Impossible Miracles

 

Kaylee

‘I want you to love me, like I'm a hot ride’

I woke with the sun shining warmly on my face and the soft sound of Rihanna’s Only Girl playing. Keeping my eyes closed against the brightness of the sun, I stretched out my body.

‘Be thinkin' of me, doin' what you like’

The song keeps playing. It’s my phone ringtone. It takes me a moment before my eyes shoot open. My phone! I quickly sit up, and look around for it. The walls and floor is a cream colour, as is the sheets wrapped around my body. Clothes and shoes are strewn around the floor near the bed, including my own. I quickly look down at myself. I’m naked! A soft snore sounds behind me. Carefully looking over my shoulder, I see where the sound is coming from. A tanned muscled back peeks out from under the sheets, stretching up to nicely muscled arms folding up underneath a mess of sunkissed brown hair. Oh My God!

I quickly spin back around, searching for my purse amongst the discarded clothes, I slowly slide off the bed. Picking up the strangers tattered blue jeans, I find my purse. Digging into it, I find my phone, just before it hangs up.

“Hello?” I whisper.

“Good morning darling” The bright cheerful voice of my mother fills my ears.

Finding my black lace underwear and bra, I slip them on quickly.
“Hey mum” I quickly search for my dress around the room.

“How was your night out with the girls?” She asks.

“Good” I huff, glancing over to the bed where the guy is still sleeping. “I guess”

“You guess?” She sounded confused.

“Well I just woke up, so my memory hasn’t caught up to me yet” I find my dress and one of my heels just outside the bathroom.

“Oh, well I do hope you had fun honey. You’ve been very down the past couple of weeks”

I walk back over to the bed, picking up my stranger’s black hooded jacket searching for my other missing heel. Where is my shoe? I walk around the room, searching when I notice to my left is a sliding door, exiting out to a balcony. I’ll find my shoe after I get off the phone. Sliding open the door, I step out into the bright warm morning sun.

“I know mum. I just feel at a bit of a loss at the moment” I say softly. After closing the door behind me, I walk to the rail of the balcony, looking out at the view of buildings in front of me.

“I know honey. Just take your time, okay? We just want to see you happy again” her concerned voice softly sounds in my ears.

“I will be mum” I say softly. A garden table and two chairs sit in the corner to my right, and after taking a seat, I search my purse for my compact mirror and look at my reflection. Eyeliner is smeared underneath my eyes, making me look like a raccoon. Using my fingers, I wipe the smudges from under my eyes.

“I know you will be darling. We just worry about you is all. Are you still coming for lunch next weekend?”

“I’ll try mum but I might have to work” I work at one of the top Wedding Planning companies as a bridal makeup artist and one the weddings has made a sudden wedding date change to this weekend instead of waiting another month. Something about not wanting to have to wait any longer.

“Ok darling. Well, just let me know”

“I will” I speak with mum a little while longer before hanging up and taking a deep breath. I always need to take a deep breath after speaking with my mother. I don’t know why. Watching the activity around me, I sit in silence, listening to the sounds of the city. Glancing down at my phone, I check the time to see is just after 11am. Standing up, I hear a door open and close from inside the room. I walk back inside looking over toward the front door directly across from the sliding door. I glance over to the bed to see its empty and the stranger’s clothes and shoes missing from the floor. I check the bathroom, but it’s empty.

Where’d he go? The door. That was him leaving. I felt my stomach drop at that thought. I’ve never just been left before.

Picking up my purse, I toss my phone inside, and grab my shoe, taking another look around the room in search for the other one. I find it in the bathroom sink. I quickly slip on my shoes before noticing a black shirt on the floor. Must be the strangers… His left without his shirt! I giggle before pick it up and putting it in my bag. I take one last look around the room, finding a white card on the floor near the room door. Room 108 is printed on it. Room key. I pick it up before walking to the door and out into the hallway.

 

 

Chase

It’s the sun shining on my face that wakes me up. Turning over and stretching my body, I open my eyes. Remembering the night I had, I turn my head to see an empty space beside me. Sitting up, I glace around the room. My clothes and shoes are spread out over the room, but hers aren’t. Getting up from the bed I quickly throw on my briefs and jeans. Where’s my shirt? Look everywhere around the room but can’t find it. Finding my jacket half hidden under the bed, I chuck it on. She’s left. Why would she just take off…? Walking out of the room, I look around, thinking she might just pop up. She doesn’t. She couldn’t have left to long ago. Maybe she’s down stairs. I quickly put on my shoes before running out the door and along the hallway to the elevators. Pushing the down button, I wait impatiently for the elevator.

DING! I rush in side pressing the button for the ground floor as the doors begin closing.

As soon as the door is open I rush out, looking around the small lobby for her. There’s only a young lady with blonde hair sitting behind the front desk and an elderly couple in front of the desk enquiring about a room for the night. She’s not here. Knowing I paid for the room last night, I rush out the front doors and into the busy side walk. There are too many people for to try and find her. Turning around in a circle, I throw my hands into my hair. My phone! I got her number last night. Digging into my pocket, I pull out my phone and hit the power button. Nothing. My phone’s flat.

“Shit!!” I yell, the people around me looking at me weirdly. Looking up at the hotel, I think of her. I can still see the piercing deep blue of her eyes, the deep redness of her lips and the way her chestnut blonde hair hung around her curved waist. Her softly tanned skin and beautiful shaped body. She fit into me perfectly… And now she’s gone. I look around me once again. It’s hopeless. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I walk down the street, into the fray of people and away from the hotel.

 

 

Kaylee

Exiting the elevator, I make my way over to the front desk. The bright blonde lady smiled as I approached.

“Good morning ma’am. Did you enjoy your night?” She asked enthusiastically.

“Yes, thank you” I answered with a small smile, handing her the room key. She smiled widely at me again before looking down at her computer.

“Okay, your room was paid for last night, so I will just check you out” Paid for last night? Must have done it when we checked in.

“And all done” She smiles back up at me.

“Thank you” I smile back as I leave the desk and walk out the door. The street was busy with people. Walking out to the curb, I hail a taxi and climb inside. Giving the taxi driver my number, I sit back and watch everything move around. Memories of last night were beginning to return, but it’s the reason why we were going out in the first place that had me back in a depressed state.

 

I was 17 years old when I started getting pains in my lower stomach. At first, I thought it to be period pains, but this pain had me curling into a ball for several minutes with tears streaming down my face. When my mother took me to see the doctor, it was revealed after doing ultrasounds, and taking some blood tests, I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

“PCOS is common in woman of your age. About 12 to 18 per cent” He said. HE was a tall man, with graying blonde hair, and a bright white smile.

“Will she still be able to have children?” My mother asks.

“Well, considering Kaylee’s age and the size of the cysts, they shouldn’t pose any problems” He says smiling at the both of us. After prescribing me with the pill to help even my menstrual cycle, and telling me to stay active and eat healthy and the cyst will give me no troubles. Thanking the doctor, we left. I followed the doctor’s instructions, I took my pill, ate healthy and did regular exercise. And he was right. I had no troubles.

 

It was only a few weeks ago that it happened. The pains returned, but with full force. I was out for my morning run. It was Tuesday so it was my day to run around the lake near home. It’s a 4km run and takes me just over an hour to do. I was half way around when the pain hit. I dropped to the ground, screaming in pain and clutching my lower stomach. There were heaps of people around, but only one stopped to help me. She was an elderly lady, with long white hair braided back out of her face, and dark brown eyes. She had been out walking with her fluffy puffball of a dog. She got some people to help load me up into her car, and drove me to the closest hospital. The pain was still there but dulled just enough I was only crying. I was loaded onto a bed and after several scans and tests, the doctors found what happened… The cysts on my left ovary had erupted and had done some damage to my insides. With quick preparation, I was sent into surgery.

 

My mother was sitting in the chair beside me reading her book when I woke later that night. Her bobbed cut chestnut blonde hair was still as neat and tidy as ever, her makeup still perfect and her clothes without so much as a wrinkle. But her usually bright green eyes looked dull and redden. She smiled at me when she noticed I was awake. Putting her book down, she leaned into my bed and held my hand.

“How are you feeling honey?” She asked softly, running her hand through my hair.

“Sore” I answered hoarsely. My throat was dry and I couldn’t move without feeling like my stomach was being ripped open.

“I’ll call for the nurse to get you some pain relief” She stood up and pushed a button on the wall behind the bed. Very shortly after, a nurse came in with a glass of water and some panadol. After guzzling down the water and panadol, the nurse left to fetch the doctor.

He was a tall, middle aged man with bright red hair, big blue eyes and a muscular build. After looking over the chart at the end of my bed, he turned towards my mother and me before pulling a chair over and sitting down beside my bed.

“I’m Doctor James Isaac. I was the doctor who performed the surgery” He said in a soft tone.

“Were you successful?” asked my mother.

“The surgery was successful, yes” he answered.

“Thank god” she exclaimed, laying her hand over her heart.

“However, the eruption had caused a fair amount of damage” he said softly. “Unfortunately, we could not repair the left ovary, and had to remove it completely”.

“So, she only has one ovary? What does this mean in terms of having children?” my mother asks.

“Yes she only has one ovary. In terms of the right ovary, we had to remove several cysts while Kaylee was still under. As for reproduction…” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and looking directly at me. “I’m very sorry, but with amount of damage from the cysts, there is no possibility of bearing children. I am very sorry”. I could feel tears welling behind my eyes, while my mother openly sobbed. Mum’s always wanted grandchildren, and even though she still has my younger brother, Carter, she hoped to be in the room when I had my first child. I guess that will never happen now.

 

 

Chase

It was a little after two when I finally reach the apartment complex I lived in. Walking up the concrete stairs to my apartment, I prayed one of my roommates is home. Knocking on the door, I listened to the shuffling of someone coming to the door.

“Hey man” Tyler says, swings open the door, shirtless, and pads back over to the floral couch that’s against the wall a few feet from the door.

“Hey” I say back, closing the door behind me, and dropping onto the couch beside him.

“Where’d you end up last night?” he asks. I picture her immediately.

“At that hotel” I answer shaking my head. Tyler slaps my leg and starts laughing. It doesn’t take me long before I start laughing too, but I soon stop and frown. With my friends, we had great times, but with girls, it never ends well. Tyler stops laughing when he sees my face.

“What’s with the frown? Not a good night?” he asks.

“Nah, man. It was a good night” I answer. “It’s this morning that has me bummed”

“Why? Was she ugly?”

“No. The complete opposite actually… She was gone”

“Shit man. Sorry” I’ve known Tyler since pre-school, and he knows me better than anyone else. We grew up together and were always into mischief as kids… Even worse as teenagers.

 

Tyler is almost my exact opposite. Where I’m 6’2, Tyler is only 5’9. I’ve got bright, almost clear blue eyes, Tyler’s are dark brown, sometimes almost black. I’ve got short, messy dark brown hair, while Tyler’s is long, curly beach blonde. I have toned muscles, but Tyler has very defined muscles, but I can still drop him to the floor.

“So where’d you end up?” I ask.

“At a coffee shop talking with this amazing chick just about all night. I got home not to long before you did”

“Real?”

“Yeah, man. We gonna catch up again tomorrow. You gotta meet her man, she’s gorgeous”

“Sure, man. Hey, where’s Ethan?” I ask. Ethan is our other roommate. We met him in collage and we just all hit it off.

“In his room smashing his bed into the walls again” he answers. Out of the three of us, Ethan is the player. He has a new girl every weekend. He sleeps with them then sends them on their way, and never speaks to them again. He’s the most ripped of the three of us too, and covered in tattoos that stretch up his arms over his back and chest and down one leg, and he loves the attention it brings him from the ladies.

Ethan’s taller than Tyler but shorter than me. He has pale green eyes and a mess of short black hair.

“As always. You working tomorrow?” I ask changing subjects.

“Yeah, man. Ryan needs me in early, so I’ll be gone before 6” Tyler has been working at the local smash repairs as a panel beater for the past three years and loves it. It helps that his boss is really laid back.

“What about Ethan?”

“No idea, man. He goes when he wants” Ethan’s a tattoo artist at the shop down the road. It explains all the tattoos. He’s his own boss so he does whatever he wants, especially since he owns the shop.

“What about you?” Tyler asks.

“Always. Bright and early, at the crack of dawn” I say.

“Where you at tomorrow?”

“The office probably” I work at a construction company, and my job isn’t nearly half as laid back as my roommates, just cause of the fact my boss is also my father. I work twice as hard, since I actually have two jobs; I work on the constructions and help in running the company. Tomorrow I’m in the office running the company. Tuesday, I could be out on the sites. That’s where I’d much rather be, but since I’m expected to take over the company when dad retires, I have to know how to run it. I know someone else who would much rather run the company than me; my little sister, Alexis. She loves helping me run the business when dads away, but dad says it goes to the eldest.

Tyler gives me a pat on the back as I get up from the couch and walk over towards my bedroom.

The floor plan for our apartment is simple. From the front door you have the lounge room and kitchen directly in front of you. My bedroom is the door to the right just after the couch, and Ethan and Tyler’s rooms are on the left, with the bathroom in the middle. From the kitchen, the open doorway leads to the laundry and toilet.

My room is pretty simple. A bed against the wall opposite the door, cupboard at the end of the bed, chest of dress against the wall behind the door and a TV in the corner. Falling onto my bed and think of last night. Quickly putting my phone on charge, I turn it on, and search through my contacts. There it is… Kaylee…

 

 

Kaylee

When I get back home, I walk straight in for a shower and wash last night off me. Getting out of the shower, I hear the voice of one of girlfriends, and roommate. Walking out into the lounge, Avery smiles at me.

“How was your night? Did you have fun?” She asks. She’s still dressed in her little black strapless dress and heels, and her makeup and hair are still as perfect as when we left last night, but that’s Avery for you… Perfect.

She’s 5’6 with long legs and curvy body, long curly strawberry blonde hair that falls perfectly around her, bright green eyes, a heart shaped face and bright pink lips. Anyone that goes near her instantly falls in love with her. I guess that’s why we become such good friends. I hated the attention, she loves it. We met in middle school and became instant friends. We’ve been inseparable since. When I told her I was moving to the city for beauty school, she backed a bag and asked me when we were moving. She made me laugh so hard, especially since I knew she was serious.

“The night was good, I guess. The morning… Not so much” I say plopping down on the couch beside her.

“What? Why?” she questions.

“Well, I woke up next to a strange guy to my phone ringing. It was my mother ringing so I step outside to talk to her, and when I walk back inside, the guy had taken off!”

“Your shitting me?!”

“Nope”

“What an asshole!!”

“Yeah. So how was your night?”

“Good as far as I can tell. Drank most of the night, and still haven’t been to bed yet. I met this guy and we went for coffee at about 3 this morning and just talked all morning. It was the most fun I’ve had out in a long time. We catching up again tomorrow”

“Aren’t you at school tomorrow?” Avery is in her third year of collage studying to be a doctor.

“Yeah, but I have a free period tomorrow” she claps her hands in excitement. “You working tomorrow?” she asks.

“Yeah, but only for a few hours. Doing the makeup trails for the wedding this weekend. I got to do all 6 bridesmaids and the bride. It’s gonna be hard on the wedding day since I apparently only have two hours to do them all. Just glad they called Jakki in to do their hair”

“Shit”

“Yeah” I sigh. “Where’s Skylar?”

“No idea. She took off from the club with some guy” That was Skylar for you. She’s the rebel of us three. I met her my first day of beauty school and she stands out like no other.

Being 5’3, big chested, covered in tattoos with currently cropped shoulder length midnight blue hair, piercings, and an array of different coloured eyes, who would miss her. I say ‘currently’ as that can change at any time. The day I met her, her hair was deep purple, the next, it was bright green, so who knows, maybe she will come home with rainbow colours. As for the different coloured eyes, they are defiantly unusual; one eye is blue specked with green while the other is green mixed with brown. I think they emphasize just how different she is from everyone else, in a good way of course.

“I should go get dressed” I say getting up from the couch and padding to my room.

When Avery and I first moved to the city, we were in a tiny, two bedroom apartment. Now that there are three of us, we decided on renting out a house. The house we got was perfect for us. We got a four bedroom, two bathroom, brick and tile house with open plan living room and kitchen and built in wardrobes. When you walk in the front door you’re in a short hallway, an archway to the left opens into the living room which stretches into a kitchen with black granite bench tops and white cupboards. To the right of the front door is the main bedroom with ensuite which we decided to be the study and spare bathroom. Following the hallway up, you come to another hallway, turning left you walk into the kitchen. Further down you have another little hallway. The door on the right is the laundry and on the right is the door to the small wrap around backyard. Going right from the entry hallway, the first door to the left is Skylar’s room, and the second is the bathroom. To the right is Avery’s and mine is directly down the hall.

My room is pretty average for a girl. My bed is in the middle of the room with the head board against the far wall, small bedside tables sit either side. My wardrobe is the right hand wall and my dressing table is against the left, and my TV hangs on the wall behind the door.

Walking to my wardrobe, I pull out a short halter neck yellow sundress and slip it on before walking to the bedside table and grabbing some underwear from the top draw. I pull them on before collapsing onto my bed feeling completely drained, physically and emotionally, and it isn’t long before I feel myself drift off.

 

 

Chase

It’s been an hour that I’ve laid here, staring at her name on my phone. I want to ring her, but I can’t bring myself to hit the call button. I mean what would I say: “Hey it’s me, Chase. The guy you left alone in bed this morning. Was just ringing to ask why?”

No. I can’t say that. I could text her, but again, what should I say. If I just text her Hey, she’d probably just ask who’s this? Girls have done that before.

I keep trying to think up reasons why she left. Maybe one of her friends called and was in trouble and needed help? Or did she just wake up and left without a backward glance? Throwing my phone to the floor, I shook the thoughts from my head. I gave her my number, if she wants to talk to me, I’ll wait for her. Rolling to my side, with my back to my phone, I let my mind wander back to last night. The boys dragged me out for a night of fun since I had been ‘moping around’ the past few weeks, though I pretty sure that either of them were told they were going to have a kid with their girlfriend of five years, then told a few weeks after that it wasn’t even theirs, they’d mope too. Chelsea was 5’6 with short blonde hair, crazy green eyes and an amazing figure. We’d met when I was 18, and she was seventeen at a local coffee house, we hit it off right away. She knew I wanted kids, and when she told me she was pregnant, I was over the moon. I immediately took her out to the shops and started buying baby stuff. Then one night while we were out for dinner, I don’t know, maybe it just ate at her too much, with me telling her how much I loved our baby already, and that I couldn’t wait to hold him or her in my arms for the first time. It was when I started asking about baby names, she blurted it out.

“It’s not yours” she whispered, softly, but loud enough for me to hear. My whole body froze up and I just stopped.

“What?” I stared at her, thinking my ears were playing with me.

“The baby. It’s not yours” she said quietly, her head down watching her hands in her lap.

“What do you mean it’s not mine?” I felt myself getting angry. “If it’s not mine, then whose is it?” I didn’t want her to answer me, I wanted her to stay quiet. I knew whatever she said would send me over the edge and shatter my heart.

“Jason” They worked together. Both practicing to be lawyers. I slam my fist down on the table, making her and everyone around us jump.

“When?” I gritted my teeth together, spitting the word out through my clenched jaw.

“The week you were away with your father on that trip” she whispered, still not looking at me, tears trickling down her face. That was the week dad and I went to Sydney for a big meeting with other building companies. Throwing back my chair, I stood up and left. Chelsea tried ringing me for a few days after, but I never answered, and when she came around, the boys turned her away.

Maybe it’s best if I never hear from Kaylee. I’m just not ready for anyone else yet.

 

 

Kaylee

It’s been a few weeks since the girl’s night out. Skylar returned late that night saying she spent all day in bed with a guy named Ethan having wild sex. She hadn’t heard from him since. Avery still goes out and see’s the guy she spent the morning with at the coffee shop. It wasn’t until last week we finally found out his name, Tyler. As for me, I heard nothing from my stranger, though every night since, I’ve had the most intense dreams of him. It always comes up in pieces, like I’ll see bright, almost clear blue eyes staring at me, then my fingers running through messy dark brown hair. I’ll feel a breath on my neck, lips against my shoulder, hands running along my waist. I’ll hear him moan softly in my ear, and warmth shoots through my entire body. Then I jerk awake, panting, sweating, and an ache between my legs. Apart from my dreams, everything goes back to normal. I got to work, come home, have a shower, eat dinner, read or draw for a little while then I off to bed, and begin the day over.

It was the day of a wedding that I began to feel sick. I was nauseas all morning, and still had the maid of honor and the bride’s makeup to do. I was half way through the maid of honor’s when I had to run from the room, straight to the bathroom. I threw up my breakfast omelet into the sink. I heaved for another ten minutes before washing the puke out of the sink as well as my mouth. Bad omelet. Feeling better, I walk back out to the dressing room filled with confused bride’s maids.

“Sorry about that ladies. Bad omelet this morning” I said with a smile. They all smiled back and asked if I was feeling okay.

“I’m fine. I promise” I say, and get back to work.

When their makeup is all finished, I pack up my kit and leave. It’s what I’ve been taught to do. I’m not a guest to the wedding, I’m there to work and when I finish, I leave. Leaving the building, I walk past the kitchen as a lady walks out with a tray of champagne, the smell of cooking meat fills my nostrils and my stomach flips. I quickly run out the front door and empty the remains of my stomach into the garden. Then the pain started, an aching in my lower stomach. Oh, no. The doctors warned me that the cysts they removed from my right ovary may re-grow. Is that what’s happened? Have they re-grown? I quickly shuffle myself into my car and head home. Avery is on the couch studying when I come in the door.

“Hey chicky, how’d it go?” she asks, looking up from her book. She must have seen something on my face, because she throws her book aside and rushes off the couch to me. “What happened? Are you ok?”

“Yeah. I just ate a bad omelet this morning, and threw it up half way through doing the maid of honor’s makeup” I say.

“Oh, do you want a drink of water of something?” she asks, dragging me over to the couch and sitting me down.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you” I smile at her, letting her see I was okay. “But the pains are back” I spit out.

“Oh, no. Are you sure? Have you been to the doctor?” she always panics a bit whenever I was getting pains.

“No, not yet” I sigh. Leaping off the couch, Avery runs towards her room and returns a few seconds later with her handbag hanging off her shoulder, and her car keys in her hand.

“Come on” she helps me up off the couch and ushers me out the door.

 

 

Chase

The past few weeks have passed by in a blur of work, work and more work. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy so I won’t have time to think of why Kaylee hasn’t rang me. It’s worked for the most part, but every night when a lay down to sleep, she crawls out the box I put her in. I remember the way she moved, dancing along to the beat of music, her body crushed against mine in the fray of people. Her laughter and smile, and the taste of her lips and skin, how soft they felt against me, the feeling of her hands on my skin, and mine on hers. The sounds she would make when I touched her in all the right places. The way she curled up into me and drifted to sleep. Eventually I drift off to sleep, remembering the girl I met on the dance floor of a packed club.

I’m at work in the office Wednesday morning, as usual when she comes waddling into my office.

“Chelsea” her stomach has grown into a small bump, as has her hair which is now a light brown.

“Oh I still you still remember my name” she sneers, crossing her arms over her chest, notifying to the fact her boobs are practically falling out of her tiny green halter neck dress that ends less than halfway up her thighs.

“Yeah, I remember” I say, turning back to my computer.

“Well, you didn’t seem to remember when I rang you, several times. Or when your asshole friends shut the door in my face” she spat.

“What do you want Chelsea?” I spit with my hands clenched.

“How are we supposed to raise the baby when you never answer your phone?” she asks rubbing a hand over her stomach.

“How are ‘we’ supposed to raise the baby? Chelsea, there is no ‘we’. You made that choice when you cheated on me!” I snap, standing and leaving over the desk.

“So what? I make one little mistake and suddenly, that’s it?” she cries.

“Little? How is having another guy’s baby little, huh?” I say slamming my fists down on the table. She just didn’t get it.

“Well, it’s not…” she whispers. “But it’s ok cause he doesn’t want it” she smiles. I stare at her for a moment before dropping my head and laughing, shaking my head.

“Why are you laughing? You look like a crazy person” she says, which makes me laugh harder. “You might want to stop before your mother gets here” That makes me stop.

“My mother?” I ask.

“Yeah, I rang her before I came here to tell her the news” she says, rubbing her stomach again. “We’re all going to lunch”

“YOU WHAT?” I yell which makes her jump.

“I told your mum about our baby” she says, looking at me like I’m stupid.

“IT’S NOT MY KID!! Why would you?” I yell again.

“Baby, come on” she says walking towards to me, her hands held out to hold me.

“Don’t touch me” I spit, smacking her hands away. “Get out” I point to the door.

“Baby” she whimpers.

“NO!! Get out. I’m not your ‘baby’ and that is not my kid. Deal with it yourself. I’m done. WE’RE DONE!!” Tears fall from her eyes before she turns and runs out the door. Twenty seconds later, my mother storms into the room…

 

 

Kaylee

We’re in the waiting bay when the nurse calls my name.

“Kaylee!” Avery and I both stand up and walk into the nurse’s station. Sitting on hard blue chairs against the walk, the nurse takes a seat in front of the computer.

“Ok, so what seems to be the problem?” she asks. She’s an elderly lady with graying hair and soft grey eyes hidden behind small framed glasses.

“Kaylee has been experiencing pain in her lower abdomen” Avery juts in before I can get a word out. “She has had experience in similar pain resulting in PCOS”

“When did they start?” the nurse asks.

“This morning, after I threw up” I say. The nurse looks at me quizzically. “Food poisoning” She hums before turning to her computer and typing quickly. Standing up, she moves into a joined room, and searches through the cupboards, grabbing something before walking back out.

“I need to take a urine sample, so if you can just pee in this” she says handing me a little plastic jar with a yellow lid. “Toilets are just outside to your right” Taking the cup, I walk out of the room to the toilet. When I’ve finished, I hand it back to the nurse and take my seat. Slipping on a pair of gloves, she grabs what looks like strips from the draw and dips each of them into the urine. Waiting a moment, she changes gloves and grabs a slip of paper, and writes something down while looking at the strips. Tossing away the strips and urine, she hands me the slip of paper.

“Doctor James is waiting for you. Give this to him. Out the door, third door on your right. Thanking the nurse, we leave and enter the office of Doctor James. His a younger man, could be no more then 28, with short shaggy brown hair and dark brown eyes. I hand him the piece of paper and take a seat. He looks at the paper quizzically and back at his computer before looking at the paper again. Standing up, he excuses himself and walks out of the room with the paper in his hand. Avery and I look at each other and shrug. A few minutes later he returns. Sitting in his chair he turns to us.

“Kaylee, I’m gonna get you to go back to the nurses’ station and have a blood test. It should only take about ten minutes to get the results back” He says to me. Standing up I walk out of the room and back into the nurses’ station. I’m immediately sat down in a chair and within seconds, I have a needle in my arm and the nurse is drawing out my blood into a vial. She takes three samples of my blood before taking the needle out and pressing a small cotton bud to my arm. She tells me to put pressure on it while she runs the tests. Five minutes later, she sends me back to the doctor with another slip of paper. I take my seat while he reads the paper, then types into his computer. When his finished, he turns back towards us.

“So I can see from your file only a couple of months ago, your entire left ovary, and the majority of your right was removed” he says, hands clasped together and his elbows resting on his knees.

“Yes, a cyst erupted on my left ovary and there was lots of damage”

“Yes, but it’s the fact that you shouldn’t be able to conceive that has me dumbfounded”

“’Shouldn’t be able to conceive’? What do you mean?” Avery asks, my mind was to boggled by that statement to ask myself.

“The reason for Kaylee’s discomfort, and why I had the blood tests done” He turns towards me to finish his sentence “You’re pregnant”. Shock crosses my face. But how? The doctor gives me a moment to process the news before speaking again.

“Now, due to your past condition, I would like to see you weekly, if not fortnightly, for checkups and to ensure the baby’s health and growth are normal. Very few women in your position actually come out with a healthy, full grown baby. Most do have many complications, but given your fitness level and healthy eating from the cysts, there should hopefully be no dramas”

“What complications can she have?” Avery asks. The doctors looks at her before answering.

“The basic complications we have with women with PCOS, is mainly miscarriage. But there is also a high case of gestational diabetes, and pregnancy induced hypertension”

“What’s that? The hyper…?”

“Hypertension. It develops after the twenty week mark and causes high blood pressure, server swelling, and can process into eclampsia, which is seizures, neurological damage, blood clotting, and can result in both maternal and fetal death. This is why I would like to keep a close eye on your progress” he says turning to me. “Now if you don’t mind, I would like to notify all nurses and doctors of the situation, in case I am not available should something happen”

“Yes that is not a problem” I say, my head still trying to wrap around all the information.

“Great. Now I’m going to prescribe you with some medication to keep all of your levels up, take each one as described, and I notice you are on the pill?”

“Yes, I am”

“Okay, as of today, do not take them. I’m also going to give you some print outs on what to expect throughout your pregnancy, most of it is pretty straight forward, like any other pregnancy, but there will be information on the complications we spoke about for you to read to get a better understanding. It’s not to scare you okay?” I giggle at that and nod. “It would also be good for your family and friends to read them too so they can assist you in any way possible” Doctor James turns back towards his computer and begins typing and printing. Pulling a manila folder out of his bottom draw he places everything inside and hands it to me.

“Now if you have any questions, just come in and ask to see me. I’ve put you on the priority list so you should be able to see me straight away. Now I would like to set up the next appointment for in two weeks, so what suits you?” we organize my next appointment and after saying goodbye, we leave.

 

 

Chase

“What did you do?” my mother snaps.

“Nothing” I snap back, throwing my head back.

“Then why did Chelsea run out of her crying?” she asks.

“Because I told her to get out! We’re over mum” I yell.

“Chase Ryder Scott! Do not tell me you left that poor woman who’s carrying your unborn child!”

“That ‘poor woman’ cheated on me! It’s not my kid!” her face drops.

“What do you mean? How do you know she cheated?” she asks softly. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming myself.

“She told me… A few weeks after I found out she was pregnant. We were going to tell you the news that weekend during lunch, but…” I take another breath.

“Oh” she stands still for another moment before walking towards me and wrapping her arms around me. “I’m sorry baby boy” she whispers as I wrap my arms around her, hugging her back.

Caroline Marie Scott is a soft hearted woman, I should know that better than anyone. My 5’6, 45 year old mother is the most caring woman I know. Her long light brown hair is pulled back out of her face in a neat bun, and her dark blue eyes stand out behind her light eye makeup that makes her look 30 instead of 45. She is a stunning woman, and many people tell her so. I guess it helps that she is an active person, always on the move, mostly for the charity she runs. Mum lost her parents when she was 6 years old, and was moved from home to home until she turned 18. She helps the kids who’ve lost their parents, giving them a stable home, helping them through school and raising money to help get them whatever they need. She’s been running the charity since I was five, and so far, has been very successful.

Pulling away from me, she gives me a faint smile and rubs my arm.

“I’m very proud of you Chase” I nod my head, giving her a smile back. “Now why don’t we go have some lunch, and we don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want too” I give a little laugh, nodding my head.

“I’d love that mum” I say before gathering up my stuff, and with her hand in the crook of my arm, I escort her out of my office.

 

 

Kaylee

Skylar’s sitting on the front step smoking a cigarette when we arrive home. She stands up as we pull into the driveway.

“Hey, where’d you two go? Been sitting out here for an hour” she says as we climb out the car. Avery looks at me first before she walks around the car to my side.

“We were at the doctor’s” I say, the shock still in my system. The news hadn’t really sunk in yet.

“What for?” Skylar asks taking one last drag from her smoke before stamping it out on the driveway, a cloud of smoke escaping from her lips. I pause a moment before grabbing her elbow.

“Let’s go inside first” I say pulling her towards the front door.

Once we’re inside, I pull Skylar into the lounge room while Avery makes for the kitchen to make us some cups of tea. Sitting on the couch, Skylar looks at me closely.

“Kaylee? What’s going on?” she asks. “There not back are they?”

I shake my head staring at her. This is going to be the first time I say this out loud. I look down towards my stomach. There’s a baby in there. The thought makes me smile. With a hand over my stomach I look back up to Skylar’s worried face.

“I’m pregnant” I giggle, cradling my stomach. Skylar’s face turns to confusion.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant” I repeat, laughing softly. “I’m going to have a baby, Sky” Skylar breaks into an earsplitting grin and hugs me harder than she ever has.

“OH MY GOD!” she screams. “Congratulations Kay!” She pulls back from me, tears running down her face. She knew how much I wanted to a child, and when the doctor told me I would never be able too, it crushed us both.

“But, how?” she asks. I shrug my shoulders, a smile still plastered on my face. Avery walks in with a smile and hands us our cups of tea.

“The doctor doesn’t know how, but we all have some reading to do” Avery says pointing to the manila folder hanging out of my bag. “He said she can have some complications during the pregnancy and there are ways we could try avoiding them. She has to attend an appointment every week to the doctor’s for checkups to ensure the baby and mum are healthy and strong” she smiles at the word ‘mum’, we all do. Shit! Mum!

“My mum!” I say. “I have to tell her, and dad”

“We’ll invite them to lunch tomorrow” Avery says. “You can tell them then. You need today.”

“What about the father?” asks Skylar. My face drops. I didn’t think about that.

“Shit” I say, my head dropping into my hands. I feel both of them begin to rub my back. I tilt my head back, looking at the ceiling.

“We’ll deal with that tomorrow” Avery says giving me a smile. I smile back at her, and pat her leg in thanks.

“Now” Avery says standing up from the couch. “How about I go make us some popcorn and grab some cool drinks and we sit down for a movie?” Skylar and I both nod our heads. “Sky, do you want to go grab us some blankets? And Kay can pick a movie.” We all head off to our chore. Searching through our movie collection, I found one that I believed fitting for the situation. Popping it in the player, I sat on the couch to wait for the girls. Once we were all settled in and ready, I picked up the remote.

“What we watching?” Skylar asks stuffing popcorn into her mouth.

“What to Expect When Your Expecting” I giggle, both girls joining me as I hit play.

 

 

Chase

Lunch with mum went surprisingly well. We went to a little Chinese place mum likes. She ordered the satay beef and I ordered the sweet and sour chicken, our favorites. We talked about all kinds of different things, and laughed so much. On our way back was when mum brought up the upcoming ball in a few weeks”

“Will you be able to make it?” she asks. It’s a fundraising ball for her charity.

“I’ll definitely try mum”

“Please do, honey” she says with a smile. “I’m still trying to think of a theme. We’ve already had a masked ball, and a Victorian one.” We sat there thoughtful for a moment.

“What about a Dream’s Ball?” I ask.

“What do you mean, dear?” giving me a confused smile.

“Well, it’s for the kids to help make their future dreams possible. So, what if everyone comes as their dreams, or when they arrive, they say or write their dreams down, and have the kid’s dreams typed out and hanging on the walls for the guests to read. It may even help more.” Mum gives me a big smile.

“I love it. A Dream’s Ball” she pats my hand, giving it a squeeze.

 

Arriving home later that day, I find a box on the ground in front of the door. Picking it up, I open the door and walk inside. Chucking my keys on the bench, I put the box down next to them and shrug myself out of my black suit jacket. Walking around the bench, I go to the sink and pour myself a glass of water. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the scribble on the side of the box.

 

Chase Scott

 

In black texter is my name. Pulling my glass down, I walk over to it. Grabbing a knife out of the holder, I slice the sticky tape and open the box. Inside are my old shirts Chelsea used to wear, and take home with her, photos of us together, and a letter in a sealed envelope. I put all the contents back in the box except for the letter, before picking it up and taking it to my room. Putting the box on the floor, I sit down on my bed, letter still in hand. I run a hand through my hair, and let out a sigh before open the envelope.

 

Chase,

Here is all your stuff. I don’t want any of it. What you said today was horrible and I will not stand to be treated that way. So this is my goodbye. I never want to see or hear from you again, and you will have nothing to do with my child. Have a good life.

Chelsea

 

Screwing up the paper, I toss it to the ground, chuckling. About time. Dragging the box closer, I pull out my shirts. I go to toss them in my dirty pile, but stop before I do. I toss them back in the box along with her letter. I quickly rummage through my draws and closet, tossing anything of hers to the ground by the box. Picking it all up, I walk out of the house and down to our rubbish bin, throwing everything inside and slamming the lid. I don’t want any of it either.

 

 

Kaylee

I threw up the next morning. I woke up with the smell of cooking bacon in my nostrils, and my stomach rolled. I bolted out of my room to the bathroom and spewed up the contents of my stomach. After I washed my hands and rinsed out my mouth, I walked out to the kitchen to find Skylar cooking breakfast.

“Good morning baby mumma” she says cheerily. The smell of bacon is stronger in here and my stomach flips more.

“Morning” I say quietly, trying to hold down whatever is about to come up. Skylar turns to look at me.

“What’s wrong? You look pale” she says putting the tongs down on the bench and walking over to me. I can feel it rising in my throat, and push past her, over to the sink and begin dry reaching.

“The bacon!” I hear Avery say. “The smell of cooking meat will make her nauseas.” They both begin rushing around, opening windows, trying to get the smell out. Suddenly, hands are on my shoulders, and I being pushed out of the kitchen and out the front door. I take deep breaths of the fresh air, and after a few minutes, my stomach settles. Sitting on the front step, I start to laugh quietly.

“What’s so funny?” Avery asks, sitting beside me, still rubbing soft circles over my back. I didn’t even notice.

“That sucks” I giggle. “I like bacon.” Avery begins to laugh with me. We sit there laughing for a few minutes. I can hear Skylar running around the house spraying something.

“What’s she doing?” I ask, turning to look back at the house.

“Trying to get rid of the smell” Avery laughs. “Let me go see how good of a job she’s done” She gets up and walks inside, leaving me alone. Looking down at my stomach, I rub a hand over it.

“You’re so mean, making mummy be sick, and being able to have bacon. You wait ‘til you’re out, mummy’s gonna eat plate loads of bacon” I say to my stomach, still giggling softly. Skylar comes running out of the house carrying a glass of water and some salt crackers.

“Avery told me to give you these” she says handing me the water and crackers. “Said they’d help with the nausea.” I quickly gulp down half the glass of water, and eat the crackers. I was feeling better now that I had something in my stomach.

“Sorry” Skylar says. “About the bacon. I was trying to make you breakfast.” I stand up and give her a hug. It was sweet of her to do that for me.

“Don’t sweat it. It happens” I say. “I don’t think eggs on toast will make me throw up” She gives me a smile and pulls me back into the house. The smell of bacon is gone, and Skylar sets to work to make me eggs on toast while Avery makes me a cup of tea. While they’re busy, I decide to give my mum a call. I walk to my room and grab my mobile, dialing my mum’s number. She answers on the third ring.

“Good morning dear” her sing-song voice fills my ear.

“Hey mum” I say smiling, even though she can’t see, I know she can hear it in my voice.

“How are you sweetheart?” she asks. She always calls me things like that; dear, darling, honey, sweetheart… The list goes on, and I can’t bring myself to mind it.

“I’m… Good” I say. “What about you?”

“I’m fine honey. Would be better if your father would hurry up and make his move” I knew what she was talking about. Every morning, my mum and dad play cards, and dad always takes forever to decide what his going to do. It drives mum crazy but they still play.

“Look, mum, I’m actually calling to see if you and dad would like to come over for lunch today?”

“Oh, that would be lovely, dear. But we do have your brother coming at 11 o’clock to help your father.”

“Can you bring him too? I have something I need to tell you”

“What is my dear? Not bad I hope” she sounds worried.

“No, no, no, mum. It’s not bad. I don’t want to tell you over the phone. Can you be here 12:30?”

“Of course honey. That’s no problem”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. Give dad a big kiss for me”

“I will, and I’ll see you later”

“Bye mum”

“Goodbye pumpkin” I hang up the phone, and let out a sigh. Getting up off my bed, I walk back out to the kitchen.

“How are you feeling now?” Avery asks, handing me a cup of tea.

“Much better, thanks” I say taking a sip. “I just rang my mum. They’ll be here at 12:30 with my brother”

“Oh, Carter’s coming?” Skylar squeals. Ever since she first met my older brother, she’s had the biggest crush on him, always flirting with him and touching him.

Carter’s two years older than me, and, according to everyone else, a “real hottie”. With a mess of light brown hair, our mother’s bright green eyes, and our father’s tanned skin tone, every girl drooled of him, even the older ladies. He was a heartbreaker, everyone knew that though. But when it came to his family, his soft-hearted and ever so gentle, unless he and dad are mucking around. He cried the day he came to see me in the hospital after my operation. He held my hand and cried freely, telling me he was sorry, even though it wasn’t his fault. I knew it broke his heart a little too, he always was saying how forward he was looking to becoming an uncle, he wasn’t so sure about being a dad though.

“Yes, he is coming, and please, no flirting with him” I say.

“Fine” Skylar huffs, and turns back to the eggs she’s cooking. “Kill joy.” I smile at her whispered comment, and then let out a big sigh. Today was going to be a good one.

 

 

Chase

I spent the next few hours cleaning out everything that reminded me of Chelsea, including my bed. I didn’t want anything to do with her.

Tyler and Ethan came home as I was trying to drag the mattress down the stairs.

“Whoa” Tyler called, running to help me before the mattress toppled me down the last few steps. “What the hell you doin’ man?”

“Getting rid of my bed” I huff, running up and down the stairs left me without breath.

“Why?” Ethan asks, coming to help move it over to the skip bin the apartment holders ordered.

“’Cos I don’t want anything to do with Chelsea” I stomp back into the apartment. The boys running after me.

“So you throw out your bed?” Tyler asks.

“Yes” I say walking to the bench and picking up my keys. “I’m gonna go get a new one” I walk out of the apartment and down the stairs. I’m walking to the parking lot when I spot it. The bright red BMW Convertible. Chelsea’s car. I glance around for her, hoping she won’t see me, but when I spot her, she’s staring right at me. She’s over by the skip bin, tears running down her face. I turn away from her and keep walking towards my car.

“Chase?” she calls out. I keep walking, not bothering to answer, or look at her.

“Chase?” she sounded closer that time, and then I hear the sound of her shoes hitting the pavement. Even while she’s pregnant she still wears high heels.

“Chase!” she grabs my arm, swinging me around to face her. “Are you deaf? I was calling you”

“What do you want?” I snap, turning back around to continue walking.

“You threw out all our stuff”

“No, I threw out all MY stuff”

“Why?” I spin back around to face her.

“Because I want nothing to do with you! Everything you touched, I threw out, including that box you left on the doorstep!” I yell, walking faster to my car.

“Do I really mean that little to you, Chase? The five years we were together meant nothing?” she calls.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I fucking loved you! I was going to marry you! I wanted kids with you. Meant that little? You fucking cheated on me! You have no one else to blame but yourself, Chelsea! Now do us both a favor and stay the fuck away from me! Don’t come near me, don’t talk to me! I don’t want anything to do with you” I yell before spinning around and climbing in to my car. I back out of my parking space, and speed off, leaving Chelsea crying in the middle of the parking lot. I keep driving, with no destination in mind. I just drive, fast. I need to calm down. I’m gripping the steering wheel that hard my knuckles are white, and my jaw is aching from clenching them so hard together.

I drive around for an hour before pulling up to a furniture store. I decide to pick out a whole new bedroom suite, and after finding a nice black leather bed with black bedside tables and tallboy suite, I go find new sheets before I organize for delivery.

“Is tomorrow morning okay to drop off?” asks the young brunette behind the counter. She could no more than 16 years old, with dark brown eyes, a soft round face and a sweet smile.

“Yeah that’s fine” I say pulling out my wallet and paying for everything.

 

 

Kaylee

It’s 12:30 on the dot when there’s a knock at the front door. Skylar rushes to the front door, probably eager to see my brother. Avery and I are in the kitchen making Caesar salad. My nausea settled down and was fine with the cooked chicken.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Moore” Skylar is always very polite when it comes to my parents. I think it’s because deep down, she wants someone to approve. Her parents never did, that’s why she is they was she is. No matter what she did, they couldn’t care less.

“Hi Skylar, and please, call me Audrey, dear. I’m not that old yet” my mother jokes. I listen to the sound of my mother’s high heels tapping on the tiles coming towards the kitchen “Now, where is my darling little girl?”

“I’m in the kitchen, mum” I call. She’s a sight of elegance when she comes to the kitchen. Dressed in a beautiful baby blue dress, her hair up in an elegant bun and her makeup perfectly bringing out her gorgeous green eyes. I walk around and give her a big smile.

“Hi, mum”

“There’s my beautiful girl” she says pulling back to look at me. “You look gorgeous, honey” I dressed in a floor length yellow summer dress, with my hair messily braided to the side. “Doesn’t she look gorgeous, Elijah?”

“Of course she does” my dad says, walking over to give me a hug, and kissing my forehead. “Hello, baby girl” My father, Elijah Eric Moore, is a tall man, being 6’3 with a strong build that most people find intimidating given that he is in his 50’s and still running stronger than ever. He has short dark brown hair that almost looks black, with deep blue eyes, just like mine. Dressed in his three piece black suit, he looked like the wealthy business man he was. Dad owner a successful car dealership company and had many shops throughout the state. But it’s all thanks to mum for it being successful because she handles all the books. She used to be an accountant, ‘til she seen his books. The dealership was in debt with dad’s big spending. She immediately took over and gave him a monthly budget. Within a couple months, they were back up and running smoothly. Mum eventually quit her accounting job and worked with dad instead. The business was running great, and he always says he owes it all to mum. I think it’s cute. It’s also how Carter got his job, working as a mechanic. Fixing up any cars that come in and keeping them running smoothly. Everyone thought I would join and manage the desks, and I did for a few years, until I realized what I really wanted to do… Makeup. I wanted other woman to feel as beautiful as could, especially on their wedding day.

“Hey dad” I say hugging him back. “Where’s Carter?” I ask looking around. Then I hear Skylar giggle from the front door. I roll my eyes. “Skylar!” Skylar rushes into the room, her cheeks rosy red with embarrassment. Right behind her is my brother.

“Hey sis” he says giving me hug. “Is it just me or are you getting shorter?” he asks roughing my hair up with a big smile.

“It’s just you” I answer slapping his hand away. Even at 23, he still acts the same as when he was 10. He just laughs.

“Lunch is ready” Avery calls. In all the hellos, she set the table and laid out the food.

“Avery, dear. Look how grown you’ve become” my mum says walking over and giving her a hug. We all take our seats and start digging in. I’m so hungry, that I completely forget why I invited my family over.

“So sweetheart, what is it that you wanted to tell us?” my mum asks. I look up with a mouthful of salad in my mouth. I chew it quickly and take a quick sip of my water.

“Well” I say looking over at Avery who gives me a gentle smile. A smile that reminds me, and I break into a big smile. Looking back at my parents and brother, I take a deep breath letting it out slowly to try and calm my excitement.

“I’m pregnant” I say, trying to choke back my giggles. I always feel like giggling when I say that. They all sit there in stunned silence. My brother is the first one to break.

“You’re not messing with us are you, Kay?” he asks sternly. I shake my head, a big smile still plastered on my face. The same kind that is slowly breaking across my brother’s face. A sob breaks from my mum and she jumps from her chair, tears running down her cheeks and a smile from ear to ear. She runs and gives a giant hug.

“My baby’s gonna be a mummy” she sobs onto my shoulder. Suddenly my brother is hugging me too. I hug them both back. When they let go, I look over at dad. He too has tears running down his face and a big smile. Standing up, I walk around the table to him, hugging him hard. He hugs me back just as hard, before pulling away and looking up at me.

“My baby girl’s all grown up” he says softly cupping my cheek.

“I’ll always be your baby girl” I whisper, my throat choking back my tears threatening to break out at my family’s happiness.

With my family, it didn’t matter how, just that I was. We spent the rest of lunch talking about how happy we were. With mum and dad telling us stories of when they had Cater and I. No one brought up or asked about the father. For that, I was thankful. I’m not ready to share that yet.

 

 

Chase

It’s dark by the time I get home. Tyler and Ethan are still up, playing Call of Duty in the living room when I walk in.

“Hey man” Tyler says not looking away from the TV. Stuffing my keys into my pocket, I plop myself down on the couch beside him.

“Did you find a bed?” Ethan asks.

“Yeah, it’s getting delivered tomorrow” I answer with a sigh.

“So where you gonna sleep tonight?” Tyler asks. I look down at the couch.

“Right here” I answer.

“You know we could just bring the mattress back up” he says, pausing the game that makes Ethan let out a frustrated growl.

“Nah. I don’t want to sleep on that. I’ll be okay on the couch for tonight”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine” Tyler hits play and continues playing. I watch for a little while before deciding I should get some more work done. Getting up from the couch I go and retrieve my laptop from my room. Setting it up on my lap on the couch, I get started. I always back everything onto my hard drive so I can take it home and finish anything I didn’t while I was at work, and since I left early today, I had a lot of work to do.

I wake up to my phone ringing. I’m still dressed in my suit from yesterday, and my laptop is still on my lap. Putting the laptop on the couch beside me, I dig into my pocket and pull out my phone, answering it without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello” I say sleepily.

“Good morning darling” mum’s cheery voice says.

“Hey mum, how are you?” I ask.

“I’m very well, thank you dear. I was just calling to see if you might be able to come help me out today. I still have all the preparations for the ball to do, but I have Alyssa and Jeremy’s wedding I need to attend this afternoon. Would you be able to help?” Alyssa and Jeremy were two of mum’s friends from a fostering house. They all kept in touch over the years, and it wasn’t too long ago I heard mum squealing in glee when she received the wedding invitation.

“Of course, mum. Just let me have a shower and I’ll be right there” I say.

“Thank you darling, I’ll see you soon” she says before hanging up. I’m stretching out my body when there’s a knock at the door. Getting up from the couch, I answer the door to a skinny man with shaggy red hair hidden beneath a blue cap, and dressed in what I think looks like a janitor’s outfit.

“Mr. Scott?” he asks.

“Yes”

“I’m Greg. I’m here to drop off and set up the bed you purchased”

“Yes, of course”

“If I can just get you to sign here” he says holding up a clipboard and pointing to a signature line with a black pen. “Just to say that you have received your purchase.” I take the pen and I sign my name before I hand him back the pen.

“Thanks” he says before waving to another couple of blokes down by a pickup truck.

“It’s the room to the right, just there” I say pointing back at my door. “I’m just going to go jump in a shower”

“No worries then” he said before heading back down the stairs to help the other two guys.

By the time I finished in the shower, my bed and furniture was set up and in place. I thanked they guys before they left, and got myself ready to head over to mum’s. The drive isn’t too long, only about half an hour from me. Their two story house is right at the end of a cal-du-sac, and has a large front garden filled with all different colours of roses, mum’s favorite flower. I wonder what Kaylee’s favorite flower is. My thought shocked me. I hadn’t thought about Kaylee in over a week, but just the thought of her name brings back the memories of last. Shaking my head, I pull into the driveway and climb out. Their house is made with limestone bricks outside, and polished marble inside. I open the crystal glass front door and walk into the foyer.

“Mum?” I call out, my voice echoing down the hallway.

“I’m in here darling” her voice carrying from the first room to my left, mum’s study. I close the front door and walk into her study. Mum’s sitting in her chair behind the large mahogany desk in the back right hand corner. Papers are scattered across the desk as well as the little glass coffee table in the middle of the room.

“Hi sweetheart” mum says, standing up from her chair and walking over to give me a hug. “Thank you so much for coming to help.”

“It’s no problem, mum. Where do you want me to start?” I ask.

“Well, I have the guest list right here” she says, walking back over to her desk. “I’m going to get you to print the reminders about the ball, including the theme, if you can.” Sitting in her chair she opens one of the bottom draws and pulls out a laptop bag. “You can use this.” I take the laptop bag and set myself up on the couch in the left hand corner and get to work.

An hour later I’m printing the reminders. Mum then gets me to print the envelopes with names and address’, and fold the letters, while she seals them and adds the postage stamp. By the time that’s all done, mum needs to go get ready for the wedding.

“Honey, would you be able to have a look and the room designs and seating charts? You know who gets along with whom, and who doesn’t” she asks.

“Sure, mum” I answer putting the laptop down. Mum hands me a bunch of papers before leaving the room. I flip through all the pages letting out a sigh.

 

 

Kaylee

I’m up bright and early the next morning. I have another wedding today, and the story of the couple is so romantic. They both lost their parents at a young age, and were sent to the same fostering house. They kept in touch over the years, then one day, the groom showed up at her front door step, a bouquet of her favorite flowers in hand and told her he loved her, with all his heart and soul, and couldn’t bear to live another day without her by his side. I wish all guys were that romantic.

I managed to make it through the morning without being sick, though I did get a little nausea’s. I nibbled on salty crackers all morning, which helped a fair bit.

I had just finished doing the bridal party’s make up and was packing up my belongings while everyone else cleared out of the room for photos. I couldn’t wait to leave, mum had rang me this morning and asked if I would like to join her to a charity ball in two weeks since dad couldn’t attend, and she didn’t want to go alone. We were going shopping for dresses.

“Hi” I jumped when I heard a female voice. Turning I see it’s an older lady, dressed in a creamy gold elegant dress, her long light brown hair falling in curls over her shoulders and down her back in a beautiful up-do. Her makeup perfectly done, with her dark blue eyes surrounded in golden glitters.

“Hello” I say back. She smiled softly at me, the kind of smile a mother gives to her children.

“Are you the young lady that did my darling Alyssa’s makeup?” she asks kindly.

“Yes, I am” I answer. She smiles happily clapping her hands together.

“You’ve done an amazing job. Alyssa looks absolutely perfect”

“Thank you ma’am” I say with a smile.

“Oh, please do forgive me” she says rushing towards me with a hand held out to shake mine. “I have not introduced myself. I’m Caroline Scott.”

“Kaylee Moore” I say shaking her hand.

“Kaylee. Such a beautiful name” she smiles brightly at me. “Now, I actually stopped in here hoping I might catch you before you left. I seen the amazing job you did for Alyssa and was hoping you might interested in doing my makeup.”

“But your makeup looks so beautiful today” I say quickly, I couldn’t bear to ruin her makeup, it just looked so perfect.

“Oh, no dear. I have my charity ball coming up and was just wondering if you would be able to do my makeup for me” she says with a laugh. Charity ball?

“Wait, the Children’s Home Fund Charity Ball?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m the owner of the Children’s Home Fund” she says proudly.

“Oh. I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t know” I say. “Feeling a bit more silly not knowing when my mother asked me to attend the ball with her.” I grimace.

“Really?” she exclaims. “Who’s your mother?”

“Audrey Moore”

“Ah, yes! How did I not notice? You look a lot like her, except for those eyes. You have Elijah’s eyes.” She exclaims. “Your parents have attended every charity function I hold, and are generous benefactors. I do hope I will get to see you both there.”

“I hope so too. I am really honored that you asked me to do your makeup though” I say sadly.

“Hmm… Wait, I have an idea. How would you and your mother like to come spend

“I would love that. I mean, I’d have to ask mum how she feels about it, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem” I say, quickly glancing up at the clock to check the time. Crap. She will be waiting for me. “I’m actually about to go meet with her to pick out some gowns, and I’m late” I rush, grabbing the rest of my belongings.

“Well, of course. Let’s not keep her waiting” she quickly gives me her contact details so I can let her know what mum says, and after a brief hug, she turns to leave.

“Oh” she says spinning back around at the door. “The theme for the ball is dreams.” She gives me one last smile before disappearing out the door. Dreams. I like it.

 

 

Chase

I spend the next few hours going over the seating chart. It was a mess. While mum knows all the people, she doesn’t get enough time to spend with each of the, working out who they get along best with. And the table placements don’t work with the room set up. I locate the guest list and work out who’s going to sit with who. Given that most people attending will be couples who want to sit beside each other, but may not enjoy the company of someone as their partner does. Working it out slowly, I gathered that at least a couple tables will have to have someone they don’t get along with. But since each table sits about 8, there should be no problems. Then I work on the table placements. Mum has them spread out all over the floor, leaving no where for dancing if people would like. She really isn’t any good at the designing side of things, but excellent at organizing for everything.

I decide that the tables should go around the room, giving room for a bit of a dance floor in the middle. I was just finishing up on writing the names for the tables when my phone starts to ring. Picking it up off the table I see its mum.

“Hey mum” I say cheerfully, answering the phone. “Great timing, I just finished up with the seating chart and table placements.”

“Hi darling” she always has the softest voice. “Thank you so much darling. But I’ve just received a call from Sherrie. They double booked the hotel.” She sounds distressed.

“So what’s happening then?” I ask, concern in my voice.

“Well, that’s what I’m calling you for, to ask your opinion”

“What is it mum?”

“Do you think it would still work if we moved the ball outside into the garden area?” I quickly search mums desk for the layout of the hotel where the ball is to be held. Finding it, I look it over quickly, but it doesn’t show any of the details of the garden.

“Mum, do you have any photos of the garden?” I ask.

“No, sorry dear. Only photos of the inside” She says quietly. I know she’s panicking- this close to the ball date and the hotel is double booked.

“Okay. Mum, don’t stress. I’m going to take I ride over there and check it out. Just, enjoy the wedding and I’ll ring you with an update in an hour or so. Okay?”

“Oh, you’re an angel, darling. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She says sounding relieved. I smile, knowing I’ve eased some of the stress.

“Have fun. I’ll ring you soon”

“Thank you darling” I hit the end button, and grab my car keys. I quickly drive to the hotel and park my car in the parking bay. The hotel is situated on the beachside, in which, giving the name; Beachside Hotel. It’s a large building, made from limestone to give it that sandy look, with large shells hanging from the walls. Large blue stained glass doors with silver handles open to the inside. The salty smell of the sea clings to the walls. I am greeted by a man at the door dressed in a light blue button down short sleeved shirt and shorts, a shark tooth necklace hanging tightly around his neck, and blue thongs on his feet. His short, shaggy, curly, bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes bring his look together, making him look like the surfer guy I suspect he is. Giving me a smile he opens the glass door and welcomes me to the hotel. The inside looks glorious. Light, and dark blue themes the furniture and walls. Little stringed fish hang from the ceiling amongst blue and green streamers. Against the walls on the left and right side of the lobby, wall fountains splash water down into small ponds filled with different coloured fish. The front desk is across the room in front of the door. The bottom of it made from glass with water running down the inside, and light blue marble topping. A girl with long dark wavy hair sits behind the desk wearing a dark blue flowered dress, a portion of her hair clipped back with a light blue flower and a sea shell around her neck. She looks up and smiles as I approach.

“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?” She asks sweetly. I smile kindly back at her.

“I’m Chase Scott. My mother, Caroline, is the founder of the Children’s Home Fund, and we’ve just received notice that the hall we booked for the ball this weekend has been double booked” I say a bit sadly. “Is it possible for me to have a look around in the garden area? My mum is thinking of moving the ball to there instead.”

The girl, whose name badge says Marissa, smiles sweetly at me.

“Just let me check my system to ensure it’s not booked, but I’m sure it shouldn’t be a problem” Marissa looks down at her computer and begins typing away.

“Chase?” I look over to see the manager of Beachside Hotel and one of my mum’s best friends and contributors walking towards me. Sherrie is a tall, skinny woman with short light brown hair and soft green eyes. Dressed in a light blue flowered dress, much the same as Marissa’s, and a small star fish around her neck, she ties in well with all her employees. As she reaches me, her arms stretch out and embrace me for a hug. After a moment she steps back, looking me over.

“My, how you’ve grown” She exclaims in a sing-song voice much like my mothers. “Such a handsome man now.”

Sherrie and my mother have been best friends for many years, so I grew up with Sherrie around a lot, until her husband open the hotel.

“It’s lovely to see you Sherrie” I say sweetly to her, giving her the affectionate voice I use with my mum.

“And you my dear boy” she smiles warmly at me. “Now, I bet I know why you’re here. Your darling mother sent you to sort out this doubling booking mess, hasn’t she?” She says jokingly. I laugh softly.

“No, actually, I volunteered. But she did rope me in to do the seating charts, and… well all the designing”

“Oh, how much of a mess was it?”

“Very”

“Your mother never was really good at that kind of stuff was she” She says with a laugh. “So, what’s the plan then?”

“Mum was thinking instead of fighting for the room, how about moving it out into the garden?”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. Wish I thought of it” We both laugh quietly.

“So I’m here to have a look since mum hasn’t got anything on the garden”

“Well then,” She says linking her arm into mine. “Right this way.”

She leads around to the back of the hotel, and out a set of sliding doors. The view is beautiful. A large area of grass bordered by trees and the ocean stretch out in front of you. Straight away, a can picture how it’s going to look; tea lights hanging from the trees, oil lanterns lighting up the area, and the tables placed out with the view of the ocean and the setting sun.

“We have the boards to cover the glass so heels won’t get stuck” Sherrie says. “And we can use the gate at the side there for the entrance” Pointing over to the side of the hotel where a gate covered in a lively green plant stands. I walk around the area, laying it all out in my head. Sherrie watches me quietly, knowing how I work, and lets me go. I turn back to her after a moment, a smile on my face.

“It’s perfect. Mum’s gonna love it” I say. I talk over all the details with Sherrie before making my back through the hotel, pulling my phone from my pocket and dialing mum’s number as I walk out the doors. She answers on the second ring.

“How’d you go?” she asks anxiously. I smile into the phone.

“It’s perfect” I say, and I hear a sigh of relief come through the phone from my mum.

 

 

Kaylee

I wake to my phone ringing on my bedside table. Picking it up, I answer, not bothering to look at the caller ID because I know who it is.

“Hey mum” I say sleepily.

“Good morning darling” Her cheery morning voice fills my ears. “I was just calling to ask you what time you want to be picked up to go over to the Scott’s house.”

I quickly lift the phone away from my ear to check the time. 8:00am.

“Well, I just woke up, so say… Give me… 10 o’clock? We could go have some brunch before we head over?” I stifle a yawn.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then sweetheart” she says softly.

“Bye mum.” I hang up, and lay in bed for a little while, knowing if I get up too soon, I’ll be sick… And I don’t want to be sick today. It’ll ruin my excitement. Tonight’s the Children’s Charity Ball. Mum goes to them all the time, but this will be the first time I’m attending. Slowly, I climb out of bed and walk over to my dresser to pull out some clothes for today. As I walk past the mirror I stop. Facing sideways I slowly lift my shirt. I have a slight bump, one that I think just makes me look like I have a full bladder. But I know the truth. I rub a hand across it, smiling. I can’t wait to have my baby. To hold him or her in my arms for the first time… Then my smile slowly fades. What about the father? Would he want to hold our baby? Avery has been asking me close to everyday if I’ve found him. I tell her, “not yet”, but the truth is, I haven’t even started looking. What if he doesn’t want the baby? I’m scared about that. And if he doesn’t, what do I say if our baby asks about him? That he didn’t want them? No, I can’t say that. I shake my head and pull my shirt back down, walking away from the mirror.

I take a long hot shower, messaging into my aching shoulder muscles. I wash my hair thoroughly, knowing that mum will know if I don’t. Then I just stand there, letting the water rinse over my body. I finally shut the water off when banging starts on the bathroom door.

“Give me just a minute” I call out, wrapping myself up in a large fluffy blue bath towel.

“Hurry up, Kay. You’ve been in there for almost an hour” Skylar calls back. I pick my clothes up from the ground before opening the door.

“About time” she says with an eye roll.

“Sorry” I say quietly, making my way back to my room to get dressed. I decide to pass on putting on any make up, since I’ll only have to wash it off before reapplying it for the ball. I brush out my hair and tie it back in a high ponytail before walking out to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea, since I’m no longer aloud coffee. Avery has even gone to the extent on buy nothing but tea or hot chocolate, and thrown away all the coffee to keep me from the temptation of having one, but I think she missed one little thing- Coffee Shops. But I haven’t been tempted. Since my last doctors visit, hearing all the things that could go wrong, I’ve gone along with everything the doctor told to do, and not to do, and since there was a very large list for both, I got him to give me some print outs, which Avery read and has been watching me like a hawk ever since. I don’t mind, though it can be annoying, at least I know she’s trying to help.

I talk my tea back to my room so I can drink it while I go through my make up kit. I make shore everything is there and in its place, as well as adding a few extra things in, like make up remover and pads, since I know mum wouldn’t have had the same idea as I did. I grab the dress bag holding my dress for tonight out of my wardrobe and hang it on my door before I grab the black plastic bag that has my shoes, clutch and jewellery in it, hanging it with my dress.

I’m walking back out to the kitchen when there is a knock at the door. I glance at the clock. 9:30am. Mum always likes to arrive early, but when I swing open the door, a tall guy covered in tattoos with messy short black hair, and pale green eyes is standing at the front door.

“Hi, I’m Ethan” He says, holding out a very large hand for me to shake. I take his hand warily, shaking it a couple times before letting go. Gosh, he has big hands. “Is Skylar home?” As the words leave his mouth, I instantly know who he is. His the one from the night club Skylar has been going out with.

“Yeah, she’s just in the shower” I say kindly, opening the door a little wider. “Come on in. I’ll let her know you’re here.” He steps in to the room just as a shiny black car pulls into the drive way. I stand and watch as the driver steps out and I recognize him straight away. James, mum’s chauffer. I watch as he opens the back door and my mum steps out. She smiles warmly at me before her eyes land on Ethan who’s still standing beside me. Her smiles falters slightly before she regains composer and walks towards us.

“Hello dear” she says giving me hug.

“Hi mum” I hug her tightly back, giving her reassurance. “This is Ethan, the guy Skylar told you about.” Mum’s face instantly softens.

“Oh, it’s so nice to finally meet. Skylar has told me so much about you. I’m Audrey.” She holds out her hand for him to shake, which he does without hesitation.

“It’s lovely to meet you Audrey” He says giving her a charming smile. I lead them both inside to the living room, before walking down the hall to the bathroom. I knock before edging the door open slightly.

“Skylar, Ethan’s here to see you” I say, steam blowing in my face and out the door.

“Okay. I’ll be out in just a minute” She says. I close the door behind me and walk back out to the living room. Mum and Ethan are in the middle of a conversation when I enter.

“Are you ready to go dear?” She asks, standing back up from the couch.

“Yeah, let me just grab my things” I say to her before turn to face Ethan. “Skylar will be out in a minute if your happy to wait here.”

“Sure no problem” He answers with a smile. I quickly go grab my stuff and slip on some shoes, call a quick goodbye to Skylar and head out the door with mum. We have a quick brunch at a little café before heading over to the Scott’s house. Caroline meets us at the car, opening the door before James could get out.

“Hi, hi, hi” Caroline squeals, helping us out of the car. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. Come, come.” I say a quick thank you to James before we head inside. Caroline leads us through the house and into what I believe is a ladies parlor. The walls are painted a soft pink with pure white carpet and beautiful rosary couches. Dolls and photos sit around the room, and standing in the middle is a beautiful girl with long light brown hair and deep green eyes. She smiles a white toothed smile as we enter the room.

“This is my daughter, Alexis” Caroline says. Alexis comes sashaying over, enveloping my mother and then me in a warm hug, while her mum introduces us. “Alexis, this is Audrey, and Kaylee. The ladies I was telling you about.”

“I’m so glad to meet you” Her soft voice sings in my ears. “We’ve been looking at your work and it’s just amazing.” I smile kindly at her. Alexia’s is about as tall as me, with long curled light brown, and streaked blond hair that flows around her. Her deep green eyes sparkling, and pretty pink lips covered in gloss. She looks exactly like her mother, of what I imagine Caroline to look like at the same age of 17, with long legs, and a bubbly personality. Throughout the afternoon, she made everyone laugh, and feel at ease. We made quick work of getting nails, showers, hair and makeup done, before having to get dressed.

Alexis was the first to go get dressed. She looked gorgeous, dressed in a floor length baby pink sweetheart, strapless dress, with silver sequins sowed to the bodice, and soft pink strapped high heels. Her hair curled and pinned up, with strands falling around her face. Her eyes were shinning bright with a pink smoky eye shadow, and her soft pink lips. We sent Caroline off next, and when she came back, eyes were definitely on her. She has a sparkling cream coloured dress with a v-neck front, half arm sleeves and cream coloured heels. Diamonds hung from her neck and ears. Her hair braided back loosely, and her makeup done in neutral colours. She looked like she could be a queen. Mum went next. I already knew what her dress looked like, but she still came back in looking stunning. Mum’s was a sparkling dark blue dress with short off the shoulder sleeves and a v-neck line. It flowed around her, down to her dark blue heels. Her hair was up in an elegant bun, her eyes shimmering beneath her blue eye shadow. Finally, it was my turn. Carefully, I slipped on my lavender sweetheart, strapless dress, with gold beads and sequins made a flowery pattern from the top, centre of the bodice, going down at an angle, then roping around waist, and cascading ruffles flowing to the floor. I left my hair down, curled and hanging around me, and left my makeup soft, with a bit of a purple smoky eye look. I slipped on the gold sequined shoes I bought before walking back out to the others.

 

 

Chase

Over the next few days, I make all the arrangements for the ball, and when the day finally comes around, I’m up early and over at the Beachside Hotel before the sun had even risen. I spend the entire day getting everything ready with the few staff appointed to me since there was another function. I had to organize for a caterer, since the kitchen staff was booked for the wedding, and set up a station for them. A make shift bar was set up to the right of the garden, caterers to the left, stage with a DJ at the end of the garden, and tables set up around a large dance floor. Fire torches were spread around the garden and tea lights were hanging in the trees. Several pin boards were spread around the outside, pinned to them were the typed out dreams of the kids we were here to help. White cloth was spread over each table, candles, flowers, and name cards were already set out. I made quick work of making sure they were all in their correct place, and making any touch ups to the tables. Mum rang me several times, ensuring everything was running smoothly, and thanking me profusely for helping her. By the time I was finished, I had to rush up to the room Sherrie organized for me to have a shower and get dressed before all the guests started to arrive. I dressed in my black suit, and tie, and ran a comb quickly through my hair, though I know it’ll just mess up by the time it dries. I rush back down stairs just in time to get the bouncers set up and the staff ready with drinks. As the guest begin to arrive, I mill around, talking with guests and keeping the staff on their toes, making sure guests have drinks. I was talking with one of the wait staff when she walked in. It was her laugh that heard, its sound struck me hard enough that my heart felt like it stopped for a moment, but when I looked at her, I know it definitely stopped. She looked absolutely beautiful, with a great big smile, and eyes wondering around the garden in awe. I just watched her, laughing with the lady next to her, which actually took me a while to realize it was my sister. My mother was in front of them with Mrs. Moore, chatting with each other. It stunned me. How did my sister and mother know Kaylee? Puzzled, I watch them, until my little sister caught my eye. I was caught staring. Quickly, I regained myself, and walked casually over to them. Walking straight up, I gave my mum a quick kiss on the cheek, making her jump.

“Oh, my dear! You scared the life out me. I didn’t see you” she said breathless. I smiled sweetly at her. I chance a quick glance at Kaylee, quickly enough that I saw her shocked face turning back to the smiling one she had before I walked over.

“I’m sorry mum. You look amazing” I say sweetly, giving her a soft smile. “And who is this gorgeous young lady?” I ask, gesturing at Alexis. “This beautiful woman cannot be my darling little sister.” I sweep her up into a hug, watching as her cheeks go bright red with embarrassment. Placing her back down, I turn to Mrs. Moore.

“Mrs. Moore, you look absolutely gorgeous” I say charmingly, giving her a kiss on the cheek, like I did my mother.

“It’s Audrey, please” she says, smiling sweetly at me. I feel when mum places her hand on my shoulder calling back my attention.

“Darling, I would like to introduce you to Audrey’s daughter” I turn around to face Kaylee, though, much to my mother’s unknown knowledge, I don’t need to be introduced to her. “Chase, this is Kaylee, Kaylee, my son Chase” I smile sweetly at Kaylee, picking up her hand and giving her knuckles a tender kiss.

“It’s an honor to meet you” I say softly, staring into her eyes. She smiles softly at me, but I can still see the puzzlement in her eyes. I keep hold of her hand, my thumb stroking it softly. I turn to face the rest of the group. “Would you mind if I steal Miss. Moore away and show her around? Introduce her to a few of the guests?” I ask. My mother and Mrs. Moore- Ops, Audrey- beam at me, while Alexis pouts, I know I’m stealing her friend away.

“Of course, dear” My mother answers quickly. Before Kaylee can say a word, I sweep her away. I keep hold of her hand as I walk her around, letting her read the dreams of the kids, or look at the scenery of the garden. I introduce her to a few of the most important people here, and all the while, she doesn’t speak a word, but she smiles, or laughs with the others at a joke made. I watch her the entire time, her deep blue eyes sparkling in the light. She’s even more beautiful than I remember.

“You haven’t said a word” I say when we are alone, well as alone as we can be, on the edge of the garden behind the stage. We’re in the dark, the light of the full moon shinning down on us, giving us all the light we need. Kaylee looks up at me, her cheeks going red before she glances back down.

“Sorry” she whispers.

 

 

Kaylee

What are the chances? Here I was thinking I’d never see him again, and here he is. Right in front of me and I’m stunned into silence. I have never been more grateful for the crowd of people around us, wanting Chase’s attention to congratulate him on his work setting up the ball, and saying how beautiful it looks. I couldn’t say a word, too afraid that if I opened my mouth, I’d just blurt it out. So I kept it shut, enjoying the lively conversations around us… Until he led me away from the crowd of people, and out into the open night air. He still held my hand. He hasn’t let go of it once, and at first, it felt warm, inviting… But now, my hand is just sweating. I take in the scenery before us and it’s beautiful. The ocean glistening under the light of the moon. I breathe in deep, letting the ocean air fill my lungs. I always liked the ocean. I listened as the waves rolled in, crashing into the sand, one after another. Laughter from other guests dulled softly behind us. Then he spoke and all the other sound disappeared. I glance up at him to see him looking at me, and it took me a moment to remember what he said. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks in embarrassment, and looked away, hoping that he didn’t see me blush.

“Sorry” I whisper.

“No, no, don’t be sorry” He says quickly trying to catch my eyes again. I smile softly at him, looking back out to the sea, but I can feel his eyes still on me.

“I never thought I’d see you again” He whispers. I face him.

“Me too” I whisper back softly. His blue eyes catch in the moon light, framed by long black eyelashes, and all I could do was stare.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen” Caroline’s voice sounds through the speakers making me jump.

“Come on” Chase whispers. “We better go take our seats.” We quietly walk back, quickly slipping into our seats, which Caroline made quick changes to the seating plan, place mum and I at the same table as Chase and Alexia. Just luckily enough I was placed between mum and Alexia, which meant Chase had to let go of my hand.

“Firstly, I would like to thank you all for coming, and a very big thank you to my amazing son, Chase, for the work he has done in getting this all set up and making it look so wonderful” Applause sounds around the area, even a few whistles, before we all fall silent again to listen to Caroline.

“Now, I promise not to make this too long, so we can get back to the fun. Over the past few years, the Children’s Home Fund Committee has helped over 40,000 children. We’ve ensured a permanent for each one, gotten them back into school, or helped them to make a new life for themselves. 40,000 children. Your donations have helped them in ways you can never have imagined. So, on behalf of those 40,000 children, and the Children’s Home Fund Committee, we thank you, so very, very, very much. If I could get you all to raise you glasses” My mother shoots me a quick look, ensuring I hadn’t picked up the champagne, satisfied I had picked up a glass of water instead.

“I’d like to set this toast out, to all you wonderful people, for all the help you’ve given us, and to the children. May all our dreams come true.”

After the toast, everyone begins to mill around again, some to find others to talk too, others to dance.

“May I have this dance?” Chase whispers into my ear. I jump at his closeness, spinning in my chair to face him. He stands up straight, offering me his hand. Slowly, I take his hand and let him lead me out onto the dance floor. A slow song starts to play, and Chase pulls me in close. We sway slowly with the music, the heat from his hand on my lower back warming my skin.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he says softly with a soft smile. I feel myself blush and shake my head, pursing my lips and holding back a smile.

“Well, you do. You look amazing” I smile shyly at him. We continue to dance in silence until the song ends, and Chase leads us off the dance floor.

“Oh, isn’t he a divine dancer?” Caroline exclaims walking towards us. Chase bows his head in embarrassment, while I laugh softly. “And I believe it is my turn, my dear boy”

I watch as Caroline leads Chase back onto the dance floor, laughing fondly at his mother. She was such an amazing.

“Having fun?” My mother’s soft voice says. I turn towards her.

“Yeah, a little worn out though” I say softly. “What about you?”

“Yes, it’s been great fun with Caroline” She smiles fondly, watching Caroline dance with Chase. “Kaylee, will you walk with me a moment?” her voice asks softly, in a motherly, serious voice that I know well enough to know she’s worried about something.

“Sure, mum” I say sweetly at her, looping my arm into hers as we walk out into the moonlight. Slowly we walk about the garden and its a few moments before she speaks.

“You’ve met him before, haven’t you?” She asks, looking at me, and in an instant I know she’s worked it out. I slowly nod my head. She’s silent for a moment, before stopping our walk and turning to face me. “It’s him. The baby’s father?”

I can see the worry in mum’s eyes, and the tears that begin to well up when I nod again. She nods her head, and breathes out in a rush, like she was holding her breath, a smile slowly spreading across her face. She taps my hand softly.

“You need to tell him, Kaylee. I know you’re scared but he has a right to know” she says softly. I feel my eyes begin to well up with tears and my throat close in on itself.

“But what if he doesn’t what it? What do I do then?” I say pushing past my closed throat, my hand resting against my stomach.

“Then you will have me, and your dad, and your brother there to help you, as well as Avery and Skylar” She says softly, placing her hand on top of mine, and smiling softly watching our hands. “You will not be alone, Kaylee. I promise.” She looks back up at me, still smiling sweetly. “But you have to give him the chance to decide if he wants this baby in his life or not.”

I nod as I take in her words, and pull her in for a hug. She holds my tight, giving me the strength to tell him. As we pull away, I smile at her.

“Thank you, Mum”

“No problem, darling. Now why don’t I go get the car pulled around and have them take you home? You look exhausted.”

“I need to tell Chase”

“No, not tonight, sweetie. You go home, get some sleep. I’ll have Chase come around tomorrow to see you. Okay? You can tell him then” I think about it for a moment before nodding. Mum gives me another quick hug before running off to get someone to bring the car around. I stand there for a moment looking up at the night sky and taking some deep breaths, and then I follow mum out the side gate and away from the party.

 

 

Chase

“She’s very pretty, isn’t she?” My mother asks, noticing how even though mum and I are out dancing, my eyes still haven’t left Kaylee. I look down at my mother. She never misses a thing when it comes to me.

“Yes, she is” I answer quietly, looking back over at Kaylee, watching her as she speaks with her mum.

“You like her, don’t you?” Mum asks, looking over at Kaylee. I look back down at mum, a small smile spreading across my face.

“You never miss a thing, do you mum?”

“It’s what mothers are for” she huffs. “She’s a very nice girl, Chase. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I know, mum.” We continue dancing for a little while longer, and when the song ends, I give mum a kiss on the forehead, and go to search for Kaylee. I can’t find her amongst the crowd, so I go have a look out in the garden.

“Chase!” I spin around to see Audrey walking towards me.

“Mrs. Moore. I was just looking for Kaylee” I say as she reaches me.

“I know. She wasn’t feeling very well, so I sent her home”

“Not feeling well? Is she ok?” I feel a little panicked. Maybe that’s why she was so quiet.

“She’s fine. Just in need of some rest” Audrey smiles kindly at me before linking her arm through mine. “Chase, will you walk with me a moment?”

“Of course” Together we slowly walk around the garden.

“Chase, may I ask you a question?” For a moment, I am hesitant to answer, not knowing what Mrs. Moore is going to ask.

“Of course” I say slowly.

“What do you think of my daughter?” She asks quickly.

“I think…” I start saying slowly, a smile spreading as I think of Kaylee. “I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I really would love to get to know her better, but wasn’t very talkative tonight.” Audrey smiles kindly at me.

“I’d like to think you are a good man, Chase. And it’s because I think this that I have agreed to have you come by Kaylee’s house tomorrow.” I’m a little shocked by her words.

“What do you mean?” I ask softly.

“Tomorrow, I need you to go and see Kaylee. I know you two have met before, and while I don’t know the details of that encounter, there is something Kaylee wishes to speak to you about.” I’m going to see her tomorrow. As Audrey’s words sink in, I cannot wait to see Kaylee.

“Why can’t I see her now?” I ask.

“No, she needs to rest. I will have my driver come to your house tomorrow to give you the address. I don’t want you going to see her tonight.” I nod to show I understand. But how I wish I could see her now. Audrey unlinks our arms and heads back off towards the crowd. I stand alone out in the open, under the night sky and think of Kaylee. I had forgotten how beautiful she was, but she was more than beautiful tonight. Nothing could keep my eyes from her. I looked back over at the crowd of people, but it all seemed so dull and colourless now. Like without Kaylee there, the party meant very little. With a sigh, I headed over to the crowd in search of my mother and sister. Finding them a give them a quick kiss, say goodnight and leave.

 

The drive home was quiet quick considering the amount of cars still out on the roads, given that it’s only 10:30 I am no longer really surprised. Tyler is still sitting up when I make it inside. I feel drained, and in much need of some sleep.

“Hey man, your home early. How’d it go?” Tyler asks, handing me a beer as I flop myself down on the couch beside him. I open my beer and take a large skull of it.

“It was good” I say.

“Just good?”

“Yeah” We’re both quiet a moment before the words just rush out my mouth.

“I seen her. The girl from the club. She was there”

“Holy shit, man. Are you fucking serious?” Tyler exclaims sitting up straight on the edge of the couch. “What happened?”

“Nothing… She was just” I rub my hands over my face. “She looked so beautiful” I let out a sigh. “She came with my mum and Alexis. They had spent the day with her.” Tyler stays quiet. “We danced, then mum wanted to dance with me, and she left. Her mum wants me to go see her tomorrow.”

“She just left? Again?” Tyler asks. I nod my head.

“Yeah, man” I drop my head into my hands again, before standing up. “I’m going to bed man. I’ll see you tomorrow” I say giving him a slap on the back and walking to my room. Closing the door behind me, I strip off my suit and climb into bed. I lay there for ages, staring up at the ceiling and think about tomorrow, wondering what it is that Kaylee wants to talk to me about.

 

A banging at the front door wakes me up the next morning. Climbing from bed, I rush to answer it.

“Oh, good morning, Chase” Audrey’s motherly voice shocks my half asleep brain to wake up.

“Mrs. Moore” I say still a little sleepily.

“Um, here is the address to my daughter’s house” she says handing me a slip of paper, looking a little uncomfortable.

“Thank you” I say taking the bit of paper from her. I smile kindly at her.

“I will, um, speak with you later” she says slowly, turning away from me and waling back down the stairs. I watch until she reaches the bottom before closing the door. It’s only then that I realize why she looked so uncomfortable… I answered the door in my underwear. I smack myself in the forehead, and shake my head. Holding on to the piece of paper, I look at it before racing to the bathroom for a shower, and quickly getting dressed. Within ten minutes I’m in my car driving to Kaylee.

 

 

Kaylee

I wake my phone ringing. Sleepily, I grab it off my bedside table, and answer it.

“Hello” I say with a yawn.

“Good morning, darling” It’s my mother.

“Morning mum” I say rubbing my eyes.

“I’m just calling to let you know that I’ve dropped your address off to Chase, so you better get up and get dressed. Something tells me it won’t take him long to get dressed to be on his way to you” She says quickly.

“Ok, thanks mum. I’ll ring you later and let you know how it goes” I say before hanging up the phone. I give my body a bit of a stretch before getting up and grabbing some clothes out. As I’m walking past my mirror, something catches my eye and I stop. Facing sideways, I look down. My stomach has swelled since last night, and now there is definitely a noticeable bump.

“Avery!!!” I yell. I had spoken to her last night when I got home. She knew Chase was supposed to be coming over today, but with the clothes I’ve picked out, it’s not going to hide this bump very well.

“Kaylee! What’s wrong?” Avery comes bursting in my door.

“I need clothes!” I’m in a panic.

“What’s wrong with the ones you picked out?” She asks. All I do is turn sideways and when Avery see’s my problem, her eyes widen.

“Oh, ok. Hold on” She quickly rummages through my closet and pulls out an ankle length blue and black floral dress. “Here, wear this and your ball flats. It’s loose enough it should hide your belly long enough until you tell him.” She hands me the dress and gives me a tender smile. I feel my shoulders drop as I feel my relief setting in.

“Thank you” I say softly.

“No worries, chicky babe. Now get in the shower” She gives me a smack on the butt, and walks out of the room. I take another glance in the mirror at my swelling stomach.

“It’s not that mummy is trying to hide you. It’s just that mummy isn’t sure about your daddy” I say softly, rubbing my hand across my stomach, and as I do, I feel a little flutter, like my baby is moving, and I can’t help the smile that plasters itself across my face. Remembering Chase is coming; I quickly run and jump in the shower.

I decided to leave my hair down, and did some light make-up on my eyes. By the time I was finished there was a knock at the door. I gave myself a little once over in the mirror and made sure my stomach wasn’t very noticeable.

“Kaylee?” Avery called, before she walked into my room. “Chase is here.” She gives me a small smile and gives me a hug. “You can do this.”

I walk out into our lounge room to find Chase sitting on the edge of the couch, who shoots up to stand as soon as he sees me.

“Hi” I say, a little shyly.

“Hi” He sounds nervous. “Um..”

“Shall we, um, go get some coffee?” I can’t drink coffee! Avery shoots me a look and I’m palming my forehead on the inside, but I didn’t want to do this here, with Avery and Skylar hanging around.

“Sure. I could do with some coffee.” He answers quickly. I give Avery a quick hug as she hands me my purse and as Chase and I walk out the door, I see her mouth the words ‘good luck’. There was a coffee shop not too far down the road from the house and that’s where I suggested to Chase that we should go. Even though it wasn’t that far, Chase still drove, but I didn’t mind.

 

It was a small coffee shop called – surprisingly – the Coffee Shop. The outside was all brick with a coffee stained wooden door, but inside, the walls were decorated with coffee bean, and cups of coffee wallpaper. The counter was at the far end, across from the door, with tables and chairs placed about the room. In each corner was a booth and while Chase went to order, I picked one. I decided on my favorite one, left hand corner near the counter. It had a window there and I enjoyed looking out of it watching as people went about their day- it was even better on rainy days, when the water would streak down the glass, making everything blurry outside.

I was off in my thoughts when Chase sat down across from me. They didn’t give us a number today because apart from us, the only other people in here were an old couple quietly chatting to each other. It was the same couple I see here every day when I come in. They sit at the same table and have breakfast together and will stay until lunch. I would watch them sometimes, loving the way he would make her laugh and seeing the smile it put on his face. Even though they are very old, you could see in their eyes that they loved each other very much. They would tell each other the stories of their life together, the happy ones, the sad ones, the ones that would make them silent for a while, and the ones that made them laugh so hard one would think they were crazy.

“So…” Chase’s voice shocks me from my thoughts. “Your mum, um, said you had something you needed to speak with me about?”

I take in a deep breath, trying to think how to tell him. I had been up with Avery nearly all night talking about how I would him. But just as I was about to speak, the waitress arrived with our drinks- a hot chocolate for me, and a cappuccino for him. After she walked away, I took another deep breath and let it out quickly.

“Did I tell you why I was out that night? At the club?” I asked, I couldn’t remember.

“No, you didn’t” He smiles fondly at me.

“Have you ever heard of PCOS?” I ask quickly, knowing he probably hadn’t, which proved correct when he shook his head with a bit of a frown. I nodded my head at him.

“It’s called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It’s where cysts grown on your ovaries and for most people they cause no drama. But for some people, they can grow quiet large and burst.” I say this slowly, hoping he will understand where I’m going with it. I decided to start from the beginning.

“Okay” he says quietly, listening inattentively.

“I was 17 when the doctor diagnosed me with PCOS, and at the time, he believed they wouldn’t cause me any problems. But a few months ago, the cysts on my left ovary erupted, and basically blew the ovary apart.” I pause for a moment, the shock on his face making me wonder if it was a good idea to start here, but I continued anyway.

“I was sent in for an emergency operation where they tided the tube and removed basically my entire left ovary. It was during the operation the doctors noticed my right ovary wasn’t in much better shape, and tried to laser off the cysts, but the damage was all ready done. When I woke up, the doctors told me what happened, and that because of the damage, they believed I would never have children because they thought the right ovary was too damaged to produce eggs.” I was looking down at my cup as I spoke, but when I felt Chase’s hand touch mine, I looked up. I could see the worry in his face, his eyes a little teary. I gave him a soft smile.

“So that’s why you were out? Trying to forget?” He asks softly, his voice sounding hoarse. I nod at him, preparing myself to tell him, and something in my face must of told him that much. “But that’s not what you want to tell me.”

“No.” I take a deep breath, and slowly, I start to speak again. “What I want, well need, to tell you is… I’m… Well…” I haven’t even told him and I can see he has worked it. His face went blank and I can tell he knows. “… Pregnant.”

Imprint

Text: Laura Jo Banister
Images: Google
Editing: Laura Jo Banister
Publication Date: 01-23-2015

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