“What are you thinking?” I asked, trying to break the silence. I stared at Chase, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. He looked up, his hair falling in front of his eyes. I went and sat cross legged in front of him, moving the stray hairs away from his face.
“About her” Chase replied, and I quietly went ‘Oh’.
“We haven’t decided on a name” I reminded him, and he didn’t say anything “I like Nadia, but I was thinking Nadia Itxaro, you know, try and double our luck” I joked, but he still didn’t reply.
“I haven’t told you everything” Chase announced suddenly, taking my hands in his. He dropped from the chair onto his knees, so now he was level with me, looking at me directly in the eyes.
“Everything, what do you mean everything?” Nervously, I looked over to the incubator containing Nadia Itxaro. I’d never noticed until now but it seemed massive compared to her tiny frame.
“She was early, but she’s not premature. Ava, I don’t know exactly what’s wrong but, she’s...Growing”
“Of course she’s growing! She’s a baby Chase, that’s what they do when they’re not pooping or sleeping” I laughed, but Chase placed a hand on my shoulder that slapped the smile of my face.
“No, I mean...Rapidly growing. Ava, she was juts under four months early. That’s why you had pain in your stomach, but your water didn’t burst. Your skin couldn’t stretch any more at the rate that your baby was growing”
I swallowed, and took a couple of deep breaths before replying “What does this mean then?” Chase stroked the side of my face, and the serious look on his face made me tremble.
“I really don’t know exactly Ava but...If she keeps growing at this rate, in a few weeks she’ll be our age, and soon she will have over taken us, and she’ll be older than us”
“You’re telling me that our daughter will be older than us? That our baby girl will be dead before we will? Oh god...” I breathed, scrambling to my feet. I paced back and forth, trying to get my head around this.
There was a possibility Chase was wrong, right? How is he meant to know all this? He’s not even a real doctor! Bile was rising in my throat, and I needed air, quick.
“I need a minute” I told Chase, dashing out into the quietness of the hall. I closed the door behind me, leaning against a nearby wall. My knees buckled, and I crumbled to the floor, tears brimming in my eyes.
Why me? Why did I have to be the chosen one? Why did I have to get knocked up with a zombie kid that’s not a zombie but that is gonna grow up before me? Why me?
If people could hear inside my head, they’d be deafened. However, since I wasn’t actually screaming all this aloud, the corridor was eerily silent, until I heard footsteps approaching.
In the darkness of the hall, I saw Kain slide down beside me.
“Hey, you okay?” He whispered, and I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder
“Why did you do it?” I asked him, referring to our little...’Encounter’ earlier.
“I don’t know. Because I love you Ava, and I hated seeing you in pain, and I wanted to make the pain go away for you Avey-baby” I chuckled quietly at Kain’s use of his old nickname for me, back when I was his girlfriend.
“Do you love Paulie?” I snuggled down into his shoulder, and Kain wrapped an arm around me.
“Yes. I do. I love her a lot”
“Do you love her more than me?”
“No”
“Oh”
The hallway fell into silence again; the only noise the sound of our heartbeats and our breathing.
“Kain, I think you’re confused”
“You can say that again”
“I think you’re confused, in more ways than one. I think you love me, but you’re in love with Paulie. You see the difference?”
“Not really” Kain replied, and I lifted up my head to look at him. He looked down at me, and I inhaled his smell. He really hadn’t changed from when he was my high-school boyfriend.
“You love me, like a sister, but you’re in love with Paulie, as in she’s your girlfriend”
“But Ava, I want to be with you. I know you better than anyone, I’ve been there with you through the whole Chase thing, and I was by your side with the baby. Ava, surely you can see that?”
Kain dipped down so his lips were pressed against mine again. In that second, I saw my whole life with Kain, right from the beginning.
The rebel kid bothering me, then kissing me and asking me to be his girlfriend, our love/hate relationship that spanned almost two years until he kissed my best friend, and broke my heart. I saw myself finishing with him, and I felt all the pain of that day come flooding back.
Not long after that the zombie apocalypse began, and I didn’t really have time to think about my ex-boyfriend.
I pulled away, and I thought about two years ago me.
“No”
“No, but Ava I-!”
“Just...No Kain, I remember how I felt being cheated on by you with my best friend, and I am not about to do that to Paulie. I love Chase, and he loves me, and I know for a fact that Paulie loves you, and you just told me you love her too”
Kain didn’t respond, so I figured I’d just keep going.
“It’s as simple as that Kain. Chase and me, Paulie and you, do you really wanna ruin this again?”
“Your right Ava, I do love you though. I guess I should just move on. I blew it before didn’t I?” Kain stood up, and I looked up at him. I nodded, averting my eyes to the floor.
“Please...Don’t tell Paulie” Kain begged, and he walked away.
“I promise” I whispered after him.
“How is she?” I asked, stepping back into Nadia’s room after my heart to heart with Kain. Chase was leaning over our baby’s bed, making notes into a little pad. I stepped behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“She’s grown”
Curious, I peeked over his shoulder and saw that Chase was right. My little baby was now the same size as a toddler, yet she was only a few hours old. Her blue eyes were closed, and her blonde hair had grown so much it was now around her face.
“Why is this happening? I don’t...Get it” I asked aloud, not expecting Chase to answer but wishing he would all at the same time. Releasing my arms from his waist, I walked so I was opposite him, and I placed my hands on the glass incubator that contained my baby.
“Neither do I. It’s rapid, that’s all I know”
“Can I...?” I trailed off, unsure whether or not to continue. “Can I...Hold her?” Quickly, I looked across at Chase, and I saw that his eyebrows had shot up in alarm.
“Ava, I don’t think...”
“Please?”
The desperate look in my eyes must have convinced him, as a moment later with a heartfelt sigh, he unlocked the incubator, and lifted Nadia out. He held her out to me, and I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to my chest.
“Hello” I cooed, bobbing up and down, staring at my daughter. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn’t making a lot of noise, and I was concerned that she wasn’t breathing, but I soon saw her chest rising and falling.
I’d only been a parent for a couple of hours, and yet I was already so worried! And not about regular stuff either. No, I was worried about zombies eating her, or her turning into a zombie, or her eating us, or someone killing her or her killing someone.
But right now, she was innocent and harmless.
I don’t know how long I held her, bobbing up and down and walking around just holding her. But when Chase extended his arms, asking me to give her to him, I knew I couldn’t let go.
“Please Chase; she’s not dangerous, look at her, she-!”
“Ava, you don’t know that! None of us know anything. She might not even be ours”
My heart stung when he said that. I’d tried to push those thoughts to the back of my mind, but no matter how hard I tried they kept coming back.
Was Nadia even Chase’s?
I mean, was she really Jesse’s, through some secretive way I’d never know? Was she Chase’s, from that one time we’d had sex? Or was she just all mine?
That’s three different people she could possibly be. Three possible parents; it’s like Mamma Mia! only with blood thirsty zombies.
I mean, was Nadia: Nadia Itxaro Duncan (meaning she was Chase’s), or Nadia Itxaro Andrews (Jesse’s) or was she all mine, Nadia Itxaro Barns.
I hated to admit it, but the guys had cooler surnames that I do. And that Jesse’s surname suited her name better. But I didn’t want it to be Jesse’s.
I either wanted it to be Chase’s or mine.
But you don’t always get what you want, as this super fun zombie apocalypse has pointed out. I realised I’d been staring into space for five minutes, and when I came back, I saw Chase staring at me worriedly.
Reluctantly, I handed Nadia over, and Chase put her back in her makeshift crib. He took my hand and began to lead me out of the room. I hung back, wanting to stay with my baby.
“We should get something to eat, to drink, something to take our mind of it. Anyways, Paulie will want to see you, know if you’re okay”
Knowing he was right, I let him lead me out of the room, and together we walked down to the canteen.
I guess I should have expected this.
All the stares and whisperings and murmurings from people sitting in the canteen, eating and drinking.
Chase squeezed my hand, silently telling me not to be bothered by it. But I was. Every single one of the people looking and pulling faces was another person who might threaten the life of my child.
“AVA!” A southern voice shouted from across the canteen, and I looked up to see Paulie running towards me. She threw her arms around me, not touching my stomach, and she pulled me to go and sit down with her and Kain.
As soon as she sat down, Kain took Paulie’s hand in his. I didn’t know if he was trying to prove to me that he didn’t care that I’d shot him down, or if he really did love Paulie, and was trying to show me that I was right.
Either way I chose to ignore it, and treat him like I always had.
“So darling, you poppa pill yet?” Paulie asked, sipping her black coffee, and I stared at her, slicing my food that had just arrived. I think it’s a tin of fish, but judging by the colour, I can’t be sure...
“Excuse me?” I ask, trying to keep a straight face.
“I mean, you give birth to that bundling sack of baby yet? What colour eyes, what colour hair, who’s cheek bones does she have?”
“Who’s...Cheek bones?” Chase repeated, voice sounding full of disbelief.
“Naw offense honey-sugar, but I is sure hoping that ‘lil baby has Ava cheek bones, beautiful, pure bred like a horse that one. Ooh-wee!” Paulie released a noise I had never heard before, and I tried to consume her funny ways like I always did.
Scratch the surface and don’t look too far into it.
“She does look like Ava” Chase pointed out, and I blushed, secretly pleased my daughter looked like me. Unless she has my ears...
“It’s a girl?!” Paulie squealed, and Chase and I nodded.
Under the table, Chase put his hand on my thigh, and began to stroke my knee with his thumb. I placed my hand over his, and he winked at me.
“Yeah, Nadia Itxaro” I told her, and she wrinkled her nose up.
“Itxaro, was that Chases’s idea? It sounds darn informal, like its being trampled on by a thousand wild horses then shoved through a cheese grater”
“A cheese grater? No it doesn’t Paulie, don’t be so over dramatic, I like it, and yes Chase did choose it”
“I like it” Kain announced, and I laughed at him, as did Paulie.
He smiled, and I smiled back; A silent act of acknowledgement.
A yawn escaped me, and I covered it quickly with my mouth. Gosh, I was tired. Like, seriously tired, hit the floor any second tired.
“I’m beat. I’m gonna hit the hay” See? I was so tired that I was talking like Paulie. I got to my feet, and I felt Kain’s eyes on me. I ignored it.
“I’ll come with you” Chase announced, getting to his feet. Paulie giggled her shrill, girly laugh, and I looked at her. She raised her eyebrows.
“Ya’ll won’t be getting much sleep naw will ya?” She poked her tongue out me, still giggling, and I pulled a face at her. I grabbed Chase’s hand, and placed it on my butt.
“No we won’t” I told her, and she started laughing. I waved goodbye to her, and Chase and I began walking back to my room, hoping to complete that statement.
The minutes we stepped in the room, I threw my arms around Chase’s neck and pulled his lips down to mine. We fell back on the bed, him on the top, and I moaned into his mouth. We made out for another half our, and eventually we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
When I woke up again, the room was dark, and the only light was coming in from the corridor outside, sneaking into my room under the doorframe.
“Chase?” I asked groggily, patting the side of the bed, but it was empty.
“No, Chase isn’t here right now, but I am” A voice said.
A really high, squeaky voice; I don’t know any dude who talks like that.
“Who’s there?” I asked, climbing out of bed, and trying to remember which drawer I keep my gun in. Unless Chase has moved it, but I doubt he will have done after what happened last time he did.
Feeling the wall for the light switch I try to think who would be in my room at this time. What kind of weirdo would do that?
“Jesse, is that you?” I called out, and there was no reply. Before I could get really worried, I flicked the switch to reveal the man.
Or...Boy.
“You have got to be kidding me...”
“I know you want me” He purred, his voice ducking lower in the middle of his sentence. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
“Fergus Samuel Matthew Victor Walter Debra Cameron Carnegie Delong, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I droned sarcastically, and Fergus flexed his puny arms.
“Oh baby, say my name again” He begged, and I shook my head
“I don’t think I can” I replied honestly
“Oh yeah, baby, why’s that?” He gave me a sultry look, and I almost threw up.
“I can’t remember it”
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HHHHHHMMMMMM!!! So, why is Fergus Samuel Matthew Victor Walter Debra Cameron Carnegie Delong in Ava’s room? Any suggestions? Please comment about what you think!!!
I just wanna say HEY!!! To BrainySmurf, and I hope she enjoys being back!!! I’m super pleased she is!! But, as promised, my dedication (because she was the only person that commented :( sob) goes to crazy_in_love!!!!!
So here is your epic mention:
WOOOOOO!!!!! THANK YOU FOR COMMENTING!!!!!!!! But, I cannot tell you who is the Dad, but who would you like it to be?? I <3 YOU!! Thank you for commenting!! Please do it again, and vote too!!!!! THANK YOU!!! YOU ARE AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME PERSON!!!! :D
That question is for all of you, who do you want it to be; Chase or Jesse?
And what do you think Fergus wants?
PLEASE VOTE COMMENT AND FAN!!!
Thanxxx for reading!!!
Also, if you like random poems that rhyme please check out my poems, and if you like Vampires, please check out my story Soul: Black Blood. THANKS!!!!
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