After thanksgiving, I talked to Nate about the idea of going to Paris with the girls. He agreed it's be a good idea for me to go, but insisted we check with the doctor this morning that it's okay for me to fly.
As we arrive to the doctor, Nate pulls a recording camera out of his back pocket and I furrow my eyebrows at him as he opens it to begin recording.
"What are you doing?" I ask him with a chuckle as he points the camera at me.
"These are precious memories, I want to always be able to look back at memories with my girls" he says and I roll my eyes playfully at his persistence of a girl.
"Whatever," I say jokingly as we both get out of the car. We took car service instead of a Limo, wanting to avoid gaining any attention of Paparazzi.
The last thing I need right now is for my pregnancy to be blasted everywhere, especially so early on when the chances of a miscarriage is so high.
To my dismay, I see a male outside the doctors office with a large camera around his neck. The second I lock eyes with him, the camera raises and points directly to Nate and I.
"Nate." I say as my voice cracks. He looks up from the camera and sees the man snapping photos of us. "This can't be happening." I say, feeling my nerves begin to grow within my stomach.
We begin walking towards the front doors of the doctor before Nate says, "Give me a second, I'll take care of it... Go inside and check in, I'll be in there in a second." he rubs my back for comfort and I nod my head. As he begins walking towards the man, I make my way inside.
I check in at the front desk and as soon as I go to take a seat, Nate walks inside and he sits beside me in the uncomfortable chairs.
"Paid him off." He mumbles annoyed and I feel my anxiety disappear.
Thank god.
"How much?" I ask as I grab a magazine off of the table in front of us.
"1200." He says and I widen my eyes. Even though that's nothing to him, it still sucks that we have to pay someone for basically nothing.
"Thank you, baby." I say sweetly, using a term of endearment I don't typically use, causing him to give a small chuckle.
"You're welcome, baby." He says back and I smile before the nurse calls my name to head into the office.
We get escorted to the room and I sit upon the exam table. As the nurse makes friendly conversation with us and clicks a few buttons on the machine, I pull my pants down slightly as well as lift my shirt up to make it accessible for the nurse.
After setting up the machine she comes over to me and squirts the cold gel on my small baby bump. Nate immediately brings out his new camera with no shame.
"Sorry about him." I jokingly mumble to the nurse at how embarrassing he is, and she chuckles at my comment.
"Please, you'd be surprised how many people do the same." She says as she presses the ultrasound device on my stomach where the baby is growing. The sound of its heart beat plays loudly through the ultrasound machine, causing tears to brim at my eyes immediately.
That heartbeat is growing inside me, because of me. I'd do anything to protect it.
"There it is.." the nurse says, and I look over at Nate and notice tears in his eyes as well. I reach my hand over to him, and he grabs ahold of mine with his free hand. "Did you guys want to know the gender?" She asks.
I look over at Nate. I furrow my eyebrows, wanting to know his thoughts and he nods his head while he lightly smiles.
"Yeah.. we'd love to." I say. She smiles as she pushes the device a little harder into my belly.
"Well... you're having a girl!" She says and I hear Nate scoff. I smile in excitement as I look over at him, still recording every second.
"I knew it."
-
"I really hope I'm not forgetting anything.." I say to Nate as I look over my bag that's practically overflowing with my belongings for the next two days on our kitchen table.
"I think you have enough stuff in here to last weeks, and you're only going for two days." He says with a light chuckle as he leans on the back of a chair and I smile at him.
"I'll miss you.." I say as I move closer to him. He gets off the chair and holds his arms out before wrapping them around my waist. I mirror his actions and wrap mine around his neck.
"I'll miss you more..." he says and places a light kiss on my nose. "And her." He says softly with a smile.
"Amelia." He says while looking into my eyes and I furrow my eyebrows.
"What?" I chuckle in confusion.
"I've been thinking about names since the day we found out you were pregnant.. Amelia Archibald... Mila for short. It just feels right." He says sweetly, and I look into his eyes with a smile on my face. Every ounce of love I feel for this man makes my heart clench.
"I love it." I whisper before leans his face closer to mine and just as we're about to kiss a knock at the door interrupts us.
I groan before Nate and I break apart. I walk over to our front door and open it revealing Serena and Blair. To my dismay, they both have looks of worry on their face rather than the excited expressions I was expecting.
"Is everything okay?" I ask, feeling worried as I move to the side of the door for them to come inside.
"Have either of you guys seen TMZ?" Serena asks quietly as her and Blair come inside. My heart drops immediately and I look over at Nate. I had a feeling we couldn't trust that man this morning. He took Nates money and still turned in the pictures of us for profit.
Without saying a word I take my phone out as quick as possible and sit on the back of our couch before going on TMZ website. The first article blasted on their page is "is Callie Bass pregnant at 18?"
God.
I click the link and there it is. The photo of Nate and I walking into the doctor this morning, and my bump is quite obvious. My eyes inspect the photo before going down to read the article.
Is Callie Bass pregnant at 18?
Callie Bass, the newest Victoria secret model and CEO of Bass Designs, may be ending her career sooner than expected.
Bass and her long time boyfriend Nate Archibald were seen taking a trip to the ob/gyn of Manhattan early this morning. Bass' tight shirt reveled an obvious bump, much bigger than we saw a few months ago at her debut as the newest Victorias Secret supermodel.
Eye witnesses say Archibald paid off photographers to avoid the photos being leaked. If that doesn't make all signs point to yes-
I stop reading the article, feeling my self grow nauseous at the fact that everyone now knows I'm pregnant. I look up and see Nate on his phone reading the article as well.
"This can't be happening." I say with a sigh as I cover my face with my hands.
"Callie, it's okay. No one even knows if it's true or not." I hear Nate's voice comfort me before feeling his arms wrap around my back as he begins to rub it.
"They don't. Your bump isn't even that obvious in the photo." Blair says, trying to reassure me.
"It is." I say with a sniffle, trying to hold back my tears. I take my hands off my face and look down at the ground.
I guess it was going to come out sooner or later. I couldn't expect to keep the baby a secret much longer. Maybe once we get back from Paris, I can confirm the rumors, but on my own terms.
"You know what.. it's fine." I say and look up at them. Relief washes over all three of their faces and I stand up before grabbing my jacket of the back of the chair. "Let's just head to Paris, and forget about this for the next two days. I'll deal with it when we come back."
"Okay, well.. there's one more thing that might make this a little more complicated." Blair begins, her expression serious. My heart quickens as my anxiety increases. Nate's presence is the only thing keeping me from having a full blown panic attack.
"What is it, Blair?" I ask, my voice shaky.
"The paparazzi—they're downstairs," she says, and a chill runs down my spine. I exchange glances with Nate, his eyes mirroring my concern.
"Downstairs? How did they find out so fast?" I say, my voice even weaker than my last sentence.
Blair sighs, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know."
"Let me walk you guys down." Nate says protectively. He grabs his coat and tightens his grip on my hand, his silent support grounding me. As we make our way toward the entrance, Blair's voice continues, easing my anxiety a tad.
"Callie, stay close to us. Don't let their questions get to you," she advises, her usual confidence laced with an understanding of whats awaiting us.
We descend the stairs, each step echoing the weight of the situation. The air in the lobby feels charged, and I brace myself for this.
As we approach the entrance, Blair hesitates for a moment, her gaze meeting mine. "Are you ready?" she asks, a mixture of concern and determination in her eyes.
I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. Nate, sensing my unease, wraps his arm around me. The moment the door swings open, the chaos begins.
The paparazzi, like a relentless wave, surge forward. Flashbulbs explode, and a barrage of questions assaults us.
"Callie, is it true?"
"Tell us about the baby!"
"Nate, are you ready to be a father?"
Nate shields me as Blair and Serena create a protective barrier. The questions pierce through the air, and I feel the weight of their scrutiny. I try to maintain composure, but it quickly starts to get overwhelming.
Nate's voice cuts through the clamor. "Give us some space, damn it!"
As we inch toward the car, the paparazzi's fervor intensifies. I catch glimpses of their cameras, hungry for any detail. Serena and Blair hop in the SUV before me and Nate continues to shield me from behind. I get into the car and turn around to face Nate to say goodbye.
His eyes are filled with worry, but my anxiety begins to decrease knowing I'll be away from the paparazzi soon. "Be safe. Please call me when you get to the jet." He says and I nod. "I love you." He says as he looks straight into my eyes. Something about his words gives me a bad feeling, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
"I love you." I say breathlessly before he closes the SUV door and dissapears into the sea of Paparazzi. I expected them to disburse, but the paparazzi press against the vehicle, their questions relentless.
Serena shoots a look of frustration toward the chaos outside. "We need to get out of here." She demands to our driver.
As the car speeds away, i watch as a bunch of them hop into black SUVS and begin driving our way. Panic rises in the confined space. I turn to Serena and Blair, a silent acknowledgment passing between us. The city blurs outside the windows as the car speeds up, the paparazzi relentlessly tailing us. I beg the driver to lose them at any cost.
After a series of turns and twists by our driver, we all look out the back window noticing they are no longer behind us. "I think we lost them." Serena says. Relief washes over us, and just as we begin to exhale, a chilling realization sets in.
Serena's words hang in the air as our car speeds through an intersection. Without warning, a car barrels through a red light, crashing into us.
I barely register the quick impact before everything goes black.