there's like a very small portion of this that has been edited, enjoy.
+
previously on... "maddy," she said as she took her seat and motioned for talia and maddy to sit as well. maddy took a long deep breath. "according to your blood test from earlier today, the hcg hormone is present. which means that you are, in fact, pregnant."
maddy didn't respond. she didn't want to believe that it was true. though, she'd known before this. but right then, in that moment, while she was sitting in a doctor's office, it just felt so real... it felt so official.
"maddy?" aimee asked. maddy's eyes were focused on the wall in front of her, distinctly to the left of aimee. from the corner of her eye, maddy noticed aimee glance at talia worriedly.
talia placed her hand gently on maddy's knee, causing maddy to finally look away from the wall. instead she looked at talia. she spoke quietly.
"i knew that i was. i knew it. it just really didn't hit me until now. this is real." she took a long, deep breath and looked over at aimee. "i'm pregnant."
"yes, sweetheart, you are. i know it's going to be hard, and it's always a difficult concept for anyone to grasp. but this is real, you are pregnant."
maddy nodded and looked down at her lap. she placed her hand on top of talia's that was still on her own knee.
"now if you want," aimee began speaking again. "we can talk options."
"options?" talia asked, speaking for the first time.
"yes. adoption, termination?" aimee trailed off as maddy's head popped up.
"i want to keep it." she said.
"are you sure?"
"yes. i want to keep my baby." maddy repeated, more firmly this time. maddy knew she could do it. she already loved her baby, though it was microscopic. she was going to get a job and do whatever else it would take to make sure this baby was safe, happy, and healthy.
"alright. well, in the meantime i'm going to get you some information on how to keep yourself and your baby healthy during your pregnancy. she reached into a file in her desk and pulled out a packet with the title "twelve steps to a healthy pregnancy" and handed it to maddy. maddy lightly flipped through it for just a few moments before looking back up at aimee.
"i'll read all of this later," she promised. "thank you."
"of course," aimee said. "now on your way home you'll probably want to stop and pick up prenatal vitamins, you can find those at any drug store. the dosage information is outlined in the packet, but if you have any questions you can call me."
"yeah, sure." maddy agreed.
"are you currently on any prescription drugs? no birth control, or anything?"
if only, maddy thought. but she just shook her head no.
"alright. oh, and the results of your std panel are back as well." maddy nodded. "everything's good. you're clean."
"thank god," talia sighed, causing maddy to roll her eyes.
"thank you, aimee." she said.
"of course," aimee said. "so you don't know anything about this boy right? any health problems that you may know of?"
"no, i don't know anything."
aimee just nodded and stood up, so did the girls. "well, that's everything i have for you. i'll walk you out and have one of the secretaries make your eight week appointment."
the three women left aimee's office and headed out to the lobby. after talking to the secretary for a few moments, aimee came back to maddy with an appointment card.
"you're eight week appointment will be on august eighth, so i will see you then. you call me if you need anything, got it?" she repeated, and maddy nodded firmly. "and tell your moms soon, please. and the boy whose baby this is."
maddy looked at around at the judgemental faces in the waiting room for a moment before agreeing quietly. they hugged and said their goodbyes, then maddy quickly left not even waiting for talia. so talia waved to aimee before jogging out of the office after maddy.
maddy was standing, leaning actually, against the car. she was so still, she didn't even seem to be breathing. talia didn't say anything yet, she just clicked the button on her keys to unlock the car so that maddy could get in.
as soon as talia let her door shut behind her, maddy let out a huge sigh. "well, i'm pregnant." she said.
"you are," talia confirmed. "you gonna make it?"
"i'm going to have to, aren't i?"
"you are." talia repeated, with more finality in her voice.
"and i have to tell my moms," talia nodded. "and ashton." maddy's breathing was starting to become shallow and she looked like she was going to cry again.
"alright, okay no. we're not doing this right now, you hear me? take a deep breath and then we're going to walgreen's to get your vitamins."
maddy did as she was told and stayed quiet as talia started the car and drove out of the parking lot.
now, maddy thought, who do i tell first? my moms, or ashton?
maddy knew that ashton deserved to know, this was his kid after all. however, it was still really early. and a lot of pregnancies don't turn out well. most people wait until they're 12 weeks along to tell anyone, when the first trimester is pretty much over. however, usually, that's a decision that the parents make together. it's not one parent waiting to tell the other parent.
maddy just didn't know how ashton was going to react. after all, she didn't know the guy. not at all. he might be pissed. he might not want anything to do with the baby. so maddy should just wait to tell him in order to spare him.
but what if he wasn't mad? what if he was excited? he very well could be. or he could at least be willing to help out financially. so in that case, she should tell him.
but what if... maddy groaned aloud and talia glanced over at her quickly.
"are you okay?" talia asked and maddy only shrugged in response. talia decided to leave her alone for the time being.
when the car stopped at walgreen's, talia offered to go inside and get the vitamins and maddy accepted gratefully, handing talia her debit card before she left.
remembering her financial situation, maddy pulled out the carter's application and began filling it out. she'd have to go back to the mall soon to drop it off. if she could get this job, she needed to soon.
usually, maddy and ben's mothers helped them out when they were in need of money. and that was always. they didn't have jobs after all. ben was in college, and chrissy and lauren were still hoping that maddy would go back so they coddled her immensely.
and that of course brought maddy to thinking how exactly she was going to tell her parents.
"oh fuck," she said aloud, though it was muffled because her face was buried in her hands.
she was definitely going to have to tell them, it's not like she could hide it for very long. a couple more months at most. but no matter how long she waited, even if it was just a few more days they might be mad at her for hiding it. hell, they'd probably be mad at her for getting pregnant in the first place.
one thing maddy knew for sure, was that her mothers would not be happy. not yet, not for a while. it wasn't a what if situation like it was with ashton, she knew for sure that they would be mad and upset and disappointed. and the thought of telling them scared her maybe even more than the thought of telling ashton.
which was insane because she didn't even know the guy.
+
before dropping her off at the apartment, talia took maddy back to the mall so that she could drop off her job application. maddy was promised a phone call and most likely an interview. and the same worker that had been there earlier said she would be sure to put in a good word for her.
and then she was home, alone. talia had afternoon classes so she couldn't stay with maddy. and ben still wasn't home from his morning classes, so he wasn't there either.
after taking the small baby dress out of the shopping bag and laying it down gently across her bed and placing the prenatal vitamins on her dresser, maddy decided she should finish up the cleaning that ben never got to do yesterday. it was clear that he hadn't finished doing it because the apartment was still an absolute mess.
she started by vacuuming because that's what ben was about to do before everything had happened the day before. she finished the dishes that were in the sink and cleaned the counters. she emptied the spoiled food out of the fridge.
she cleaned the bathroom, making sure that all the boxes and pregnancy tests had been disposed of. she also made sure that the toilet was thoroughly scrubbed because she had thrown up again that morning (a quite unpleasant experience that showed promise for continuity).
maddy's room was clean, and she peeked into ben's and saw that his was as well.
so she grabbed her phone and ordered chinese takeout. maybe not the healthiest choice, but according to the packet from aimee that she was beginning to read through, she was going to have to consume about 400 extra calories every day. it didn't seem like much, but maddy barely ate enough as it was (has it been said that she's broke?) so she needed a big meal.
she would be paying for it with cash from the 'food fund' jar that was kept on the small end table by the door. she wouldn't be able to pay for it with the nine dollars left on her debit card, anyway. she bought plenty for leftovers and plenty to share with ben anyway.
she was eating and still reading the packet by the time ben got home. she didn't look up. "so, it's been confirmed. i am definitely-"
"maddy!" she looked up at the voice. it wasn't ben's.
ben was standing in the doorway, eyes as wide open as the door.
"mom?"
+
UH OH
i may or may not have had small bump by ed sheeran on repeat the whole time i wrote this chapter. and every other chapter tbh. is that a bad thing?
so maddy is officially pregnant! and she might get a job! and she doesn't have stds! which means ashton probably doesn't either! and she still hasn't told ashton or her mothers! but that might change soon!?
okay, so guess who actually finally finished this chapter? that's right, me.
what did everyone think of this chapter? honest feedback, please.
does anyone have any theories or suggestions for the future of this story? i'd love love love to hear them
-tori. xx
teaser thing: maddy has to tell someone her secret before she goes crazy from holding it in.