Hey guys, I'm going to try and upload a chapter at least once or twice a week. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns all the Twilight characters. _
E turned towards me and extended out a hand, "Name's Egypt."
I took her tiny hand and shook it, "Leah." I told her.
"So, Egypt," I sat on my empty mattress, "that's a unique name."
She scoffed and sat on her bed, "My parents thought it would be different to have a family named after African countries. My dad is Nigeria and my mom's name is Kenya." She gave a short laugh, "Can't find my name on any fucking keychain." She looked up at me and smiled, "So where are you from?"
"I grew up on a reservation in Washington. What about you?" I asked.
"Originally Harlem, but once I started phasing, we moved to Rochester."
"A New Yorker," I crossed my legs and sat up, "that must have been exciting. All the people and the sights. You must have never been bored."
"I guess." she shrugged, "I've seen the same buildings my whole life and crowds tend to overwhelm me."
Our room was very spacious; more than enough for two people. On each side of the room, there was a small closet, a dresser, a study desk, and a full sized bed; in the middle were our bathroom door, a small fridge, and a television sitting on a stand. I examined her fully decorated side of the room and compared it to my bare side. Her side was decorated with a tapestry and lights and little African statues and figurines.
"So how far along are you?" Egypt questioned.
Jesus, am I showing already?
Egypt saw the shock in my eyes and let out a laugh.
"You're in what we like to call "labor and delivery." Everyone in this building is either pregnant or had a baby within the year." She hopped off the bed, lifted her oversized black shirt and showed her extended pregnant belly. "I'll be 6 months in a few weeks. My appointment to find out the gender is in a couple of weeks." She exclaimed proudly. I could almost feel the excitement and joy radiating off of her.
"I'm actually not sure," I told her, "I haven't had any prenatal care and can't afford to go to a doctor. I guess that's why Marianna took me in."
"She's an angel isn't she?" Egypt gave a soft smile.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and the angel herself walked in.
"Get dressed girls, we're going shopping." She exclaimed.
Egypt clapped her hands excitingly and waddled to the bathroom with clothes; I eyed Marianna suspiciously.
"What!" she yelled defensively, "You come in here with a duffel full of old clothes and a blanket. There's a lot you need."
I shook my head, but didn't bother to argue because once again, she was right and I need as much help as I can get.
Shopping with Egypt and Marianna had been a very exhausting experience. We've hit every store on the strip and my feet were killing me. How can a pregnant teen and a middle aged woman move so fast?
Egypt and I were sitting on a bench waiting for Marianna to finish her shopping. A woman came in to the shelter and had no clothes for her baby, and of course Marianna took it as her personal job to make sure the baby was clothed.
"God, that woman is amazing." I told Egypt. She nodded her head in agreement. "Chris is lucky to have imprinted on her."
"Mari isn't Chris's imprint." Egypt informed me.
I whipped my head towards her with a surprised look on my face. "What? But they seem so perfect together. Like two puzzle pieces that fit."
Egypt shook her head. "Chris's imprint died in a terrible car accident when he was about 18; on the day he was going to propose to her. Everyone says that it was awful. He wouldn't eat, sleep and the usual spark in his eyes were gone. But Mari kept an eye on him and even made Chris move in with her and her imprint. Just like now, she wouldn't give up on someone she cared about."
"So what happened to Mari's imprint?"
"Ugh, that selfish bastard," she threw her hands up as if she was frustrated, "Don't get me started on him. He is Chris's brother. He apparently acted like he didn't give a damn when Chris was depressed. He left Marianna because she can't have kids. He says that there was no point in being together since the imprint was only to strengthen his gene pool. He comes around like once a month to see the pack and he is such an ass! Like seriously, I hate him."
A woman walked by pushing a stroller and I just couldn't take my eyes off of her.
It's hard to believe that one day that will be me.
What if I'm a terrible mother? What if it doesn't love me?
Questions begin to fill my head and I begin to feel panicky.
"What's wrong?" She asks
"Nothing." I lied quickly.
Her eyes narrowed; I try to avoid her gaze.
I sigh, giving up on my failed façade.
"What if I'm a bad mom?" I ask her. "I ran away from the people I grew up around. My mother, my brother, my children's dad. All because I was scared. I'm not even sure that I'm happy that I'm having a baby. Everyone's usually like "Wow, I'm pregnant." I'm more like "Oh God… I'm pregnant.""
I sigh and put my head in my hands. Egypt lifts my head up and grabbed my hands and sighed.
"When I started phasing, my dad moved us back to his home in Rochester. The pack members were there and he'd make more money than in Harlem. And we'd need the cash to buy extra food and clothes for me. I absolutely hated it there. I was at a new school. I had no friends, I was younger than most of the pack members, and no one took any interest in the "inner-city girl". The pack females absolutely despised me. They would gang up on me every chance they could get. To make it even worse, my parents changed. They used to be down to Earth people; we were all very close. But wave a little money in their faces and they'll forget where they came from. I was lonely." She let go of my hands and folded them across her chest. "That was until my cousin Morris joined the pack."
She held out her wrist and showed the tattooed initials M.N.C with a little heart around it.
"Morris Nathan Carmichael. When he joined, he helped turn my life around," She continued with a sad smile. "He helped train and mold me into a better protector. I made up for being the smallest by being the fastest, toughest, quickest thinking female. When you're in a pack full of females, you want the attention from the alpha. And that's exactly what I got."
Her smile faded and was replaced with an angry frown.
"I knew I shouldn't have started secretly messing around with Dorian, but I was a stupid 17-year-old girl and I was finally getting the respect I deserved from the pack. After I graduated, I found out that I was pregnant and you know what this mother fucker says? What are you going to do? He and his imprint were getting married soon. There was no mention of any type of imprint when I was in his head or when he was in my bed. I was still considered a pup. And in that pack, pups aren't allowed to know much about the older wolves' lives. Morris found out and challenged him. Told him that he needed to man up. By the time I managed to get there to stop the fight, Morris was already badly injured."
"He never recovered from the injuries. He was killed by his own pack members." Egypt whispered as her tears started to flow. "They didn't fight fairly. The beta and third in command jumped in."
I could feel my jaw drop.
Sam, Paul, and Jared weren't my favorite people, but they would never do something like that.
"My parents were so disappointed," she continued, "My father was especially furious. Told me that I got my family member killed, could have broken up the pack, and soiled the Carmichael name. He told me to choose between my parents and my baby." She wiped the tears off of her face. "Well I chose my baby. I will always choose my baby. I'll be damned if I'm not about to be the best mother I can be. I made a promise to make sure that this baby has everything that it needs and to have more than enough love, even if I am only one person. I'm never going to give up on my child. Yes, I will make mistakes, but I'll learn. And so will you! You can't let your past harm your future or this child's future. You are here because you obviously care about it already! It's okay to be scared Leah, but things will work out if you don't freak yourself out and keep reaching for the stars."
At first I was confused about why she was telling me her story but now I understood. She was telling me that she knows how I feel. She's making it through one step at a time and so will I.
Marianna strolled over to us with her shopping bags. "Isn't this precious?" She pulled out a frilly pink dress.
"I thought you said the woman had a boy?" Egypt asked.
"She does," Marianna placed the dress over Egypt's belly and winked at her, "I was just thinking that it would be for someone else."
"We don't know the gender yet," Egypt laughed.
"Well I can dream can't I? I've always wanted a little girl to dress up and spoil." A sad smile formed on her lips, "Someone will use it. You girls hungry?"
"Yes!" Egypt exclaimed.
I was about to decline when my stomach grumbled. I'd forgotten that I hadn't eaten all day. "I guess that's a yes from me too."
We were about to head to the car when Marianna's phone rang. "One second girls." She said as she answered her phone and walked away.
"So how did you end up meeting Marianna and Chris?" I asked Egypt.
"Chris was in Brooklyn for a business trip. I was living on the streets and went into a convenience store to buy some chips, but the clerk didn't want to sell to me. Said he didn't want any trouble from the riff raff. I almost phased right there." Egypt sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "Luckily, Chris was in the convenience store and sniffed me out. He bought me a sandwich and convinced me to come with him. I got to meet the pack and the imprints. Everyone took me under their wings. They're great. I've yet to regret saying yes to Chris."
Marianna came back to us with a disgruntled look on her face.
"I'll have to take a rain check on dinner girls." She told us, "Two of the runaways got into a fight at the shelter and I have to go handle it" She gave a loud and annoyed sigh and ushered us towards the car.
Marianna dropped Egypt and I off at a restaurant on the wharf, waved goodbye and drove off.
We walked in and was immediately greeted by an excited waitress.
"Baby Momma!" She shrieked. She ran over and tightly wrapped her hands around Egypt. "You've been promising to visit us for a month." She pouted.
"I know," Egypt said, "but I've been working doubles at work. You know I need the extra income." Egypt turns towards me and grabbed my hand, "Leah, this is Cassie. She's an imprint."
Cassie looked to be around my age. She was tall and tan with long black hair decorated with teal streaks. Her arm and midriff were covered in colorful tattoos and her crop top exposed her belly button ring.
"Nice to meet you." Cassie waved at me, "Are you a new imprint?"
"No," I shook my head, "A wolf."
"No fucking way!" She cried, "Finally, another female. That's some Girl power right there." She showed us to a booth and wrote down our orders. "Tanner and I are about to get off, we'll join you guys."
After about twenty minutes, Cassie and Tanner brought out our food and joined us at our booth.
"I honestly didn't believe Cassie when she said there was another female wolf here," Tanner said as he slid into the booth, "yet here you are. How did you guys come across each other."
"Your Aunt." Egypt informed him as she popped a French fry in her mouth.
"I met Marianna about a month ago in Portland," I said, "She and Chris convinced me for the sake of my unborn baby to move to the shelter and-"
"Wait your pregnant?" Cassie happily shrieked, "When is it due?"
"I actually don't know yet."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"I'm not sure- "
"Are you excited? What do you think it will be? Who's your doctor?"
Cassie started to bombard me with all types of questions. A sense of fear and nervousness creeped through my body. I don't have an answer for any of her questions. I don't have a due date, I don't have a doctor, and I most definitely don't know if I'm excited or not.
I'd always picture that if I were pregnant I'd have a little house on the beach. My friends and family… And Sam. When Sam was taken away from me, so did my dreams of my little family on the beach. When I thought I could never have kids, it only crushed me. I always thought that if I did ever manage to get over Sam, I'd still wouldn't be able to give the new love of my life any kids. But here I am, given an opportunity to be a mother and there aren't any words to describe how I'm feeling. Petrified? Maybe, but not enough.
Noticing my blank stare, Egypt gave Cassie a quick kick underneath the table. "It's only her first day here. Let's give her time to get herself together." Egypt softly told her. Egypt grabbed my hand a winked at me.
I mouthed "thank you" to her before quickly changing to the subject. "So how did you and Tanner meet?"
"Well," Cassie smiled and eyed Tanner, "Me and one of my friends came down here for the Pride Parade. And my buddy points to this shy guy sitting alone," She pokes Tanner in his rib, "and says "hey Cass. Go get me that guys number." So I go to him and BAM. Instant imprint." She and Tanner started to laugh, "I totally cock blocked my friend."
Tanner scoffed, "Dylan's not my type anyway."
I take in the conversation. "So wait," I start to ask, "You're- "
"Gay." He confirmed. "Imprinting gives you the person that you need the most in life. I needed a best friend. She helped me come out to the pack and my family."
"Not to mention I'm the best Wingman ever." Cassie added. "You'd never get any action without me."
It's been a couple of weeks since I've came to the shelter. I've been around Cassie, Tanner, and Egypt almost every day; we've all gotten very close.
Today I was going to my first doctor's appointment. I was sitting on my bed, anxiously waiting for Marianna to come and pick me up.
"Get ready world, Momma's bringing home a girl!" Cassie burst into our room, bouncing with giddiness. Egypt was trailing behind her, a giant grin plastered on her face.
I hopped off my bed and went to hug Egypt. "So everything went well. No complications with your baby girl?"
"Oh Lee," she beamed, "I feel so different. Obviously I've known that I'm pregnant, but now it's actually hitting me that I'm going to be a mom. I have an actual person inside of me and there's no one or nothing in the world that can stop me from loving her."
A few tears started to slip down her face. I reached to her face and wiped the tears away with my thumbs.
"I'm sorry. Damn hormones." Egypt babbled. She turned around and strode off towards the mirror in the corner. She lifted her shirt and gave a broad smile at her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and softly started to sing.
You are the sunshine of my life
That's why I'll always be around,
You are the apple of my eye,
Forever you'll stay in my heart
There was a soft knock on the door. Marianna stepped in and silently waved for me to come on; not wanting to interrupt Egypt's emotional moment.
"Do you ever think I'll be that excited?" I asked her as we walked to the clinic.
"Just give it time mija." Marianna advised.
Thankfully, the medical center is a few buildings down from our dorm. Chris's sister Elaina, who is Tanner's mom and another pack imprint, is going to be my doctor. We didn't want to risk me going to a human doctor.
"Are you ready for this," Elaina asked me.
I was lying back in the chair, looking up at the screen attached to the ultra sound machine.
"Honestly, I'm nervous. Is that normal? What if I did something to hurt the baby? Or something's wrong?"
"Of course it's normal," Elaina confirmed, "You're probably going to be nervous until the day it turns 18. How about I look and make sure everything is normal so that you won't have any surprises?"
I nodded my head in agreement.
She puts the cold gel below my belly button and presses the probe against my stomach.
She moves it around and she raises an eyebrow.
"Oh my." She states.
"OH MY! WHY DID SHE SAY OH MY?! DOCTORS AREN'T ALLOWED TO SAY THAT" I'm freaking out. I felt my breathing start to become uneven.
Marianna comes and squeezes my hand and rubbed my shoulders.
"Calm down Leah." Elaina says. "Everything is fine."
I took a deep breath, "Then Why did you say oh my?"
Elaina gives me a small smile, "Leah, you are 13 weeks pregnant with twins."
All the air in my lungs escaped.
Marianna dropped my hands.
Twins
That's two babies
Two lives
Elaina turned on the screen and showed where each baby was. She pressed a button on the machine. The sound of thumping started to fill the room.
Those are heartbeats.
I finally understand the joy that Egypt kept telling me about.
I felt the joyous tears start to stream down my face.
I have two lives inside of me.
And I couldn't be happier
The song Egypt was singing was from Sunshine of my life by Stevie Wonder.