TONY.
“Did you just say you and Beth were going to deliver your babies at the same time?” I asked Lara with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah, so? Besides, I didn’t say it was the same time, I said it’s going to be close.”
“That’s not the point, Lara. Are you trying to say Beth is pregnant?” I asked, contemplating if I heard well or not.
“Oh my God! Damn!” She exclaimed and covered her mouth immediately, probably realising that she had just told me about it.
“Beth is pregnant?” I asked for the second time that day. I was sure I heard her right, but I asked again to know if I wasn’t dreaming Instead of answering my question, Lara yelled.
“I’m so dead,” she shouted. “I shouldn’t have told you! She specifically told me not to tell any of the guys!” But that wasn’t what bothered me at the moment. What bothered me was more than that. I was more bothered about how Beth got pregnant.
“Did she tell you who the father of the child is?” I asked her curiously.
Lara paused to look at me awkwardly, as she stood up from my lap. “Didn’t you hear me? I said she told me to not let you guys know, and I have just told you. That’s an offence on its own! Now, you’re asking me who the father of the child is. How do you expect me to know?” She said to me.
I stared at her intently to know if she was lying to me or not, but it genuinely seemed like she was telling the truth. “Does she know who the father is?” I found myself asking. I had already blurted out the question before I realized that maybe I shouldn’t have.
Lara scoffed and folded her arms. She was still standing in front of me. On her face was a look of confusion and a little bit of anger. “Dude, why are you so bothered about who the father of her baby is? It isn’t you, and it’s not you that want to carry the responsibilities, so I don’t understand why you’re asking questions about him!” She snapped at me.
“Lara,” I called, trying to calm her down.
“What?! What is it?” She rolled her eyes at me, but not after stomping her feet on the floor. “We were in the middle of something and you just decided to end it with all this! Shit.” She said and hissed.
I hated being hissed at, but it was Lara after all, and I didn’t want to do or say anything that would lead to an argument. We had just finished one argument, and I wouldn’t want another one to resurface.
“Fine, I’m sorry,” I said to her. “I was only being curious.”
“Well, don’t let your curiosity get the best of you, because if she confronts me about how you know about it, I will kill you.” She said to me sternly, making me chuckle.
“Do you think I’ll go around asking her how she got pregnant or who the father is?” I asked her and chuckled lightly. “That’s very impolite and absurd, trust me not to do anything like that.”
“Sure I do. That was why I was even very surprised when you kept questioning me about the baby.” She said and sat on the chair, next to me. Her face was sober by now, so I could tell she was telling the truth about trusting me.
“I’m sorry about that. I was just curious because she doesn’t have any man or boyfriend or anything of that sort. And knowing Beth to an extent, she doesn’t do one-night stands or anything of the sort. This news is shocking to me.” I said. Thinking about it, I was very surprised and a bit worried. I had thought in the back of my mind but I badly prayed it won’t be true.
“Yeah, I understand you. I was surprised too, honestly, but I just couldn’t question her about it. Well, not yet. Also, I realized she was trying to hide the news from me, despite me telling her about my mine immediately I heard it,” Lara said, ranting on and on about it.
“Wow,” I simply said. For Beth to be keeping her baby from Lara, something must truly be wrong, and I have to find out about it fast, even if it meant visiting Beth.
“I even asked her if it’s Luca,” Lara said not nonchalantly, but that piece of information got my attention.
I shot my head in her direction immediately after she said that. “And what did she say?”
She shrugged, without looking at me. “She said they’ve not done anything. Said they’re just friends.”
“And do you believe her?” I found myself asking. There was no reason for Beth to lie to Lara if it was Luca that owns the baby, so if she says it’s not him, then it’s certainly not him.
“Well, I don’t care. All I know is that we’re going to be giving birth at a near date, and I’m so excited about it!” She exclaimed and clapped her hands. When she eventually stopped, she added. “And even if she doesn’t know the father, she can just pin it on some guy she meets later.” She added the last part and shrugged, making me shoot my head in her direction once again.
“What did you just say?” I asked her, trying to make sure I heard her right.
“What?” I asked her. “It’s just about…” Her voice trailed off immediately after she realised what she had said earlier about pinning the baby on someone else. Then, the realization hit her that I had started having mixed thoughts about her pregnancy. “No, no, no, babe. Don’t even think about that. Don’t let your mind go there, like, not at all.”
“Go where?”
“About pinning the baby on… look,” she said and touched her slightly protruding belly. “This baby in this stomach of mine is yours. So, don’t let your mind wander to those thoughts it is wandering to.” She said quickly.
“I wasn’t thinking about that,” I replied to her calmly. “Why would you even think I’d think of something like that?” I asked her, staring at her intently now.
My mind didn’t go there truly, but as soon as she said it, I wondered how she could give her friend such an unreasonable idea. It was until she started reassuring me that she didn’t do that to me that my mind went to the fact that she might do that to me. I found myself questioning how many times we had sex and the one time she said I was drunk and we didn’t use protection. Something about it suddenly didn’t feel right, but I decided not to say anything further.
“I was just saying that to make you sure.” She said after clearing her throat.
“Okay.” I simply replied, and we both went silent, but my mind couldn’t leave the whole matter.