Charlotte

16 // out on top.

Wren opened his mouth to say something but closed it instead.

"You go on and on about how much you love her but your effort to show it falls short."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I do love her!"

"Of course you do!" I replied sarcastically. "But that's none of my business. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

He sighed deeply and sat back on the couch.  "There's a conflicted battle going on in my head and in my heart," he said lowly.

There was a long pause. "And what are the two sides?" I asked.

"Oh like you don't already know. Listen, I like you, Lesra. I think it's obvious by now and I don't know what is going on, but things have gotten way too close for comfort between us. I think it's time we set limits and boundaries. I agree, last night I was wrong for blaming you for the holes in my memory and i'm sorry. I've also realized that I need to take a step back and let you do your thing. I trust you to make safe decisions for yourself and the baby and i'm done acting like the fly that can't seem to leave you alone."

He stood and walked over to the door. "This is me, letting you have your space for now on. Maybe now the conflicted battle will come to a standstill and my wife will come out on top," he gave me one final nod before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

.

.

I looked at myself in the long mirror in my room and rubbed my hand across my stomach. I turned to my side and did the same. I was impressed at how much I had grown in a months time and at 21 weeks, the baby was the size of a large banana! Although last month I had argued that I couldn't wait for this to be over, I couldn't lie, being pregnant was definitely an amazing experience although the baby I carried wasn't mine.

To my amazement, Wren stayed true to his word and let me have my own space. We were bound to have run ins since we lived under the same roof but it was nothing more than a quick hi and bye or a how was your day. It was the type of conversations we should have been having from the jump. The pass four weeks made me realize the equal amount of laughter and annoyance Wrens company had brought.

However, I wanted him to be able to rebuild his relationship with Shawna, mostly for the baby's benefit. He or she deserved to be brought up in a loving home and if I was the obstacle standing in the way, I'd do what I had to do to remove myself from the situation. 

I didn't spend my time sulking around or anything, I began getting down to the nitty gritty and started working on the main piece for the art show. Every single day, Demetri asked about it and every single day I told him that it was coming together; slowly but surely. I recruited Noah to be the arms for my project. I had brought one hundred canvases and he helped bring them in from the car to my front door along with the cans of paint. On other days, he would show up out of the blue to hang out.

Wren would see this and give Noah this look before turning away. I guess he no longer cared.

I tucked my dark locks behind my ear and continued to move around, inspecting my growing bump at every angle. The sudden feeling that I could only describe as popcorn popping gave me a startle.

My eyes widened and I looked down at my round stomach. That was where the movement had came from; from inside of there. I placed my hand on my stomach again around the area that I had felt it. I couldn't help but chuckle when the baby kicked in that same exact spot again and again.

"I was wondering when I'd start to feel you move in there, little one!" I giggled.

I slipped on my house shoes and crossed the lawn to the main house. The sliding doors were unlocked. The cool breeze of the AC kissed my skin as I approached the living room area where Wren and Shawna sat cuddled up on the brown sofa.