Love Letter

Hey guys. New story. It's the same one that's on my blog, except with a few tweaks.

**LilMami07**

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Giselle asked out of the blue.

"You're beautiful," Brian responded as he rubbed circles on her sweat-covered cocoa colored back.

"Do you think I'll still be pretty if I was fat?"

Brian laughed. "Of course. You'd be a cute little munchkin fat person."

"What if I was fat 'cause there was a baby in my belly?"

Brian's laughter died down and they were greeted with awkward silence. Silence that seemed to last forever.

"Baby?"

"Yes."

"You're pregnant?"

Giselle nodded against his tanned naked chest. There was several more moments of dead silence between him. She could hear his heart pound through his chest and she grew more and more nervous and anxious for a response.

"Get up," he commanded quietly.

"What?" she whispered, hearing him but hoping she didn't hear what she'd thought he said.

"Get up," he repeated.

She slowly rolled over and laid beside him, covering herself with his sheets. She remained motionless as she felt and heard him shuffle next to her. She heard his bare feet hit the wooden floor and walk around the bed over to her side. Her eyes followed him as he walked into the small bathroom to her left. Her heart sank as she heard the click as he shut the door behind him.

She stared up at the coffee-colored ceiling and sighed. He'd taken it better than she thought he would.

*****-----*****

He stared at his reflection. How? Why? Why him? He didn't have time for a kid. He ran his fingers down the red scratches she'd made on his chest.

He walked back into his bedroom and sat on the edge of this bed.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure."

"How?"

"I missed a few periods," she said quietly picking at the small balls of lint that was scattered about his brown comforter. "And I took a pregnancy test."

"How many?"

"How many what?"

"How many periods did you miss?"

"A few," she said embarrassed.

"How many Giselle?"

"Two or three."

"What? Are you fucking kidding me?!" he yelled as he jumped up.

"I'm sorry," she said as she covered her face. "I didn't know how to tell you."

Brian sighed and ran a hand down his face.

"How many tests did you take?"

Giselle stared at him as if he'd grown another head before answering.

"One."

"Take another one."

"What? Why? I'm pregnant okay? I don't have to lie. I don't have to try to trap you. I'm not that desperate. I'm not so bad where I have to get pregnant to make someone like me," she said getting upset.

"I didn't say any of that. I just wanna make sure."

"Make sure? Of what? That I'm not lying? I missed three periods, ass. Come on Brian."

"I didn't say you were lying Giselle. Okay? I just wanna make sure, that's all."

More silence. Giselle sighed, defeated, and slowly nodded. "Fine."

"Gigi?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure it's mine?" he asked seriously.

Giselle stared at him in disbelief. She felt the hot tears burn the back of her eyes and threaten to surface. She wouldn't let him see her cry. She let go of his gaze and tossed the covers off of her. She scampered around in pursuit of her clothes. She found her jeans, shirt, and bra.

"Panties be damned," she thought as she quickly dressed.

"Where are you going?"

"You know what? Forget about it. Forget about everything. Forget about me. I'm okay. I can handle this by myself."

"Giselle-"

"Leave me alone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," he tried to reason.

"Just leave me alone. I can't believe you would ask me that. We all don't have girls fawning over us. A different day, a different lay for the infamous Brian McKay. I'm so stupid."

Brian tried to reach for her but she avoided his grasp and dashed for the door.

*****-----*****

"Did you get milk?" she heard as soon as she opened the door.

"Yeah I got it. I got skim because they were out of whole."

"What?" her mother shouted from the back room.

"That was all they had, Ma."

"So you checked all the stores?"

"No. I don't have much gas and I have to go to work tomorrow. If it's that big of a deal I'll get some tomorrow."

"Don't get smart with me."

"I'm not, I'm just saying I don't know what the big deal is."

"It's not. I'm sorry," her mother said appearing from her room.

She was dressed in her pink and purple scrubs and plain white tennis shoes.

"You working tonight? I thought you had the day off."

"I did but Bertha called in and I have to take her place. You know we could use every penny we can around here. I gotta keep food on the table, clothes on our backs, lights on, and you in school."

Giselle's dad left a few years ago leaving her mom to raise three kids. He'd pop in and make guest appearances once in a blue moon. Giselle was 19 and Isaiah and Josiah were 10. Their mom worked 40 hours a week at the nursing home and it took every dollar of her paycheck to keep everything running. Giselle admired and appreciated her mother for all she did for her children. She hoped one day she could be half the mother her own was. She subconsciously placed a hand over her slightly pudged tummy.

"You okay?" her mother asked rushing over to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay Mama," she said brushing her mother off and quickly dodged her.

"Well, food's in the oven. The boys already ate. They're in the backroom. What time is it?"

Giselle and her mother looked over the clock on the wall. 7:27.

"I'm gonna be late," her mother rushed. "I should be home around 1. When you lay down, make sure you lock everything up. I'm gonna come back in through the backdoor."

"Okay, okay. Go or you're gonna be late."

"Okay, baby. Hold it down in here," she said kissing Giselle's forehead. "Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, Ma."

Giselle's mother smiled and was gone. She locked the door behind her.

Giselle sighed loudly. She walked over to the oven and took out her plate of French green beans and hamburger steak. She picked up the biscuit and took a small bite before throwing it back into the plate. She emptied the plate into the trash and washed the pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

She dried her hands on her jeans and walked down the hall to the boys' room. They sat in the floor beside one another and were engrossed in the television as the battled it out on some fighting game on the PlayStation.

"Take that!" Josiah said between clenched teeth.

"No, you take it bitch!" Isaiah yelled frustrated.

Giselle laughed under her breath. Her laughter died when Josiah paused the game and threw down his controller, lunging at Isaiah. The two tussled and arms flew everywhere.

"You two! Stop it!" Giselle roared.

They immediately stopped and looked up at her.

"You're not my mama," Isaiah huffed.

"No I'm not and you're lucky I'm not. If I was, I would give you the ass whooping of your sad little life. Now, don't let me hear yall in here fighting anymore because if I do, I'm gonna get in it. Understand?"

Josiah nodded his head and Isaiah just shot her dirty looks.

"I said do you understand me?" she asked looking at Isaiah.

He huffed and slowly nodded his head. Giselle smiled smugly and turned away, walking down the hall.

She walked into her tiny bedroom and shut the door. She slipped out of her hoodie, shirt, and jeans into her pajamas. She pounced down on her bed and rubbed her temples. What a day. She groaned when she realized she left her phone in her jeans. She retrieved it and sat on the edge of her bed. No missed calls. No new text messages. She threw the phone onto her pillow. It bounced and hit the floor.

"Son of a bitch," she mumbled. She paced over to where it fell and got down on fours. Near her phone was the foil from a used condom. She quickly grabbed it and her phone and got up. She wrapped the foil in a piece of tissue and threw it in her trashcan. Her mom would kill her if she knew she'd been having sex in her house. She'd kill her and bring her back to life just to kill her again if she found out she was pregnant. It was hard enough keeping the four of them healthy and happy, but a baby? Giselle placed a hand on her slightly belly and sighed again and plopped back down on her bed. She reached onto the dresser next to her bed for a hair tie. She put her black mass of hair into a messy bun, balled up with her teddy bear, and dwelled in her thoughts. How'd this happen? Why? Why her?

*****-----*****

"Well tell her to go catch it!" Isaiah yelled into the receiver and hung up. He and Josiah laughed as they made their 7th prank call of the night. The phone rang and they looked at each other.

"You answer it," Josiah said pointing at his brother.

"Hello?" he answered slowly.

"Did you just call here little boy?" a voice said angrily.

"Umm...no ingles!"

"You look like a no ingles? You didn't block your number you little--"

Isaiah slammed the phone down on the receiver and looked wide-eyed at the boy across from him who looked just like him except for their hair. They both burst out laughing.

"Dumb old woman."

"I know right. I'm hungry. Let's get some ice cream."

"Okay."

The two mischievous boys walked down the hall past Giselle's room.

"Wait," Isaiah said quietly. He opened her room door and saw her sleeping. "Let's read her diary!"

The two boys nodded and smiled and went on a rampage. Josiah found it under a stack of books. The two got giddy like they'd just found a chest of gold. They flipped the pages and were disappointed when they found she hadn't written anything since the last time they'd read it. They shrugged and stuffed the book back in its hiding place. They walked over to her sleeping form and was going to play a prank on her but decided against it. They both placed chaste kisses on her cheek. She stirred and they quickly wiped their mouths before they exited her room.

*****-----*****

"Bojangles?" Ashley asked. Giselle shrugged and continued to gaze out the window at the passerbys.

"What's wrong, girly?" Ashley asked concerned.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

Giselle nodded and plastered on a fake smile for her best friend. Ashley smiled back and flipped her dark fine hair. Giselle wondered if her baby would have fine hair like that or have unmanageably thick hair like her.

"If you don't want Bojangles we don't have to go."

"No, Bojangles is fine."

"Okay."

"What do you want?"

"Umm... a sausage biscuit and some tea."

Ashley ordered and Giselle looked on. She hated when Ashley bought things for her. It made her feel...poor. But Ashley didn't seem to mind or understand. She was always buying her something. Food, clothes, perfume, etc. Ashley liked nice things and since Giselle had been her best friend since grade school, she wanted her to have nice things too.

"I'm gonna go sit down," Giselle said quietly. Ashley nodded as she handed the cashier her credit card.

Giselle's stomach flipped once the food came. She took a few bites of her biscuit and a few sips of tea before rushing from the table. A confused and concerned Ashley followed her. When she entered the bathroom she saw Giselle slumped over the toilet giving it her all. Ashley rushed over to her and attempted to hold her hair back. Giselle gagged and finished up. Embarrassed, she composed herself.

"Oh my gosh, Elle. This is the third time you've done that this week. What's up with you?"

Giselle looked up at her and looked back down.

"Elle look at me," Ashley commanded softly while reaching out for her.

Giselle continued to look down and a frown formed on her face.

"Are you pregnant?" Ashley whispered.

Giselle snatched away from her and walked over to the sink. She rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands as Ashley stared at her in the mirror with her arms crossed. Giselle sighed and nodded slowly. Ashley gasped and quickly covered her mouth.

"Who?"

'Brian,' she shouted in her head. 'It's Brian's. Make him believe me!'

But on the outside she lightly shrugged. Ashley walked over to her and hugged her tightly.

"We're going to get through this."

*****-----*****

Giselle fidgeted and stared off into the back of the classroom while the other members of her group explained about their project on photosynthesis. Her mind was elsewhere. She tried to keep her eyes and her mind off the boy in the corner of the room. She could sense him staring at her. She felt the heat from his intense gaze but she refused to give in. She looked at her group member in fake interest and silently prayed for her to hurry up. She had to pee.

The girl asked were there any questions and Giselle knew they were about done.

"I have a question," a voice said. Giselle looked over at the girl who spoke and grimaced.

"Giselle, didn't you just wear that shirt last week?"

The girl laughed and a few other followed suit. Giselle's stomach dropped in embarrassment.

"Isn't that herpes on your lip?" Giselle replied. A few 'oooos' and 'ahhhhs' and 'damns' were heard.

"That's enough ladies. Now are there any

relevant

questions?" the professor spoke. "And Victoria, see me after class."

No one spoke so the professor dismissed everyone. Everyone except Victoria. Giselle quickly packed her stuff and walked towards the door until a firm grip caught her arm. She looked down at the hand and up at Brian.

"You should keep your dogs tamed," she spat.

"She's not my dog, Gigi. You know how she is. I don't even like her."

"Yea well I gotta go," she said quickly, turning to walk away.

"Gigi," he said quietly.

"What Brian?"

"Tell the boys I'm gonna be a little late. I have things to do first."

"Or you could just save yourself the trip and not come at all," she said as she quickly turned on her heels and sped off.

*****-----*****

Brian sighed as he drove his Honda in his yard and saw his sister's car. She was home early. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her. He really wished that his grandparents had left just him the house instead of insisting that he and his sister share. But it beat living with his parents. He grabbed his bag and exited the car, walking towards the door. It was unlocked so he went right in.

He went in to find the refrigerator door open and a small frame peeking around inside. She turned around when she heard him sigh.

"Oh, hey Bro."

"Hey Ashley."