Laurel Danielle Parker
How is a 19 year old supposed to react when her mother tells her that she’s pregnant? Please, if there’s a rule book out there, Laurel would like to see it. You live your whole childhood with your life a certain way, and just as you become a young adult everything starts to flip upside down, what are you supposed to do? First of all, there was a reason her mother had seemed off, she was pregnant. That was certainly a shock. Not once did it ever seem to Laurel like she would ever have a sibling, especially not on her mom’s side. On her dad’s side, fine, it wouldn’t be too far out of the realm of possibility in Laurel’s mind, but her mom? It was a complete shock. It wasn’t easy for her to process, but she could understand. It’s not like her mom had even been trying to get pregnant, she just did. Laurel knew that accidents happen, afterall she wasn’t exactly planned either. She just needed some space to deal with it and figure out how she felt about everything. What more could you really ask for? When Laurel found herself at the table with her mom, Dan, Jordan Williams, and his kids, she focused on her phone. She didn’t really want to be there, the idea of being around her mom in general still seemed weird, but there she was to hear the announcement that her own mother was getting married. For 19 years of her life, Laurel had watched her mom, seen her try to date, but nothing ever lasted, not with her dad, not with a guy she dated for a year when Laurel was little, not her first love, not anyone. She’d seen her mother try to put her heart out there, for what? To just end up right back at square one? She’d heard who Jordan was to her mother, that first love, that first heartbreak, someone she wasn’t around or even wanting to talk about for years, how was that reassuring that Laurel wouldn’t be left to pick up the pieces of her mother getting hurt. That being said, that new baby could change things. By Annie’s reaction, it was no secret that she was blindsided by the whole situation as well, even bringing up the baby and how it seemed like their parents were making their own replacement family, which Laurel could actually agree with. Laurel knew her mom, and knew it wasn’t intentional, but it sure felt like her mom was just getting a do over. This time she wouldn’t be the young single mom with her daughter, trying to make it through and do her best, she would be raising a kid in a stable family, knowing exactly what not to do. Its not that she didn’t appreciate her mom, had a bad childhood, or even blamed her mom, but that kid would get everything she didn’t have growing up, that perfect little ideal family she never had. Laurel was still struggling in processing the fact that she would be an older sister, but this was the icing on the cake.
“I just can’t right now.” Laurel said, shaking her head as she stood up. She looked at her mom who was trying to ease the situation between them. “I’m not dealing with this mom.”
“Laurel, please… can we just talk about this?”
“No mom, I don’t want to talk about it. Its not like anything I say would make a difference. You’re just starting over, and I just can’t just sit by and watch you try to do what you and dad didn’t even try.” Laurel slid her phone into her pocket, pushing her chair back in and turning to walk away, pausing only for a moment to give her mom a look that clearly said she didn’t want her to follow. Laurel just needed space and time. It was all just too much right now, and she just needed to get away.
@benitz786 - Jordan, Uncle Dan
@novella - Annie