Gen Two- Chapter Forty

Given how many times I had run my hands through my hair in the past several hours, I wouldn't have been surprised if I ended up taking out chunks of my hair. I didn't even care to stop the behavior, because I didn't know what to do otherwise. The weeks had passed- slowly and agonizingly, but they passed regardless. I dreaded each new day with a fitful anticipation that had me sick to my stomach. I was certain with my bad luck that the worst would come to pass. However, a brief glimmer of hope resided in my chest when the days kept coming and going and the news didn't arrive. I wondered if I was actually safe. Of course, I could never be so lucky. The revelation came to dad by way of a text from Uncle Al earlier in the morning. When he in turn revealed it to me, I became a useless body of mixed emotions. I had always imagined hearing such information to be a happy one, and I was certainly trying to find some happiness inside me somewhere. Unfortunately, I could only sulk about the house at the moment.

     "Don't be sad, Coal," Glade stood in front of me trying to cheer me up, "You're going to be a great daddy."

I slowly rose my head to look at her with a dull stare.

     "If you need help, I can help you," she continued, undeterred, "I don't really like messy diapers, but I'd be willing to help take them off and throw them away if you do the wiping part."

Okay, I laughed just a bit at that. That was quite the offer from a girl who was as fussy about staying clean as Prism was.

     "Thanks. I'd really appreciate that." I spoke while managing a small smile.

     "No problem!" Glade beamed, "You helped me a lot as a baby, so now I'm going to help you a lot."

     "You are too sweet. Stay that way." I urged, pulling her into a hug.

She giggled at the sudden embrace and looked proud that she managed to get me out of my stupor, even if I knew it would only be momentary.

     "Would you be interested in doing something for me right now?" I wondered.

     "What?"

     "I was thinking of heading over to Uncle Eden's to hang out with Mary. Doodle needs someone to take him and out and play with him though. Would you be up for that?"

     "Oh, can I take him over to Guppie's house? Mom already said I could go over there, and she has a fenced yard and other dogs he can play with." Glade asked eagerly.

     "Sounds perfectly fine to me."

My sister grew energized at the plan. Guppie's house apparently had a large pool like ours did, and Glade called her friend to make sure they could go swimming. I didn't listen to the conversation for too long, but it sounded like the two were not trying to set up a little pool party with a few more friends. I thought back nostalgically to the days like those, but that only dropped my mood further as I shuffled my way towards Uncle Eden's place. I walked straight through the door without knocking like always, although Rosemary was aware I was coming. She stood in the living room talking with Uncle Eden, who was watching television.

     "Morning, Coal." he greeted me with his usual smile.

     "Morning." Rosemary added.

     "Morning, you two." I attempted to answer as upbeat as possible.

As it was, even I could tell there was something about my posture or tone of voice that made it incredibly clear there was something I held back. I sighed mentally and then sighed outwardly as both Uncle Eden and Rosemary looked at me with expectant curiosity. They'd been waiting for the news as much as I had.

     "Mimosa got exactly what she wanted. She's pregnant." I told them with a hint of a bite.

     "Well, that's...that is what it is." Uncle Eden responded uncertainly.

I gave him a halfhearted nod and shrug combination before turning to my cousin.

     "Wanna go upstairs?" I requested.

     "Sure."

It wasn't that I didn't want to discuss the matter in front of Uncle Eden. I just wanted to talk to Rosemary first. Uncle Eden and I were naturally close, but he was still one of the adults.

     "You seem to be holding up well." Rosemary noted after she closed the door to her bedroom behind us.

     "Oh, don't worry. I'm getting to the panicking stage. It set in a bit earlier, and once the shock wears off I'm terrified of what's going to happen."

     "I don't think you have to stress too much. You're going to be an amazing dad. Just look at how much Riny loves you."

     "Thanks," I said with a half smile, "Everyone has pretty much said that so far, and, surprisingly, I don't know if that's even a thing I'm concerned with at this point. I have a decently trained hand when it comes to looking after a baby, and with a family such as the one we have I think I'll be stopped and corrected far before I do anything that would screw the baby up or set him or her on the wrong path. It's more that..."

Rosemary smiled sympathetically when I exhaled loudly again.

     "I'm freaking out more about how this is going to affect everything else that's screwed up right now. It's been over a month, but Holly still won't talk to me unless we physically see each other. Even then it's hardly anything but condescending comments. I thought we would at least be able to talk rationally at this point, but with every passing weekend I'm growing more and more afraid that I'm clinging on to a dead horse of a relationship."

Rosemary opened her mouth to say something, but I continued before that could happen.

     "And I have no clue what to do about Mimosa. The court order wore off, but she is taking tiny doses of her medication because she's finally admitted it does keep her mind clearer. However, it's not enough to get rid of that extreme irrationality. If anything, it's worse that she's not off her medicine entirely. Her disease is controlling enough to have her come up with all these ridiculous ideas, and the pills are allowing her to be in control enough to actually act on them. It's not bursts of emotions like what happened in the hospital, but scarily well thought out steps to achieving her goals."

     "What else has she been doing?" Rosemary asked in concern.

     "Nothing yet, but when she was shoving wedding dress pictures into my face the other day I found some outlines in the file folder the pictures were in of ways she think she can coerce me into marriage if I continue to be stubborn about not marrying her. She's definitely concocting more when no one is looking."

     "What about those ideas for getting her under control that your dad, Blaze, and Uncle Allium came up with?"

     "We all want to avoid a legal case unless things go extreme. The plan if that happens is to start with assault charges from the hospital incident, and if there's no way around it then press for the rape by deception. I do understand those charges are the only real way to get Mimosa both under control and the help she needs, but...there's too much else I'm struggling with. I remember how crazy all those months were when you guys were dealing with the custody battle. I feel like that might start really breaking me." I explained with soft, dreaded despair.
     "I can understand that." Rosemary nodded solemnly.
     "They did low-key threaten the mental hospital part to Mimosa at one point though," I pressed forward, "We do think that is actually some of the reason why she's continued her medication. Uncle Al and dad are hoping that's the first step in the right direction, and she has been relatively under control since then. Except around me. She thinks since we were together once she has the right to kiss me and stuff whenever she wants."

     "I'm so sorry." Rosemary comforted.

A long pause took over the room while she studied me closely.

     "Do you want to keep talking, or is this one of those times where a distraction is needed more?" she offered kindly.

     "Distraction, please." I requested with a puppy dog pout.

Rosemary laughed and complied. I was soon amused as well when she pulled out a plastic briefcase of sorts. It was one of her coloring stations from when she was a child, and Aunt Deny had recently found it during her spring cleaning. I was more than down for a good, old fashioned coloring session. Riny currently had an obsession with crayons, so I considered myself quite talented with them as of late. Rosemary and I lay on the floor as we doodled and decorated. A great collection of true masterpieces were soon scattered around us. An infant crying was eventually what interrupted the fun. At first believing it was the stressing news received earlier causing me to go crazy, when I saw Rosemary had noticed it too I figured out what the crying actually was.

     "Hey, you at least look like you've gotten a few more hours of sleep this week." Uncle Eden bantered at Malachite as the infant Malachite held in his arms slowly quieted his whimpers.
     "Yeah, I feel like I could run a marathon right now." Malachite responded sarcastically, some humor shining through the exhausted expression he wore.

Rosemary bounded over to them.

     "Little Lightning, how are you?" she gushed at her nephew.

She frowned at me when I snatched him out of Malachite's arms before she could. Malachite laughed when she pouted at him.

     "Hey, I don't care who holds him as long as I get a break. If you want your cuddles, you're going to have to fight Coal for them." he teased.
     "You get to see him a lot more than I do," I reasoned at Rosemary, "It's my turn to hog him."
     "Yeah, but you'll be having your own to hold all you like now, so I should have preference." Rosemary retorted.
     "Is that how things have turned out?" Malachite looked at me with that mild concern everyone had shown so far.
     "Yes, several tests have confirmed Mimosa is pregnant."
     "Well..."

And like everyone else, myself included, Malachite proved he had no idea how to response to the information. No one knew whether to be happy or sad, and no one even dared to approach the debate on whether the pregnancy was a good or bad turn in the situation. That included Aunt Deny, who Rosemary and I hadn't been aware had been coming to join the group. She, like Malachite then did, promised her help when the child was born, and we went back to ignoring it by gushing over my first cousin once removed, who appeared to delight in the plethora of people surrounding him.

I wanted to spend all day with Rosemary, but duty compelled me to leave. The last thing I wanted was to see Mimosa, but there was some sort of unspoken compulsion that dragged me to the house I never wanted to enter again. It was no longer possible for me to remember the good times I had spent in there. All my negative emotions magnified in those purple and pink walls. Spotting Holly through the window and understanding she was home for the weekend again shuffled my steps even slower. She had been bringing home things from her dorm the past weeks to make moving out once the school year ended insanely easier. I had thought enough had been brought to make this weekend one where she would stay at school, but nothing could go right. With a reluctance that almost drove me home, I knocked on the door before instantly letting myself in. If I let Mimosa open the door, she would try to sneak a tight hug as I walked through the door. She tried to hug me regardless. However, I at least a bit more room to work with. Mimosa did indeed engage in a ridiculous dance of sorts as she went for me while I dodged her after she noticed my arrival. Thankfully, I suppose, she took it as a game and giggled after giving up.

     "You took too long to come over- the first thing you should have done was be here right away. I have so many plans. I've also got a whole list of names written. We'll want to pick multiple in case we have twins. A history of them runs in both our families, so we can't be caught off guard. I was also thinking that after we married and I moved in with you, we should move Cerise in your room and Glade into Prism's- that way we can make Cerise's current rooms ours while Glade's can be the nursery." she rattled off in a single, impossibly long breath.
     "I've heard the great news that you're going to be a father," Holly chimed in with a bitter, sickeningly sweet sarcasm that stung my chest, "You two are going to make the cutest kid."

I didn't even move my head in her direction. Looking hurt at anything she said only seemed to make Holly satisfied with herself while showing anger or resentment at the words shoved our relationship further apart. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to look Mimosa straight in the eye.

     "It's wonderful you're excited about the baby. I agree it is a good idea to consider names and plan in case multiples happen," I conceded slightly, "However, I will say it and continue to say it for as long as I have to- now matter how many years go by with my words being useless. I am not in love with you, Mimosa. I will never be in love with you. I will never live with you, much less marry you."
     "But you have to," she pressed determinedly, "Don't you want the baby to have its parents be married? If we're not together by the time it's born, it'll be illegitimate."
     "Mimosa, no one has cared about that kind of stuff for centuries. Legitimacy and birthrights- it's pretty much nothing more than fiction now. The baby is not going to suffer in any way because's we're not legally bound. Look at Mal and Lavender. They're not married. They have no plans to be married anytime soon, yet they're a perfectly happy family."
     "Okay, well, I guess I can be satisfied with just being your girlfriend until you do want to get married."
      "That's not what I meant, and that should have been obvious," I frowned, "I do not want any sort of relationship with you. After what you did, I don't even want to be friends. The lone reason I'm having anything to do with you anymore is because you are pregnant. I will respect you since you're carrying a child of mine, but that's as far as my feelings go. Once the child is born, I have every intention of making sure our custody is equal but separate so I can interact with you as little as I can."

Mimosa obviously wasn't pleased at that, but it was Holly who spoke.

     "Oh, come now, Coal. Don't act like being with her is such a miserable idea," she continued in the same manner in which she spoke before, and I couldn't stop myself from sending a glare her way, "You've already proven you can like Mimi just fine if you stop thinking about things so much. From what I heard, it sounds like you had a great time. There's no need to hide it."
     "Don't even go there," I replied sharply, my eyes narrowing, "Any sort of feelings or pleasure created in response to her was because I thought she was you. I regret that I didn't have the insight to stop everything before it went too far, but don't you dare twist the crime she committed on me into some kind of below the belt insult."

I shot her a truly nasty look. All Holly did was give an uninterested 'whatever' type of shrug that brushed me off as if I was being over-dramatic. It took a lot of strength to keep my tongue quiet at that.

     "If you want to discuss names, that is the only topic of conversation that is going to keep me here. Otherwise, I'm getting a drink of water and leaving until the baby is born." I huffed, grinding my heel into the floor as I shifted towards the sink.

If I had been smart, I should have given the ultimatum and simply left for home. Even getting a quick glass of water from the kitchen gave Mimosa too much time to ruin everything even more. Although, she probably would have done the same thing if I went for the front door as well.

     "Coal, hang on." she called for me.

Continuing to not be the brightest, I turned back around on the command instead of ignoring her. Some silly part of me thought Mimosa did actually want to talk seriously. Instead, I barely faced her before she took a huge step forward to catch me off guard. She shoved her lips onto mine before my reflexes could kick in, and her arms were like whips that went to cling themselves around my chest.

Opening her arms was as far as she got. Instantly incited fury took control, and the unparalleled strength it gave me had me wrenching Mimosa off like it was nothing. She stumbled back, looked insulted, and frowned at me as if I was in the wrong.

     "STOP!" I belted at her, "I swear to god, don't get close to me! Just being in your presence makes me physically sick, and it gets worse every time you pull shit like this! What the hell are you thinking?!"
     "I'm trying to put you in a better mood. Holly was right- you did enjoy our time before. It doesn't have to be her for you to like it. You just need to change your mindset." she explained.
     "NO! That's not how it is! Even if it was, I fucking said no! A hundred million times I've said it! You already lied your way into having sex with me! You clearly don't have any actual respect for me at all, and I'm not going to put up with you even one more time!"
     "Coal, would you stop being so crabby?" Mimosa retorted back.

She went to reach for me. Her hand was swatted away with a loud smack.

     "Stay away!"
     "Coal." Mimosa huffed at me.

One more time she reached out her hand, and it was hit away with even more fury.

     "Mimosa, you're begging for trouble." Holly finally found reason and approached to quell her sister's attempts.

It was a reaction made a second too slow. Mimosa didn't listen to Holly, and she certainly didn't listen to me. She didn't stretch her hand out again. She took another leaping step for another kiss. It was the worst possible thing for her to do in that moment. Her presence truly sickened me, and the thought of her continuing to treat me like her toy had emotion and instinct flying free. I took a massive step back, and that was what had her kiss missing. What forced her to pedal back herself was my fist making solid contact with her cheek.

Honestly, I would have full out punched her if the angle had been better. A true, and satisfying, crack rang out at the impact regardless, and I felt nothing when Mimosa stumbled back with a hand on her cheek, tears in her eyes, and an expression of betrayed horror. Well, I didn't feel any negative emotions about slapping her. I felt perfectly justified, and I strode out of the house with my head held high as Mimosa burst into obnoxious crying while Holly called for me to wait.

I reasoned not everyone would think the same thing I did though. That's why I didn't want across the street to my house. I walked down the road, and I kept on walking. The miles were covered swiftly. The rolling hills suddenly broke away to reveal the river dotted with berry bushes that the city got its name from. I crossed the main bridge to enter the bustling mid-morning city foot traffic. My hurried pace continued, and after perhaps another hour I thought of a good place I might be welcome.

Although, I had only been to that place once. A lot of the apartment buildings looked the same, and I wasn't sure when I first entered if I was even in the right one. Still, I took the elevator to the floor I knew was the right number, and, lo and behold, my memory hadn't failed me. I had no idea how to explain to Raze why I was around, and I got no time to come up with one. Walking around in her living room, she spotted me through her glass door the instant I stepped out of the elevator.

The good part was that she wasted no time letting me in. I was ushered inside almost eagerly, and taking five steps forward showed me Raze wasn't home alone.

     "Oh, Coal, it is so good to see you again," her mother rushed over to me from the kitchen, "We haven't heard much since you got out of the hospital. How have you been doing?"
     "There's...there's been the expected ups and downs." I answered nonchalantly.
     "I can imagine. You're looking so much better though," she smiled, "I wasn't aware you were coming over. There's some leftovers from breakfast, but I'll also be preparing lunch before too long."
     "That's alright. I ate not too long ago, though thank you. And, I'm sorry. I know my arrival was kind of sudden. I..."

Raze then wrapped both her arms around my left one.

     "We're going to go upstairs to have kinky sex in my room." she addressed her mother almost proudly.
     "Th-That is not what-" I began to sputter.
     "Dear, don't worry," Raze's mother comforted me, laughing somewhat, "She has a ridiculous sense of humor, and I am well accustomed to it by now."
     "Guess, I still have a bit of adjusting to do myself." I said, giving Raze a look, yet finding myself almost laughing too as with her it was just a joke I could more than handle.

Raze and I ended up in her room anyway. I hadn't been in it on my first time here, and it was exactly what I expected- a good amount of black, flame wallpaper, and rebellious posters hanging the walls. However, it did smell surprisingly nice. Some sort of vanilla, if my nose was catching the scent right.

     "So, what's got you over here? Does it have anything to do with that old friend of yours screwing you over?" Raze asked.
     "You know about that?"
     "I did make friends with Coconut online all that long while back. I've been getting the trickles of information he's can offer from the trickles of information he's been getting. I don't know much. Just that you ended up sleeping with your girlfriend's twin sister or something, which doesn't sound like you."
     "That's Mimosa. She's the one who attacked me at the hospital," I relayed, my voice growing angry again, "She was born mentally ill, and now that she's not taking her medicine properly she's gone completely nuts. She kept trying to grope me for months before I was kidnapped, and she staged this elaborate ruse by pretending to be Holly, her twin, in order for me to sleep with her. She also broke my condom on purpose with the hopes of getting pregnant, and I found out this morning that she is. Mimosa thinks that it requires me to marry her, and she fully believes I'm hers to do whatever she wants with. I didn't want to see her, but I went to her house to briefly discuss the pregnancy. She managed to sneak a kiss on me, and when she kept trying to get in more I lost it and slapped her. I had a feeling you might be willing to offer me a place of refuge for a while. I don't want to go home right now. I just want to get out of the mess for a day."
     "Hey, I owe you a lot after you helped me out that evening. We're cool. You can come over and crash whenever you like."

I let out a huge held breath of relief. Just by hearing that, I felt almost normal. Raze's place truly was a refuge. No one would think this was the place I would go, and Raze was that kind of person that somehow opened you right up.

     "You have a great view." I said after taking a moment to calm down better.
     "It is pretty great, but being right next to the stadium is a pain in the ass during the sports season. I can hear every word the announcer says, and the crowd never shuts up."
     "My sister used to say the same thing. She and her boyfriend used to live that apartment complex over there until a few months ago."
     "Which room was theirs?"
     "That one with the balcony."
     "Oh my god, and they were red, weren't they?" Raze asked in excitement.
     "Yeah? Well, Desi has green eyes, but-"
     "I used to watch them all the time!" she laughed, "They got way too cozy on the loveseat they had out there. I even took some pictures."
     "You creep!" I couldn't help but to laugh too.
     "Not of anything inappropriate!" Raze declared, "Just of them being all kissy and huggy."
     "Let me see."

I completely forgot about everything else when Raze took out a small box full of developed pictures. A few of them were of random things she's thought to capture, but the majority were indeed of Desire and Jasper goofing around on the balcony. Like Raze promised, they were absolutely harmless, and the quality wasn't that great either since the zoom she used blurred everything immensely. We laughed over them for a while before Raze dragged me downstairs to play video games. That entertained us until lunch, where I got Raze sighing by talking mostly to her mom, who went into full mom mode by telling story after story of when Raze had been Buttercup.

More video games followed. Raze and I left the apartment for hours to mess around at the laser tag center. A movie came after that, and we met Raze's mom and grandmother at a restaurant for dinner. The idea of going home still didn't come to me, and neither Raze nor her mother said anything of me walking back to their apartment with them. The incident that morning seemed like it happened in another lifetime. All three of us joined in a high intensity video game competition using several games to judge various skills before Raze and I retreated to her room once more. Things quieted down while I lazed on her bed and engaged her in general conversation while she goofed off on her computer.

It was a little after eleven when I finally turned my phone back on. It had been turned off during my walk into the city, and I was smart to set it to silent as quickly as I could. Message after voicemail after text alert arrived from basically everyone. That everyone included Mimosa. Those I ignored fully, and there was no surprise my friends and family were beginning to freak out at my silence the entire day long. Mom's messages were pleading to begin with. With her most recent ones even more desperate than that, I could easily imagine her having cried for half the day terrified I'd been taken again. No shocker that I felt like an asshole, but perhaps not for the reason one would think. I felt horrible because at the moment the majority of me still didn't care about the state of anyone back home. Hanging out with Raze had made me feel normal for the first time in months, and it more importantly showed me how shattered I was when I was in the situation all my family and friends were urging me to step back into. Why would I want to go back?

I sat there, legs crossed on the bed with my head hung simply staring at the phone screen with a dull gaze. Minutes passed. Another text arrived from dad. One from Rosemary followed. Uncle Eden after that, and even one from Candy. Apparently she was home for the weekend too. I opened none of them- only catching the short previews of them that popped up briefly. The great debate warred in my mind between my conscience that screamed at me to stop worrying everyone while my selfishness said to screw them all. What tipped the battle in one direction was Holly. It wasn't a message she sent. She called. With a light huff, I pushed myself off the bed, accepted the call, and held the phone to my ear. Raze, who spotted the motion from a side glance, casually plugged in her headphones before placing them on her head.

     "...Coal?" Holly's voice came.

I had answered, but I hadn't said anything. There was the fear it was Mimosa having stole her sister's phone again.

     "What do you want?" I answered much more stiffly and gruffly than intended.
     "What...What do you mean 'What do I want'? I want to you where you are. If you're alright."
     "Why the hell do you care? You've made it very clear over this past month that you don't give a shit about me anymore."
     "That's not true." Holly retorted instantly, and her voice grew choked up.

It only flamed my anger higher.

     "Bullshit. If you did, you never would have said anything about me liking what Mimosa did. Imagine if I was a girl in this situation instead of a boy. There would be so much more of a riot of how your sister took advantage of me. I bet you would have never dared to belittle the seriousness of it all by saying I shouldn't mind because it felt good at the time."
     "I'm sorry, Coal," Holly apologized, with even more tears welling up, "You do know me, and you were right about me doing and saying things I regret when I'm angry and upset. I was wrong. It's just..."

I almost hung up on her after a long moment of silence stretched on, but I forced myself to stay connected when the image of tears most likely falling came into my mind when she sniffled loudly and inhaled deeply.

     "I've just always felt so guilty, you know?" Holly trudged on determinedly despite her shaking voice, "Mimosa and I are identical twins. Why didn't I end up with the problems she did? Why did I get to be the lucky one? I've seen how hard it's been for her since birth, and I know so well that this person she's been isn't her. The real her is in there somewhere. I want to rescue her so badly. I want my sister back. I didn't want to admit these problems we're now facing are her fault, so it made more sense to blame you instead."

Holly took another moment to breathe, and some composure came to her.

     "It did hurt finding out you had slept with her. It did hurt finding out that even after all these years you get confused between us. But...I looked through some old photos of our family after you left. I wanted to remember the good times. I forgot how often mom and dad dressed Mimosa and I alike though when we were little," she laughed weakly, "I couldn't tell us apart in those photos either."
     "It's not as easy as you think." I said.
     "I know," Holly accepted, "I have known that. It was just another excuse because it made dealing with the pain easier. However, it only made it worse in the end. I can tell you're still really upset, but I would like to talk this out with you, Coal. We're adults. I'm an adult. I can't be so childish and petty when faced with serious problems anymore."

I struggled with what to say. The scale had been tipped, but the battle within continued. The devil on my shoulder urged me to now treat Holly how she'd been treating me. The angel pleaded with me to be the good person I believe myself to be so everyone's pain could hurt less. The design of Raze's room didn't help the second argument very much.

     "I'm staying the night at Raze's place. I've been with her and her mom all day. I'll be back home some time in the morning. I'm sure dad's going to have me talk to your parents at least, so maybe I'll see you then." I compromised before I did something stupid.
     "Okay. Thanks for telling me," Holly sniffled a final time, "I'll let your parents know."
     "Goodnight."

I hung up directly after that.

Going home had never been so difficult. Raze, naturally, hadn't been able to stop herself from hearing parts of the conversation. She stopped me from delaying my return. She and her mom drove me back to my house, and the closer we got the further down in my seat I slunk. Raze had to half pull me out. The reception when I walked through the door was more or less what I expected. Mom cried and was in general just ecstatic to have me back safe and sound. Dad and Uncle Blaze bit their tongues, but they were pretty pissed with me. Thankfully, really only for the disappearing act and not so much for the me slapping Mimosa thing. They didn't approve, obviously, but they could understand given all that Mimosa had put me through and how she'd been treating me.

Dad escorted me across the street where the whole Charm family, save for Plum, was there to greet us. Everyone of them shared the same basic mindset of dad and Uncle Blaze about me slapping Mimosa- not including Mimosa. I prepared for her ire though.

     "I never thought you could be so horrible!" she shrieked at me, and I instantly had a headache, "You don't hit a girl under any circumstances!"
     "You do when they won't stop sexually assaulting you despite years of you telling them to stop." I argued, severely nonplussed.
     "I was not assaulting you! You were being stubborn! You need to stop that if our marriage is going to work!"
     "I am not going to marry you. Ever. Okay? I am never going to fucking marry you."

That immediately got Mimosa riled up. She clearly hadn't taken her medicine last night.

     "You have to!" she shrieked louder, "We're having a baby!"
     "I already told you," I continued, keeping my tone calmer and steady, "Us having a baby does nothing to persuade me to be with you. You make me miserable. Why would I spend my life with you? Heck, even if I was forced into being married I would be way happier with someone like Raze. I felt more cared about spending yesterday with her than I have with you for the longest time."

And Mimosa's composure took another downward spiral. She clutched at her head, breathed heavily, and began to give off the impression of caged animal. I looked at her parents as I was not going to be the one dealing with this temper tantrum. Aunt Dahlia hesitantly reached to place her hands on Mimosa's shoulders, but Mimosa abruptly shot back up to glare at me with a fire in her eyes that went uncontrolled.

     "FINE!" she belted, "Don't marry me, but you don't get your dumb baby either!"
     "Excuse me?" I snapped without pause.
     "I've already been throwing up and feeling achey and it's horrible! I only got myself pregnant because I thought you would have no choice then! But if the marriage isn't going to happen, then I'm getting rid of it!"
     "Mimosa." Aunt Dahlia rebuked her in a distraught and horrified whisper.

That curveball coming out of nowhere now took a massive blow at my own composure. I hadn't wanted to get anyone pregnant for a while. However, now that it had happened the thought of the baby being stolen away had me shaking.

     "That's not how it works. You can't take advantage of me purposely trying to get pregnant only to threaten to kill the child when things don't go your way." I explained through gritted teeth.
     "I can, and I am," Mimosa smiled at me smugly, "The law's on my side. If I don't want the baby, there's nothing you can do to stop me from aborting it. The only way I'll have it is if you marry me."
     "That's not happening."
     "Then 'bye-bye' baby." Mimosa folded her arms proudly.

My mouth hung open. Dad had been stumped unless along with everyone else. Mimosa locked eyes with me, and the urge to pummel her pleaded its case quite convincingly. I controlled myself so that didn't happen, but I did allow it to give me an idea.

     "You say the law's on your side, but it's not going to be soon enough." I spat at her.
     "There's no way you're going to change it." Mimosa scoffed at me.
     "I know I can't change it permanently, but if you want to play this sick game and pull out the big guns, then I'll do the same."
     "You don't have anything but words to throw at me."
     "Completely wrong. I have a lot I can throw at you. The lawyer I'm going to get can through a lot at you," I threatened, and Mimosa's haughtiness instantly began to falter, "I won't bring charges against you if you promise to have the baby, but if you don't...assault, rape- I'm going to throw it all at you. They're going to find you guilty, and they're going to force you to give me my baby."