Chapter 9: It gets worse Cont'd

Mimi: "Shit." Mimi cussed as she dropped to her knees. She couldn't believe her eyes, could she really be pregnant? She had been on the pill, but after the break-up she pretty much forgotten to take them.
"This can not be good." She said to herself, she had dropped the test along with herself. She kneeled in her room with a dozen questions swirling around her head. She decided it was pointless to remain on the floor so she stood on her two feet and made her way into the living room. With shaking hands, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

She slowly dialed the numbers before putting the phone to her ear.
Mimi: "Please pick up." She said as she listened to the phone ring.

When she was about to hang up, he finally answered.
Mimi: "Hello" She said nervously.
Joshua: "Mimi?" He replied.
Mimi: "Yeah..it's me." She started.
Joshua: "Uh how are you?" He asked feeling confused. He hadn't spoken to her since their "affair" and now she was calling him out of the blue.
Mimi: "I need to talk to you. In person." She said.
Joshua: "Why?" He asked, still confused.
Mimi: "I can't say over the phone, please just trust me on this." She begged. She didn't want to tell him, but she had to. And if she was going to do it, she was going to do it the right way, face to face. Joshua was silent for a second but agreed. She said she would text him her address and they hung up.

Matt: "That was Miranda right?" He guessed. Joshua shook his head.
Joshua: "It was Mimi."

Matt: "Dude what are you doing? You're still messing around with her?" He asked.
Joshua: "What?! No. It was one time! I told you that and it was a mistake." He said defensively. Matt shrugged.
Matt: "Why is she calling you then?" He further inquired. Joshua was his best friend and he'd always have his back, but not when he was wrong. And lately he wasn't a fan of Joshua's actions.
Joshua: "I don't know." He said flatly. And that was the truth. He really had no idea what she wanted.
Matt: "Better go see." Matt replied and flipped the channel to the game." Joshua sighed beside him. He got up and changed his clothes in the guest room and fixed his hair back.
Joshua: "Be back." He called as he shut the door behind him.

Joshua stood in front of the small house. He had just arrived, but was hesitant to ring the doorbell. What did she have to tell him? Did he really want to know? He didn't. But he was here now so he might as well get it over with.
Joshua: "This better be important." He muttered before heading up the steps. Mimi answered and said a quick hello before inviting him in.

Joshua: "So what is it?" He asked. Mimi laughed nervously.
Joshua: "What's so funny?" He asked.
Mimi: "You will not believe this..I'm pregnant." She said.

Joshua: "WHAT?!" He exploded. "What does this have to do with me? It's not mines. It can't be." He said. Mimi took a few steps back. 

Mimi: "Calm down Joshua." She said in an effort to relax him. "It's a shock to me too." 

Joshua: "What the fuck do you want from me? A congratulations?!" Well Congrats. I'm leaving now." He said. He started to turn, and this is when Mimi got upset. How dare he? She thought. 

She started to lurch for him, but he caught her by the arms just in time. Despite being held down, she still yelled.

Mimi: "What are you implying?!" She screamed. "I am pregnant rather you like it or not. And you are the father." She fumed. Joshua sighed. He was screwing up big time.

Joshua: "I'm sorry Mimi...I just have a lot going on. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." He said. 

Mimi came back to her senses. She couldn't blame him for being upset, she was too. 

Joshua: "It'll be okay." He said, trying to soothe her. She nodded. She allowed him to hold her hands for a while and she closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths. 

Mimi: "Can you sit down please?" She asked. He nodded and headed towards her couch. 

He sat down and she stood with her arms crossed. They were silent for a long time. They were both wondering how their lives would be changed with the new addition. One thing they both agreed on was it wouldn't be good news for Miranda. 

Back at home..

Miranda made her way to her feet and towards her window. She was idly staring outside when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She jumped a bit before reaching for it. 

She let out a small sigh of relief. Thank God it isn't him. She thought in reference to Joshua. She slide her thumb to the right and answered the call. 

Jaq': "Sweetheart it's about time you answered." He said jokingly. 

Miranda: "Hi Jaq'" She said.

Jaq': "Not to be a nag but you do have a concert today." He said. Miranda actually had forgotten. She silently cursed herself before answering him.

Miranda: "You know what Jaq' I forgot all about it. I have a lot of stuff going on and that just didn't cross my mind." She replied truthfully. 

Jaq': "What's going on?" He asked with genuine concern. Manager mode was off and he was in full friend mode. He was her manager, but he was also her friend and he did care about her.

Miranda: "I really don't want to get into that right now, but I'll be there soon." She said. She hung up before he pushed her to spill her guts. 

Jaq': "Hello? Hello?" He just knew she didn't hang up on him, but she did. He shook his head and hung up his phone. 

After the Concert...

Miranda just shut the door to her limo and was walking towards her front door when she spotted roses. She immediately thought they were from Joshua and planned on throwing them in the trash.

She saw a small white card sticking out of the side. Out of curiosity she picked it up.
It read:  

(Excuses my typo, I meant apologize**)
She was so taken back that she almost dropped the card. When she recovered she picked up the flowers and placed them on the kitchen table.

So what do I do know? She thought as she stared at the flowers. She decided that it was too much to think about tonight. She grabbed the card and headed for her bedroom.

The next morning..

Joshua had planned on staying at Matt's a little while longer, but fate would have it another way. He came to the conclusion that he couldn't keep this new found information to himself. He knew Mimi had wanted to break the news to Miranda, but he had to. 

Mimi will give over it. He thought as he stepped inside his home. 

Joshua: "Miranda" He called. She dropped the card in her hand. She was still debating on rather or not to put it in her phone or just throw it away. She turned around to see Joshua. She was so focused on the number she didn't hear him come in. 

She raised her brow as if to ask what he was doing there, but he spoke before she could get the question out.
Joshua: "I have something to tell you. And I am really sorry about yesterday." He said.
Miranda: "What is it?" She asked.

He didn't answer her right away but instead sat down.
Joshua: "Please sit down first." He said. She hesitated a bit before complying.

Miranda: "Go on" She urged. Joshua shared the unexpected news of the baby with her. When he was done she spoke at last.
Miranda: "So..you are having a baby with Mimi?" She asked surprisingly calm. He nodded. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked.
Joshua: "Because I messed up before by withholding information from you and I didn't want to make the same mistake. Miranda I do love you and it was really hard to come tell you this. I didn't want to break your heart again." He explained. She was silent so he continued.
Joshua: "I would want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, but I've come to realize that may be impossible to do now. We could have gotten over the affair. It would have taken awhile but we could have overcome it. But this Miranda..even if you wanted to work through it, I wouldn't allow you to. It would be selfish of me to expect you to put your love life on hold for the next 18 years for me and so i'm not asking you to. Instead I came her to say good-bye." He said.
Miranda: "Bye as in?.." She started but didn't finish. Out of all the people she loved, Joshua probably hurt her the most, but she was taking the news well. Deep-down she knew that their relationship had reached the point of no return but she wouldn't admit it.
Joshua: "I love you enough to let you go Miranda. You deserve to be with someone who loves you 100% and someone faithful. You also deserve a fairy tale wedding and you will get it one day. I wish you all the best and I'm sorry I couldn't be that man for you." He said and looked down. He finally did the right thing. He had been honest, but he wasn't proud of himself. He still did something he said he would never do. He broken her heart. twice. Without saying a word, Miranda walked over to him. He stood up too. She smiled and pulled him into a friendly hug.

Miranda: "Thank you Joshua." She replied finally. He nodded into her hair and held her for a little while longer. He also breathed in her scent one final time.