Yikes, that last chapter was so painful to write. Don't worry too much though, everyone... Also, Lola is about nine months here xx

Never Gonna Give You Up

The following Monday, Miles stood in the nursery just looking at everything. It was killing him to see the baby's stuff every day-- it was like the nursery was taunting him, a constant reminder that he'd almost had his perfect little family. Almost.

Fed up with everything, he ripped the mobile from the crib and threw it against the wall. He kicked the crib, furious at everything-- at the world, at Lola, at himself.

"Miles!" Frankie cried, rushing into the nursery. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, who cares about any of this crap!" Miles said, not looking at his sister. "None of this even matters because Lola and I aren't together and she might not even want the baby anymore."

Frankie sighed. "You don't know that for sure, okay?" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Lola's just... overwhelmed right now. She's scared, Miles." She shook her head. "And you dumping her when she's almost nine months pregnant doesn't exactly help."

Miles stared at Frankie, not believing what he was hearing. He knew Lola was her best friend, but Frankie was his sister. She should be on his side. "In case you've forgetten," he scoffed, "she's the one who kissed another guy behind my back."

"She told me what happened," Frankie said. "She was really upset about the fight you guys had and Saad was the one who initiated the kiss." She bit her lip. "I mean, at least she told you about it right away."

Miles just shook his head. "Forget it, Frankie," he muttered angrily. "You don't understand what I'm dealing with here."

Frankie sighed. "Have you even seen her since the breakup?"

"Uh... not exactly," Miles admitted. He called her twice a day to check on the baby, but he hadn't gone over to her place since.

Frankie rolled her eyes. "Well, come on," she said. "Let's get to school. Only a few more days til your graduation."

Miles sighed. "You go on without me," he said. "I think I'm going to skip today."

"Fine," Frankie said, walking out the door. She turned back for second. "But if Simpson asks, I'm not covering for you."

"Right," Miles muttered. He wasn't going to just sit around at home all day, he decided. He was going to finally go see Lola. He at least owed her that.

Meanwhile, Lola laid on her couch at home, just feeling the baby move around. She'd tried researching adoption agencies this morning, but every time she clicked on a website she started crying. Giving the baby up wouldn't be any easier than keeping it, she was realizing. This wasn't something she could solve with a simple pros and cons list-- this was something she had to follow her heart on. And, at the moment, she didn't know where her heart was at.

She reached into her purse and opened up her wallet, pulling out the ultrasound picture from her sixth month checkup. She stared at the image of the baby, tracing her fingers over it. Her baby, she thought to herself. The baby she and Miles had made-- their son or daughter. She sighed. Even if she did give the baby up, there's no way she wouldn't spend every day for the rest of her life thinking about him or her. It was surreal to her that in just a few weeks, she would be holding him or her in her arms, hearing it cry, seeing if it looked more like her or Miles. She set the picture down on the table, massaging her belly. And this was Miles' baby too, she reminded herself. What if she did go through with adoption, but he wouldn't sign the papers? What if he wanted to keep the baby himself? Lola couldn't live with that, knowing their baby was right down the street and without a mom. There was just no easy answer.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Lola groaned. "Coming," she called, clutching her belly and trying to get up. But then the door opened without her.

Lola looked up, stunned to see Miles standing there. "What are you doing here?" she asked, lying back into the couch. It was a struggle for her to move at all nowadays.

Miles walked into the living room carrying a paper bag. "I uh, brought you some takeout," he said. "Cheese quesadilla." He tried to smile. "Your favorite."

Lola scooted over so he could sit next to her on the couch. "Oh, um, thanks," she said, taking the bag of food. "That was really nice of you."

Miles took a deep breath, barely making eye contact. "And I just... wanted to check in, I guess," he said quietly. "Make sure you and the baby are alright."

"We're fine," Lola nodded, rubbing her stomach. Miles noticed her belly had gotten even bigger in the last week, if that was even possible.

Miles sat there quietly for a minute, then finally spoke up. "Look," he said. "If you... if you wanna give the baby up, I-- I won't stop you."

Lola sighed. "Thank you, Miles," she said whispered, sitting up. She stared into his eyes. "But honestly, I don't know that I can go through with that either." She glanced at the ultrasound picture on the coffee table.

Miles nodded. "Well, whatever you decide," he said, hand on her belly. "I'd just really like to be there when he... or she... is born."

Lola put her hand on top of his. "Of course," she said. She looked away. "Miles," she said, closing her eyes. "I'm so sorry about what happened." She took a deep breath, holding back tears. "For what I did."

Miles didn't look at her, but nodded. "I know," he said sadly. He squeezed her hand. "I know."