Hailey's POV
"Hailey?" Ian's voice made me jump on the toilet. I hadn't said a word to him about being late or even possibly thinking I could be pregnant. I quickly shoved the evidence back into its box and inside the bag, shoving it under the sink behind my mountains of hair products that didn't work for me but that I refused to get rid of.
"One second," I called out, flushing the toilet and washing my hands. Should this have been a moment we shared together? Mierda, did I already fuck up?
"You're home early." I smiled at him, giving him a quick kiss as I continued to the kitchen for a snack. This explains why I've been more peckish and slightly nauseous.
"I finished early and couldn't wait to be by your side again. Did you miss me?" He pulled me close, encircling my waist with his arm, his hand resting over my stomach just above the spot I assumed our child was currently growing. A pang of guilt gripped my chest until I felt I needed to admit what I had just learned.
"There's something I need to tell you." I turned, meeting those beautiful eyes of his- the ones that stole the beauty of the ocean- and placed them in his iris. I pushed on his chest, forcing him to walk backwards until he fell onto the dining room chair. "Stay there one second."
I raced back to the bathroom, retrieving the bag and fishing the test back out. Leaving a mess in the bathroom, I ran back out to him, seeing him eye me with curiosity.
"Whatcha got there? Is it a surprise for me?" he asked, smiling excitedly at me.
"I guess you could say that." Slowly, I approached him, and all the haste I felt moments ago vanished in an instant. "I realize that I probably didn't go about this the right way, and I hope you can forgive me for stealing that moment away. It wasn't something I thought through. I just bought the test and took it without thinking."
"The test?" His smile faded as his forehead creased with sudden concern.
"I am sorry." I held the test out for him to see, witnessing him make sense of everything I had just said. Fear struck me, worried he would be upset about the way this moment played out.
"You're sorry?" he asked, not prying his eyes away from the test and keeping his serious expression. I bit my lip nervously as I waited for him to continue, knowing his question was rhetorical. "Hailey, this is the best news of my life!" He jumped out of the chair, lifting me into the air in a tight embrace as he spun me in circles. His lips curled as he beamed the brightest smile at me, his eyes twinkling with unbridled joy.
"You're not mad?"
"Mad? Are you kidding me?" He shook his head, his smile never leaving his face. "I could never be mad at you, Hailey. You're carrying my child!"
Hearing him say my child did so many things to my body. Firstly, it sent a radiating joy pulsating through me, reciprocating his smile tenfold. Secondly, it made it feel so realistic, knowing I was creating life inside me this very second. Lastly, it sent a surge of hunger down to my core like no other.
"I am carrying your child," I stated, feeling the need to say it out loud, too, to really seal the reality of it all. We are having a baby!
"Liv is going to freak out when we tell her!" Ian jumped, seeming happy at the thought. There were no more doubts or insecurities over the way Ian felt about Liv. He loved only me in that way, making it crystal clear in a million different ways.
"I can think of a few people that will." I nodded, feeling my smile widen at his notable excitement.
"He's absolutely precious, Liv," I said, staring at little Johnny in a whole new way. Soon I would be holding my very own child, bundled in a blanket with soft skin and that sweet baby smell.
"I like to think so, too." She smiled, pulling the blanket from Johnny's face to better see him from where she sat on the bed. Her surgery had gone well, and she opted to just have a mastectomy so she could lower her chances of ever dealing with this again. Lucas joked that he was going to pay the doctor to make her boobs even bigger when she was well enough to get implants. She punched him in the arm, causing us all to laugh. I could tell Lucas was trying to keep things light, as the mastectomy was obviously affecting Liv. She smirked lightly, knowing she secretly enjoyed his joke.
"When do you start chemo?" Ian asked, holding his arms out for me to hand him Johnny next.
"Tomorrow. They wanted to give me time to recover from the c section and the mastectomy. They did the PET scan, and it hasn't gone past my lymph nodes. It's supposed to take a few hours." She took a heavy breath as she explained it all to us. Her anxieties were evident in her expression as she dazed off, staring at her hands. She was thinking about the worst-case scenarios again, probably remembering the way her mother was at the end. I nudged her with my shoulder, sitting on her bed beside her. She scooted over, making room for me and laying her head on my shoulder.
"I'll be there with you," I assured her, placing my hand over hers. "I'll bring magazines and my sketchbook and you can help me come up with ideas."
"I'll come, too!" Ian jumped in, unable to pry his eyes away from Johnny. I knew he was feeling much the same way I had been earlier.
"Thank you guys," she whispered before lifting her head back up. "Didn't you say you had some news for me?"
I couldn't help the large smile that crossed my face as I stared into her icy blue eyes. She reciprocated the smile, knowing me too well and already being able to tell it was going to be good news.
"I'm pregnant."
I think this was the very first time I had ever really heard Liv squeal with excitement. She hugged me tightly for a while, allowing me to see the tears that misted her eyes when she pulled away.
"I am so happy for you, Hails!" She squeezed my hands. "I hope it's a girl. We could have playdates!"
It made me so happy to hear my best friend be so excited for me. Her words only drove my own excitement to new heights.
"Congratulations, man," Lucas said, patting Ian on the shoulder.
"Thanks." Ian beamed a proud smile at Lucas as he handed Johnny over.
"When's your first appointment? How far along are you?" Liv asked me, showing her inner girl.
"I am only 7 weeks along. My first appointment will be in 5 weeks on a Tuesday. Apparently Tuesdays are my day."
"Oh my gosh! Mine were Tuesdays, too, when I was pregnant with Abi anyway. With Johnny, they were Fridays."
"No way!"
"Any idea what they are talking about?" Lucas asked Ian, nudging him with his elbow.
"Not a clue, but I'll learn." He held my gaze, showing me all the love in the world as he admired me from afar. His eyes always brought a feeling of love to wash over me when he stared. He and Lucas went on to have their own conversation in the corner. It made me happy to see them finally develop a stronger friendship. I think Liv was happy about it, too.
"I have some parenting books, if you want them. They helped me learn a lot before Abi was born," Liv offered.
"Yes, please. I am so scared that I won't know what I'm doing."
"Honestly, no book is going to help make you feel like you do. It's more like a guide. Every kid is different, and so are the parents. Some things are going to work for you and others won't. You just figure it out as you go." She grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight as she made eye contact with me. "You are going to be an amazing mother, Hails. I have no doubt about that. Just be you and your child will grow to be a wonderful person. You have a heart of gold and are made of pure sugar, but have a hot flame inside your gut that makes you strong."
"Thank you, Liv. I needed to hear that."
Looking at Ian, I found his eyes already on me. He beamed another smile at me, winking at me from afar.
We're going to be parents.
"Are you ready?" Ian asked me with keys in hand. We were both excited, as it was finally time for our first OB appointment. Today we would see our little growing bean for the first time and there was no word to describe how we felt aside from pure excitement times one thousand.
"Yes, let's go!"