"Heather, here, let me get that - "
Heather didn't have a second to even process what had been said before the heavy bag of groceries was out of her arms. The brunette huffed, blowing at the bangs that fallen in her eyes in annoyance, before shooting a glare at Alex - who seemly ignored it. After all, it wasn't the first thing. Ever since the fateful night that Heather revealed she was expecting, the boys had been - overprotective. Very overprotective.
Anything that weighed more than ten pounds was taken away from her, if she stood too long one of them would find her a seat, if she was going to eat something unhealthy they'd find her something else. And, while Heather knew they had her best interest in mind, she was rather annoyed by it all.
Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was the fact that they were withholding chocolate from her, but Heather was always one step away from snapping at them all to just back off.
She never did though; instead, she just bit her tongue and went on with her day, taking walks around the mansion and sleeping whenever she could. She tried to be helpful but either the boys scrambled to stop her or - she just didn't feel up to it. Heather felt like she was in some sort of limbo, almost a free fall, and while everything seemed to be so slow, at the same time, it was all going so fast.
She was already almost four months pregnant and some days, at the right angle, Heather could even see the baby bump. But it was still hard to believe that there was a little person in there.
"I'm going into the living room," she informed Alex, who was currently debating where to put the graham crackers, "Are you sure you don't need any help?" Alex waved her on stubbornly, and Heather sighed, kicking her shoes off and tossing them on the mat beside the door, before leaving the room.
Charles, Hank, and Sean were already in there when she popped her head in, watching some western movie with Clint Eastwood in it. Heather took a seat on an empty couch, sprawling out and stretching her arms above her head, wincing when her back cracked several times. Charles glanced over at her and gave her a small smile, while the other boys' eyes were glued to the screen.
"Heather, I was thinking - " Charles began before being shushed by Sean.
"That's a dangerous thing," Heather replied rather sarcastically and Charles gave her an unimpressed look.
"The crib in the attic," Charles continued, "I was thinking that you could use it for the baby." Heather froze. She hadn't thought about a crib. In fact, she hadn't thought about furniture or clothes or toys or anything for the baby. It was hard enough convincing herself that she was going to be a mom but now - "That's Patrick's crib," Heather reasoned, "I don't - want to take it from him."
Charles blinked in surprise, but before he could say anything else, she quickly added, "We can worry about stuff for the baby later. I mean, it's not coming for another five months, right? We - we have time." Hank glanced over in concern and Charles continued to look at her in shock, but neither objected.
"What are you doing?"
Heather set the warm cup of tea down on Charles' desk, looking over the man in confusion. The man had his fingers to his temple, his eyes squeezed shut, and his face a mask of strain. Charles opened his eyes suddenly and let out a sharp exhale of air, rubbing a hand over his face.
"I've been trying to contact Raven and Erik," Charles explained, each of the names making Heather's stomach somersault, "To tell them about the baby and my - legs. But I can't reach them."
"Why not?"
"They have someone like me, a telepath, named Emma with them," Charles then let out a bitter laugh, "She's a strong one. Her shield is impressive." There was still something dark over Charles' face and Heather took a wild guess, "Did you - talk to her?"
"No, no, but - " Charles paused, his hands reaching out for the cup of tea, " - every time I try to break through, she sends me - I don't know how to describe it. It's a church and a man keeps preaching about mutants. About how they need to be stopped, how they're an abomination. That they're dangerous."
Heather felt sick to her stomach. "Do you think she's making it up?" Charles shook his head, but replied, "She could, she could just be trying to make me give up on humans. But - it seemed so real."
And later that week, when a local news channel covered a minister by the name of Edwin Partidge - a man of God driven to end mutants - they learned that it was real.
It was too real.
So, my family moved again and that was crazy.
Sorry about the short, sort of crappy chapter. It's mainly meant to kind of set things up, so it's basically a filler chapter.
I've also decided on names for the baby!
Boy - Christopher James
Girl - Christine Edie
Boy and girl - Christopher James and Christine Edie
Girl and girl - Christine Edie and Catherine Ruth
Boy and boy - Christopher James and Alexander Michael
Remember to keep voting!
