Falling Stars (44 page)

As
I watched the wand move around, the technician's other hand clicked and tapped
buttons. There was a muffled commotion out in the hallway.

"Oh
Mia, the baby…she, he, is –"

"I
don't want to know." My annoyance with Serena was growing. Why had I even
brought her along?

"Mia,
how can you not want to at least see the baby inside of you before you decide
you want to get rid of it," she lectured.

"Serena,
just drop it and let it go. You're supposed to be here for me, not for your
speeches." I was getting frustrated and angry. "I should've had Laney
come."

"That's
it." Serena walked around to where the technician was standing and leaned
forward.

"Serena,
stop it. Please!" I shouted. "I don't want to hear. Serena!"
Then the sound filled the room.

"Whoosh,
whoosh whoosh, whoosh".

Tears
immediately fell over my cheeks.

Oh
God! It was true. It was real. I was pregnant. There was a little person, alive
and thriving inside of me.

"Sir!
You can't be in here." The technician yelled and I twisted my body around.

"Is
that –?"

"Christopher?"
I gasped. He knew…he knew something.
Oh, shit!

Scrambling
I tried to get off the table. He was next to me before I succeeded.

"You
shouldn't be here." I growled.

"I
shouldn't be here?" he asked incredulously. "What the hell is going
on? Why does Jackson think you're getting an abortion today?" He placed
his hands on my shoulders.

I
pulled away from him.

"Mia?"

"Jackson's
wrong and you shouldn't be here." Slipping off the table, I tried to walk
around him.

"Um...miss
we aren't finished yet. I still need to finish with the –"

"Okay!"
I glared back to her in the darkness. "Christopher, you need to leave. I
have to finish –"

"Fine.
Finish then." He plopped down in a chair.

"You
can't stay," I spat.

"Oh,
why can't I? There is not a part of your body I haven't seen," he smirked.

He
fucking smirked at me.

"Someone
get him out of here please," I begged and leaned back against the table.

"Christopher,
you should go so they can finish –"

"No
chance in hell, Una dear." He spat each word out with inflection, his eyes
never leaving me.

I
sighed.

"Can
we give them a few minutes?" Serena looked to the nurse and the
technician. They nodded and left the room.

"Una?"
Serena and she walked together from the room. Climbing back up on the table, I
let my legs dangle off the side.

"So,
are you ready to talk to me yet? Cause I'm not leaving you alone until you do."
Where did this side of him come from? He usually ran the moment I pissed him
off or rejected him. Why couldn't he do it now?

"Christopher,"
I whimpered and rubbed my face with my hands. His hands circled my wrists,
pulling them away from my face.

"Are
you pregnant?" The look on his face was something I couldn't read. Anger,
fear, panic, excitement…I didn't know. I sat silently and swallowed hard.

"Damn
it, I deserve to know if you are!" He was definitely angry.

Flinching
a little at his tone, I still couldn't say that one word. It wouldn't come out.
I closed my eyes and bit my lip. He caressed my face with his hands. Dear lord,
those hands could make my whole body light on fire.

"Mia,
are you pregnant?"

I
nodded the confirmation.

"And
it's mine?" His words were whispered and almost not audible.

I
could only nod once more.

He
sighed loudly. At the sound of his ragged sigh, my eyes flew open.

"See,
this is why you didn't need to know." Shoving his hands away, I wrapped my
arms around me.

"W-what
are you talking about?" he stuttered a little.

"Your
sigh…I know your angry, but it's not like I did this alone or on purpose. I'm
on the pill for fucks sake! Yet still…somehow, you seem to…to…knock me up, damn
it! God, I hate you!" I put my head back in my hands. Sobs bubble out of
my chest. Again, he grabbed my wrists and pulled them away from my face.

"Why
won't you just leave?" I cried quietly.

"I
can't," he said in a hushed tone.

He
wrapped my arms around his waist, pushed himself between my legs, and lifted my
chin. He kissed me firmly but lovingly. This was new.

Pulling
back, he looked at my face. I tried to look away but he wouldn't let me.

"I
need to tell you something." There was fear and anxiety all over his face
and in his voice.

"Wh
–?" He placed his finger over my mouth before I could get the word out.

"Mia
… fuck!" He ran his hand through his hair. "Why is this so hard to
say?" he half smiled at me and then pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I…"
he paused.  "I love you," his words whispered against my forehead.

"You
love –?" I choked out the words.

"Yes,"
he said didn't let me finish.

"You
don't love me Christopher."

"Don't
tell me how I feel, Mia." Anger laced his words once again.

"You
barely know me…you can't –" I tried to protest.

"I'm
in love with you," he kissed me again and this time my hands found
purchase in his hair. He moaned into my mouth and then pulled away.

"Sorry."

I
looked at him confused.

"You're
stuck with me. I'm in love with you and now you're having my baby." Then
there was his grin…his cocky grin.

"Christopher
I don't know what I'm –"

"Mia,
for some reason you think you need to get rid of everything that happened, but
I can't let you get rid of my child," he pulled me closer. "I can't
let that happen." He was begging me not to do it, pleading with me. "Please
don't."

"E-excuse
me Miss, are you ready to continue? We have another appointment in a few
minutes." The technician returned to the room.

"Yeah,"
I mumbled, reaching to wipe a tear from my face. Christopher beat me to it,
using his thumb to wipe it away.

"Don't
cry. It kills me to see you cry." He whispered into my ear, helping to lie
back down on the table.

The
technician continued and the sound filled the room again. My chest tightened
and a feeling of nausea filled my stomach.

"Is
that the um –?"

"Yes,"
the technician smiled at Christopher, "That's the heartbeat."

A
smile spread on Christopher's face. I couldn't share the smile with him and
still wasn't sure what I was going to do.

The
technician turned the monitor in our direction. I turned away and watched
Christopher's face instead. It slipped into a look of confusion.

"Here's
your baby." I still didn't look. Christopher's eyes widened.

"Looks
like you are about eight weeks," she said and finished the scan, pulling
the wand away from my stomach. Relief flooded through me. It was all over.

"What
does that mean?" Christopher asked.

"It
means that you have a long time to go yet," she chuckled. "But trust
me it will go by quicker than you would expect. Here you go." Christopher
reached out and took a small square picture of the baby.

"Look,"
he turned it toward me and there it was in front of my face. More tears started
to form and fall down my face. "Don't cry, please. I'm so sorry Mia, I'm
sorry I did this, caused this. I'll make everything better. I know you hate me
–"

"I
don't hate you. I'm just mad." Sitting up, he helped me down from the
examination table.

He
placed the tiny picture in my hands. I stared at it for a moment. The door
opened and the nurse returned to take me back to the other room. Christopher
stayed in the hallway while I changed back into my close.

"I
told you, you should've talked to him about all of this." Serena lectured.

"It
doesn't change anything," I grumbled.

"Wh-what
do you mean?" She stuttered in confusion.

"It
means, Serena, that it's my body and my choice," she opened her mouth, but
I didn't let her finish, "A choice I still need to make."

Opening
the exam room door, Christopher was leaning against the wall with his head back
and his eyes closed. He actually had a small smile playing on his lips.

Could
I really do this? Can he handle this? He said he was in love with me. I care
about him and drawn to him, but I don't know if this is love.

How
will he react if I don't say it back to him? Will it set him off, again? I knew
about the horrors of his past, but I didn't know anything else about him and he
didn't know anything about me.

I
still had a decision to make.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

I
didn't realize it would be so hard to say it aloud, but as soon as I did, all
of the weight I'd been carrying lifted.

When
she said, she hated me it was like a knife to the heart. There was some small
truth to it. Of course there would be, I'd gotten her pregnant. She didn't want
to be pregnant, especially not with my child.

Fuck!
She is pregnant, she's having my baby, and I'm going to be a father. Panic
started to set into my chest. Could I be a father? I didn't know how to be one.
Would I turn out like him? Would I hurt them?

No.
I could never hurt her. It would kill me to hurt her.

Hell
seeing her cry was almost too much for me to handle. Mia was having my baby. An
easy smile tugged at the corners of my lips. We were having a baby.

"You
ready?"

My
head snapped forward when Una asked Mia. She nodded.

"Okay,
everything's taken care of, so we can get out of here." Then she turned to
me. "Did you seriously come in through the front door?" I nodded and
grinned. "Christopher, are you trying to draw attention?" She
scolded.

"If
I'd been told before then none of this would've happened now would it?" I
raised my eyebrow.

She
huffed.

 "Come
on you need to sneak out of here with us." She motioned for me to follow.

I
quickly caught up with Mia. She pulled away a little and her reaction confused
me. When we got back to the hotel, I followed Mia back to her suite. She looked
irritated, but I didn't care.

"I'm
just going to lie down, I'm tired." She rolled her eyes and walked into
her bedroom.

Following
her, I shut the door behind me. She was kicking off her shoes when she heard
the door close. Leaning against the door, I watched her.

"What?"
She caught me watching her. Her voice saturated in irritation. I shrugged.

"No,
what?" She was annoyed and I had to stifle my laugh.

"Nothing."
I slipped my shoes and sweatshirt off before climbing onto her bed.

She
disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes and then reappeared in
sweatpants and a t-shirt. The moment she was on the bed, I wrapped my arm
around her waist and pulled her to me.

"Christopher,
you don't have to hover or do this," she motioned to me holding her. "I'm
pregnant, but I don't expect you to act differently." She turned around to
face me. "You don't have to pretend to be –"

"Mia,
I told you how I feel. I'm an asshole and I don't say or show how I feel very
often, so how about you just fucking enjoy it." She rolled back over
without saying a word. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Do
whatever you want," she mumbled.

Smiling
at my small victory, I buried my face in her hair. Hey, she said to do whatever
I want, so I did it.

She
fell asleep not too long after and I lay there listening to her breaths. Awhile
later, she shifted onto her back. My hand now lay on her stomach and I couldn't
help but slowly rub over her stomach.

The
next thing I knew I was waking up. Stretching I could feel her entire body. I
looked down. Her head was on my chest, her leg and arm draped over me. Wrapping
my arms around her, she started to stir.

She
woke up shortly after and rolled away from me. That wasn't going to work, so I
rolled to my side and put my arm around her. She stretched and peeked through
her lashes.

"Hey,"
she groaned.

"Hey,
feel better?"

She
shrugged.

"I'm
not really tired, if that counts as better." She sat up and I pulled her
back down. "Christopher," she laughed. "I need to get up,"
she protested.

"You
don't need to do anything," I countered.