C4 Decision

Using her spare key, Alexis opened the door to find her mum's worried look – she already knew what was coming. 'Alexis, why didn't you stay at Olivia's instead of coming in this rain? It's still pouring out there, and I didn't hear a taxi. Judging by how wet you are, you must have walked all the way. You want to give me a heart attack, eh? What if you fall sick? What do you want me to do?' Mrs James said, handing Alexis a hot towel and pushing her towards her room for a hot bath. The concern in her voice was palpable, and Alexis felt a twinge of guilt for worrying her mum like this.

Alexis came out in her PJs and found her mum had set the dinner table, complete with her favorite dish . She put on a brave face, acting like everything was fine, trying to brush off the weird feeling that had been settling in her stomach all day. She didn't want to see the look of disappointment on her mum's face, so she decided to sort things out on her own and tell her after... after the abortion. Yeah, an abortion – that was the only solution Alexis could think of, even though the thought of it made her feel like trash. She didn't know how her mum would react, and she wasn't ready for the drama.

But she was thinking about spilling the (fairy)tale to her bestie Olivia. Olivia had been her partner in crime since kindergarten; ever since Alexis stood up for her and fought off those bullies, they'd been inseparable. To Alexis, Olivia was the sister she never had – she trusted her blindly. Maybe Olivia would know what to do, or at least have some crazy idea that would make Alexis laugh about this whole mess.

Alexis sat down at the dinner table, trying to eat like normal, but her mind was a million miles away. Her mum kept asking her questions – how was school, how was Olivia, what did she want to do tomorrow – and Alexis was just nodding and answering like a robot. She needed to get out of there, go talk to Olivia, figure out her next move.