Maya POV~2/9/2018
I eased the door open quietly and stepped into the old apartment warily. I put my other foot in the house and tried to close the door soundlessly. I walked past the small hallway that opened to the living room and coat closet. As I walked past the kitchen I noticed my mom sitting at the old dining table in a folding chair.
"Where were you?" she asked over the rim of her coffee cup.
"The doctor," I said. I kept walking, I could see my room door.
"Oh. I got these for you." She pushed forward a stack of pamphlets. I turned back and flicked through them.
Making the Right Choice: A teen's guide to abortion and adoption.
The 'A's of Teen Pregnancies
How to Get Your Life Back After an Unwanted Pregnancy
Is Motherhood Right For You?
How to Pick a Family For Your Baby
Will Your Baby Be a Blessing or a Curse?
I scanned the titles of the brochures, each one worse than the last. I looked up at my mom, eyebrows raised, and taunting and trouble making smirk curling up on my lips. I dropped the brochures in the trash bin and walked to my room.
"Maya Penelope Hart, get back here we aren't done talking about this!"
I closed my door and leaned against it. "Yes we are Mom."
I heard her footsteps come closer to my door. "Why are you being so ungrateful right now? I'm only trying to help you. You have a future greater than nappies and pacies. Why don't you see that you're making a wrong choice?" she said as she pulled my door open.
I turned to face her, crossing my arms protectively over my stomach. "Have you ever considered what I want? What Lucas and I have talked about? The plans we've made? This isn't your choice Ma, it's mine!" my voice raised with every word I spat.
"Maya! How could you say that? I'm trying to protect you don't you understand that?" my mom asked clearly hurt.
"No, because we never talked about it! You just decided I wasn't going to be a mom. I made this mistake, how I deal with it is my choice! I want to give this baby a try, Lucas and I think we can do it and Ms Friar wants to help us.
"Have you learned about abortions it's too late to do that, this baby has a face that moves and makes expressions. Have you learned about adoptions? How much of a toll it could take on me? Because Lucas and I did. We made the choice that is best for our family. Take it or leave it." I was sniffling back tears at this point, looking at my mom like all hope had been lost. I closed the door gently and looked around my crumbling room.
/||\\
The first thing I did was change. Out with the bump concealing dress and jacket on with a worn out baseball tee shirt (from one of the games Lucas took her to before they broke up) that the bump was barely visible and black, stretchy shorts. Second, I packed a bag with a few days worth of clothes and some basic toiletries. Third, I made a break for it. I took my bag and tiptoed down the hallway, I had my hand on the door knob and was half way out when I heard footsteps.
"Where are you going?" Ma said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.
"To Lucas'. Spending some time apart will let us consider each other's opinions. Bye, love you," I said stepping fully outside and closing the door behind me. I walked down the stairs of the shady building, keeping and arm around my stomach and an eye on the men in the surrounding areas.
/||\\/||\\/||\\
I stepped up to the stylish loft in the better part of town, my fingers beginning to tingle and turn blue. I rapped my knuckles across the white door and prayed they weren't asleep yet.
"Maya?" Mrs Friar asked quietly, when she swung the door open.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm not invited but I needed a place to go. Riley won't understand," I said, matching the quietness of her tone. A laugh rung out in the living room of the house. I heard more footsteps come this way.
"Who is it Mama? Everyone wants to know," Lucas' smooth voice asks from behind the Friar matron.
"It's Maya," she whispers to her son, he raised his eyebrows and his mouth formed a small 'O'.
"What are we going to do?" he whispered back. Another laugh rung out from the living room and someone called out asking where they were.
"Take her to her room, she can stay with you in there while your cousins are in the guestroom then we'll mover her there. Maya when he takes you upstairs put on some nicer clothes and come downstairs," Ms Friar paused to think and then she nodded and waved me in. "I'll go distract them, get her upstairs and changed."
She walked away and chattering started up again in the living room. Lucas took my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. We took them two at a time. He opened a door on the left of the hallway and gently pushed me in. He closed the door and let an emotion fill his eyes.
"What are you doing here, Princess?" he asked me walking forward to hug me. I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"My mom and I… need some time apart. I won't be here long, I promise. I just needed a place to go," I said shakily. I took a deep breath. "Sorry."
"Never apologize, Shortstack. Stay as long as you like. I'll step out while you get dressed."
"Really, I'm having your fucking baby. You can stay." I rolled my eyes but turned a bit as I started digging through my bag. Nothing looked right through. "What is everyone else wearing?"
"Casual. If you have nothing, you left an outfit here a while back. I don't know if it will fit, though." He walked to the closet and dug around until he pulled out a bag.
Inside was one of my favorite outfits; a grey, blazer-like vest with leather sleeves, a black tank top and jeans. I changed and redressed quickly before turning around and looking at Lucas. He scanned me, eyes hard again. He smiled and nodded.
"Do you have shoes?" he asked me.
I looked through my bag again. I pulled out black ankle boots with a little heel. He nodded again and took my hand, leading me out of his room and down the stairs. Right before we turned into view, he pulled me close to him and kissed me. I leaned into the kiss and cupped his cheek in my hand.
"Be yourself, Other One. They'll love you," he took my hand again and pulled me into the living room.
"Maya, how nice to see you," Mrs Friar drawled, her voice with a thicker Texan accent than I ever remember.
"Nice to see you too, Mrs Friar," I said as I sat down next to Lucas on the grey loveseat.
"So this is the infamous Maya Hart?" one of the the girls on the full couch said. I looked over and almost gasped out loud. The two girls were stunning; the type that a guy like Lucas would leave a girl like me for. This on had bleached, crimped curls that fell to her waist, she was wearing a long sleeved crop top and the tightest jeans I've ever seen. I looked over at Lucas warily.
"Yes it is, here in the flesh," he says easily, his hand winding around to the small of her back.
"We've heard so much about you in the last hour," the other one says. She has on a tee shirt dress with a white collar, her hair in a messy but cute bun and wore round glasses.
"All good, I hope," I said jokingly but inside I was shaking with fear.
"Of course, these two love you more than me I dare say," the boy between the girls say. He looks like lucas but with darker hair and eyes. "I'm Jacob, by the way."
I smile at him and fight to keep my hands off the swelling skin of my abdomen. I reasoned with myself that they didn't know about the baby. The evening rolled on smoothly from there, we talked about how college was going for Jacob and the two girls, Kiara and Josie. We talked about Lucas' spot on the high school baseball team and how he might win a scholarship.
Then Mrs Friar noted that dinner should almost be ready, she excused herself to go finish off and serve. 'I'll help.' Josie, Kiara and I chorused simultaneously as we stood up. We laughed it off and filed into the kitchen to help.
"So how far along are you?" Josie asks me nonchalantly as she tosses a salad.
"Yeah, you're glowing," Kiara chimes in, never turning from where she is cutting corn off the cob.
"Umm, I don't think I'm glowing," I stutter as I look at Mrs Friar. She nods me on. "But maybe I am."
"How many weeks?" Josie asks again.
I press the top of the tank top flat against the baby, the bump is just past my chest which makes it still pretty easy to hide. "Fourteen," I gloat a little proudly.
"Aww, that's so close to the gender reveal," Kiara says with an excited squeal.
"I know, Lucas and I can't wait to find out."
"Are you going to post it on Insta, cause I'll follow you to see it," Josie pipes up.
We agree and trade phone numbers and Snap and Insta accounts. Mrs Friar scolds us for getting distracted from our tasks, but her tone is light. We keep talking as we finish up and as we put the food on the table I start humming a song my mom used to sing to me when I was younger.
So come on, come on
Come on, come on
You've got a heart as loud as lightning
So why let your voice be tamed?
Maybe we're a little different
There's no need to be ashamed
You've got the light to fight the shadows
So stop hiding it away
Come on, come on
/||\\/||\\/||\\/||\\
Three days later Jacob, Kiara and Josie pack up and head back on the road to Canada. We have one last breakfast together of pancakes and berries gathered around the TV. I'm in the same big shirt I first arrived in and leggings, sitting criss cross on the floor with my plate resting on the baby. I startled and almost spent the homemade breakfast across the room.
"Are you ok?" Lucas asks, his voice still heavy with sleep.
I nod through a yawn and point haphazardly at the baby. "It kicked, I think," I said when the yawn passed.
Mrs Friar practically flew out of her chair and kneeled next to me, laying a hand on either side of my stomach. She began cooing to the baby, asking it to kick again. A few moments later there was a flutter from with in and Mrs Friar lit up all over again.
"The baby is alive. My grandbaby was kicking," she exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes. I smile at her and rubbed the front of my stomach fondly.
/||\\/||\\/||\\
At the sixteen week check up, Lucas drove me to the hospital and promised to pick me up. I walked up the three flights of stairs to the clinic and sat in the waiting room.
"Hello there Maya, I've got good new for you today," my doctor said as she walked in with the ultrasound technician behind her. "The appointment after you canceled so we have time to give you a scan today!"
"Hey there, Princess," Lucas said, trying to kiss my cheek when I got back into the car after the appointment.
"Hey there Sundance," I said. I held up the envelope in his face. "I got a scan done today and she said they found the gender. But they also said we could come back for our formal scan in four weeks."
He lowered the envelope and looked at me excitement shining in his eyes, fear mixed in too. "Are we going to look?"
I bit my lip and nodded. Lucas popped the seal on the envelope and a little card fell out.
Congratulation on your baby!
At sixteen weeks your baby is the size of an avocado or a gerbil and is a…
A/N: Can't wait to see the baby's gender…
Also, the song is once again "Read All About It."