AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 25 - Maddie: Unexpected
I sat in the waiting room with Danny by my side. I had told Marcus that we were heading to the ranch, but that had been a lie. I was at Ethan’s practice.
My leg bounced up and down, and Danny had to place her hand over my knee. I looked at her nervously. I had come yesterday to get my blood drawn and now I was awaiting my results.
Ethan walked out his door. “Maddie?”
I stood from my seat and walked into his office, leaving Danny sitting in the waiting room. There was a part of me that thought maybe I was just being silly, and nothing was wrong with me. But then there was another part of me that was sure that my suspicions were right.
“So, you are pregnant.”
His words echoed in my mind. I could not believe it.
Ethan continued to speak, but his voice sounded so distant. My mind raced, thinking of a million different things. My hand rested on my flat stomach. Something was growing inside of me.
“Maddie.” He brought me back from my mind. “Are you okay? Do you need a minute?”
“I mean, you just told me that I am pregnant with my fake husband's baby. I don’t know what I’m feeling exactly.”
“You can take your time, and we can discuss your options if you would like? There are some great resources I could point you to, but I would suggest talking to Marcus first. He deserves to know.”
“I’m not getting rid of my baby. That is not even on the table. And I will tell Marcus…today…I will tell him today. I just need some time to digest it.”
“Take all the time you need. You can come back to me when you are more settled, and we can talk about how we will proceed. Sound good?”
I nodded and stood from my seat. “I don’t need to remind you of the patient and doctor confidentiality, do I?”
Ethan shook his head. “I will not breathe a word of this to Lily or Marcus. You can trust me on that.”
I left the room and headed back to the waiting room. Danny stood from her chair and met me halfway.
“You are, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “I don’t know if I should be happy, scared, or both. I don’t even know what Marcus is going to think. We didn’t exactly plan for something like this. We are in a fake marriage, for crying out loud.” I whispered the last part to make sure the receptionist didn’t hear me.
“Okay.” Danny placed her hands on my shoulders. “Here is what we are going to do. You are going to calm down first, and then I am going to take you home. You will have a long and extensive conversation with my brother where you are going to tell him exactly how you feel. Then you are both going to come to a conclusion that suits everyone involved.”
Danny ushered me out of the practice, and we headed back to her car. We had decided to take her car because I had been in too much of a state to drive.
The entire drive back to my house, my head turned and twisted. My hand rested on my flat stomach as I thought of the small life growing inside of me. There were so many things that I was uncertain about but this little life inside of me was one thing I was certain about. I wanted him or her, and I could only hope that Marcus wanted us, too.
When Danny dropped me off, I went straight to bed. I didn’t open my phone. I didn’t even watch tv. I just went straight to my bed. For the last week, I had been ridden with anxiety that had made me lose sleep. Now, it was all catching up to me.
When I woke up, the sun had gone down which meant that Marcus was on his way home. I looked at my clock and saw that I still had a good hour before his truck pulled into the driveway.
I just needed to be normal and then just talk to him. He and I could talk; I could do that. Or maybe I should make him some food. Big news always went down easier with some food.
I pulled the comforter off my body and made my way downstairs. I would make him Mac and cheese and then I would tell him that he knocked me up, and I was keeping the baby. What was the worst that could happen?
He could reject me and the baby, but I doubted he would ever turn us away. That wasn’t in Marcus’ character. He was not the kind of man who ran from responsibilities.
I hated that. I hated that I would turn into his responsibility. I didn’t want to be that. I wanted to be with him but not because he felt he had to. I wanted him to be with me because he wanted to.
When I got downstairs, I found all the lights off which was weird because I never left the lights off.
“Marcus, is that you?” I called out, as I made my way into the kitchen. I gasped when I saw that the entire place had been ransacked. There were plates smashed all over the floor. The drawers had been pulled out of their places, and the blinds had been broken.
How had I slept through something like this?
