Hello all! I am going to go ahead and put a trigger warning in this chapter as well. So take caution when reading. But here is my newest chapter! Im sorry it took me so long to get it out. I'm posting it as is, so if there are typos please bare with me.

Walking through the mall, Helia's phone starts to ring. He disposed of his now empty coffee cup and reached in his pocket.

"Hello?" Helia answered the call.

"Hey! How's everything going?" It's Brandon on the other end.

"All good over here. At the mall with my beautiful girlfriend." Helia squeezed Flora's hand a bit tighter, while sje blushed and giggled. Flora felt her face get hot.

"See. I told you all you have to do is take a chance. Stella had told me that you two were out and about.

"Thank you, I couldn't be happier. Yeah, definitely needed some coffee.

"Im happy for ya! Both of you. I'm with Stella now and we wanted to see if you guys wanted to get up. Unless you have other plans."

"One sec." Helia pulled the phone away from his ear as he remembered that he offered to take Flora for a long drive today.

"It's Brandon. He and Stella want to get together with us. Is that something you'd like to do? I know we planned to go for a drive so if you want to do that instead, it's totally fine."

Flora thought for a moment. "We can do that! I'd love to see Stella, actually."

Helia brought the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, we can get with you guys. What did you have in mind?"

"We are actually on our way downtown. We will be there in about 10 minutes." Brandon said.

"Sounds good. We can meet you guys there." Helia answered.

"Alright! See you two shortly!" Brandon said before disconnecting the call.

"Looks like we're heading downtown for the day." Helia explained.

"I love it there, just walking the area. A lot of history there." Flora said.

History? I hope you don't start reminiscing on your times with that prick.

Helia thought, but didn't dare say it aloud. He didnt need to. Flora had noticed the look on his face when he registered her statement.

"I literally mean history. Those buildings have been there since... The 1930's, I believe? It's like you can feel the energy of the people of the past who have been there, worked there..." Flora was elaborating in a way she hoped Helia would understand.

She really does have a deeper way of thinking than most people, most impressive.

..."I can only picture how it must have been when everything was first being built. Oh, downtown has so many buildings. I wonder if they built them all at once, or just gradually? Can you imagine how frustrating it must have been for the townspeople to have to drive through all that roadworks? Well, there were detours. Had to be..." She kept speaking as the couple headed toward the parking lot.

Helia was listening and comprehending every word she was saying, but this was the moment he realized that this was the most she had spoken since he had known her. She really is opening up to him.

"You really do love downtown, don't you?" Helia asked as he opened her car door.

She sat down and buckled her seatbelt, waiting for Helia to enter the vehicle. Once he did, she continued to speak.

"I do enjoy it. But I feel this way about, well, everywhere, really. Every place that has been around for a long while. Especially when it comes to nature trails, rivers, lakes, places of that sort. It's almost like I get a life high from it. I don't know, I'm sorry. I know I sound like a nut." Flora blushed.

"You don't sound like a nut at all. I love the way you think about things. How deep your thinking process really is. You aren't like most people."

"I don't like most people. Petty, full of drama, always offended by small things. There's just-"

"Such a big world out there, isn't there? So much to see. So much to be thankful for. There is a bit of beauty in everything." Helia cut in, which she wasn't upset by at all. She was actually glad that he was on the same wavelength as her.

She placed her hand on his wrist.

"You ever notice how there is an opposite to everything?" She asked, hoping he would know what she meant.

"Night and day?" He asked.

"Yes... What else?"

"Sunshine, rain."

"Good..."

"Darkness, light. Love, and hate. The season's have opposites as well. Winter and summer. Spring and autumn."

"Each phase of the moon has an opposite one, too."

They both looked at each other satisfied before Flora leaned in to kiss Helia's cheek. She definitely knew she made a good decision by moving forward with this particular man.

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"Babe, how can you want ice cream when it's cold outside?" Brandon asked as he walked the sidewalk with Stella. They had arrived downtown and had found a good parking spot.

"You don't understand, there's a shop down here that has the best ice cream. It's totally worth it, no matter the season." Stella smiled.

"Fine, fine. If you want it, you got it. Weirdo." Brandon sighed as Stella playfully shoved his arm.

"It's not like it's frigid out here anyway. It's definitely been colder here." Stella said.

"This, is a true story. I keep waiting for some more snow."

"Oh I know! It's always so beautiful. Until it starts melting and starts to look icky."

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"This looks like a good spot." Helia pulled into a vacant parking place. He got out of the car as Flora unbuckled her seatbelt, and he proceeded to follow his routine of opening her door for her. Flora never failed to be flattered by the gesture.

"I think I see Stella!" Flora pointed excitedly. Brandon and Stella were in the distance, but that long golden hair of Stella's is undeniable.

Flora pulled her phone out and dialed Stella's number.

"Hello?" Stella was quick to answer.

"Hey! We just got here. I see you guys."

"Oh okay! We'll wait up for you."

Flora hung up, grabbed Helia's hand and the couple headed toward their friends, who were now working toward meeting them halfway.

Stella greeted Flora with a tight hug, Helia greeted Brandon with a handshake and a "bro- hug".

"We were just on our way to get some ice cream." Stella cheered.

"Ice cream? Isn't it kind of chilly out here for ice cream? Are you sure you don't want a hot chocolate or a latte instead?" Flora asked her blonde friend.

"When you try this ice cream, you'll get it! I promise. Brandon just got done giving me a hard time too."

Brandon shook his head and looked at Helia, who was chuckling a bit.

"You two really do make a cute couple, you know." Stella quietly said to Flora before winking at her, taking care to allow the guys to walk further ahead.

"So do you and Brandon! Honestly I didn't think I wanted a relationship. I definitely wasn't looking for one. But Helia is just so... Different. He's so old fashioned, it's refreshing."

"Good guys are hard to find! But I think our group scored well."

"Bad dudes are easy to find..."

"What?" Stella asked.

"You heard me." Flora retorted.

"Well, yeah. They are. Why do you say that, though?"

"You won't believe who we ran into at the mall. This whole time of being broken up with him and managing to steer clear. And as soon as I find a good guy, bam! Doofus wants to show his face again."

"Please don't tell me it's who I'm thinking it is..."

"It rhymes with Vee-Lie."

"Levi, for real? Did he try to mess with you?!"

"Yes! And, sort of. Me and Helia were minding our business. Doing just fine, drinking our coffee and I looked up and there he was. I was hoping he wouldn't notice me, but I knew better. He came up to me like he was an old friend! I thought maybe he let things go, and moved on. He hugged me. I felt uncomfortable, but dealt with it. And then he whispered in my ear, so quietly, I barely heard it. But his tone was enough to scare me."

"What did he say?!"

"He said, 'You promised me'." And then Helia stepped in, he had seen enough. I thought Helia was going to hurt Levi. I really did think they'd fight! Helia was infuriated."

"Yeah! Good thing you weren't alone. Wait, what promise is Levi talking about?"

Flora sighed before explaining. "You remember when you let me stay with you? And how I told you I left a note for him when I left for good?"

"Yeah."

"Well... The last thing I had said to his face, was that I promised I'd stay. I promised that twice actually. The first time was when he threatened to leave me on the street in the middle of the night. The second time was before he left for work. I promised I would stay, just to pacify him. He never forgot about it... I didn't either. Before I left him, He also made me tell him I loved him, and tell him how great he was. I did tell him everything he wanted to hear so that way he would be comfortable enough to go to work without keeping tabs on me. I lied to him a lot, and I was hoping that after all this time he would just move on nd take it for what it is."

"Don't start blaming yourself! He was good at making you do that. His whole side of your relationship was a lie, not a single word he said was ever true. Does he know where you live?"

"Probably! The man is crazy. Like was it just a coincedence that he ran into us? Or did he follow us to the mall or something, you know?"

"Do you want me to stay with you a few nights? Or you can crash at my place until you feel better."

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. It was just so... Intimidating."

"Well, you've got 5 girls and now 6 guys on your side. He doesn't stand a chance if he tries anything froggy. Tell him to jump! He's trash anyway. He probably has two or three other girls he's entertaining ans trying to keep up with. And you have a man now? He's not going to step into that water."

Flora laughed. "You know what? You're right. I don't even know why I was worried about anything."

"Hey, check that store out." Helia stopped his in his tracks and pointed.

"Candles? Aaaaaand, soap? Candles and soap. The girls might like this place. Brandon raised a brow.

"I know Flora will." Helia waited for Flora and Stella to catch up to them. When they were close enough: "My love, look." He pointed at the shop, causing Flora's eyes to widen and gasp with excitement before she quickly walked to the door and opened it.

"This place must be new. I've never seen it before!" Flora stepped inside, followed by Stella and the guys. Helia kicked himself for not grabbing the door for his love even though he really didn't have a chance.

Cinnamon apple was the first aroma that welcomed the couples as they walked into the shop.

"I love this type of scent for fall and winter time. Cinnamon, Apple, pumpkin, vanilla..." Flora closed her eyes.

"I love like, clean scents, like clean laundry. And peppermint, I really like peppermint scents for when it's cold outside."

Helia looked over and saw the perfect thing for his lady; it was a large decorative candle, very thick in circumference. Not meant to be lit, it had red and pink roses painted on it, with a few red and pink rhinestones on the petals, some green and white rhinestones on the leaves. Flora was looking at wax cubes and hand soaps with Stella, so Helia took the opportunity to grab the decorative candle.

"Fancy." Brandon commented.

"It smells like a rose, too. She will love it." Helia said.

"Oh, look at this one!" Brandon picked up another decorative candle. This one had a peacock gracefully painted on it, with green, blue, purple, teal, and white rhinestones placed beautifully and evenly over the feathers.

"Peacocks are Stella's favorite animal. I'm sure she will find the perfect place for this." Brandon looked at the candle admiringly before heading to the register with Helia.

"Hi! How are you today?" The seemingly extra loud cashier greeted Helia. It was a wonder Flora hadn't heard. Maybe she did, but she was too focused on the products to pay attention.

"Shhh... doing well, and yourself?"

"Oh, sorry! I'm good, thank you." The friendly cashier whispered back. Helia noticed a few wax melt samples that were on display, not hesitating to grab a 4-pack of vanilla sugar cookie wax melts before placing the candle on the register.

"$18.47 is the total." She said after she keyed in the items. Helia paid for his items and took the bag. Brandon placed the peacock candle on the register and quickly grabbed a bottle of candy-cane handsoap that was near the register, knowing Stella would love it.

"$19.63" the cashier said after she rung up the items. Brandon handed her a $20 bill and took his change.

From across the shop:

"This one smells nice!" Stella had a brick of Pine scented wax melts she was smelling.

"You're right. It's not a scent I'd normally go for, but it reminds me of like, a cabin. It reminds me of what you'd expect a house with fresh hardwood flooring to smell like." Flora replied.

Helia and Brandon came up to their girlfriends, who noticed the bags their men were carrying.

"Oh, found some things you liked?" Stella teased.

"Just a little something-something." Brandon replied with a charming smile.

Stella tried to grab the bag from him, but he didn't let her. "Oh come on! Let me see!"

"Patience, young grasshopper." Brandon pulled the bag away from an impatient Stella, who was now crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine. Have it your way." She said as she hugged him.

"Are you ready to get out of here?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah." The girls said in unison.

"I do love this store, though! Definitely going to have to come back soon." Flora admitted.

The two couples stepped out of the store, and were welcomed by brisk cold hair rushing against their faces.

"Oh man... It is pretty cold out here, isn't it? Maybe we can come back another time for the icecream..." Stella said aloud.

"Yeah, good call, babe." Brandon replied to her.

"In my defense, it wasn't this cold when we first got here! The wind is what gets you! Nakes it feel like 10 degrees colder than what it is." Stella defended herself.

Brandon loved the quirkiness about Stella, she did odd things and made silly choices. She has some unusual preferences in general and Brandon found it fascinating.

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"Hmm.. Let me see what I can find." Levi sat down in his bed as be was scrolling through Flora's Facebook on his phone. Of course, he had to make a whole new secret account since she had managed to block the other two accounts he used.

Her photos are all set to private except her profile photo and cover photo. She looked nice in her profile picture, with her hair done nicely, a small section of it in her face, which her hand was placed perfectly, moving the hair out of the way of her radiant face. Her bright smile matched perfectly with her almost seductive eyes.

As lovely as she looked in that picture, it was nothing compared to what she looked like she Levi had seen her. She looked the same, but different. She was... Glowing. She looked like she was at peace. She had never looked like this when Levi was with her, except the first month or so of their relationship.

Levi had never seen Flora so... Happy.

Guilt and anger swarmed over Levi's being as he continuted to snoop her profile.

"Okay. No other pictures are visible. No big deal." He slowly began to lay back on his bed as he clicked on her friend's list, which, to his surprise, showed everyone she was friends with. He expected to see the result "No friends to Show" as one of her privacy settings.

"Bloom, Brittany, Layla, Musa, Mitzi, Sara, Stella, Tecna...wait. Mitzi Gomez?"

Levi started to recollect how a girl named Mitzi used to give Flora and all of her friends a hard time during their freshman and sophomore college years. He realized this was that very same girl. He wondered if they added each other just because, if they were actually friends, or if they still didn't like each other.

He clicked on Mitzi's profile.

"Medical assisting at NDSU. Okay, so you do still go here." He decided to send her a friend request and just see if she would respond to it. If he could get closer with Mitzi, he'd have a reason to be at the college and use Mitzi to find out more about what's going on with Flora. They most likely have at least some of the same classes.

***Mitzi was already on her phone as well. She was having a quick lunch by herself at Subway when she saw her new friend request.

"Levi Simmons? Why does that sound familiar?" She wondered as she scrolled through his profile. She did recognize his face as well, although she couldn't put her finger on it. As she looked through his photos, she really couldn't deny that she thought he was very attractive.

After about 8 minutes of Levi scrolling through Facebook to try to see what else he could find, a notification popped up.

"Mitzi Gomez accepted your friend request." Levi silently smirked to himself as a small sense of triumph coursed through his veins. He was one step closer to getting to Flora.

A message came through to Levi's phone.

"Hi there! I'm not sure we've met before? I'm sorry if I don't remember, but your name did ring a bell."

"Ha! And she even messaged me first! This makes it that much easier." He said aloud before typing a response.

"You looked familiar to me as well. Where are you from?"

We might not know each other very well now but we cna change that."

"I've heard that one countless times *eyeroll*"

Levi remembered that he needs to take care not to be pushy, as Mitzi is no easy catch, but if she wasn't interested, she'd have never accepted the friend request to start with.

"Well, you are a very pretty lady. I'm sure you have an inbox full of men trying to get with you and I'm not here for that. I simply thought I'd recognized you and decided to just shoot a request. "

"Fair enough. By the way, you're not so bad looking, yourself (;"

"Great, she gives mixed signals..." Levi hated the vibe he got from this girl, but he needed to work with her.

"Thanks." Was his short response.

He set his phone down and placed his hand over his forehead, thinking this was the end of their conversation for the day.

"What are you doing today?" Levi opened the message.

"Not much. It's my day off. You?" He responded.

"Having lunch. I'm at Subway."

"I love subway. And olive garden."

"Texas Roadhouse beats all." She replied.

"Trueeee! They never disappoint. Maybe we can go there sometime."

"Uhm, listen...I don't really date."

"Date? Not hardly. Simply A window of opportunity for two aquaintances to have a meal together, but the ball is in your court. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, just thought I'd offer. "

Mitzi waited a moment before responding.

"You know what? I think I'll take you up on that offer after all..."

"Oh yeah?"

"When would you like to go?" She asked him.

"Whenever you're up for it. If you aren't busy, tonight?" He had this message typed out but decided to erase it. He didn't want to come off too strong, but she was showing mutual interest in him.

But then again, she's asking me when I'd like to go. She's putting the ball in my court, just the way I like it.

"We can go tonight if you like." He typed out this new message and sent it, nervous of her response.

"What time?"

"How about 6? The crowd usually comes between 6 30 and 8."

"6 sounds good to me." She replied.

She wasn't lying when she said she doesn't date. She knows she can be difficult to read and hard to get along with at times. She hasn't been on a date in about 2 and a half years, since she was 22. No one ever really asked her out very often. Levi seemed persistent, but still respectful. That stood out to her about him. Most of the guys Mitzi had been involved with before were not interested in anything serious with her. Their idea of a good time, involved going to bars or parties and having too many drinks, wanting a quick hit at the end of it and then going seperate ways for good. She never was the type to let a high number of men experience her body , but she did fall victim to catching feelings for the wrong nen, quite a few times. She really never knew why men didn't want to be serious with her. She has her faults just like anyone else, but is she really that bad? Maybe she just seems unapproachable. She knows she comes off as high maintenance but she just never wanted to settle for less. She was content with this conclusion.

"Perfect. (; Can't wait."

What are the odds? Levi couldn't believe how cooperative Mitzi was being. Is he looking for a relationship? Absolutely not, but just like almost every person Levi encounters, he looks for a way that they can benefit him. Then he disregards them.

He certainly wasn't expecting her to react the way that she did. And her be so willing to meet him tonight? That's weird to him. Is she really just that easy after all, or lonely? Hopefully, both. Levi knew he could play off of either of those two things.

As despicable as Levi is, he's smooth and attractive. He's never had an issue picking up females.

Mitzi's POV

Wow. He really wants to take me out tonight. And to my favorite restaurant. I just haven't been out with a guy in so long.

Mitzi glanced at the time.

2:45p.m.

So I've got abouuuuuut, 3 hours to get ready. That's fine. I'm sure this salad will have worn off by then. What if he thinks I'm a pig because I ate out twice today?

Why do I care so much? He's just a guy. It's not even a date. Nothing wrong with making a new friend.

Although, she does secretly crave a solid relationship. She never really had a good one. Like many other girls, she always wanted to be the only one a good man had eyes and feelings for, she was just never lucky enough to experience it for herself so she began to shelter herself from the thoughts of it, to prevent herself from getting discouraged. She was placing it in her mind that this could be the chance to have that. But not to get her hopes up very it very well might not be anything at all.

She picked up her phone and began looking through his pictures again. He didn't have very many , but the ones he did have were enough to make any girl's heart stop.

She saw one of him with some of his guy friends at a beach.

His friends were all tagged in the photo.

"At Palm Springs, CA."

They were all shirtless. Levi in the middle with both of his muscular arms up and a smile that showed off his perfectly white teeth. His chest and midsection were very well defined and displayed his sun-kissed skin.

She saw another photo of him on a hiking trail. "Gatlinburg, Tennessee."

Okay, so he likes to travel, that's good.

Mitzi finished up her salad before placing her phone in her purse and heading back to her townhouse to get ready.

Levi's POV

Levi tossed his phone to the side and reached into the drawer of his nightstand, where an old photo of himself and Flora was present.

In the photo, he stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her. She has her hands over his and was kissing his cheek asas his face buried itself between her neck and shoulder. This was a photo from when they first got together, she looked content with him here. Nuch more so than the majority of their relationship, and perhaps that's why he held on so tightly to this photo.

Levi hated himself for letting Flora go. Well, he hardly let her go anywhere. She did it on her own, ans for good reason. The pain killers he was addicted to, the cocaine, and the other girls. He slowly realized he was addicted to cheating. But why? He had the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he still treated her like she was nothing. Now that he thought about it, not a single one of those girls he cheated on Flora with was in any way better than her.

What's worse than all of this is Levi put his hands on Flora. He would physically hurt her, accusing her of doing him wrong, when in reality it was his own wrong-doings that were haunting him. Yet, he always, and wrongfully, punished her for it.

That's why she left him.

That's why she- she found someone else. Someone better.

But she promised she would stay with me. She promised not to leave me! I will show her how much I love her and when I do, that boy toy she has will never stand a chance.

Which brought his mind back to Mitzi. He needed to shift his focus and try to win Mitzi's trust enough to where she would do some of his dirty work.

What exactly can she do?

He tried to think of just how Mitzi could benefit him.

He smiled to himself. All he has to do is pretend to be her boyfriend.

Maybe Mitzi could even make nice with Flora, and then they do a double date.

Yeah right, that one's a long shot.

I'm getting too far ahead, let me just focus on tonight and the rest will come easy. But this way, Flora will see me again and not immediately turn the other way.

Levi continued to reminisce on their relationship, when a particular time frame stood out to him. They had been together for about two years, and had been broken up for just over one year. He had spent a lot of time with her, and most of his time obsessing over her after she left him.

FLASHBACK

One year, one month Into The Relationship

Flora was having trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned continuously, hoping to get some more rest as she glanced at the alarm clock. 4:42a.m.

From time to time, she would wake up with random headaches and nausea. This had happened occassionally throughout her whole life, so she handled it as she always did. She is always able to reposition herself, go back to sleep, and she always feels better when she wakes up again.

But this time, she couldn't get comfortable. Every which way she tried to lay, seemed to make her feel worse.

After approximately 20 minutes of tossing and turning, she couldn't pretend to be fine anymore. She knew she was going to vomit, so she ran as fast as she could to the restroom. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and released. She immediately noticed this wasn't like any other time she had vomitted in her life. This was strong, foul-tasting yellow liquid. Stomach acid. She had never puked just stomach acid before. Perhaps it was because she hadn't eaten anything yet, but it was still a different experience for her which caught her attention.

The nausea didn't subside yet so she stayed in place on the bathroon floor.

Levi came into the bathroom when he heard her.

He knelt down beside her as he placed a hand on her back, and gently began to rub his hand in circles on her back, which was very soothing to her.

"You okay, babe?"

Flora shook her head.

In the back of her mind she knew there was a small possibility. A few weeks prior, there were two days where she couldn't find her birth control pills. Levi knew this, but he wanted to have sex regardless.

But she wasn't too concerned because she had been on her pills for a few years, and after two days of being lost, her birth control did turn up again. It seemed to have fallen off of the nightstand and found it's way deep under the bed amongst many other items. She had immediately began taking them gain on schedule, upon finding them.

Levi pulled her in close to his chest.

"Do you think there's a chance...?"

Flora's eyes started to fill with tears as she nodded.

"Do you need me to go get a test?"

She pointed to the bathroom closet.

"There's one in there. Sometimes my birth control makes my period late so I like to have one on hand..." When she said this, she realized her cycle was late. She didn't keep track of exactly how late, though. But she surely should have started by now.

Levi went to the closet and pulled the test out and handed it to her.

"Please go..." Flora quietly said. Levi nodded and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

She finally willed herself to stand up off of the bathroom floor. She looked at herself in the mirror, then at the pregnancy test. She set the test down and decided she needed to brush her teeth after the episode she had just had. She used mouthwash before and after.

When she was finished, she removed the test from the package and took it. She set it next to her on the bathroom counter she she cleaned herself and pulled her night shorts up. She flushed the toilet before glancing at the test.

She blinked quickly and squinted at it, thinking her freshly-awoken eyes might not be focusing well yet. She picked the test up and stared at it.

Two bold, undeniable pink lines.

This is a positive pregnancy test.

Just then she heard Levi knock at the door before opening it.

"What's the verdict?" He asked, but the look on her face was answer enough. He stepped over to her and a wide smile crossed his face as she showed him the result.

"You're pregnant." He whispered as he took her into his arms and swayed with her.

"What are we going to do? We aren't ready for this." She finally said to the man she hasn't even been with for a year, yet somehow managed to be carrying his baby.

"We will get ready. It'll be okay, baby. This is an incredible blessing!" He fell even more in love with her at the thought of her carrying his child.

"Doctor..." She said.

"You're right. We need to get you to a doctor. I can start calling for you but a lot of them don't open until 8 or 8:30."

"There's one here in town that takes walk ins. My friend went there."

Hearing Levi's excitement and him willing to be proactive actually put Flora's mind at ease.

Their relationship isn't perfect, but maybe this will change things for the better.

8:15am

Levi and Flora were heading to the car so they could make it to the pregnancy center right at opening time- 8:30a.m.

They arrived at the office at 8:34. Levi opened the door for Flora as she walked through to the front desk.

"Good morning! How may I help you?"

"I, um, I'm here to confirm a pregnancy."

"Okay! I just need your I.D. and there will be a few forms for you to fill out."

"Alright." Flora handed over her license. The receptionist looked over Flora's license and keyed some information in on the computer before handing it back to her along with 3 forms for her to complete.

"Bring those back to me when you're done, okay, hun?"

Flora nodded as she grabbed an ink pen and took a seat next to Levi. Levi always seemed to have a cold demeanor, but this seemed to be softening him up. Flora saw him as a potential good father, and she knew she would be a good mother but she was having trouble wrapping her head around this.

As she filled out the forms, she wondered if she was even pregnant. Maybe it was a false negative. Maybe she got sick because of a stomach bug or something similar.

Levi could see her mix of emotions and placed his arm around her, pulling her in slightly.

"Everything's going to be okay, baby. I promise. I love you."

"I love you too " she said as she finished signing the very last form. She stood up andand handed the clipboard to the receptionist.

"Thank you, ma'am! You'll be called back shortly."

Flora gave a small smile before heading back to her seat.

Not even 10 minutes later, her name was called.

"Flora?"

She stood up, thankful they were the only ones in here.

"Can he come back too?" She asked.

"Sure!"

Levi and Flora both came through the door where the nurse had stood. The nurse led them both to a room where she sat at a computer.

"Okay, so I'm showing that your menstrual cycle is about a week to two weeks late?"

"Yes." Flora answered, actuallt unsure of how late she was.

"Have you taken a test already?"

"I did. I took a test at home this morning. I've had nausea and vomiting."

"Okay, so typically, we would have you take another test here and then bring you back in two weeks for an ultrasound. If you like, I can go ahead and try an ultrasound today."

"Yes, please!" Flora answered excitedly.

"Okay. Now, I can't promise that we will be able to see anything. If you're too early, you will habe to come back."

"Alright."

"You haven't peed yet, have you?"

"Only to take tbe test I took about 4 hours ago."

"I think it'll be fine. It's just easier to see with a full bladder. I will meet you both in the next room over. If you could go ahead and remove your clothing from the waist down, as we will be oding a transvaginal ultrasound today."

The couple headed over to the next room. Flora saw a large piece of fabric, like a blanket, awaiting her at the bed she was meant to lie on.

"Okay, here goes nothing." She said as she removed her pants and panties.

"Mhm, that's MY lady!" Levi said as he watched her remove her clothing.

"Shush!" She blushed as she crawled up to the bed and placed the draping over her lap.

Soft knock at the door was heard, and the nurse came in.

"Alright. Are you guys ready?"

They both smiled and nodded as the nurse went over to her screen and took a seat.

She prepared the ultrasound wand with ultrasound gel before placing it inside of Flora.

Carefully, the nurse moved the wand around.

There was a large screen on the wall, showing the same thing the nurse's screen was showing.

"Okay, so Here, you can see the sac, and the fetus, and That's the placenta there..." The nurse moved the wand a bit more.

"... And you're actually measuring at 8 weeks and 2 days gestation." The nurse was silent for a moment and after watching the ultrasound closely, Flora guessed why.

"There's no other way to say this, but I'm not detecting any cardiac activity at all. By 6 weeks, the heart beat is present. And you being 8 weeks, there should definitely be some activity her, and I'm sorry to say that there isn't."

Levi grabbed Flora's hand.

"Keep trying, please. Maybe it's just too early, like you said earlier, if it's too early, we might not see anything."

"Sir, I know this is difficult for both of you to hear, but... This pregnancy is not viable."

"Yes it is. It has to be..." Levi insisted.

Flora began to weep, feeling as if it was somehow her fault.

"Is it because I took birth control pills? I didn't know, if I'd have known I wouldn't have." Flora choked.

"Honey, it isn't your fault. These things happen. And I assure you, it likely wasn't due to your birth control. Many expectant mothers continue their birth control before finding out they are pregnant. Unfortunately, these things just aren't always meant to be."

The nurse was not trying to be harsh, and the sorrow was visible on her face, and was audible in her tone as well. She sees this often and it never gets any easier to have to break this news to a couple.

The nurse removed the wand from Flora's body.

"I will come back in a few minutes to discuss some things with you both."

As quickly as she had come into the room she was gone.

"I'm so sorry..." Flora said through tears.

"No, baby. No. It isn't your fault, okay? It's going to be alright. At least now we know. I love you no matter what. It just wasn't the right time." Levi was trying to be strong for Flora, but he wanted a baby with her so badly.

So badly, that he hid her birth control from her, right before what he knew would be her most fertile days, and he tried to get her pregnant, without her knowing any of this.

And now it had come back to haunt him. If he had told her this was what he wanted, she may have been willing to try with him and perhaps the outcome would be different. Now he will never know.

Flora took advantage of the hygienic wipes that were available, and had gotten cleaned up and dressed once more. She washed her hands as well.

Another knock at the door and the same nurse came into the room for what would be the last time.

"I am so sorry for you both. You seemed like you were really looking forward to a positive outcome, as most couples do."

Flora internally blamed herself for this result, although Levi and the nurse were both telling her otherwise. She didn't want to cause a scene, but this really was devastating news.

"Miss Flora, it's never easy to say this, but you need to know what to expect. The fetus should pass on it's own within about a week. If not, please give us a call and we will schedule you to have a DNC."

That broke Flora's heart even more. Is she just supposed to walk around with a non-living fetus in her womb?

"Typically, the human body knows what to do."

"Can I come back next week? Maybe if we wait we can see something?" She asked, still with a glimmer of hope.

"I'm not just going by the ultrasound, I also am taking into account your HCG levels, which should, be at least 7,650 up to 200,000 at 8 weeks gestation. Your HCG levels are 3,235." The nurse said with dismay.

"You need to just take it easy for the week, okay? Don't push yourself or strain yourself. Allow nature to take it's course."

Flora took a deep breath before asking her question.

"What's going to happen?" She softly asked.

"Well. You are going to have severe cramping, much worse than a typical menstrual cycle. This may be accompanied by severe lower back pain. All of this is normal. It will be like a very heavy menstrual cycle, but it will feel much more intense. I know this is a lot to take in, but you need to be ready." The nurse took Flora's hand. "This happened to me as well when I was about your age. Nobody told me what to expect. It's going to be difficult, physically and emotionally. You seem to have a very nice young man who is willing to support you and help you all along the way. And when the time is right, I know things will work out better for you."

Levi remembered how 1 week, and 3 days later, it happened. He was at work and thankfully she was home and not out when it happened. She tried to call him but he couldn't answer.

Flora: "Levi, I think it's happening."

He never will forget that text or the feeling he got when he read it. He had already informed his boss of what had been going on, he got the approval to go support Flora.

END FLASHBACK

The miscarriage really was the turning point of their relationship. They weren't always terrible together. The miscarriage caused Levi to find comfort in smoking pain pills, snorting cocaine, and running around with other women. He didn't want to treat Flora badly, but once he snapped and lost it on her over something small in a drug-induced rage, that became the norm of their relationship. She stayed for so long because she wanted the Levi she thought she knew, but he almost didn't exist in the first place.

Maybe he does.

Yes he does, and I'll show her why she ever loved me in the first place. I will win her over again. We can try again, to create a family. I can be sober for her. I can be anything for her.

END FLASHBACK

She will marry me, not him. He's not going to take her away from me. He may have her for now but he does not have her forever.

If our baby had made it, we would still be together. She'd still be here.

Our baby. Did she forget? Of course she didn't. How could anyone forget something like that?

Levi's eyes became full with tears of mixed emotions as he awaited the evening.

Authors note.

I know I promised to be more current with my updates, I have lost 3 people close to me within the last month. I appreciate you all being so patient with me. Things have started settling down now so my updates should be much more frequent for real, this time. I've been itching to get this chapter done though.

As you could see, Flora and Helia aren't currently up to very much right now, but Levi is. I wanted to give you guys some insight on their past relationship and show you he didnt always treat her horribly. But he did hide her birth control and purposely got her pregnant to try to keep her with him so I guess Helia still has 100 points and Levi has 0 haha

I don't plan on making this story very long, i would like to wrap it up for you guys hopefully within 5 more chapters. As always, thank you all for reading.