Monday, Gabe walked through the doors of East High, a wide smile on his face as all the popular kids-both guys and girls-greeted him. After giving the guys high-fives and hugging the girls, he began heading toward his homeroom, only to be stopped by Courtney.
"Gabe, we need to talk," the blonde girl said, using a tone that was more serious than she had ever used with anyone.
"Why, what's up, babe?" Gabe asked casually. He hadn't spoken to Courtney (other greeting her along with the other girls when he got to school each morning) since the night of Shane's party, which had been one and a half months ago.
"Come here." Courtney took Gabe's arm and dragged him into an empty classroom, then began to speak. "Remember when I was your date at Shane's party?"
Gabe laughed. "I'm not interested in a relationship, baby. You know I'm not that kind of guy."
"Gabe, it's not that," Courtney sighed, bringing her eyes to the ground. She wiped a tear from her cheek before bringing her face back up to look at the guy in front of her. "Please...please don't be angry with me...please Gabe...but...I...I..." She broke off, sobbing.
"You what?" demanded Gabe, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I...I'm...I'm...pregnant." Courtney whispered the last word.
"Well, how do you know it's my baby? I'm sure you slept with other guys that night-or at least since then."
"Gabe...I...I did sleep with another guy since then, but he...he used a condom. You didn't. I was a little drunk when we were having sex, and I noticed you didn't put on a condom, but I didn't care at the time." Courtney wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. "And now I'm having your baby."
"You're not getting an abortion?" Gabe blurted out, his hands folding up into tight fists.
"No...I...I want to keep my baby. I thought about it a lot for an entire week after I found out I was pregnant and decided that I want my baby. I was just hoping that, as the father, you would want a part in the baby's life, too, but I guess I was wrong." Courtney turned around and walked briskly out of the room, her head down and her face buried in her hands.
"Wait! Courtney!" Gabe ran after the girl. Catching her by the arm, he whispered, "Don't tell anyone about this. I have two brothers and a sister that go to this school and if this news would get around to them, they would tell my parents and I would be grounded for life. You hear me?"
Courtney just nodded, then yanked herself free from Gabe and continued to hurry off in the direction of the bathroom.
Gabe leaned against the wall and allowed his face to fall into his palm, his heart racing with fear. What if Courtney didn't listen? What if she did end up telling someone that she was carrying his baby?
Late on Tuesday afternoon, Troy and Gabriella walked into the hospital and, after checking in, sat down in the waiting room. It wasn't long before a nurse called Gabriella's name and led both her and Troy into the ultra sound room, where Dr. Martin was already waiting.
"Hello, Gabriella. Hello, Troy," Dr. Martin greeted with a smile, removing her glasses and putting them in the pocket of her coat as she looked up from her paperwork. "Gabriella, you can go ahead and lie down on the table. Troy, if you want to pull up a chair and sit down, you can."
Gabriella walked over to the table that was in the middle of the room and laid down while Troy grabbed one of the chairs that was in the corner of the room.
"Alright. So, Gabriella, have you been having any problems since I saw you last? Anything you think I should know about?"
"Well, I felt the baby kick the other day," smiled Gabriella proudly.
"That's a good sign. As you probably already know from your other pregnancies, feeling the baby kick this early shows that it's strong and growing properly." Dr. Martin reached for a piece of paper and quickly scribbled down a note about the baby kicking, then said, "Okay, then. I think we're ready to start your ultra sound." She lifted up Gabriella's shirt a little bit so that her baby bump was showing, then put some gel on her stomach and began the procedure. "You want to know the gender, right?"
"Yes," replied Gabriella.
"Okay. Just give me a second and I should be able to tell you." After moving the tool used to perform the ultra sound to a few different places on Gabriella's stomach, she asked, "Do you want to take a guess at what it is?"
"I was thinking it would be a boy since our last two kids were girls," said Gabriella.
"Me, too," Troy agreed.
"And it looks like you're right." The doctor smiled.
Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and leaned in to give her a brief, yet meaningful, kiss on the lips.
"You don't think Carly will be too disappointed, do you?" Gabriella queried to Troy. The smile that had been on her face for nearly the entire visit stayed in its place, although her question was completely serious. Ever since Troy and Gabriella had told all the kids that Gabriella was having another baby, Carly had been telling everyone she was excited to have another little sister. So far, neither of her parents could find the strength to ruin her excitement by telling her that the baby could end up being a boy.
"She might be at first, but after the baby's born, I'm sure she'll be fine," said Troy.
"How old is Carly now?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Six," Gabriella answered.
"Six already? It feels like just last week that you were coming in to see me when you were pregnant with her. I remember you saying she was constantly kicking during the last two months."
"Yeah. And then with Jordyn, I only felt a kick maybe two times a day. She really didn't move around too much."
"And I remember you being all worried about that," Troy put in.
"You were worried, too, honey!" Gabriella exclaimed. "It seemed like every five minutes you would ask me if I felt the baby kick recently."
"Well, I have to be somewhat protective over my family," smiled Troy.
"Alright. Everything looks good! Your son seems to be very healthy and strong. Gabriella, I'll get you a paper towel so you can wipe some of that gel off yourself and then you can get going unless you have questions about anything."
"No, I think we're good," Gabriella spoke after glancing at Troy to see if he looked like he wanted to ask something.
"Okay, then." The doctor handed Gabriella a paper towel. "Well, you're done with ultra sounds until you enter your third trimester, which will be in two months, so your appointment next month will just be at my regular office."
"Okay. Sounds good." Gabriella cleaned herself up, then pulled her shirt back over her baby bump and slid off the table.
"Now, before you go, would you like to schedule your next appointment or would you rather call my office later?"
"We can schedule it now," decided Gabriella.
"Alright, then." Dr. Martin walked over to the counter that was in the room and pulled a day planner from her purse, which was thrown in the corner. "Let's see...I have an opening on May 15 at noon, on May 16 at 4:00 p.m., and on may 19 at 3:00 p.m."
Gabriella took a moment to think. "The one on May 15 would probably be best," she concluded finally.
"Okay, well, I'll see you then! Bye!"
"Bye," Troy and Gabriella both said at the same time before walking out of the room and heading toward the doors that led the way out of the hospital.
"So, I guess we'll have to start thinking of our final decision for a boy's name," Troy remarked once he and Gabriella were in the car.
"Yeah." Gabriella smiled. "I actually added a couple more to my list."
"Oh, really?" As he stopped the car at the edge of the hospital parking lot, Troy glanced over at his wife. "And what names did you add?"
"Mason and Jackson. I think I like Mason a little better than Jackson, though."
"Yeah, me, too. And the names we were talking about the other night were Nathan, Nathaniel, and Levi, right?"
"Mm-hm." Gabriella nodded despite the fact that Troy was watching the road ahead of him instead of looking at her. After a pause, she said, "I was actually thinking about letting the kids help us pick the name. Of course, they would have to choose from the options we have so they don't end up picking something really wild, but I think it would still be fun for them."
"That's a good idea, Brie," Troy complimented.
Gabriella smiled again. "Right now, I think the names I'll let them pick from are Nathan Levi, Levi Nathaniel, Mason Levi, Nathaniel Mason, Mason Nathaniel, and Jackson Nathaniel. What do you think?"
"They all sound good to me, just as long as we don't end up calling our son Nate as a nickname."
"Don't worry; I'll tell the kids that if they end up voting for Nathan or Nathaniel that you don't like Nate as a nickname, so we won't be calling the baby that," Gabriella assured.
"Thanks, baby girl."
"Alright, kids," Gabriella began that evening after dinner was finished and the dishes were all cleaned up. The entire family was gathered in the living room, waiting to hear the announcement Gabriella was about to make. Well, most of them were. Gabe was busy texting his friends and Karina was looking at a selection of lip glosses that she had placed on her lap. "Now, as you know, I went for my doctor's appointment today."
"When's my new sister gonna be born?" asked Carly.
Troy, who was standing beside Gabriella, walked over to Carly and hugged her. "Honey, I really hate to disappoint you, but your baby sister isn't a baby sister," he spoke gently.
"You're having a baby brother instead," smiled Gabriella.
"A brother?" Carly tilted her head to one side as if she was contemplating the news.
"Yes!" Colby exclaimed, jumping from his seat. "We need another boy in the family. I have too many girly-girl sisters." He stuck his tongue out.
"Hey!" Carly shouted in protest, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Woah, settle down, you, too!" Troy said.
After the kids were calm once more, Gabriella went on. "Now, Dad and I talked about this and we decided that we're going to let you-all of you-vote on a name for your new brother. Now, I'm going to give you the options now, but you don't need to give me your answer tonight if you're not ready to. You have a little while yet to think it over."
Suddenly, Gabe was jerked out of his own little world. Picking a baby name... he thought to himself. I could be doing this for my own child. I wonder if Courtney's having a boy or a girl? Hm... However, he quickly focused his mind on texting again. The last thing he wanted was to have second thoughts on being a part of his baby's life. He was sixteen for crying out loud! He had a life to live! Why would he want a baby to hold him back?
"Gabe, are you okay?" Gabriella, who had noticed the brief look of regret on her son's face, inquired.
"I'm fine," Gabe snapped.
Gabriella shot Troy a look that said "something's bothering him." Troy simply nodded and mouthed the words, "We'll talk about it later."
"Alright, well, anyway, the name options Dad and I have for you to pick from are Nathan Levi, Levi Nathaniel, Mason Levi, Nathaniel Mason, Mason Nathaniel, and Jackson Nathaniel."
"I like Mason," Carly decided immediately.
"Mason? That's a dumb name!" Colby protested. "His name should be Superman!"
The family-excluding Gabe and Karina-laughed.
"I don't think we're going to name him Superman, buddy," Gabriella told Colby.
"Awww." Colby sank back down into his space on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest in disappointment.
What would Mom and Dad say if I told them that my new brother will be an uncle to a baby only a few months younger than him? Gabe felt a feeling of dread wash over him as he considered the outcome and again, struggled to push all images of his child out of his head. I can't worry about a baby, he told himself. I just need to pretend this never happened. If I don't tell and Courtney keeps quiet, no one will ever know, and I can just go on being a teenager and having the time of my life. The self-comfort Gabe was giving himself wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get rid of the fact that he was going to be a father, whether anyone else knew or not. Oh, why did I let myself get into this mess?
Merry Christmas everyone! I know this chapter was shorter than normal for this story, but please give me a Christmas present and review anyway! And also, please tell me which name you like best in your review! I think I have my mind made up on one, but I'm just curious to see which one you guys like. Thanks for reading:):):)
