as she looked down.

"Jenna, when did this happen? I thought we had explicitly told you not to hang around this guy ever again," her Mom said as she walked up next to where Rick was standing, heavily breathing.

"Yeah well I want to be around wiL. I love him. I've told you this so many times already."

"My question wasn't whether or not you 'love' him, Jenna. I asked you when did this happen. So go ahead, explain. I'm waiting," she insisted.

"About a month ago. And I'm sorry, but you guys are just going to have to deal with it," she plainly said as she hugged wiL tighter.

"Damn, I knew this would happen. And Mom, I told her many times she needed to stay away from wiL. She would never listen. Well obviously, she's pregnant. Gosh, Jenna," Josie said and looked towards Jenna's torso.

"Yep, she's definitely showing."

"You shut the fuck up, Josie. Stop always trying to look good in front of Mom. You're not perfect, you know."

"Yeah well at least I'm not pregnant. That says something."

"You know what--"

"Babe, calm down. Your sister can say whatever she wants. Doesn't change a thing," wiL said, trying to reassure Jenna.

"Damn right it doesn't change a thing! Really, how long were you planning on waiting before telling us? Because if wiL wouldn't have said anything, I'm pretty sure you would have kept silent," her Mom interjected.

"Actually, I was planning on telling you the minute I got home but Rick obviously didn't let me. You saw the way he attacked me. But no Mom, like always, you have to be on his side, reproaching me for even breathing. And you're no help either, Josie. You always go and make me look like more of a fuck-up."

"Look guys, I know you hate me and think I'm the worst fuckin' influence for Jenna. But the fact is I really do love her. And I want you to know that I'm with her through all of this. She's got my support. We're also keeping the kid, just so you know," wiL said and let Jenna go for a brief moment, lighting a cigarette.

"I wouldn't suggest that. I mean, look at you two. Do you really see yourselves as potential parents? You're smoking a fucking cigarette right now around your pregnant girlfriend. That really says a lot about you. Who knows the kinds of trash you've been feeding Jenna. Just think, you'll probably end up raising the baby to be a druggie, just like you. If it even makes it out of the womb alive, that is," Rick said and sarcastically snorted.

"Rick! Watch what you say. You can't--"

"I really don't give a shit about what you have to say, old man. We have nothing to prove to you," wiL said and crushed the fag against the sidewalk with the sole of his shoe.

"Yeah, I also really could care less. You don't have to defend me, Jeanine. Nobody does."

"You know, Jenna," Rick suddenly started.

"What now, Rick?" Jenna irritably said.

"You don't want to deal with me ever again, do you?"

"Well if you really want to know, no. No, I don't want to have to deal with you. You're not the nicest guy, you know."

"Well since you say I'm not the nicest guy and I'm so horrible to you, the best thing you could do right now would be to leave," he sternly said, trying to maintain a cool and collected exterior.

"Leave, as in leave the house?" Jenna said in disbelief.

"Yes, we obviously can't live in the same house anymore. And since you're so grown-up, you can handle the responsibility."

"But--"

"Jenna, maybe it is best if you leave this house," wiL suddenly said.

"But where the Hell would I go?"

"Come live with me, of course. Where else?"

"Come on, Rick. You can't be serious. You'd really kick me out of the house for being pregnant?" And Mom, don't you have anything to say? You're just gonna let Rick kick me out like this?"

"Oh now you call me Mom? Actually, I kind of agree with Rick. You've lived so used to getting your way and have always disobeyed us that I think it's time you embraced this wake-up call. I've tried countless times to get you on the right track and each time you have refused. Now look where you are; pregnant and still in high school. You've said many times to me that you can take care of yourself. Well here's your chance to prove it. Plus, you have wiL. Isn't that all you need?"

"I really can't believe what I am hearing right now. And you, Josie?"

"I agree with Mom. No one told you to go out and get pregnant. Especially with this loser," she said and nodded towards wiL, who gave her the finger.

"Wow, fine then. The moment I need you guys most, you turn your back on me. But you're right, Mom. I do have wiL. And I know he would never turn his back on me the way you're all doing right now. I'm just gonna go in and pack my stuff," she said and began walking past Rick, who instantly stopped her from going any further.

"Just go," he lowly said.

"Um, that's exactly what I'm about to do. Just let me go get my stuff," she said and attempted to make her way past him once more.

"I don't think you understood me. You're leaving, now."

"So you're not going to let me even pack my belongings?" Jenna asked, in shock.

"Nope. You've earned this. You want to live the hard way? Well fine, go ahead."

"Rick, you're being very cruel. I need my stuff!"

"Jenna, leave before I lose what little patience I have left. Go."

Jenna stood on wobbly knees, shooting one last helpless look to her Mother, then to Josie. They were all in apparent agreement and had no intention of intervening to help her out. With that, Jenna clutched wiL's hand tighter and the two of them silently walked to his car. Jenna began to uncontrollably sob as soon as she got inside, taking one last look at her 'family' before departing the neighborhood. She felt helpless and feared for what would become of her life. How could one morning have altered her life so drastically?