Even the Sun Sets in Paradise

I arrived at work the next day still feeling exhausted. It was just Brianne and I again, and I was taking a liking to her. She was so cheerful and happy, always jumping around and giggling. I guess she was the complete opposite to Mel; Mel being very calm and knowledgeable, and Brianne being more hyper and ever so slightly blonde. I wasn’t sure they’d get on well together though.
“I’m so fucking hungry,” I groaned, opening another bag of breadsticks. I wasn’t too fond of breadsticks, but everyone seemed to eat them when they were pregnant, so why not?
“What is with you? You’re acting like you’re pregnant,” Brianne joked, rolling her eyes.
“What?” I gasped quickly, maybe too quickly, because Brianne’s eyes immediately widened in shock.
“Shit, you’re pregnant!” she cried.
“No I’m not.”
“Jenna, you’re eating breadsticks like there’s no tomorrow, you’re always feeling sick, and no offense, but you look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”
“Thanks,” I frowned sarcastically.
“So are you pregnant or what?”
“No.”
“You little liar,” she laughed, “Who have you been screwing?”
“Shh,” I cried, trying to shut her up. Sure, the shop was empty, but I knew things had a way of getting around one way or another.
“Who’s the dad?” she squealed.
“Look, do you pinky promise not to tell anyone?” I asked.
“I swear down.”
“Okay,” I sighed, “Do you know the band After Dark?”
“Duh, they were in my year at school and they’ll be famous before long.”
“You know Layton Murray?”
“Shit Jenna, you’re like four years younger than him! Isn’t that illegal?”
“Don’t remind me,” I frowned, “Someone spiked my drink, okay? I woke up the next morning, had no recollection of what happened, and Layton had conveniently decided to run off, so a month later when I had a blood test, I was only a bit shocked to find out I was pregnant.” Brianne then collapsed into uncontrollable laughter, clearly finding this absolutely hilarious.
“Sorry,” she frowned, trying to compose herself.
“Oh it’s fine. Since you seem to see the funny side in this, please enlighten me,” I joked, and she laughed some more.
“Are you not excited though?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Maybe a little bit, but it’s not exactly the best time, is it?”
“When’s it due?”
“March 3rd.”
“Well, if you ever want me to babysit, I’d be more than happy.”
“Thank you so much,” I grinned, giving her a hug.
“It’s alright, have you told Sally yet?”
“No,” I whispered, “How do you think she’ll react?”
“Oh, she’ll be fine. Trust me, she’s the nicest person in the world; she’ll be more excited than me.”
“She’ll probably think I’m a right slut,” I mumbled, only half-jokingly.
“She won’t. You know she got pregnant when she was sixteen?”
“Seriously?” I gasped.
“Yeah. She had an abortion obviously, but she’s regretted it every day since.”
“I had no idea,” I sighed, “Shit, that’s terrible. Okay, well could we maybe wait a month or so, just until I get settled?”
“Alright.”

When I got home that night, I was only slightly disappointed to realise that the guys were round, including Layton.
“Hey,” I muttered quickly, rushing upstairs to my room. I had lots of homework over the summer, so I decided to make a start on that since there was nothing else to do. In a way, I was glad that Layton and Ellis were alright again, because I would hate to be responsible for ruining their friendship, but I just didn’t like Layton being anywhere near me. I was still majorly pissed off, and in total disbelief. It just freaked me out to think that I had actually had sex with Layton. He was going to be the father of my child! I honestly never expected in a million years that we would be having a baby together.
Coincidentally, the homework I was doing was for Child Development. It was one of the few lessons I actually enjoyed. I guess it was also one of the few things that actually came in handy knowing.
“Jenna!” Ellis called up the stairs.
“What?” I asked worriedly.
“Can you come down here a minute?” I frowned, not exactly thrilled at the prospect of seeing Layton. Reluctantly, I did as I was told.
I wandered nervously into the kitchen. Cyrus came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. Thankfully, Layton was sitting in the living room with Rowan.
“How’s the little one?” he asked.
“Who you talking about – the baby or her?” Ellis joked.
“Very funny,” I muttered sarcastically, “The baby’s fine, thank you for asking.”
“Foetus!” Ellis corrected.
“I think you’ll find it’s still an embryo, since we’re being picky,” I smirked, “Anyways, what’s up?”
“We’re ordering pizza,” Ellis grinned.
“You legend.”
We spent the next ten minutes arguing over who was having what, which irritated me more since I was so hungry.

When the food finally arrived, I was so fucking relieved. It bothered me that Layton was sitting in the living room, acting like nothing had happened, but I was determined not to let him get the better of me. Being strong was starting to become a habit now, and I was glad.
“So what’s the deal with you two then?” Cyrus asked me and Layton, instantly creating a tense atmosphere in the room. Layton looked at me for the first time that evening, but my expression remained blank. I was still mad, and I wasn’t sure I was able to manage a smile.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged.
“Can I just say, Layton I do think you’re an absolute dickhead for not telling her sooner, that’s dread,” Cyrus explained, “But you two are having a baby together; you need to get your shit together.”
“We’re not together,” I said quickly.
“I know, but you still need to communicate without killing each other. Layton, I don’t know what the hell you were thinking keeping it from her, so I think you owe it to her to run around doing pretty much everything for her throughout the pregnancy…but Jenna, you need to actually let him.” I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped myself. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to say. I appreciated that all the guys could see how much of a dick Layton had been and part of me wouldn’t mind having someone wait on me hand and foot, but I didn’t want that person to be Layton.
“Whatever. I’m going to bed,” Layton muttered, picking up his phone and walking upstairs. For some reason, that really pissed me off. A sudden wave of anger surging through me, I got up off the sofa and followed him. I wouldn’t let him walk all over me this time.