It took me literally all day to write this…I was really struggling with it and I'm still not very happy with it. I got some time frames mixed up and I think I fixed them in this chapter but I'm sorry if I didn't do it well enough! This isn't as detailed as it could have been but I wanted to get to the point I got to at the end and with a detailed one shot it would have been super long…hope it's okay the way it is.
To Defying Gravity Readers, I hope to have the next chapter for that up tomorrow or Tuesday!
Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own The Walking Dead comic or TV show and do not make any profit from this story. This is purely for entertainment purposes, no copy-right infringement intended.
MOLLY AND AARON
Molly felt completely frazzled, a feeling she had never truly experienced before. Life with a scientist and a highly educated housewife meant she'd learned early on the magical ways to stay calm. This, however, was unlike any situation she'd been in before. In a stroke of childish need for independence she'd decided to go to her college orientation weekend all by herself, even though she had never set foot on the campus before and knew next to nothing about what she needed to do to get ready. The campus map she'd been given at the college entrance was rippling noisily in her hands as she searched for the building she needed to go to for class sign up. The community college she'd gone to for her gen. eds was nothing compared to this place. Even as a third year student this place was too big for her to maneuver the way she had at the CC.
Her finger followed the route she was on but it didn't help much considering she'd never learned the name of the building. As she wandered down one of the paved paths through 'the Quad' as labeled on the map, her eyes stayed trained on the paper in her hand. Suddenly, she felt herself falling backward as a hard object ran right into her. She'd stumbled back a few steps and was caught just as she started to topple over.
"Whoa there, sorry about that, I thought you saw me," a masculine voice said near her ear. Her eyes, which had been closed as she braced for impact with the ground, snapped open and focused on the face looking back at her apologetically.
"It's alright, it was my fault, I should have been paying attention to what I was doing," she said breathlessly. Once the man had let go of her and stepped back, she bent down to collect the map that she'd dropped in the collision.
"You seem a little lost," the man said with a teasing smile, "can I help you? I'm a senior so I know my way around. What are you looking for?"
"Oh, I'm, I'm looking for the class sign up building. I never learned the name of it so I can't find it on the map. I'd appreciate the help if I'm not keeping you from anything," Molly replied with a hopeful smile in return.
"Nope, not busy, I actually just finished registering for classes and was on my way home to unpack. Helping you sounds much more appealing. Come on, I'll show you the way."
"Oh thank you! I'm Molly by the way, Molly Sinclair." She held her hand out as they began walking and felt her hand get warm when he took it to shake.
"Aaron, Aaron Samuels. What's your major Molly Sinclair?" he asked as they wandered down the path.
"Teaching, emphasis in History. You?"
"Business, my parents own and operate Samuels Law Firm, naturally I'll be taking over the business but I decided that I needed an education in running something as big as a company like that so here I am. And here we are," he said as they stopped at the door to a large brick building. "I'll wait for you out here, in case you need help with finding anything else. Go ahead, I'll be here."
Four days later was the first day of her Modern Impact of Ancient Cultures class. It was the most exciting class on her schedule this semester and she was really looking forward to it. She picked a seat in the second row and set her bag on the ground beside her feet before pulling out a pen and notebook. She'd had a few classes already in the week and had learned quickly that notes were going to be her new best friends.
"Hey!" a voice said nearby, calling her attention even though she didn't know who was calling out or who they were calling. Surprise must have been evident on her face when she looked up to see Aaron sitting a couple seats away from her. She'd had no idea they shared a class but it came as a pleasant surprise.
"Hi Aaron, what a surprise!" she said cheerfully. He opened his mouth to reply but the door slamming shut drew everyone's eyes to the front of the class where a rather severe looking professor was marching to the whiteboard.
"I am Professor Hatfield and this is Modern Impact of Ancient Cultures. Over the next sixteen weeks we will be delving into the practices and ways of life that made ancient societies thrive and that have influenced our modern civilizations. This is an intense, difficult class for average students, and the likelihood of even half of you passing is slim. Read over your syllabus for test and quiz dates as well as assignment due dates. There will be no reminders of upcoming deadlines for work or tests so vigilance will be required. Because this is the first class I will give you some advice: begin the studying process now to prepare for the tests. The first one is class next week, so prepare accordingly."
Molly almost gaped at the woman talking. Her no-nonsense speech as well as the efficient way she passed out the class material was the most intimidating thing Molly'd encountered in her life. She was already feeling overwhelmed and the class had literally just started. A glance to the side showed that Aaron was not surprised by the professor's expectations and as he looked at her and winked, she wondered if he'd taken a class with her before.
The class flew by to Molly, who felt like she was on autopilot the whole time. She did her best to keep up with notes but Professor Hatfield spoke much more quickly than she could write and never really paused long enough for the students to catch up. By the time Hatfield dismissed them, her hand was cramping and her eyes felt strained from trying to follow all the stuff written and then erased from the whiteboard before she could finish writing them down. Community college had been a breeze compared to all of this.
"Pretty intense huh? Hatfield can be a bit of a hard ass but the material you learn is worth the trouble. It might seem hard at first but if you just focus on the information instead of focusing on getting it all written down you'll find it much easier to remember stuff and enjoy the class more." Aaron had come over as she packed her bag up and had now taken it from her and slung it over his shoulder as they walked from the classroom.
"What makes you think I didn't enjoy it?" Molly demanded, but the smile on her face neutralized any harshness in her tone.
"You seemed completely out of your element," he replied. "Not that I know you well enough to know your element, but you seemed way too tense, not to mention you were frantically trying to get every single word she said down on paper. Do you even remember what she said without looking at your notebook?" he asked. They had wandered out of the lecture hall and onto the Quad by now and Molly felt her eyes sting as they stepped from the shade of the trees and into the sun.
Molly didn't respond to his accusations because there was nothing she could say. She didn't remember anything she'd said after her horrifying opening speech. "I'm going to die, I'm positive this college is going to kill me," she said in defeat.
Aaron laughed and shifted her bag on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, you seem like a smart girl, and I'm sure you're responsible and sensible enough to prioritize your studying time. I do have a proposition too though. You want to study together? You know, meet in the library or something every couple days? I've learned it's easier to study for her classes with at least one other person. What do you say?" he asked.
A squirrel scampered across the path in front of them and paused at the bottom of a tree to watch them walk closer. Molly smiled at the tiny creature and watched it turn in a flash and climb up the tree before she answered Aaron's question.
"This isn't some ploy to get me alone and, I don't know, chop me into pieces is it?" she asked, letting the humor show in her voice but she really did want to know if he was dangerous. Every TV show she'd ever seen said that most serial killers seemed like completely normal people, and Aaron was as normal a person as she'd ever met.
A laugh perforated the air as he broke down beside her. "Haha, no. No chopping I promise. I just…you intrigue me Molly. I really want to get to know you, and we both need to study. It's win win for both of us."
The earnestness in his voice won her over immediately despite any misgivings she should have had. "Alright, do you want to get together tomorrow? I need all the studying I can get in before that test next week." They'd made it to the parking lot and come to a stop beside a very nice newer model Ford that Molly assumed belonged to Aaron.
"I'm free from eleven until three tomorrow," he replied, opening the back door of the car and tossing his bag inside. Once he'd closed the door again and carefully handed over her own bag full of textbooks into her hands.
"So meet at the library at eleven?" she asked. When Aaron nodded confirmation, she smiled and shouldered the bag before giving him a little wave. "Well, see you later then."
3 Months Later
Molly examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was partially pulled up in a half pony and her curling iron had made it cascade in a curly mass down her back. Subtle blue eye shadow made her brown eyes seem brighter, especially combined with the sapphire blue cocktail dress she was wearing.
A knock from downstairs brought her out of her examination and she grabbed her clutch and headed for the steps. She was halfway down when she looked up and saw Aaron in a black suit waiting at the bottom with her mom.
"Hey," she said softly with a smile.
"Wow, you look beautiful," he replied, sounding so in awe that she wondered if she should be insulted.
"Thank you, you look pretty snazzy yourself," she teased.
"Where are you two going again? I'm sure Molly told me but I seem to have forgotten," Margaret asked, her camera in hand and ready to snap a picture of the two of them.
"My parents are big supporters of that new teen help place across town," Aaron started, taking Molly's hand and helping her down the last few steps. "They throw this benefit every year. There's a catered dinner, an orchestra, raffles. It's a big deal."
"Really? Huh, I've never even heard of it before. William and I are very well connected with Atlanta's upper class," Molly's mother offered, making Molly cringe internally.
Aaron glanced down at Molly, who shrugged as subtly as she could. "Well, I'm not sure why you weren't sent any invitation. Maybe my parents' planner forgot you? They're so busy with all the planning that they have to hire someone to do the mailing and other simple things like that. I will speak to her about it and find out what happened, alright?" he asked.
Molly bit her lip and looked away. Sometimes she thought that Aaron acted a little too pompous and arrogant. The way he always brought up how successful his parents were, how he sometimes seemed to be looking down on her parents even though her father was a renowned scientist working for the government, talked about how his parents had to hire other people to do simple jobs because they were so busy. Despite this character flaw, she thought Aaron was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She just felt lucky that her parents didn't spend enough time with him to realize exactly how condescending and arrogant he could be.
"Hey mom, we need to get going, so could we just take some pictures and head out?" she asked, throwing herself right in the middle of whatever conversation the two were having.
"Oh, right, of course honey!" Margaret replied with a heartfelt smile and a gesture for her and Aaron to get into a nice pose.
Aaron's parents were waiting for them at the banquet hall and both welcomed Molly eagerly. She'd met them enough times to know that Aaron got both his good and his bad qualities from both of his parents. But they always treated her kindly, Molly felt sure that they approved of the relationship that had developed between them.
"Molly, you look wonderful," Aaron's mom said as she hugged the younger girl tightly.
"Thank you Mrs. Samuels, you look great too," she offered with a smile in return.
"Okay, Aaron, Molly, we'd like you to be at the front door greeting people as they arrive, we will be over near the sign in and donation table to greet them again," his dad said shortly. It was odd, sometimes, looking at this older man, because Molly could tell that Aaron was almost an exact replica of his father.
He didn't even give them a chance to respond before he was leading his wife away to the aforementioned table. Soon, Molly and Aaron were swamped with people coming up the steps to the building. She did her best to greet them all as friendly as possible, but she'd never had to pretend to be so happy for so long and it began to weigh on her. Everyone that came up was smiling and wanted to talk her ear off and her feet were beginning to ache from the heels.
The crowd had started to slow a little and she turned to go inside to find the bathroom. Aaron stopped her and kissed her cheek before giving her some brief directions to find the bathroom. There was no line of women waiting to go to the bathroom, which was lucky, but she knew it wouldn't be that way for long so she prayed she didn't have to go again that evening.
The doors to the banquet hall were closed now, so she assumed that the event was going to be starting soon but she had no idea where Aaron was now. His parents were up on the stage now, standing in front of the orchestra but she'd never learned where they would be sitting for the event. She assumed their table would be near the front but she hadn't seen Aaron's distinctive hairdo or his charming face anywhere at the front of the room.
"Molly! Hey, I didn't know you were going to be here." She looked around quickly to see one of her and Aaron's friends from school. He had been Aaron's friend first, they'd been in most of their freshman first semester classes together, but now he was just as much her friend as his.
"Hi Leon, I didn't know you would be here either. Aaron brought me, you know, since we're dating and all," she teased. Leon was a rather shy blonde haired man, slightly built and majoring in engineering. "Speaking of, have you seen him anywhere?"
Molly could tell that the question made him uncomfortable when he started picking at his fingernails. It was one of his ''tells', it meant he was trying to figure out a way to get around the question.
"Oh, um, I saw him, he was headed to the bar a few minutes ago. You might find him there."
"Alright, thanks Leon," Molly said, giving her friend a kiss on the cheek before heading for the little bar Aaron's parents had set up.
She'd made it halfway there when she saw him. He was sitting at the bar with another brunette and at first Molly was suspicious of his actions, but then the look on his face registered and she involuntarily took a step back. He was glaring at her with more anger than she'd ever seen from him and she tried frantically to think of what she'd done to make him mad.
He got up and left the other woman without a word and marched toward her, still glaring at whatever she'd done. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into an adjoining room that Molly wasn't sure they should even be in. Once he'd snapped the door shut behind them, he turned to her and tightened his grip on her arm. "What the hell was that Molly? You and Leon have something going on behind my back? Did you think you could hide it from me?"
Molly tugged on her arm, trying to pull it from Aaron's grip but he just held on tighter. "I don't know what you're talking about Aaron, we weren't doing anything! He was telling me where you were because I couldn't find you! Do you really think I would do that to you? That Leon would do that to you?" Tears were gathering in her eyes now, his grip was definitely going to leave bruises on her arm. "Aaron! Let go of me!" she pleaded, finally wrenching her arm from him and cradling it against her.
"There's nothing between you two?" he demanded, still glaring at her.
She shook her head but didn't speak. The tears in her eyes finally spilled over and started trailing down her cheeks and she knew her face was going to be a mess. "I would never do that to you Aaron, I love you," she whispered. It was the first time either of them had said the words. They'd made a promise when they first started dating that they wouldn't say those three words until each of them was sure of their feelings. They wouldn't let them become just another thing they said to each other like pet names.
The words seemed to bring him back to himself though, and the glare melted from his face to be replaced by an apology. He reached for her again, slowly, and it took everything in her not to flinch away. His hand was gentle this time as it came up to cup her cheek, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "I'm sorry Mol, you know I can be jealous. Leon is a good friend, and he wouldn't do that to me, I just…I get irrational when I think you might leave me for another guy." His voice was as soft as his touch now and she felt her indignation melting away.
"I know," she replied, "you're so insecure," she teased and a teary laugh.
"I promise I'll try to work on it," he vowed. "And I will never hurt you again." He ran his hand down to where bruises were already forming on her bicep. She nodded, trying not to let her smile waver. "Molly, this is going to seem really sudden but, I love you and want you to move in with me. You're the best thing that's ever come into my life and I can't imagine living another second without you. What do you say?" he asked when she hesitated.
"I…I…" she was completely shocked. They'd never really talked about moving in together, they'd only known each other for three months. "Yes Aaron, I will move in with you, nothing would make me happier," she said finally.
Aaron grinned and wrapped his arms around her before lifting her off the ground and twirling her around. She laughed and moved her head down to kiss him. His lips attacked her hungrily and she moaned against him. Suddenly, she felt her back hit the wall as he pressed her against it. Without thinking about the room full of people next door, she wrapped her legs around his waist and started pulling off his suit jacket and working the buttons of his dress shirt out of the holes. His hands worked on getting the zipper at the back of her dress down. As the loud sounds of the orchestra began to filter through the wall, Molly thanked her lucky stars because she had a feeling they would need something to drown out any noise they might end up making.
Three Weeks Later
Molly slipped out of bed as quickly as possible and sprinted for the bathroom. She'd been feeling sick for two days now but she always felt a little better by the afternoon. A trip to the doctor would be required soon if she didn't start to feel better, but for now she would just have to deal with it. She and Aaron had yet another 'mini-test' in Modern Impact today and there was no way she could miss it.
A creaking sound by the door drew her attention out of the toilet bowl and to Aaron's concerned face looking down at her. "Are you alright? This is day three of this illness, and it doesn't seem like it's going away," he said as he sank down to his knees beside her to rub her back.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know what's wrong. I'm not really prone to getting sick…"
"I think we should go to the doctor after class today, we can't have you getting even worse."
Molly nodded and took his hand to help her up before heading to the sink to brush her teeth and wash her mouth out. It took her a while to get ready to go but eventually they were out the door and Aaron doted on her the whole way to class, carrying her bag, making sure she was comfortable in her seat, asking if she needed anything.
She went through the test as quickly as possible and sat there waiting for everyone else to finish. The purpose of these mini-tests was to get a test grade in and still have time afterward to get some learning in.
By the time they were dismissed, all Molly wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep, but she knew she needed to go to the doctor. Just as they made it to Aaron's car his phone rang. He set their bags in the backseat and opened her door all while carrying on a conversation with who she assumed was his mother.
"Molly, I'm sorry babe, but my parents need me right away. I can drop you at the doctor and pick you up when I'm done, but I won't be able to stay with you," he apologized once they were both in the car.
Molly sighed and set her head back against the headrest. "Fine," she said softly. Sometimes she hated how much control his parents had over him, but she wasn't confident enough in their relationship to bring it up.
When he finally came to pick her up after the appointment, she bit her lip, unsure when or how to tell him what she knew he needed to know. He asked her once on the way home if she'd found out what was wrong, but she avoided the question by pretending to be asleep beside him.
"What's wrong Molly?" he asked once they were inside their penthouse apartment (courtesy of his parents) and settled on the couch together.
"Aaron…I need to tell you something really important, I'm just….unsure how to say it," Molly answered, her uncertainty plain in her voice.
"Molly, you're really worrying me, is it…cancer? Or something like that?" he asked.
"No," she said, her lip quivering with emotion. "Aaron, I'm pregnant."
It took him five whole minutes to respond to her words, but she was completely unprepared for his reaction. He jumped off the couch, practically shoving her away from him in the process and began pacing back and forth. Suddenly he turned to her, "how could you do this to me you little bitch?! Do you have any idea how something like this could destroy my life?"
Molly gaped at him, "Aaron!" she said indignantly. "I don't understand! Why are you acting this way?"
"I can't have a baby! I have my whole life ahead of me! Years of partying, grad school, a career, I won't let you drag me down with a kid, I won't." He paced a few more times and refused to look at her or the tears falling from her eyes. "You need to leave. Right now, and don't come back. I'll have your stuff packed and sent to your mother's house tomorrow."
A gasp was Molly's only response at first, she was so shocked that no other sound came out or formed into words. She jumped when he threw a lamp across the room and stumbled to her feet when he turned his eyes on her. She whimpered before heading for their room to grab her necessities and went to the door.
When she paused in the doorway, Aaron picked up the controller to his PS3 and threw it at the wall beside her with a shout of rage. "Get out!" he screamed.
Molly let out a sob and ran from the room, pulling the door shut behind her and fleeing down the hallway. She stumbled down the stairs, unwilling to wait for the elevator to take her to the parking lot. Tears clouded her vision and it took her several minutes, standing on a stairwell landing, to catch her breath and calm herself enough to see down the stairs.
She made it to her car and sank into the driver's seat and let the tears go, let herself smother in the pain of Aaron's rejection, in the hopelessness that was taking over her mind. How could she raise a baby by herself? How was she going to finish school while raising a baby? She didn't understand anything that was happening, her life had just turned upside down and she had no idea what she was going to do. Finally her tears abated enough for her to call her mother, Molly was sure her mother would be able to tell her what to do. One thing was for sure, Aaron wanted nothing to do with her or her baby, and she would do everything she could to facilitate that. He didn't deserve her or their baby, especially after his behavior tonight.
There it is, Molly and Aaron's relationship in a tiny little nutshell that I'm not really happy with…maybe I'll go into more detail on other aspects of their relationship later…anyway, review and tell me if it was okay!
