A/N: I know I said in the last chapter that I would update more frequently but things came up! I had midterms last week so now that those are over, I'll have more time to write. I hope there still are some of you reading this, I have so many plans for these characters and I want to continue to write! I probably will, even if I get no reviews but it would be nice to have some feedback...Anyway, I hope you're all have a great week, here's the next chapter!
While at the field trip, Nora was talking to one of the other teachers and her cell phone started ringing. She looked at the caller I.D and seeing it was Jeremy, she became worried.
"I'll be right back, Justine," she said, reaching in her purse and walking towards the entrance. She picked up the phone. "Jeremy?"
"Yeah, Nora," he said, sounding tired.
"What's going on?"
"It's Mel… the baby, she…" he didn't need to finish his sentence for her to understand. She covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped in shock, and felt her eyes weld up with tears.
"Oh, Jeremy," she sighed sadly. "I am so sorry."
"She blames me," he said. Her eyes widened. "She said it was my fault because I forced her to make the decision to have an abortion in high school."
"Jeremy," she shook her head. "It's not your fault and you know that. This is just what she does," she sighed. "She blames everyone for something we have no control over."
"Yeah," he nodded. "And this was OK in high school but we're adults now and we're married and… I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't keep letting her blame everything on me as a reaction and have her apologize later. I can't take it anymore."
"I know," Nora said, not knowing what else to say. "You should tell her this, I'm sure she'll understand."
"I hope so," he said, sounding doubtful. "Anyway, I know you're probably busy but I just wanted to let you know…"
"Thanks Jeremy, if there's anything I can do… please let me know."
"I will," he said. "Say hi to Emma for me, will ya?" He asked. Nora felt a pain in her chest.
"I will," she whispered. He hung up. She searched through the crowd of kids and spotted Emma. She swallowed and scrolled through the contacts on her phone. She began dialing another number and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hi, I know you're working but I really need you right now."
Andria woke up that morning, smiling as she felt the warmth of the body next to hers. She scooted closer towards him and wrapped her arms around his torso. This movement woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw she was staring at him.
"Mm, good morning beautiful," he wrapped his arm around her tiny frame and pulled her even closer.
"Morning handsome," she smiled back. "Last night was amazing, Vince," she said, her hand caressing his cheek. "I'm so happy we're trying this again."
"Me too," he nodded. Before they could lean in and kiss, the bedroom door swung open and in came Ava.
"Mommy! Daddy!" She shouted, jumping onto the bed.
"Yes, baby?" Vince said, sitting up as the five-year-old climbed into his arms.
"Look what the tooth fairy gave me for losing my front tooth!" She said, excitedly as she showed them the five-dollar bill in her hands.
"Wow, aren't you lucky?" Andria said, sounding impressed.
"When will I lose another tooth?" Ava asked, eagerly.
"Whenever you're ready," Vince said. "Don't try to force it though, OK? Because the tooth fairy might think you're cheating…"
"No way!" Ava gasped. "I would never!"
"Good," he nodded. Andria watched them in awe. "Now, go brush your teeth. Mommy and Daddy will just be a minute."
"OK!" Ava said, quickly rushing out.
He turned back to the mother of his child and smiled.
"You're such a good dad," she whispered.
"Ah, Ava makes it easy," he shrugged.
"No," she shook her head. "I'm serious, you're great. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that."
He smiled. "Well, that's in the past now," he said. She nodded. He leaned forward and they kissed.
Suddenly, Andria jolted up from her sleeping position and cringed when she heard the sound of her alarm clock ringing. Itwasjustastupiddream, she thought. One that she had been having frequently in the past few weeks…
"Morning beautiful," she heard the person next to her say. She turned towards him and saw that it was Will. They had been seeing each other for a few weeks now but Andria was starting to get bored of him and she definitely wasn't ready for a committed relationship which he seemed to be continuously pushing for. She stared at him strangely for a few minutes, still reeling from her dream. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shook her head as she looked away. "You just… remind me of someone," she said. He raised an eyebrow curiously. "An ex-boyfriend."
"Ah," he nodded, pulling her close. "Would this ex-boyfriend be Ava's father?" He asked. She stared at him. He hadn't officially met Ava yet, though he had seen her on occasion when he tried to sneak out and Andria wanted to keep it that way. He hadn't even asked about her or who her father was until now, and this threw her for a complete loop.
She pulled away and rolled over to the other side.
"Come on," he urged. "Tell me."
"Yes," she groaned, returning his gaze. "You look like him, that's all."
"Who is he? Do you and Ava still see him?" He asked.
"It doesn't matter!"
"What's with the secrecy?" He asked. She looked at him. "Why don't you ever want to talk about him?"
"None of your business," she crossed her arms over her chest in defense. "He's in the past, he's not part of mine or Ava's life so he's not important."
"Andria…"
"I seriously don't want to do this with you," she said, giving him a warning glare.
"OK, I'm sorry," he finally gave up. "We won't talk about it," she nodded. "But I think it's something you need to address," she looked at him. "For Ava's sake and for your own."
"Ugh," she rolled her eyes as she threw her head back.
"I'm gonna go," he said, sliding out of the bed. She looked at him. "But I'll call you, OK?"
She nodded. He pecked her lips before dressing himself and leaving. Andria sighed and sat up, wondering how she was going to break up with Will.
"Finally!" Gabrielle said, barely above a whisper as she slowly crept out of her two-year-old son, Jake's room. She had finally got him to fall asleep after what felt like an entire afternoon of trying. She didn't even know what time it was but she was thankful her other son, Cameron, was going to his friend's house after school so she didn't have to worry about picking him up.
Most women in her position would have hired a nanny or someone to help but not Gabby. Being a stay-at-home mom was stressful on her sometimes and with their third one on the way, she knew it was going to be a tough few years but she wanted to do it on her own. Just like her mother had. She had always admired how easy her mother made it seem to raise three kids, especially considering she had Gabrielle at sixteen. Tyler had offered countless times to hire help but Gabby refused and he knew better to push her. She wasn't naïve though, she knew that with a third child it was going to be difficult and she wasn't necessarily opposed to a nanny, she just wanted to know that she could do it on her own.
She heard the front door opened and headed down the stairs to greet her husband.
"Hey gorgeous," he said, with a smile that still made Gabby weak in the knees.
"Hey," she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. He could feel the baby bump in between them and smiled as she kissed him.
"How are my girls doing?" He asked, kneeling down and kissing the bump. They had just recently found out they were having a girl and both of them were ecstatic about it.
"Good," she smiled, as they headed into the kitchen. "Try to keep it down though, I finally just got Jake down," she shook her head. "I swear, that boy has got way too much energy!"
He laughed. "And Cameron's at Jamie's house?" He asked. She nodded. "Hm, so it's just me and you for a little while?"
She smiled. "Looks like it." She nodded.
He walked over to her and kissed her again. "I miss this."
"Me too," she said, pulling him close. "I've been thinking… maybe we shouldhire some help," she said. His face lit up. "Because I miss you and I love our kids but we never have time to ourselves… and with our little girl coming soon, I just feel like we'll never see each other."
"You're preaching to the choir," he said. She laughed. "I think it's a great idea, I'll call Bill and have him arrange some interviews."
She nodded, "OK but for now, you're staying right here," she said as she kissed him. "So, speaking of our third baby… Sarah's been pushing me to start planning the shower soon," she sighed. "I just don't know when I'll have time or energy to do it."
"Well, you know who would probably be a lot of help?" He asked. She looked at him, already knowing what he was about to say. "Sophia, you know, considering she's an event planner and all."
"Sophia plans weddings,it's different," Gabby shrugged.
"Are you really going to keep shutting her out, Gabby?" He asked. "She's your sister…"
"I know…" Gabrielle trailed lowering her eyes.
"And I thought considering we've been married for six years, you'd be over the fact that she's dating your ex-boyfriend by now." He said.
She gave him a look. "You know it has nothing to do with that," she said. "It's just… she hurt a lot of people, especially Jared when she made that decision and I don't know why it's taking me so long to get over it but… it is."
"Jared seems pretty OK with it," Tyler shrugged. "So why aren't you?"
"I don't know," she shook her head. "I love my sister, I do but I just feel she makes really selfish decisions sometimes and after all the back and forth she did between my brothers and all the hurt she caused them… I just can't make excuses for her anymore."
"So don't," he said. "But don't judge her on something she did when she was a teenager." She looked at him. "She's not like that anymore; look she and Ryan have been together for a long time with no back and forth between Jared or Andy… You have to give her credit for that."
"I guess you're right," she said, hugging him. "I'll talk to her."
"That's my girl," he smiled, and kissed her forehead.