Ana
"Liam, let's go," I say sternly.
He stares at me innocently as he rams his toy car into the railing of the stairs and then smiles at me.
I scowl and carefully walk Lola down the snowy stairs, and grab Liam's hand. I huff when he starts throwing a massive tantrum. Ugh!
"That is enough, Liam. It's time to go inside," I say firmly.
He continues to throw a fit while I drag them both upstairs to the apartment.
I let go of his hand so I can get my keys out of my purse. I am about to put the keys in the lock when Liam suddenly runs off back down the stairs.
"Liam!" I shout and go back after him. "Get back here, right now!"
I walk down the stairs as fast as I can. I finally get on the ground when Liam sits down on the curb and crossed his arms.
"You do not just run off like that, Liam! I told you it was time to go inside. Now, I am not going to tell you again. Let's go," I shout at him.
He shakes his head sullenly. I scowl and grab his elbow and pick him up. He starts yelling and screaming while kicking me on the legs. I flinch when he hits the back of my knee, almost knocking me over.
I see two people who are walking dogs, stop and stare at me while Liam continues to yell and scream.
"Liam, that is enough!" I yell, and he finally stops screaming.
I start to pant as I walk up the stairs. Lola is standing right where I left her while sucking her thumb.
I set Liam down on the ground. "Now, stay here," I say more firmly.
He nods his head with tears in his eyes. I sigh and try to calm down. They have never acted like this before. It's getting more and more frustrating as the days go by, and I don't know how I am going to handle this when the baby arrives.
I finally get the kids inside and watching a movie; so I can have a little bit of me time. I lock up the front door and set the keys on top of the fridge so the kids can't find them. Wouldn't want them to unlock the door and run out of the apartment.
I tell them I will be right back and they nod and continue to watch the movie I put on for them.
I walk into the bathroom and close the door. I lean my head back and take a deep breath.
The rest of my appointment today went all right. The doctor gave me some pamphlets to take home and read everything we need to know about preeclampsia. He also did some tests and would call me back when the results come in a few days.
He also ordered an ultrasound, and everything is going well with the baby as what he could see.
In the meantime, the doctor wanted me to try to rest as much as I can, and try to lay on my left side at night or when taking naps. He wants me to come in for an appointment every two weeks instead of every four weeks.
I also had to do a glucose screening test which I had to drink this sweet soda liquid. The two nurses told me that it would probably taste disgusting since all pregnant women do not really care for the taste of the stuff. To be honest, it didn't taste that bad to me personally, just sort of watered down orange soda. I had to sit there for an hour, and after that, they took my blood.
It was a long appointment, and the kids got reckless and started acting out half way through the glucose screening. I am just glad all is over and done with.
I sigh tiredly as I get undressed to take a long hot shower.
I get out and get dressed into some comfy pajamas and a pair of long gray socks. I brush out my long hair before I come out of the bedroom. The kids are cuddled together still watching the movie quietly.
I walk into the kitchen and start to make dinner. I look at the clock and see that it is almost five o'clock. Christian should be home soon. I take out all the ingredients that I would need to make oven baked chicken.
I am just about to put in the chicken in the oven when the front door opens. Christian walks in and closes the door. I smile at him when he takes off his jacket and gloves.
I walk over to him and put my arms around his neck and kiss him.
"How was your day?" I ask while running my hands through his hair.
"Same as yesterday. Very busy," he sighs and puts his arms around my waist.
"I'm sorry," I say as I give him another kiss.
He shrugs, and we stand there holding each other in silence like we do every day after he gets home from work. I put my head on his chest as he rubs my back.
Suddenly, my eyes fly open, and I lean back quickly. I look up at Christian in shock. He frowns at me.
"What's wrong?"
I look down at my belly and start to laugh. He frowns deeply and looks down at my stomach.
"Is it the baby? What happened?" he starts to panic.
"Oh, my God, Christian. The baby just kicked." I giggle as I rub my belly.
Christian's eyes widen, and his jaw hits the floor. He gasps and his hands fly to my stomach.
We stand there for a few seconds in silence to see if the baby would kick again. Our eyes are full while we both beam at each other while we wait.
Christian suddenly gets to his knees and places his lips on my belly. I smile as I run my hand through his hair. He cups my belly with both of his hands and says, "Come on, buddy. Kick again for daddy."
Tears prick to my eyes as he sits there and rubs my stomach with his palms. I gasp again when the baby suddenly kicks me again. The kick was right near my belly button. Christian's eyes sparkle as he smiles down at where he kicked.
"Wow, that feels weird," I giggle down at him, and he chuckles.
Oh, my, God. This feels so unreal. This is the first time the baby has kicked. I thought we would have felt the baby move already, but the doctor said it could take a while for a first time mom to feel their baby kick or move. He said that it usually happens closer to twenty-five weeks, and right now, I am twenty-four weeks.
I am so happy that Christian was here when the baby decided to kick. I am glad he was here to experience our son kick for the first time, and not at work.
"Hey, little guy. I love you so much already," he says against my swollen stomach.
I smile down at him while I try not to start crying at how sweet he is being. I didn't have a shadow of a doubt on how much he loves this baby already, but this is the first time he has talked to the baby. He usually would just lay there and caress my stomach before bed but never spoke to him.
He's going to be an excellent father.
"Oh, baby," he coos as he kisses my stomach once more.
I sigh contently for the first time today. He smiles up at me before rubbing my belly one last time and gets up off the floor.
He takes my head in his hands and kisses me. I tug on his hair as he runs his hands down my back and squeezes my ass. I moan into his mouth, and he walks us backward until my back hits the counter.
He kisses me more urgently and soon enough we are practically dry humping in the kitchen. I pant when he kisses my neck. I moan out loud as he licks and sucks on the sensitive spot under my ear. His hands fly to my sweatpants and cups my naked sex. I moan more loudly when he circles my clit with his fingers.
"Do you want to get fucked baby?" he whispers into my ear and then nips me on my earlobe.
"Yes," I say breathlessly as he continues to rub my clit with his fingers.
I hurriedly start to unbutton his pants, but before I can push them down his legs, we hear a loud bang. We jump apart and see Liam hitting his toy car on the wall, and Lola still has her eyes glued to the screen.
I completely forgot they were there. Thank god, Liam did that because they would have seen us having sex right in the kitchen.
"Shit, I forgot they were sitting there," he sighs and adjusts himself.
"Yeah, me too," I nod.
"I should go change. I'll be back, baby," Christian kisses my forehead, and I nod.
I turn around and continue to cook dinner while Christian walks towards the bedroom to change clothes.
"How did your appointment go?" Christian asks as we sit at the dinner table eating dinner.
I sigh and pick at my chicken. I didn't want to tell him what was going on since I don't even know for sure if I have developed preeclampsia, but I know I need to least let him know what is going on.
"Fine, but the doctor found something," I murmur.
He drops his fork in surprise and his silverware clatters onto his plate. "Found something? What's wrong?"
"Nothing at the moment. They just found some protein in my urine, and my blood pressure was a little high," I explain hesitantly as I cut up Liam's chicken.
"What do you mean by high? Like dangerously high or slightly high?" he says wide-eyed.
"Really high," I whisper and stare down at my plate.
He mumbles under his breath and gets up to his feet and starts to pace the living room. The kids continue to shovel the food into their mouths not even paying attention to Christian.
"God, damn it, Ana. It's because of the stress. You're stressed because you have to take care of these two. We need to call CPS because this cannot go on any longer. What else did he say?" he snaps.
My shoulders slump forward. I knew he was going to bring up the CPS issue, but what can I do now? What if calling the authorities is the best thing to do? I read through the pamphlets and found out all the risks when having preeclampsia. The complications scared the hell out of me, and I didn't want to risk the health of the baby.
I hate to see the kids in the system, but this is killing me. The lack of sleep, the symptoms that I have been experiencing, the continued chaos of taking care of two kids are becoming too stressful.
I sigh and bite my lip. "He said there was a possibility that I could have developed preeclampsia."
"Fuck!" he suddenly shouts.
"Christian-," I start to say, but he cuts me off.
"No, we are calling CPS tomorrow. End of discussion!" he snaps, and I shut my mouth.
I look towards the kids, and they are still shoveling food into their mouths. Tears glisten in my eyes when I watch them eat their food.
I don't want to call them, but I think Christian is right. I hate what we are about to do, but I can't put the baby at risk anymore. I don't want to lose my baby over this. I put my head in my hands and feel so selfish. I know that what we are doing is best for everyone, but what else can we do?
"Okay," I whisper, and he sighs in relief.
He walks over to me and kisses my forehead. "This is what is best for us, baby. Everything will be okay," he whispers against my head.
I nod, and I put my arms around his waist and lean my head against his stomach. He runs his hands through my hair soothingly. I lean back, and he lets me go. He walks over to his chair and sits down, and we both resume eating in silence.
That night in bed we lie there silently just staring at each other with both of us laying on our sides.
"We're doing the right thing baby," he whispers.
"I love you," I whisper.
"I love you more," he whispers back.
He runs a finger down the side of my face, and I close my eyes at his touch. The feeling of needing to become closer to him is suddenly too overwhelming. I hold the side of my stomach as I scoot more towards him.
I lean over and kiss him on the lips. I run a hand through his hair as he deepens the kiss. He rolls on top of me and grinds his erection into my sex. I moan into his mouth.
He slowly strips me out of my pajama's. When I am completely naked, he sits up and takes his shirt off revealing his muscular chest and arms. He then takes off his pants and lays back down on top of me.
He traces his tongue around the edge of my mouth before slipping it past my lips. My eyes roll in the back of my head when he guides his cock into my sex.
He moves his hips slowly causing me to let out a loud moan.
"Oh, Christian," I say breathlessly while he slowly thrusts into me.
He continues his slow, gentle pace as he leaves open mouth kisses on the side of my neck. I run my hands down his back. I put my legs around his waist as he grinds into me.
Tears start to run down my cheeks as Christian caresses my stomach softly. I throw my head back as I feel my climax building.
"Come on, baby," he moans into my mouth.
He starts grinding into me harder as he caresses me all over. He reaches down between us and starts playing with my clit.
My mouth drops open in ecstasy when I finally fall over the edge. Christian quickly leans up and pounds into me prolonging my orgasm. He halts and throws his head back and screams my name as he cums.
After a few minutes, our breathing returns to normal and Christian rolls off of me. He lays on his side and wipes the tears from my cheeks.
"Tell me our baby is going to be okay," I whimper as our foreheads rest against one another.
"Our baby is going to be fine," he whispers, and I nod as fresh tears spill from my eyes.
He takes me into his arms and rocks me back and forth as I weep into his chest. He whispers into my ear that everything is going to be okay over and over again.
The last thing I remember before falling asleep is hoping that our baby will be okay and that everything is going to work out in the end.
"Are you ready?" Christian asks me the next day.
We are sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table while Lola and Liam are busy watching the morning cartoons. Christian's cell phone is laying in the middle of the table.
We both have been sitting in silence just staring at the phone. I hate that we have to call CPS, but I know this is for the best.
"Yes," I murmur and give him a small smile.
He takes a deep breath and picks up the phone. He takes out a piece of paper from his pocket and on that paper is the number for CPS. He starts to dial the number, but a loud knock on the door startles both of us.
We both frown at each other before he puts the phone down and gets up off his chair. Who the heck is at the door?
Christian walks past the kids and opens the door. My eyes widen when I see the landlord that owns the complex standing in front of us. What is he doing here?
"Good morning. Can I have a word with both of you?" he says hesitantly.
"Um, yeah. Come in," Christian gestures him inside.
He stands by the door while I take Christian's offered hand. The landlord is a short older man with a bald head and walks with a slight limp. His brown eyes stare at us with a sorrowful expression. He has a piece of pink paper in his hands which he keeps playing with.
I start to get nervous when he looks towards the kids and back at us a few times. After a few minutes of tense silence, he finally speaks.
"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have to evict you," his voice wavers.
I gasp loudly and Christian tenses beside me. Evicted? Why? I whip my head over to Christian, and he looks baffled.
"Whatever for?" he says astounded after a few beats.
"I told you a few times that you need to keep the noise level down and last night was the last straw. We had another noise complaint late last night as they heard loud noises coming from your apartment throughout the whole evening. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to evict you, due to the noise and after several warnings. I will give you until tonight to move out. Again, I am sorry," he explains and gives Christian the pink piece of paper.
Christian yanks the paper out of his hands and angrily stares down at the paper. It says EVICTION NOTICE in big black bold letters at the top and a few paragraphs below it that explains the reason why.
I cannot believe this! I am speechless right now. How could he do this to us? We weren't even loud last night! Lola even slept through the night! This is not possible!
"This is impossible! We didn't even make a peep last night! This has to be a mistake!" Christian yells causing the kids to jump.
"There is no mistake, Mr. Grey, please, have your things out of the apartment before nightfall," he starts to sweat and tries to make a quick escape.
He doesn't get very far because Christian blocks his way so he can't get to the door.
"I told you that we didn't make any noise last night. Whoever said that we did, is obviously lying," he growls, and the landlord sighs.
"Mr. Grey, there is a strict noise policy. It states in the contract that after three noise complaints, the landlord has the right to evict you from the apartment complex. Other witnesses had heard noise coming from this apartment all night. I am not going to tell you again, please, have your things out of here by tonight," he says calmly and walks around Christian and closes our door.
I stand there dumbfounded as Christian stares down at the paper in shock.
"Christian?" I whisper as I walk towards him.
He doesn't react or look at me. He just stands there staring at the eviction notice that he has in a tight grip in his hand.
"We're homeless again," he says with no emotion in his voice.
I whimper and try to hold him, but he steps back. I stand there staring at him wide eyed. He finally lifts his head slowly and the look of devastation on his face. His eyes glisten with unshed tears as mine run down my cheeks.
He closes his eyes, and after a second they fly open, and his gray eyes harden in anger. He yells suddenly causing me to jump back in shock when he crumples up the paper and throws it across the room.
"Get your shit together," he growls and stomps towards the bedroom.
I stare at his retreating back in horror. I look towards the kids, and they are staring at me in confusion. I jump when Christian stomps back into the living room.
My mouth drops open when he yells at the kids to get their shit together. "Christian," I say in astonishment.
"I said get your shit together. You know what? No! We are going to be living on the streets again, so just pack a few clothes and your shower shit. That goes for you too!" he snaps and points to the kids.
Lola and Liam lips tremble, and then they both start to cry. I run over to them and try to comfort them. Christian huffs angrily and throws his hands in the air. I sit down on the sofa when he goes back into the bedroom. I try to calm them down, but it's not working.
Christian scared them, and they won't stop crying.
"Don't worry; I did your bag. Let's go!" Christian snaps when he walks back into the living room.
He is carrying two bags. He throws them down on the floor while he snatches up his wallet and phone.
"Christian, he gave us until tonight. Why can't we just stay put for a bit, and then-," I try to say, but he cuts me off again.
"I don't want to stay here until tonight. There is no point in staying here. If we go now, or later on today, it doesn't matter! We're homeless again either way. So stop whining and crying and get those brats ready!" he yells at me.
I whimper as tears run down my face. He slams things around as he gathers our stuff. The kids cry harder as I lead them to the bedroom to change them into their clothes.
The room is a mess of clothes on the floor from Christian throwing our things into a suitcase. I get them dressed and into their jackets and shoes. I sniffle, and my hands shake as I put on some clothes myself. I put my hair into a messy bun and put on my snow boots and jacket.
We walk out of the living room after I take a look around our bedroom and try not to cry.
Christian is standing by the front door staring at the wall emotionless.
He hears me coming into the room and snatches the suitcases and a trash bag off of the ground.
"I packed the rest of our food into this trash bag and the clothes. Let's get the fuck out of here," he snaps and yanks the door open and stomps out of the apartment.
Liam and Lola's hand are in mine as I stand there heartbroken. I look around our first apartment for the last time.
I cannot believe this is happening right now. I can't believe that we have to leave and go live on the streets once again.
When will this ever end?
When will we catch a break?
When will something work out for us?
Are we always going to end up living like this? Homeless and alone?
Tears blur my vision as I stare around the room again. I jump when I hear Christian yell my name somewhere outside. I walk forward slowly and lead the kids out of the apartment. They walk down the stairs where Christian is standing. His back is to me, and his hands are balled into fists at his side.
I sniffle as I turn around and slowly close the apartment door. I take my hand off the knob and stare down at the keys in my hand. I lock the door, and my hand grips the gold key.
I close my eyes and suddenly see the horror of the dream that I had a while ago.
Our baby is born. Hungry, cold and we have no way to feed him while we live in an abandoned house. I weep while the image of that dream becomes a reality.
A reality that I thought that we would never have again.
My knees nearly buckle when the reality of our situation hits me at full force.
We are homeless once again, and I don't know if we are going to be able to survive it this time.
AN: Spoiler...They won't be in this situation for long.
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