BF(F?): A Josh Richards Fanfiction *completed*

35

Jaden and Nessa both looked shocked, and I couldn't say that I blamed them. "Um, what are you gonna do about it?" Jaden asked, glancing down at my belly. We hadn't told them how far along we were yet, so I wondered if he was trying to decide whether he had missed any cues or not. 
"Well, we're going to keep the baby," Josh said, gripping my hand a little tighter. I knew that he could tell I was nervous, but unfortunately for him, I could tell just how nervous he was too.
"Okay," Nessa nodded. It was like I could see the wheels turning in her head as she put two and two together. "I can't speak for Jaden, but I support you guys. I know that I've never really been your favorite, Haley, and I really hurt you, Josh, but I think that this can be an opportunity for me to make it up to you." 

The lunch bell rang, and the four of us stood up. "Not a word to anyone about this," Josh warned, his voice hushed and his tone stern. "We aren't ready for just anyone to know."  
Jaden and Nessa both nodded before they headed their separate ways. Josh and I had class next door to one another, so we walked together. "Do you think we did the right thing in telling them?" I asked nervously. 
"I think that we are doing just fine. Don't stress about it. Stress isn't good for the baby, remember?" 
"Of course, I remember. I'm not stressed, just nervous." 

We went our separate ways, and I sat in the last class of the day. Our appointment was right after school, and I had been so focused on being nervous that I hadn't even considered whether or not we wanted to find out the gender. Josh had said that it didn't matter to him either way, but I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to know. I had always imagined that I would have my life more together before I had to worry about any of this.

The bell rang, and Josh and I walked as quickly as we could to our lockers. Our after-school routine had just been a rewind of the morning, and we had definitely gotten into a good groove of things. 
The car ride to the doctor's office was silent, and I could tell that we both had a million thoughts rushing through our heads. When we pulled into the parking lot, I put a hand on Josh's to stop him from getting out of the car too quickly. "I'm scared, Josh," I admitted, looking him in the eye. "What are we going to do?" 
"Hey, we're going to be fine. Don't even worry about it," he responded. "We're gonna have this baby, and it's going to be alright. Let's go in there and talk to that doctor, okay?" 

When we went inside, I checked in with the receptionist, and she handed me a copy of the paperwork that I had filled out at our previous appointment. "Alright, honey. If you could just make sure that all this information is still correct, then we should pull you back shortly." 
We sat down in the waiting room, and I must have been shaking my leg uncontrollably because Josh put a hand on my knee to steady it. "Will you chill out, please? It's going to be fine." 

Just then, the nurse called out my name. "Haley Reynolds?" 
We went back to the room, and the appointment went well. Dr. Samson looked at us towards the end. "Alright, folks. Everything looks just fine with the baby. Now, the question that you've probably been waiting for: would you like to find out the gender?" 
Josh looked at me. I turned to the doctor, answering with the sentence I had been formulating all day. "Can we get it in an envelope? I'm not sure if we want to know, but I want the option if we end up deciding to." 
She nodded. "Absolutely. I'll have the technician print that out for you." 

"When did you decide on that?" Josh asked as she left the exam room. "That's a really good idea. That gives us some time to really think about it." 
"My mom wants to do a small little gender reveal sort of thing with the family, and I was thinking that I just wanted to be kind of stubborn, except I don't think that I can put up with her wrath if I do." 
He chuckled. "Very smart choice. Samantha can be a little wild sometimes." 

There was another knock on the door, and it opened suddenly. "Hello, guys. I've got this envelope here for you. Congratulations, you two," she said, handing Josh the envelope before leaving the room. 
"Are you ready?" he asked, holding out his hand to help me up from the table. 
"Absolutely. I could use a vanilla milkshake," I replied, groaning as I slid to my feet. 
"You can have whatever you would like, my love," he responded. 

We made it out to the car, and Josh rubbed his thumb against mine as he drove to the ice cream shop that we had frequented so often as kids with my dad. "I remember the first time that we came here," I said, my voice trailing off. 
"We were, like, seven, and we came here with your dad after one of our soccer games," Josh recounted, looking at me for my reaction. 
"It's hard to believe that he left and never came back just a few years later," I responded, tears filling my eyes. I had already been an emtional person, and pregnancy had definitely not made that easy. 
"Hey, hey," he whispered to me, grabbing my hand again. "He's missing out, my love." 

I cried for about ten minutes before I turned to Josh. "I need you to promise me something."
"What, honey?" he asked, looking at me curiously. 
"Promise me that you won't leave this baby like my dad left me."