xl

                                    

                                          
APRIL 1, 2023
AUTHOR POV.  
Charlotte had set up a nice dinner. She thought it would ease the tension, considering the fact that she would be telling him she wanted an abortion. She hoped he would support her, but she also knew that he would be disappointed. He loved kids— she could tell from the way he treated Summer as if she was his daughter. She had prepared a nice meal for both of them, and the ultrasound from the hospital was in an envelope. 
She checked the time on her phone— it was 8PM now. He should've been back by now. She checked the road conditions— maybe there was a lot of traffic. But no, the maps indicated that the roads were fine. She texted and called him, but there was no reply. She began worrying that something had happened, so she gave one of the staff members at Cobham a call. She never did anything of the sort— the two were insistent on keeping their personal and professional lives separate.
To her surprise, she was told that training had finished an hour ago. They lived only 30 minutes away from Cobham— he definitely should've been home by now. Anxious, she sat in the kitchen, pacing and not knowing what to do. She had a weird feeling in her gut. Something was wrong.
But there was nothing she could do about it. Her pacing only stopped when she got a call from Phil. Picking up the phone she said,
"Perfect timing."
- Why?
"I was just worrying about a lot of things. And you're taking my mind off of everything."
- Well, that's what I'm here for.
"Why'd you call?"
- Do I need a reason to talk to my best friend?
"You know that's not what I meant."
- Just bored. And besides, I wanted to see how you're doing.
"Sorry. I've just been super busy with everything. How are you feeling, by the way?"
- It's okay. I haven't been getting as much playing time as I want, but it's okay.
"I'm sorry."
- I'm exhausted and having the worst spell of my career so far. But the manager knows that and it's not like he's lost faith in me or anything. I just need to get back into my rhythm again.
"I'm sorry. I should be there for you." 
- How are you feeling, anyways?
"Surprisingly okay. And Phil?" 
- Yeah. 
"I'm going to tell him today. About the pregnancy." 
- Okay. Are you still going to get an abortion?
"Yeah. I don't want a child right now. But he's still the father of the child and he has a right to know."
- Let me know how it goes, okay?
"I will. Bye."
The two called for what seemed like hours— they had so much to catch up on, and being best friends, they could talk forever without getting bored of each other. She had almost forgotten that Mason wasn't home yet. They were only interrupted when Charlotte got a call on her phone— from Ben, of all people.
"Hello?" Charlotte said, slightly confused. "What's up?"
- Hey, are you busy right now?
"No, not really. I was just on the phone."
- Can you come over here? It's Mason.
Her heart dropped. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"