But Who's Counting?

Chapter Seven

"There's an appointment tomorrow, if you wanna come. It's at the place I texted you. Let me know if you are coming!" I said, ending the voicemail.

Alexander hasn't exactly been answering these last couple days, so I wasn't sure whether he wanted to come or not. I decided that just leaving him a message was the best way to invite him. I hadn't talked to him since I texted him an apology for blowing up at him that night at his apartment. He responded with a lengthy paragraph which really basically said 'thank you for realizing that you were wrong and I was right. I must say, I spotted many errors in what I said afterwards. I apologize, I hope this never happens again. Goodnight.' yada yada yada. The argument happened Monday night and I sent the apology Wednesday night. I secretly hoped it would give me a reason to not hang out with David that day.

David, Crissy, and I actually hit it off pretty great. David was hilarious. He told us about how he just moved out of his parents place and found this apartment next to mine. He had lived in New York his whole life and thought I looked familiar. I joked that we could have been in the same hospital together since we shared a birthday together and were both born in New York. He had a 'girl' who he often slept with, he told us due to Crissy begging to know about his s*x life. He was almost like a best friend already. He told me about his bestfriend who was supposed to move in with him, but ended up taking the open apartment downstairs. The apartment was right under his, so sometimes he'd stomp loudly to mess with Grayson (his friend) and how Grayson would respond by hitting the ceiling with a broomstick. He said that he liked living here and wouldn't mind being friends with us. It actually turned out to be a pretty successful evening. We ate pizza and wings while talking and watching random movies for about 6 hours until David went to 'help his girl' with something. Which we all knew was a code for having s*x. He dismissed himself and surely, ten minutes later, we heard him 'helping' his girlfriend.

David was nice and innocent. Well, not innocent but innocent intentions for Crissy and I.

Anyways, I reached down and put my phone on the charger, feeling my already large stomach touching against my legs. Tomorrow, I would find out how healthy the baby was and get my first chance to see it. I was excited and nervous, to say the least. I hope everything is okay and nothing is wrong. I also googled what I should be able to do at the current stage I am in and pretty much every site said I will be able to see the gender. Although I'd rather not see it until I know Alexander will be able to see it along with me. I didn't know why I felt like this, I feel like it was unfair to him. So, if Alexander didn't come today, I would just wait until he can come to see the gender, even if that means when I give birth to our future child.

I put my phone on the charger and swung my legs onto my bed. My heart rates excelled even thinkin about tomorrow. I was nervous. What if something was wrong.

Nothing will be wrong, my subconscious reminded me. I let out a sigh before staring out the window. The noisy sounds of New York still reaches my floor but it was soothing to me, so I laid down and my body soon fell asleep.

-

The next morning I woke up extremely nervous but excited. Today was the day I would finally get to see my baby. Today, I would realize that this is actually real. There is an actual child inside of me.  My body is being used a temporary home for this human that I helped create. For these following months it wasn't just me. It was me and this baby. This baby and I.

It was weird to think about. Alexander and I's baby will live inside of me for the next few months (if everything goes right, that is.). It will eat from me, grow in me, and soon come out. Then, for the rest of its life I will be responsible for making sure the child has clothes on its back, a roof over its head, food in its belly, and a proper education. My baby would grow up in the best way possible. I've always wanted kids just for the sole reason of being able to spoil them. Just for me to be able to build trust with them so that they know they can come to me for anything and not be judged. Also, so we can talk about boyfriends and girlfriends.

I'm a cool mom.

Or at-least I wanted to be. It seemed like it was a natural thing for me though but then again people also say having a child changes you. I could go from beginning 'super happy' me to being 'strict' mom like this. I didn't want that. I want my kid to naturally behave because if not, I know I won't have the heart to discipline them. Alexander may, although I haven't seen him discipline Maya but then again, she's not a bad child. I want them to be funny but if they aren't it's completely okay. There are enough Kevin Hart movies in the world to last me. They have to have good grades though. That's something I'm very serious about. Grades. I won't allow my child to be failed by the system. I would help them no matter what. In as many ways possible, I would help this baby. With or without Alexander Parker.

I will love this baby.

I will nurture this baby.

I will protect this baby.

That's one of my new jobs. Forever and always.

I rolled out of bed, lazily. I pulled my phone off the charger and quickly entered the hallway. I made my way to the kitchen before remembering to check my phone for a message from Alexander. There was no reply, still. I frowned slightly before grabbing a muffin out the container and mango slices. I ate while listening to music and waiting for a call or text from Alex. By the time I was done, there was still no contact from Alexander's part. I decided to just drop it and go get dressed for my appointment. If he didn't want to come, or even make contact, that was cool. In a way, I already knew this would happen.

Why would he care? It was a one night stand. This was my fault. It was my faulty birth control that got me here. As I remember, I told him I was on birth control. He didn't wear a rubber because of me. So now, I have to face the consequences.

I can do it.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face as quickly as I could before walking back out and popping a piece of mint gum into my mouth. My eyes lingered over to my alarm clock.

Crap.

What time had I woken up?

My appointment was at 11 o'clock and it 10:45. It would take me at least 20 minutes to get over there. I frantically ran around my room, grabbing some clothing to put on my body. I put a head band on, not caring to redo my bun, and grabbed my backpack. I was out the door by 10:50. I locked it behind me before sprinting down the stairs to the garage.

Finding my way to the car, I unlocked it before hopping in and peeling out the garage.

-

After speeding majority of the way there, I made it at 11:08. It was a little busy, so they weren't on to me yet. I checked in, getting paperwork from the lady behind the desk.

Majority of the questions asked if this was my first time being pregnant, my last period, conceiving date, etc. I circled all of the correct answers and gave the packet back to the lady behind the desk. Once returning to my seat, I pulled out my phone.

Still no word from Alexander.

Maybe he was too busy.

Whatever.

"Sophia Matthews?" My name was being called. I stood up and made my way to the source. Standing at the door was a female, dark brown skin and a bun similar to mine on her head. She invited me back into a room before instructing me to grab a moist towelette and pull my shirt up.

I pulled my shirt up and wiped down my stomach before climbing onto the bed.

"Okay, I am Branaé. I'll be doing your ultrasound today. Before we start, Sophia, do you have any concerns? Any cramping? Blood? Have you had morning sickness, yet?"

"No. I haven't had any types of symptoms of being pregnant other than the pregnancy tests." I explained quickly. She nodded before typing into her monitor. I glanced down at my stomach. It was starting to get cold from being slightly wet and the cool air in here. Branaé has now stopped talking and grabbed a bottle. She came over to me with the bottle and a smearing device. She squirted some of the cold gel on to my stomach, then smeared it all over with the object.

That was definitely cold.

I flinched from the contact, causing her to chuckle a little. "Sorry, it's cold. I know."

She grabbed something connected to the computer before beginning to rub it over my stomach. It tickled a little but I began to focus more when I heard the heartbeat. Branaé looked back and forth from my stomach to the screen. She instructed me to look at the screen with her.

"Strong heartbeats. You see right here we have baby A." She said, using her free hand to point towards on end. She then pointed to the other end before adding, "and here is baby B."

Obviously I must have heard her wrong. 

Baby B?

As in, there's a baby A which means there are two babies?

Oh my God.

I could feel tears trickling down my face. Not because I was happy, I was now becoming stressed. Two babies by myself?

This whole situation just became two times harder.

"They are both very healthy. Would you like to know the genders?"

"No. No, thank you." I choked out. She nodded before moving the sensor over to another part of my stomach. She mumbled a few things to herself before asking if I wanted pictures.

"Yes, please. Can you print some for me and my mother please? I would really appreciate that." I said, in shock. I was definitely in shock.

Twins.

Two babies.

This wasn't going to be easy. I should have an abortion now while it isn't too late. I won't be able to do this by myself. Alexander said he wanted to help but that was before we knew it was two babies. Double the work. He would have three kids and I would now have two off the bat, which is way different than having one kid. With one kid, I only needed one stroller, one crib, and one boob. One bottle.

How was I gonna say this Alexander?

Hey, you know how we thought I was pregnant? Yeah well, we are having twins. How cool!

"Mrs. Matthews? Sophia?"

"Sophia." A demanding voice said. My eyes snapped up to the surprising source of the sound.

Speak of the devil.

I immediately grabbed the photos from Branaé before calmly thanking her and grabbing my backpack. I found my way to the door where Alex stood with a hard expression.

He was wearing a suit and had his hair perfectly styled. I wasn't sure how long he'd been here but I did know that he was there long enough to see my zone out. He looked upset, or stressed... we hadn't been around each other that much for me to be able to decipher his feelings from one to another.

I avoided his gaze before waving to Branaé. She gave me another piece of paper, looking down I realize it's the date for our next appointment. 

"See you guys next time!" She called as I walked out. I could feel Alexander following close behind me, his heat radiating to my body. He made me nervous, that was for sure. He probably didn't even know it but he did.

We left the back office and entered the lobby of the clinic. I could feel the eyes on us already. All the pregnant woman and even some of the men staring back at Alexander and I. I heard a few whispers about us, him in particular.

He's here with a pregnant woman.. do they not see that? Some of these woman are here with men as well, yet still ogle on mine.

Well, not mine.

But the father of my children.

"What's going on? Are you listening?" Alexander said, his hand going to the small of my back as we left the clinic. The cool breeze invited us while Alexander directed me to his car.

"No, I'm listening."

"What'd I just say?" He said, opening my car door. He closed it before jogging to his side.

What did he just say? Grocery store?

"I don't know." I admitted, looking at him buckle his seat belt. He chuckled little before assumingly restating what he said.

"I said, I left my phone in my office last night and I didn't get your message until twenty minutes ago. I'm sorry. Now, was there anything you needed to do after this?"

"You're fine. I did plan to go to the grocery store afterwards though. All I have are muffins and Sprite."

"Do you have any cravings? My mom said she craved green apples and white chocolate when she was pregnant with me." He stated, looking at me quickly before putting his eyes back on the road.

"No, not really. I get a urge to eat avocados but it's not strong enough to be classified as a craving, I guess." I said, looking down at my buzzing phone. It was Crissy, asking whether or not she needed to pick me up. I responded saying I've been kidnapped by Alex.

"You're really not listening today, huh?" Alex said, annoyed. I blinked at him before putting my phone down. 

"I'm sorry. I'm just out of it today."

"Yeah, I can tell. Anyways, how's the baby?"

"They said that it's doing fine. It's healthy and growing at a good pace. Gotta go back in a couple weeks though."

"Is it a girl?"

"No."

"It's a boy?"

"No."

"Sophia.. what is it? Nonbinary?" He joked, pulling into a parking spot. I looked around, seeing we were at Whole Foods. He started to unbuckle his seatbelt before I decided to answer. "No, you t**t. I didn't ask."

"Well, did you at least get pictures? What was the Doctor trying to give you before we left?" He asked. We sat in the car with no heat on, making me shiver. My leg began to bounce at me having to lie to him. Should I just show him?

"It was the date for our next appointment."

"Okay. Well, let's go shop Mamas."

"Wait, Alex. I really am sorry for being such a b***h to you last week. That was a total bad move on my part." I said, my hand resting on the door handle.

"I deserved it. I suppose I should spend more time with Maya." Was all he muttered while we sat in his Range Rover. I stared out the window again, preparing to talk. Alexander beat me to it.

"I also apologize for what I said. I was just saying things to see what would get you upset," he admitted, "I have a temper and I can't control it. I just want to know that you can handle the real deal. I think you'd be a wonderful mother. If our child is anything like it's mother, we are in for a good run." He spoke again, keeping his eyes on my hands; one was on the door handle and the other was on the console in between seats.

"It's okay. I was just saying things because you had gotten me fired up. Maya loves and adores you, she's just naturally independent because she wants to be like you." I said. Which was true. In the little time I got to spend with Maya, I could already tell why she did most of the things she did. She obviously wanted to be just like her father. She knew that if he could do it, somehow, someway, she could do it too. That's why she ordered food every morning, she wanted her father to praise her for being so independent. Maybe he wasn't so good at showing his praise lstowards his daughter, backseat that's what it seemed she constantly seeked.

"She's already like me; too much. I love her." He said, looking into my eyes with a slight smile.

"I know."

We sat in a silence for a few minutes. Both of us, Alexander and I, were lost in our thoughts. I seemed to stayed lost a little longer because I had only just realized Alex had gotten out the car and came to my side and pulled the door open.

"Another thing, I want to apologize for calling you a b***h. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. So, I'm sorry Sophia. Can we start over?" Alexander said, adding a gentle frown at the end before closing the door behind me. I stepped onto the curb with a slight smile.

I could tell that he was genuinely sorry for his actions and I was as well. I also knew that at the end of the day, we would have to put our differences aside for our baby. Our babies. So, although I won't forget anytime soon, I decided to forgive him. He deserved a second chance because I wanted our children to grow up in a house where both of their parents were good friends, not despising each other. 

"Yeah.. I'd like that." I said, turning to walk towards the grocery store.