Chapter 1.03 Fear

Fear cuts deeper than swords

Waking up at five in the morning is bad enough. Feeling sick at half four is a hell of a lot worse.

Possibilities went through Erin's mind, trying to figure out what it was. Sure there was one option... But she just didn't want to think about that just yet, if not ever. She just convinced herself it was just allergies or food poisoning, even though the initial thought was screaming at her from the back of her mind.

It wasn't even bright outside, that's how early it was. Hell, Thomas wasn't even up yet, and that was saying something. He was up at stupid o'clock in the morning, just for work. That made Erin somewhat glad that she couldn't keep a job. 

After flushing the toilet and pulling away, she started to wonder about that nagging thought at the back of her mind. If it was that... She honestly wouldn't know what to do. On the occasions she did picture the future, she certainly didn't think about something like this happening this fast.

She wanted to be married before anything or anyone new came along. Or if not married, at least in a relationship. Crashing at some guy's house and a one night stand with a completely different guy wasn't exactly what she had in mind...

That thought honestly made Erin feel like a slut. She soon heard Thomas wake up, and she went to get breakfast.

She felt bad by only just realizing there was now a table, ah well, she had other things to think about, well at least a possibility of something.

"So, why are you up so early?" He asked between eating his jam on bread. Even though they had a table, they still didn't have a stove.

"Nice underwear, and I was throwing up." She mumbled, not in the mood to talk.

"Why?" He asked, concerned. "Did you catch something while you were out yesterday." He looked at her, and she just shrugged.

Her silence was the thing that killed their conversation and he soon went off to work, while Erin stayed in the house.

It was a horrible rainy morning. Erin wanted to go outside and feel the fresh air around her, and the soft grass under her shoes, yet she couldn't without getting a cold. Everything was dark and dreary outside, so she sighed, and walked away from the window.
Bad weather depressed her, even when she was little. She could never go outside in it without her mother yelling at her. Most people she knew lived far away too, so all she ever had to do when it was rainy was either try and amuse herself around her old apartment block, or practice her guitar.

Even her guitar didn't manage to make her happy either. Her mood seemed to almost reflect what was going on outside. She wanted to forget the bad thoughts and weather. She wanted to pretend everything was bright and sunny, even though it was raining.
She couldn't think straight with that bad thought pressed against her mind. She couldn't even play her guitar properly which wasn't a good thing. She kept getting the fingerings all wrong, especially with her c chord. She kept slipping on to string four and five instead of five and six.
Erin groaned annoyed and put the guitar down. She wanted to know whether the annoying thought was a reality or not. If it wasn't, then good, just a false alarm. If it was though, that would be a different story, and she would have to come up with some way of finding her own place, furniture and other 'b'-word stuff on no official income. The only money she had to rely on was random tips from amused pedestrians.
Either way, she had to know what it is. She got changed into her normal clothes and went to the hospital.

Thomas didn't like leaving Erin alone. Obviously there was something wrong that she wasn't telling him. Even though they have only known each other for a little while, he still thought that she could at least trust him with something that was probably important.

He figured he would probably know what was wrong sooner or later...

She teleported around the back of the hospital, mainly so no one would see her. She didn't need anyone finding out about her first secret. Erin knew that she had to stop collecting so many secrets, it wasn't a good thing.

She ran around to the front of the hospital as it was raining and she didn't have an umbrella. Umbrella's aren't exactly seen as too necessary right now. To say that they didn't even have a couch... Well, an umbrella could wait a while.

She really didn't want to go in though, partly because all hospitals are scary places.

She walked inside fairly slowly, her feet feeling as if they were lead. Her heart pounded, and she tried to stop her palms sweating. She tried to convince herself that she was fine, and it was just food poisoning or something.

She was glad that she didn't have to wait too long though. Probably because there were only so many people who actually lived in Dragon Valley. She and another few people were the only ones in there apart from the doctors.

Her feet and legs felt even heavier when she left, and she got the least wanted result. She would have been happy with anything but this. Erin felt scared and clueless of what to do. Even the doctor saw how scared she was. 

The doctor told Erin that she was pregnant.

She was so scared, terrified even. She had no clue what to do with kids, or what they actually need. In all honesty, she just wanted to have it and dump it outside an orphanage but she knew she couldn't do that... Everyone would know anyway, well things like that spread life wildfire around here anyway, so there would be no point doing that.

She saw a woman who was in there before her, and saw the doctor before she did. This woman was one of the people here who don't exactly look too normal, to put it nicely. She went over to this woman. 

"Can I talk to you?" She asked, going up to this woman, who didn't seem like she could work together outfits all to well...

The blue woman gave her an odd look, backing up a little bit "Do I know you from somewhere...? I don't think I do." She mused. Erin could tell this woman was from the richer area of Dragon Valley.

"No, you don't know me, but I could really do with some advice." Erin spoke quietly, scared. "We saw the same doctor, kind of for the same reason." 

"You're pregnant too? Oh, how nice." She smiled slightly. "Me and my husband already have a child together."

"This is my first." Erin mumbled, trying not to start crying. She envied what this other woman had, she had everything sorted out whereas Erin just banged some random guy who practically everyone knows.

"It really helps to have someone-" The blue woman started, then asked "Hey, are you okay?" She asked softly, noticing how Erin started crying.

"No. I'm really not okay." She mumbled, sobbing as she tried to dry her eyes. She honestly felt as if she was a teenager again, clueless and scared of telling anyone.

"Is it something I did?" The other woman mumbled, frowning. "I'm sorry if I said something."

Erin then shook her head, "Its not something you said." She mumbled, looking up at her "Just one thing though, how did you tell everyone?" She asked quietly/

The blue woman just shrugged "Plain and simple, like ripping off a band aid." She half smiled, "I'm sure you'll be fine though."

Erin nodded uneasily, and mumbled "Thanks for talking to me." She then got a cab. She was going to tell Danny, somewhat hoping that he wouldn't be an ass about all this.

"You look like you have something on your mind." The taxi driver pointed out. Erin didn't feel like speaking to anyone though. She was scared about how Danny would take the news. If he could be there for her... That would probably lift the hundred pound weight off of her shoulders.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Erin mumbled, as she looked out of the window. She rested her head against it, thinking everything through.

She wished she didn't act so starstruck and she wished that she didn't do it with him. If only she had thought it through, then she wouldn't be in this mess.

It was the worst time too. She had only been in Dragon Valley for so long and she was literally broke. There was only a penny or two to her name. The car pulled to a stop and her stomach dropped seeing his house. She thanked the driver and got out. That was one of the nice things about here, they didn't charge for cab rides, and Erin figured that she probably shouldn't teleport in her 'new condition'.

Doors aren't a scary thing. They were just wood and a bit of metal. They were the difference between outside and inside. They weren't scary, at all.

So why was she so scared?

Oh yeah, she had to tell the her rock star one night stand that she's pregnant. That's why she's scared.

She hesitated for a long time before knocking. Danny then let her in.

His house was very small and very simple, hardly what someone like him should have. Erin guessed this was probably because he was traveling around so much.

"There's something I have to tell you..." She managed to start, frowning. She was honestly amazed she still had her voice, and that it hasn't just faded into a squeak.

"I have too. If you're here for sex, then make it quick. I'm going in about an hour." He said simply, looking at her while he spoke. "I have another world tour, and I was thinking about staying somewhere else, maybe Isla Paridiso? I don't know."

Erin frowned "Wait, you're leaving for good?" She asked, starting to feel a little guilty. She didn't want to be the one getting in the way of his career...

"Yeah, for good. Why would I stay here? There are much hotter girls over there, ones that aren't blue and that aren't too easy." He grinned at her, "You pretty much fell into my hands, didn't you Evelyn?" 

"Its Erin." She folded her arms, insulted. "And like I said-" She then paused, reconsidering telling him. She figured that there was no point actually telling him. He would probably just shrug, and call her easy again. "Actually, no. I did come here for sex, but the whole gothic look it a real turn off." She pouted a little, before leaving.

She wasn't sure where exactly she was going to go in the future, but for now, the local school wanted her to play in an assembly. Erin didn't exactly want to, until they mentioned the money purposes. She figured that she should probably take it, how the hell else is she supposed to get any decent money?

Erin honestly felt nervous, if it wasn't for everything that had happened today, she would probably be worse though. She would have been more focused on what if she goes wrong rather than the rest of her life if she hadn't had the events of today.

The size of the school was nerve wrecking. It was huge! Even the doors were twice the size of Erin. However, it was a beautiful building.

After working hard and staying late, Thomas got a promotion with a pay rise and a bonus. He was honestly excited about it. He could finally furnish his house properly, and make into more of an actual home.

Also not leaving out the fact that he was one step closer to his dream. One step closer to being an astronaut, one step closer to going where only a handful have gone before...

Erin was please with herself, after doing the assembly and getting a lot of money for it too. Maybe she might be alright if she gets more opportunities like this, but it wouldn't be too likely. They'd just get bored of her after a while, and she doubted many other people would actually want someone performing for them, especially not someone who's unknown. 

She was about to get a taxi home, but soon realized that Thomas would be home. Its not that she was scared or anything, she was just nervous about telling him. She decided to go to the festival instead, and pick some of the flowers around there. She always went collecting things whenever she didn't want to go home.

Erin picked quite a lot of flowers, but she had no clue what to do with them all. After about an hour of stalling, she thought that she should go back home. She couldn't stay outside forever... She got a cab back home, and walked through the front door.

When she walked in, she saw him trying to light the fireplace for once, also there was a new couch in front of it. 

"Hey." She said, then moved to sit down on the couch. "There's something I have to tell you."

He nods, but she could tell he wasn't fully listening. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead and say it. I'm just trying to get this to work, I've never actually tried lighting it even though I've been here for like-"

"I'm pregnant." She interrupted him as she could tell he was going to start rambling. Well, what she said definitely caused silence. He got up and joined her on the couch.

"So... You're pregnant?" He asked, just to clear up. Maybe he was just heard wrong or something.

"Yep." She answered simply, kind of distantly. They both just stared straight into the fire, and she added "I found out today."

"Did you uh..." He then cleared his throat "Did you tell Danny?" He asked, and Erin shook her head.

"I tried, but then he started being a jerk. He's left for some world tour and he said he was going to live somewhere else instead." She mumbled, looking at the ground. "So, I'm going to be a single mom." Her voice lowered down to a whisper and she frowned. Her eyes stayed on the ground.

Erin looked back up at the fire, unaware of Thomas looking at her, "Do you have any idea of what you're going to do?" 

She shook her head, again. "No. I have absolutely no clue." She mumbled, tears in her eyes. "I earned a bit of money through playing at a school, but that's all I've got. I've got about enough for a crib but that's all. Nothing for my own place and nothing for anything else." She frowned.

"You know you can just stay here as long as you like." He half smiled at her. "I really don't mind you staying."

She frowned, "I don't just want to be a freeloader though. I want to at least try to help you out. I don't want to just be living here..."

"Then if you really want, you can help me pay for stuff, like bills and additions to the house." He shrugged.

Erin looked at him "You want this house to be bigger?" 

He nods, grinning slightly "Well, yeah. I don't want this place staying too small."

She laughed a little "That's so adorable, you've thought about everything you wanted, haven't you?" She grinned. 

"Yeah, maybe." He mumbled, and Erin could tell he was at least a little embarrassed. He then changed subject "But seriously, you can stay here if you want."

She smiled softly, and hugged him "Thank you." She kissed him quickly on the cheek. "You're a really sweet guy." She smiled and for the first time that day, Erin felt alright about soon becoming a mommy.

Chapter 1.02 The Teleporting Busker                      

Chapter 1.04 Something Wicked This Way Comes

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AN: Ah, this took me a lot longer than I originally anticipated... Oh well, at least its up now. 

Also Story Progression set up Erin's (Somewhat in a kind of way) ex boyfriend within about an ingame hour of them breaking up. I think I should try to edit that somehow, or at least break them up... 

Meh, I'll do that later.