Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jon’s eternal alarm clock rang loudly and his eyes popped open, Damn just once I’d like to sleep in. It had been a late night last night as memories came  flooding back of the hot reunion between Claire and himself.

A smile crossed his face when his eyes landed on Claire who was still sleeping .  He didn’t realized just how much he missed her til yesterday when she walked in her apartment looking as beautiful as ever.

Jon let out a deep sigh,  knowing there was no way of him going back to sleep , he leaned over , kissed her forehead then swung his legs off the bed .

Bending down he grabbed his jeans , slid them on then quietly walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.  Once he had the coffee brewing , he suddenly remembered their conversation and a troubled look crossed his face.  “She still hasn’t told him apparently “ he muttered to himself as he made his way to his jacket pocket for his cell . Giving it a quick glance “No new calls . Well I gave you last night Lily I’m sorry but he must be told “ he pressed speed dial , Hoping both Claire and Lily would someday forgive him.

Richie moaned as his phone buzzed loudly on the nightstand and he opened an eye, growling softly. He slowly untangled himself from Lily and grabbed his phone, tiptoeing out to the living room and closing the door behind him, “Fuck, Kidd the first day I’ve had to sleep in in weeks, no thanks to you by the way, and you had to call me now?”

“It’s very important bro “ Jon paused, Fuck how do I tell him this ? “ Did you and Lily talk last night ? “ he asked while reaching for a cup then pouring the freshly brewed coffee into it.

Richie shrugged, “Yeah a little I guess, she’s feeling kinda under the weather though and didn’t talk too much. Why?”

“I think you need to sit down , I gotta tell you something and I’m not sure the girls are gonna be happy about me telling but you need to know . No secrets right ? That's what we always said “

“Right, no secrets,” Richie said slowly, sitting down at the dining room table, his brow creased with worry. “What’s up, man?”

“Lily’s pregnant “ Jon answered quietly then winced waiting for his friends reaction to the news.

Richie dropped the phone. “Fuck,” he whispered, reaching down to grab it, then took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. “Pregnant?” he finally said into the phone, “From who?”

“You man, You’re the father . I guess from what I got from Claire she was afraid to tell you and wasn’t gonna. She was afraid you would feel trapped but I couldn’t keep this secret from you man no matter what the circumstances are “

Richie put a hand to his mouth, sighing. “Jesus. Trap me? Fuck Jon. Thanks for telling me. I don’t even know what to think,” he said quietly, feeling hot tears build up, Fuck don’t do this, man up, asshole. he told himself, “I’m happy, you know I always wanted more than one but,” he paused, “trap me?” he repeated again.

“I dunno even Claire doesn’t understand it , she pleaded with her to tell you but Lily was being stubborn about it . Somethin’ about afraid of losing you “ Jon repeated all that Claire had told him then sighed ‘I just knew I couldn’t live with myself if I kept this from you . “

Richie nodded, “Thanks, bro. This would be the point in time where she could count on having me stick around more than ever though,” he replied, “I wouldn’t dare leave her now.”

“Hell, the way you been the last few weeks I dont think anything would have you leave her “ Jon slightly chuckled.  “ I am not sure how she is gonna react now that you know . I might have just caused world war III “

“You say that like you’ve never done it before, big mouth,” Richie laughed softly, rolling his eyes, “You’re right though. I’m not going anywhere. Well, figuratively, at least,” he added, “You’re physically dragging my ass all over the world but I’m still gonna be here for her.”

“Didn’t think you wouldn’t . Claire said it was just the test stick thing so no confirmation from a doctor yet but still those things aren’t usually wrong not with us Jersey boys anyway “ Jon chortled as he took a sip of his coffee.

Richie rolled his eyes, “So true. Alright, I should go before she wakes up. Thanks again, bro.”

“Anytime, let me know how it goes , though I have a feeling I will already know when she confronts Claire for spilling the beans to me. “

“Your ass is hers,” Richie chuckled, hanging up and groaning. Pregnant. he repeated in his head before he strolled into the bedroom and sat down, watching Lily sleep. ‘S not so bad, he thought, not like I didn’t want to stick around anyway,

Her stomach rebelled and her eyes flew open, God not again, forgetting Richie was sitting right there , she jumped out of bed and flew into the bathroom , just making it to the toilet. A few moments later, Lily stood, rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash, then slowly walked out to a clearly worried Richie leaning against the door frame.

“Mornin’ beautiful,” Richie said slowly, “How are ya feeling?”

Lily dropped her eyes to the floor “Guess the flu is hanging in longer than I thought “

Richie was a little hurt by the blatant lie, but thanks to Jon he understood why she did it. “Uh, yeah. Hey baby I gotta tell ya somethin’,” he replied, taking her hand and leading Lily back to the bed.

“Okay what’s up ? “ Lily asked , swallowing hard , I hope he hasn’t figured it out . She nervously twisted her hands in her lap.

Richie sighed, taking her hands in his, “Jon called me this mornin’,” he said slowly, “said Claire told him about your,” he paused, “situation. But before you freak out, he only did it cause he was worried. And that’s why Claire told him in the first place. They’re both worried about you, baby. I hate that you think I would leave you because of this, because I wouldn’t, won’t,” he corrected, “never in a million years.”

As his words sunk in, hot angry tears streamed down her face  "Claire betrayed me , how could she ? She had no right! It wasn’t hers to tell! How could she? “ Lily spat then angrily reached for a change of clothes, stripped down and dressed quickly.“ You don’t get it . I don’t want to trap you . Hell we hadn’t talked about any of this and now boom . Thats not fair and it wasn’t fair for her to open her DAMNED  mouth! “

“Trap me? Baby, I never thought that for a second, trust me,” Richie replied, trying to calm her down, “Claire’s your best friend, she was helping you, protecting you. Wouldn’t you do the same for her?”

“Used to be best friend “ Lily corrected “Help me she could have helped me by keeping it to herself but no she had to tell your friend who she should have known would tell you “ she jerked away , slid on her shoes and stormed through her apartment and out the door and darted down the steps to Claire’s apartment.  She pounded hard  “I know you’re in there open the damned door NOW!! “

“Shit!“ Jon glanced at his watch  “Record timing “ he mumbled while walking over to the door and opened the door “Hi Lily , Good Morning“

Lily roughly brushed past Jon, completely ignoring Jon’s greeting. “ Where is the traitor ? “ she spat while stomping through the apartment and to Claire’s bedroom , swung the door open so hard it banged against the wall. “ Oh I see still fuckin’ sleeping . Wake The FUCK up C ! “

Jon stepped back shooting Richie a ‘we’re all fucked’ look . “I see she took it really well “

Richie ran a hand through his hair, he hadn’t even bothered to pull a pair of jeans on over his boxers before he flew out the door in Lily’s fiery trail, “Jesus, this isn’t gonna go down well.”

Claire sat straight up in bed, clutching a sheet and wrapping it around her naked body, “What the fuck?” she asked, staring at Lily fuming in the doorway.

“How could you ? “ Lily accused, her chest rising and falling rapidly  , her eyes dark with anger “ I thought I could trust you!  I told you in confidence , I thought you being a therapist knew what that meant!! “

Claire gaped, standing up and grabbing Jon’s t-shirt from the floor and pulling it over her head, letting it fall over her body. “Um, you’re not my patient, first of all,” Claire replied slowly, “and second of all, you were going to hurt Richie by not telling him! He needed to know this, Lily!”

‘I may not be your patient but friends trust friends with certain things, How could you ? It wasn’t yours to tell! “ Lily argued back , as her body shook and the tears returned in full force.  “You betrayed me ! “

“No, it wasn’t mine to tell,” Claire replied, “but it was Richie’s to know! And you sure as hell weren’t gonna tell him!! Besides,” she added, “I was just unloading on Jon, I didn’t say anything to Richie. So you missy have no right to yell at me like that.”

“But you did know he would tell his friend now didn’t you so , you’re just as at fault . As “ Lily whipped around and glared at Jon  “Him!  How do you know I  wasn’t ever gonna tell , Hell I just found out myself damn you two! I was trying to come to grips with it myself ! “

“Lily we never meant to hurt you but don’t you see how much you would have hurt Richie by not telling him . And I’m sorry you can be as pissed as you want at me but he’s my best friend and I wasn’t and I won’t keep shit from him “ Jon replied defensively .

“You never gave me time , none of you “ Lily cried , her voice trembled with all the hurt and betrayal she felt.

Claire sighed, “Honey, there really wasn’t time. The guys have to leave here soon, and then who knows? Would you tell Richie over the phone, if you ever even decided to do so?”

“How do you know what I would or wouldn’t do . You all decided for me like I’m a child “ Lily argued back .

“Lil, you were so adamant about not telling him! How was I supposed to know?!” Claire replied, her voice rising in frustration.

“So that gives you the right to tell . How am I supposed to trust you now ? “ Lily spat , her anger reaching a fevered pitch.

“You know what, fine, then don’t trust me, Lily. God damnit, I was just trying to help! You know, tell the father of your child he’s, oh I dunno, a father?! Jon was doing the exact same thing, trying to help you two!” Claire sniffed, as hot, angry and hurt tears began to fill her vision.

Jon shot Richie a frustrated glance , while he listened to the girls battle and debated whether to say anymore  “ Listen what’s done is done now , why don’t we just  calm down and talk reasonably. “ he urged .

Lil refused to even acknowledge Jon’s words  “And how does that help? You know what you don’t  even think you did anything wrong . Would I have done that to you? NO I wouldn’t no matter what! “

“If you had thought it would lead to something undesirable, or had hurt me or someone else, you would’ve! That’s what friends do, Lily! Protect each other!” Claire replied angrily, frustrated that Lily just couldn’t see her point.

Lily whipped around “I’m done ! If you can’t see how you betrayed me I’m not sure what there is left to say “ she cried, her bottom lip trembling . “I’m out of here “ then pushed past Jon and Richie and stormed out of Claire’s apartment and back into hers.

Richie turned and followed Lily up to her apartment, “Baby, it’s gonna be okay, I promise, they were just trying to help,” he said gently, grabbing her hand and pulling her close.

She buried her face into his shoulder , “No one understands . I am not a child . I just didn’t want “ Lily paused briefly , pulled back locked a tearful gaze with Richie “I didn’t want to make it to where you had to be with me and then resent me later on . “

“Had to be with you?” Richie asked incredulously, “Honey, I want to be with you! Baby or not,” he added, “and I would never resent you for it. You have to believe me when I say that.”

“You say that now, I read about you . You just got out of a marriage and rebound relationship . And you have a daughter to think of too. “ Lily quickly pointed out .   “I don’t want to add to all that.”

Richie sighed heavily, “But baby, I’ve always wanted more kids. That’s one of the reasons my marriage never worked,” he replied. “You adding to that, as you say, is a good thing!” he tightened his hold on her, kissing the top of her head, “I want to share this with you.”

Lily pulled back , searching for some truth to his words hidden deep in his chocolate brown eyes.  “Are you sure?“ her stomach flip flopped  “Hold that thought “ she dashed into the bathroom.

He followed her, stopping abruptly as Lily shut the door in his face, “I’m completely, totally sure, darlin’,” he called through the door, wincing, “need any help?” he asked, worry creasing his face.

She raised her head “You really wanna help with this ? “ then leaned back over the toilet again.

Richie shrugged, “We’re in this together, Lily.” he opened the door slowly, finding her kneeling over the bowl, and sat down beside her, “Babe, I’ll be honest. I missed all this stuff the first time, so all of it is exciting for me.” he told her, placing a hand on her back.

She gazed up “Not sure if I like this part , Hell this is all new to - oh shit “ as her stomach rebelled for the third time this morning.

Richie reached over and tucked Lily’s hair behind her ears, “I promise you, I’m not gonna bail on this. Ever.” he said quietly.

Once her stomach had settled , she reached up and flushed the toilet then slowly stood up and walked over to the sink, wiped her mouth off and brushed her teeth.  “I don’t see how its gonna work though, you’re gone what 99 percent of the time and I have business . I can’t let that go I worked too hard for it .”

“We’re gonna make it happen,” Richie said, standing up and leading her back out of the bathroom, “it’s definitely worth it. There are a lot of breaks on this tour, actually,” he added, counting on his fingers, “and nine months from now we’ll be on our big summer break, I think.” he pulled her into a hug, “This can work baby, really.”