Baby, I Will Be Your Everything

I sniffled, feeling a scowl wash over my face when calloused fingers spread over my cheeks before the hardened skin of Alex's thumbs were pressing underneath my eyes.

"Stop." He mumbled, attempting to stop the steady stream of tears.

I rolled my eyes at his emotionless tone, getting even more angry and upset. He goes and does this and tries to act like it's no big deal? Like he wasn't clean from this shit?

"It's hard." I breathed shakily, pulling away from his hands to look towards the small porch about ten feet away from us. "I'm stressed out and nervous and pissed at you."

I swallowed thickly, biting my lip while I watched Lauren sway in Derek's arms as he hugged her. The way he smiled down at her reminded me of Alex and I when he used to walk me home or out to Mom's car. Remembering the days made me want to smile, but the worries of what's going on at home stopped me from feeling the giddy feelings I would be feeling after thinking about us. The fact that Alex broke his promise to me also keeps me from feeling anything but happy at the moment.

"Seriously." He urged, wiping a thick tear from my cheek before I swatted his hand away.

"Shut up." I hissed, using my sleeves to press into the corners of my eyes. "You sure chose a great day to be as high as a fucking kite!"

"S'not so high-" He started, stopping when I shot him a glare.

"You can barely open your eyes!" I exclaimed, moving to wipe at my nose while I took in his droopy gaze. "You shouldn't even be driving, Alex."

"You wanna take the fuckin' wheel?" He offered, dropping his hands to his lap.

"I don't have a license so no, I don't want to take the wheel." I retorted, trying to take a calming breath. "I really can't believe you and on top of that, the text from my mom practically says they know."

"You fuckin' wanted 'em to know." He scoffed, lazing back in his seat.

"I didn't want them to find out like this" I sighed, wiping my cheeks.

I huffed out some air, feeling my heart pound uneasily as my gaze flew back to Lauren. She walked back towards my door, looking at me cautiously through the window. Sighing, I pushed the door open and slipped back out.

"I'm gonna be fine." I told her, pushing the seat up for her to get in. "We need to get home now."

"Is everything okay?" She whispered, sticking one foot in the car slowly.

"Yeah..." I trailed off hesitantly, biting my lip when she gave me an unimpressed look. "Please get in."

She sighed unhappily, dropping back into the backseat without another word. Frowning, I fixed my seat and got back in just as quick. I gasped, my body jolting forward from the force of Alex stomping on the gas to reverse out of the driveway.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Alex!" I choked out angrily, feeling my heart pound harder from the slight scare as I held on to the door. "I barely got the fucking door closed!"

"You're good." He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"You're such an asshole." I expressed, forcefully buckling myself back in while he sped down the side street.

I tensed in my seat, wiping my drying eyes with my sleeves one more time before I crossed my arms over my chest tightly. Breathing in slowly, I held it in and stared through the windshield nervously as the familiar streets passed by in a blur. As soon as my eyes caught sight of our street, my heartbeat went back to pounding out of my chest.

"You're fine, baby." Alex reminded, parking along the curb abruptly. "Said so yourself. Stop freakin' when you know they're gonna love you still-"

"Shut up." I stated, unbuckling myself rougher than I intended. "I don't want to hear you right now."

"You fucking shut up." He snapped, shoving my arm hard enough to knock me into the door. "You're the one who wanted this."

"Don't shove me." I warned, shoving him back.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Lauren demanded, sticking her head between us.

I jumped, smacking myself in the forehead for already forgetting she was sitting back there.

"Seriously. You guys never fight this much and literally every day now theres something wrong with you." She continued, reaching her hand out to lightly smack Alex's head. "And don't be pushing my brother like that ever again."

I tried to smile a little at her cute act of protection over me, but the nerves and annoyance filling me overpowered my want to smile at her. Sighing, I licked my lips and turned to face her more while Alex scowled at nothing. Maybe if I spit it out to her, it'll be easier to say once I get inside. I know Mom already knows. She has to.

"Well?" She scoffed impatiently.

"I knocked your brother up."

I bit my lip harder, trying to ignore the silence filling the car after Alex's words. I rolled my eyes at his lack of explanation and looked over to her face. She scrunched her eyebrows, staring at him for another few seconds before her gaze flickered over to me.

"It's how it sounds." I started, watching her face slowly return back to normal. "And now mom texted me to get home fast and I know she found out before I could tell her."

"You're..." She trailed off, blinking slowly. "You have a baby in your stomach? Like for real? I'm going to be an auntie?"

"Um." I nodded, biting my cheek. "Yeah. Dad's side of the family has this thing-"

"This is awesome." She interrupted, widening her eyes. "I knew you'd be able to have kids one day because mom and dad sat me down like last week for the talk and yeah."

She shuddered, making me laugh a little and sigh in relief.

"Wait, Mom told you-"

"She told me about Papa and Grandpa and how Dad could've had kids if he was born gay like you and Grandpa." She revealed before I could finish.

"Oh." I mumbled, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. "Um, well I'm glad you know then."

"Is this what you were talking about the other night?" She questioned curiously. "What you said you had to talk to Alex about first?"

I nodded, biting my lip when realization washed over her face. Before I could even blink, her hand was reaching out and smacking Alex in the back of the head harder than she did a minute ago.

"Ow, what the fuck!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't be a jerk to my pregnant brother." She warned, raising her eyebrows sternly.

"I'm not." He huffed, unbuckling his own seatbelt lazily.

"Okay, let's just get this over with." I announced, pushing my door open.

I stepped out, ignoring the nerves bubbling in my gut as I pulled the seat forward for Lauren to climb out. Once she was next to me, I shut the door and blinked in surprise when she pulled me into a hug. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I hugged her back gently and smiled a little when she pulled away.

"I don't think it's going to go as bad as you think." She reassured, giving me a smile before leading the way towards the front door. "Mom is very understanding and she keeps Dad in check."

I watched her disappear through the door quickly, biting my lip when I spun around to find Alex walking around his car and up the driveway. The small weight that left me returned at the sight of him dragging his feet and just barely stumbling. It wouldn't have been noticeable if I didn't see the state of his eyes already.

"How the fuck are we going to get through this when it looks like you've got a bad case of pink eye? In both eyes?" I hissed quietly, watching him push the sunglasses back up his nose.

"Tell them I've got fucking pink eye." He grumbled, waving his hand at me to keep walking.

"You don't just get pink eye that bad out of nowhere." I whispered, turning around to slowly walk up the sidewalk. "I'm sure they'd know the difference."

"Then tell'em I fuckin' smoked a blunt." He muttered, pressing his palm into my lower back.

"Get your hand off me." I snapped, feeling the stress really get to me. "This is serious."

"'m bein' serious." He retorted, keeping his hand in it's place against my back. "She's not gonna kick me out for smokin'-"

"You weren't." I corrected, feeling my heart skip uneasily as we stepped up the porch. "I know what you were doing and you're going to be sorry when it wears off."

"Shh." He shushed, failing to stifle his laughter.

I frowned, feeling sick as I pushed the closed door open slowly. Silence filled my ears as I walked in and I cringed, closing the door softly behind Alex. Swallowing thickly, I peeked into the living room beside the foyer and felt a short wave of relief when it was empty. Biting my lip, I kicked my shoes off and waited for Alex to do the same.

"Take your shoes off." I reminded, biting my lip at the sound of my voice in the silent room.

"Uh. I uh." He stammered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Maybe after."

"Just do it." I suggested, feeling my ears perk at the sound of the back door sliding loudly.

"John!" Mom shouted quickly, making my eyes widen.

Heavy footsteps pounded through the family room and before I could really move, Dad was plowing through the foyer and right passed me. I gasped, turning my body in his direction as he sped by me only to find his hands gripping the collar of Alex's hoodie and driving him backwards until he slammed into the front door.

"You mother fucker!"

"Dad!" I choked out, barely registering the other set of footsteps rushing towards me.

"John! Let him go!" Mom ordered, stepping around me and grabbing the back of Dad's shirt.

I froze in place, watching with wide eyes as Dad's elbow moved back before he was swinging his hand. The loud crunch snapped me back into reality and the realization that he just punched Alex in the face sunk in when I caught a glimpse of blood.

"Dad!" I yelled, jumping forward to get him away from Alex.

I grabbed on the side of his shirt like Mom in attempt to pull him off, gasping when Alex's left hand caught my shoulder and shoved me back.

"Fuck outta here, Jack." He demanded, voice sounding muffled.

I stumbled back, feeling skinny arms wrap around my torso when I lost my footing. I sucked in a panicked breath, watching Dad's fist raise again only for Alex to knock it out of the way and shove him forward.

"Alex!" I cried, feeling lightheaded at the amount of blood pouring from his nose.

"I told you to keep your dick to yourself and you get my son pregnant!" Dad bellowed, grabbing hold of Alex's forearms and falling into the wall next to us with him. "Under my roof where I let your sorry ass reside!"

I gasped, watching the sunglasses fly to the ground before Dad was raising his fist up to swing again.

"John!" Mom shouted, pulling me back towards the kitchen. "Get in the family room, Jack."

"No!" I refused, watching them turn into blobs when my vision blurred. "Dad, stop!"

I flinched, eyes widening at the loud shouts leaving Dad's mouth focused towards me now. A new rush of shock ran through me when I registered the words flying out of his mouth and my heart skipped when I heard the sharp accent flowing smoothly. I bit my cheek, feeling heat rush to my cheeks as tears poured from my eyes.

"I love him, Baba!" I cried, hearing him cuss Alex out and call me an idiot in arabic.

"Everybody stop!" Mom shouted sharply, going ignored by Dad and Alex.

She let out a shout of frustration, gripping my arms tight enough to get a better hold on me. I choked on my breath, holding my shaking hands over my mouth as I was maneuvered backwards until I was suddenly on the loveseat in the family room. I coughed, feeling my chest tighten as I tried to get my breath back to normal. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to pretend this is a dream but all of the commotion from the other room is proving otherwise.

"Stay." Mom ordered, wiping my cheeks once before rushing back from the room. "Lauren, stay upstairs!"

"I'm so sorry." I cried into my palm, forcing my gaze down to my lap.

I closed my eyes, hearing Dad's words echo in my mind over and over. How could he say such mean things? How could he tell me being with Alex was a mistake? How could he call me an idiot for this happening when I didn't even know it could be a possibility until this month?

I covered my face, sobbing quietly into my hands as guilt swirled in the pit of my gut. I told Alex this wouldn't happen. I told him Dad wouldn't hit him. He wasn't supposed to hit him. I broke my promise and now he's out there hurting because of me. I shuddered, attempting to breath in deeply only to feel my stomach flip sickly. I coughed, dry-heaving a bit when spit pooled in my mouth. I jumped up, stumbling through the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Shoving the door open, I made it to the toilet just in time to puke my guts up. I retched loudly, forcing everything I just got done eating right back up. Once it was all out, I flushed the toilet and hiccuped to myself. I slipped into the small corner beside the toilet, raising my knees up enough to rest my arms and tuck my face into them in attempt to stop the fast flow.

Sniffling, I breathed in and out shakily a few times, the silence now filling the house making my ears ring. Blinking hard, I forced more tears out and lifted my head to wipe at my eyes. I used my sleeves to wipe my cheeks, instinctively glancing towards the cracked open door when I heard footsteps. I bit my lip, tucking my trembling hands between my stomach and thighs just as the door pushed open.

"Alex." I choked out, cringing at the sight of dried blood all over his hands.

More tears welled in the corners of my eyes as I looked up at him, watching him shake his head at me before he kneeled down to me. I put a hand over my mouth, staring at him with my stinging wide eyes while he continued to press a gob of bloody paper towels over his nose.

"Don'cry." He rasped, leaning his back against the sink.

He pulled his knees up, spreading them out a bit before he motioned between them. I sucked my lip into my mouth, carefully moving to crawl over his left foot in order to sit down between his legs. I leaned against his chest gently, turning to face away from the open door as I rested my head over his shoulder gently. I felt him tense underneath me and frowned, awkwardly turning my head to look up at him the best I could.

"Am I hurting you?" I croaked, the guilt swishing harder when I saw the drenched side of the paper towels. "Oh my God-"

"Sh." He shushed, leaning his head back against the counter. "M'fine."

"You're not." I argued weakly, moving my hand to run up and down his side softly. "I didn't think he'd-"

"S'okay." He mumbled, squeezing me with his knees lightly. "S'karma for gettin' so fucked up."

"My dad punching you in the face is not karma, Alex." I sniffled quietly, pausing my movements. "That was him losing his shit like I've never seen before."

"Tol' you he warn me." He slurred. "Knew it was comin' the secon' you told me. The fuck was he sayin' to you?"

"He yelled at me for being stupid." I explained quietly, leaving out everything said about him.

"Fuckin' Arab-"

"Don't be like that." I frowned, wiping my nose on my sleeve. "It comes out when either of my parents are really pissed. You know that."

"Don' mean it doesn' piss me off." He muttered.

I sighed, remaining quiet after hearing the slurring get significantly worse in the past few minutes. Wiping my face, I sat up and turned to look at him more clearly. I grimaced, taking in the dried splotches around his face and on his sweatshirt before my gaze fell to the large amount along his left hand as he held the paper towels to his face. Glancing back up to his eyes, I saw them crinkle just barely at the corners.

"Why're you smiling?" I asked incredulously.

"You." He mumbled, eyes drooping.

"Come on, we need to get you to a bed before you pass out." I told, biting my cheek while I leaned closer towards the door in attempt to hear outside of it.

"Outside." Alex muttered.

"They're outside?" I repeated, thankful for not having to face them right away after this mess.

"Uh hm." He nodded, slumping back into the cupboards.

"No no." I called, rushing to my feet and grabbing his forearm. "Up. C'mon. We can lay down."

I tugged hard, biting my lip when my feet slipped across the tile instead of staying in place. I huffed, crouching a bit and yanking him sideways.

"Dammit Alex, stop being a dead weight." I groaned, feeling my arms start to burn from trying to pull him up.

He chuckled, slowly moving to his knees. I sighed in relief, successfully getting him up to his feet. I held on his arm loosely, slowly backing out of the bathroom and through the kitchen. I let him go, turning into the foyer nervously. I gulped, trying not to replay the images of what just happened as I pulled him towards the steps.

"Don't trip over your feet because I can't catch you." I told quietly as we turned to the first step.

I flicked the light to the stairs on and moved out of the way for him to go first. Once he was in front of me, I pressed my hands into his back and slowly followed him up the steps. I turned him into the hall, gasping lightly when he stumbled into the wall.

"Keep your eyes open." I instructed, steering him into my room easily. "I don't need you passing out on the floor."

"M'not." He mumbled, waving me off. "M'good. Jus' a lil' sleepy."

I frowned, pushing him the five more steps to the bed and removing my hands. Once my hands were at my sides, he was falling on the bed and rolling on his side. I sighed, shutting the door quietly before walking up to the bed. I pulled my hoodie over my head, deciding to stay in this outfit for another night instead of dirtying more clothes. I dropped it on the ground and leaned over Alex, looking down to see him staring at the wall.

"Let's get out of this." I suggested, tugging at his hoodie. "And your jeans?"

I was met with silence, making my frown deepen. Sighing, I ran my hands over his hip and fought with his button for a few seconds until it finally popped open. Unzipping them, I forced his jeans down his legs and dropped them on top of my hoodie to create a neat little pile. Once I kicked them closer to my hamper, I moved back over to him and gripped the bottom of the hoodie.

"You gotta help me with this one, Lex." I said softly, listening to him huff. "If you sleep with this you're gonna wake up drenched in sweat."

"Mm." He mumbled, sitting up with a little struggle.

I bit my cheek, watching him pull the towel from his face and hold it out to me. I gulped, taking it from him while he pulled the hoodie over his head and setting it on the nightstand quickly.

"Oh my God." I gasped, leaning closer when I was back in front of him.

His jaw looked red and so did his eyes, but that could be from the dried blood. What really caught my eyes was the purple tint to the bridge of his swelling nose mixed in with the dark red coating his nostrils and lip.

"S'okay." He shrugged, plopping back down.

"You need ice." I disagreed, shaking my head while I covered my mouth. "Oh my God-"

"Stop." He interrupted, rolling back towards the wall. "C'mon."

"You need to put ice on that." I stressed, running my hands through my hair.

"Can' even feel it." He answered, making my frown deepen. "Later.""

Sighing in defeat, I walked over to the door and closed it. After flicking the light off, I moved back to the bed and slowly crawled into the empty space between Alex and the wall. I tucked myself under the blanket, biting my lip when I reached to put some over him. Silence fell between us and I remained on my back, staring up at the black ceiling. Everything that just happen still doesn't feel real even though I know it was. It all happened in slow motion, like a dream.

"I didn' mean to." He admitted, the sound of his voice after the few minutes of silence making me jump. "I was bein' a pussy."

"Being scared doesn't make you a pussy." I assured, running my hands over my face in attempt to get myself under control. "I just really wish you wouldn't have went back to that. It hurts me that you didn't talk to me like we decided you would if you felt like doing that."

"M'sorry." He mumbled, slipping his left arm underneath my head.

"It's um. It's okay..." I trailed off, attempting to stay calmer so I don't start another fight. "You're still recovering. So it was bound to happen, right? I'm just glad it was only one day because it won't be so bad-"

"S'not the first time." He whispered, slipping his right hand over my waist tightly.

"What?" I asked, tensing under his touch.

"When you told me you're uh..." He mumbled, pressing his forehead into my temple.

"You did this on our anniversary?" I gawked, feeling his fingers twitch against me.

"N' the morn'n after n' las' night. Uh..today..." He listed, making my heart fall back into my stomach.

"Alex." I whispered, feeling my lip quivering for the tenth time today.

I sniffled, only hearing his heavy breathing in response.

Notes

Shorter chapter to get the drama out of the way! The next chapter focuses a little bit more with Jack's parents and their full reactions to the pregnancy. Sorry to disappoint anyone who hoped it'd go well and be over in this chapter!

Who had a feeling Jack's dad was going to go nuts?

Ps. I promise Jack's dad isn't an abusive psycho and this was a one time thing for him!