So Be It // o. maatta

Chapter Ninety-Seven

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Alex's POV

In all technicality, I had lied to Olli, covering a big secret. Huge secret, frankly.

However, what I had fibbed about wasn't bad. Or even close to being remotely terrible.

You see, I had told Olli that in a few years, we'd be raising our kids in our house. In reality, it was going to be a hell of a lot sooner..

Yes, I was pregnant.

Like I said, it wasn't a horrid secret of any sorts. It was a thrilling secret, that I knew he'd love, considering that we talked about our future children so frequently. And the lie I told was theoretically not that grand, either. We would be raising our children in that house, within the years to come. We were just going to be starting sooner than we had originally planned.

That night, after we had spent some more time down, in our darkened kitchen, we laid in bed, side-by-side. The bedside light was still on, as I had been scribbling down a story idea, while Olli read. He was humming a tune absentmindedly, as I tucked my pencil into the metal spiral my notebook.

"Olli," I stated, carelessly tossing the book of lined paper to the floor. "Can we maybe talk for a minute?"

His gaze instantly broke from his novel, to me, appearing concerned. "Is everything okay, babe?"

I smiled a bit, trying to relax him. "Yeah, everything is great. I just want to talk.."

His jaw clenched, before he nodded, setting the paperback down. "What's up?"

Nervously, I chewed on my lower lip. God, I had been mentally preparing myself for this moment, for the three weeks that I had known about the pregnancy. "You know how we always talk about having kids some day..?" I watched as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah..?" He told me, slowly.

"Well uh, have you ever thought about how soon you want kids...?" I beat around the bush.

He looked incredibly lost. "Er, I haven't thought about it much, no. Whenever you want to, I'm okay with.."

A wave of relief hit me, knowing he didn't say something like, 'Five years in the future' or, 'certainly not anytime soon'.

"How about seven months from now...?" I choked out.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, all the color drained from his face. He pushed himself up straighter, eye-contact never breaking. "What?"

"How would you like to be a father, starting sometime in November...?"

"Alex," He drew out each letter of my name. "What are you-"

"I'm pregnant, Olli." I blurted out.

Time seemed to stand still, as his blue eyes traced over my face, scanning every inch. He remained silent.

"Olli." I whispered, eyes pleading with his. "Say something."

"Baby." He appeared dumbfounded. "Mine. In you...?"

I just stared at him, sort of caught off guard by his unusual response.

"Alex, we're, we're having a baby?"

This time he actually strung a coherent sentence together, so I nodded. "We're going to have a baby, Olli."

Wordlessly, he tossed his back into the headboard behind us, eyes concentrating on my still-very-flat stomach.

"Are you okay?" I murmured, half afraid he was angry with me.

"Okay?" He broke out, "Honey, I'm fantastic! You're having a baby! We're having a baby!" Before I knew it, he was enveloping me in a tight, circulation-constricting hug.

Moments later, he pulled away, and rested his hand on my abdomen. "How far along..?"

I hesitantly lowered my hand, so it sat atop his. "Two months.."

"Oh my god." He mumbled, starting to rub small circles along my tank top. "You're pregnant."

"I'm pregnant.." I repeated. Deep down, I was very excited for a little Maatta, but in my brain, I was petrified. I didn't know the first thing to being a mother, and Olli didn't have a clue about being a father.

"You don't sound happy.." He pointed out, looking up to me. "Why aren't you happy?" He was using his pouty lip, and puppy dog eyes.

"I am happy, Olli." I promised. "Just a bit nervous, that's all."

He propped himself up, and leaned closer to me, lips brushing against mine. "Alex, don't be nervous. You'll be great. Be happy, sweetie; We're having a baby."