I took a deep breath as I sat in the car in the driveway. I knew I had to do this on my own without Cory, otherwise I'd just find a way to get out of it again. So while Cory was at work today, I figured I would stop in at home. After mustering up the courage, I finally climbed out of the car and made my way up to the house. With a shaky hand on the doorknob, I opened the front door.

"Lily?" mum called out, rounding the corner in the entryway. "We weren't expecting you."

"I know." I looked at the ground, avoiding her eyes as I closed the door behind me. "Is Dad here too?"

"In here, sweetie!" dad called from the living room over the drone of the TV.

I walked into the living room and took a seat on one of the chairs. Mum followed me in cautiously. "Please sit, I said. Dad, do you mind muting the TV for a moment?"
He did. "What's up, precious?" he asked.

"I have to tell you guys something."

Mum brought a hand to her mouth and her eyes softened. "Did you and Cory break up?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "What? No. Definitely not."

"Did you get a bad grade at uni?" Dad asked.

I shook my head and smiled at the ridiculous assumptions they were making. Of course they wouldn't assume... I took a deep breath and took turns looking them both in the eyes before saying, "I'm pregnant. Again."

My mum's face immediately fell into a grimace. Dad's was... undistinguishable.

I waited in silence for them to say something. Mum was the first to speak.

"I'm utterly disappointed in you, Lily," she said.

"What?" I shook my head. "It wasn't intentional. I was taking the pill and got sick and it was really an accident."

Dad went quiet, letting mum speak. "Get rid of it," she said.

"No."

"You've thrown enough of your life away. You can't do this again."

"If you're implying my last baby was me throwing my life away... then you're not my mother. That baby was my life and I will never forget her."

"You've got your degree. You were going to switch soon. How will you ever become a doctor?"

"I will make it work." I got to my feet and so did my mum. "I didn't come here for your advice or to be told what to do. I just came to tell you. I'm already 12 weeks along."

Mum's mouth fell open. "You've known for over a month and haven't told me?"

I shrugged. "I had a feeling you'd be upset."

"Of course I am. I have one child and you want to throw your life away."

"How is creating life throwing life away? Why are you always so non understanding? Why do you always expect me to fit into a specific mould and follow some stupid life pattern? Life doesn't pan out how we expect it to, mum!"

Rage burned in her eyes as she walked across the room to me. "Because I'm your mother and I know what's best for you."

"Well if you can't support the wishes and dreams of your daughter, then you're a terrible mother and I will do a way better job raising these children than you ever raised me!"

Her hand lifted immediately, slamming across my face. My cheek burned in pain.

I turned to look at her, tears stinging in my eyes. "Real mature. Abuse your daughter. Congratulations on becoming a grandmother."

Turning on my heel, I walked back through the living room, grabbed my bag from the entry way and stormed back out to my car, getting in and sitting there. I wasn't ready to turn the engine on and leave yet. My eyes were too watery to drive. So I just sat in the driveway and let them fall.

Next thing I knew, the front door was opening and dad came over to me. He knocked on the passenger door and I unlocked it for him. He climbed in, closing the door.

"I love you, Lily, do you know that?" he asked.

I nodded.

"We never thought we would have you. Your mother miscarried so many times... We had almost given up when she got pregnant with you. I think that's why she's so upset. She tried so hard to have you and it was all so planned and you've gotten pregnant twice now so easily."

I shook my head, tears still in my eyes. "But I lost the first one."

"That wasn't your fault. Not that any miscarriage is a fault... But your body was still carrying it fine. It was just an unfortunate accident. I think her rage just comes from her jealousy. She invested so much of her heart into getting you that seeing you easily conceive brings back bad memories."

"I get she hurt a lot at all those miscarriages. A year on and I still feel all that pain from losing my baby. But that was twenty years ago and she's distancing herself from her child."

"She'll come around, love. You know that."

I shrugged.

"Now... did you say babies before?" Dad gave me a suppressed smile.

Sniffling, I grabbed my bag from the backseat and pulled out the ultrasound. "It's twins. Don't know their sex yet."

"That makes me so happy!"

"Lily?" Cory called out when he came home.

"In here," I replied from the bedroom.

He opened the door with a big smile on his face that suddenly dropped when he saw me curled up in the bed. "Hey, what happened?" He was still smelly from work, so he was careful about not coming too close, but he was instantly across the room, sitting on the bed and patting my back gingerly.

I tried to tell him, but I just sobbed.

"Oh no... is it.."

I looked at him. It was a familiar expression of utter despair that was crossing his face. One I had seen over a year ago in the hospital. "Baby is fine, that I know of," I said immediately, not wanting him to live those emotions for one moment longer.

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens. What happened?"

"I told my parents."

"Oh... didn't go well?"

I shook my head. "Mum slapped me."

"What?" He got to his feet.

"Yup. Called me a disappointment. I'm throwing my life away."

He shook his head in disbelief and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

I sat up. "What are you doing?"

He started playing on his phone; a man on a mission looking for something. "I'm calling her."

"Cory don't."

He held up a finger to me as he put the phone to his ear, scowling. A moment later, he seemed to have gotten an answer because he suddenly said, "Did you seriously hit her?"

I heard a slight muffle of my mum's voice on the other end, but couldn't pick up what he said.

"If you ever so much as lay a finger on her again like that, I swear Susanne, you will never ever see your grandchildren. Do I make myself clear?"

Another muffled response, but it sounded angrier.

"Go fuck yourself." He hung up the phone and knelt down by the bed. "I really need to have a shower, gorgeous, but then you and I are going to cuddle it out, order some take away, and then watch a movie, okay?" He brushed my hair back and wiped some remaining wetness from my face.

I bit my lip and nodded at him. How did I get so lucky to have this caring guy? And how much has he changed from the boy I knew in high school?

He gave me a kiss on the forehead before standing upright and starting to strip his clothes off, throwing them into the hamper one sweaty item at a time. I rested back in the bed and watched him as he undressed, a small smirk spreading across my face. As I watched him walk towards the bathroom, I quickly started taking my clothes off and hurried after him.