Questions:
Why are Aspen and America sleeping together? and Why didn't Maxon try to find America? - aaaahhh. Patience young grasshoppers, all will be revealed in due time.
Do you watch Vampire Diaries? - Yes! I'm not as into it as I was a couple years ago but I still keep up with it. On the other hand, I love love LOVE the new show on the CW, Reign. I am shamelessly addicted to it.
What kind of camera do you have? - I have a Canon Rebel T3. I use the 55mm lens but I also have a 300mm lens which is my baby. I take pictures for my school for football, basketball, dance team and track. I love my camera and I hope to get some underwater gear at some point too. I'll post some of my pictures on here if you want. :)
How's life? - Great! I'm super-duper busy but that's the way I like it. I just got accepted into my number two choice of college today so that's pretty awesome. I've also been accepted into one of my safety schools and I'm waiting to hear from my top choice and two others. So yeah, life's good.
"If you've never lost your mind, you've never fallen in love." - Anonymous
America woke, instantly disoriented. The ceiling above her was a dull green plaster, with the same color walls. The floors were a hideous orange tile. The bed was comfortable enough. She knew that there was no way she was in the hospital but besides that, she had no idea where she was. Noticing how she was dressed, she yanked the covers up to cover her bare stomach. Someone had loaned her their baggy sweatpants but that was all she had on besides her sports bra and underwear.
The door burst open suddenly and Aspen walked in. "Mer, you're awake!" he exclaimed, cutting off whatever he was saying before.
Maxon appeared behind him. It took America a few seconds to remember that it was him, due to his radically different appearance. He pushed past Aspen and sat down on the bed next to America, who shrank away from him slightly. "I was so worried," he told her quietly.
"Yeah, so worried you decided to bring me here instead of the hospital," she snapped. "When can we be leaving?" She said it as she sat up but put a hand against her head at the sudden rush of vertigo. She immediately sank back down against the pillows.
"I don't want to leave until you're one hundred percent again," Aspen told her, taking a few steps in the room and standing with his hands resting on the footboard of the bed. He had changed his clothes too. "You inhaled a lot of smoke so you'll probably be feeling pretty sick for a few days. You're lucky Maxon found you so quickly."
She frowned. "You're right, I don't feel too good," she admitted, feeling slightly nauseous.
Maxon's eyes flashed to her stomach and then met her eyes again. He looked like he was going to say something but decided not to. "I'll get you some water," he said. He stood and reached out his hand to brush her hair back but thought better of it and passed it off like he had an itch by his ear.
That left her with Aspen. "I don't want to be here," she whispered to him angrily.
He looked sympathetic. "I know, but it's not like we can take you to the hospital." He paused. "They know you're here. Someone leaked information and said that the queen is in the city. Everyone is looking for you."
She rolled her eyes. "Great," she mumbled.
"C'mon, Maxon cooked breakfast." Aspen held out his hand and helped her out of bed. Once on her feet, she instantly felt sick.
"I'm gonna puke," she told him as she covered her mouth and started looking for the bathroom. He pointed her in the right direction and she sprinted there before becoming violently ill. Aspen stayed out and she vaguely remembered him mentioning that he was never good with throw up.
She had made sure that she locked the door behind her and Maxon was soon knocking. "Ames, you okay in there? Breakfast is hot," he told her through the old wooden door.
Most of the nausea had passed, leaving her drained. She searched the bathroom counter for something to freshen her breath with. She had no idea where her toothbrush was and she didn't want to use his with her mouth being so gross (she had used his toothbrush before) so she grabbed the mouthwash and gurgled it for a few seconds before exiting. She smiled at him to assure him that she was fine. Hopefully he didn't hear her throwing up. Before going to the kitchen, she slid on a pair of jean shorts and shirt from her backpack sitting at the foot of the bed.
When she sat down at the table, he placed a plate of eggs, sausage, bacon and pork in front of her. The smell made her want to run back to the bathroom. "Oh," she sighed. She pushed the plate away slowly. "I forgot to tell you; I'm a vegetarian."
Both Aspen and Maxon looked at her. If there were two people on the earth she could not lie to, they were it. "Since when?" Maxon asked.
She laughed. "Uh, since when? Since now. I mean, c'mon, think of the innocent pig that had to die for this meal," she explained. She knew they were not buying it.
"Please, you eat so much meat you could be a carnivore. Eat your breakfast," Aspen nodded to her.
"You know, I'm really not hungry. I think I'm going to go for a walk." She threw her napkin on the table and was out the door before either of them could stop her. She walked down the streets, hoping to find another one of those pharmacies. She found one and picked up the item she needed and took it to the cash register.
The teenager behind the register looked at her and twirled her gum. "Do I know you?" she asked America.
America focused on her. "Oh, um, I don't think so." She looked out the front windows to make sure neither of the guys had followed her.
"No, I definitely know you from somewhere. Are you famous?" The girl was studying her intently.
"Kind of," America hedged. "Look, can you just check me out, please?" The girl shrugged and placed the item in a bag. America handed over a five dollar bill and left it on the counter. "Keep the change," she told the girl.
As soon as she stepped out the door, Maxon had her cornered. "What?" she demanded, rolling her eyes.
He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Why get that test if you already know?" he asked her, nodding to the bag in her hand.
So he knew. How did he know? "I need confirmation," she said in a tight voice. "How do you know?"
"America, I'm not an idiot. I changed you out of your clothes yesterday and I know your body better than anyone else. I also know how my clothes fit on you. And I heard you getting sick this morning." He paused. "Do you know who the father is?"
She frowned, instantly going on the defensive. "What do you mean? You, of course!"
"Well, for all I know, it could be Aspen. I have proof of you two being pretty cozy with each other during the Selection."
"Wait, what?" She knew that would come back to haunt her.
He nodded. "Yeah, you wanna know why I left? Because a paparazzi came to me with a picture of you two kissing. Obviously, you didn't need me as much as I thought you did." He turned on his heel and started walking back to his apartment.
She had no choice but to follow. "You're kidding right?" she demanded. "That was three years ago. Aspen wasn't even working at the palace the entire time we were married!"
"Well how do I know you two didn't have any other secret trysts right under my nose?" he asked her. And he had a point; she had been sleeping with Aspen for a month behind his back. But it was different. She thought Maxon was dead and she wanted someone to keep her warm at night.
"Because I do love you. I wouldn't hurt you like that."
He laughed. "But you had no qualms about it during the Selection."
"I don't want to fight with you anymore." She stopped walking and sat down in the middle of the street with her arms crossed to make a point.
He stayed on the sidewalk and gave her a condescending look. "Are you serious?" he asked. "What are you doing?" She did nothing except for look at him sideways. He sighed and walked to meet her in the middle of the street. He stood by her and gestured to where the street sloped down and led straight to the city walls and the ocean beyond. "This is ridiculous." After standing there for a few seconds, he finally sat down next to her.
They sat in silence for a while as the tropical breeze rushed past them. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
"About the baby? I hoped you would have an answer," he admitted.
"Well," she sighed, playing with the bits of sand underneath her, "we still have our son out there somewhere, and he needs us. We need him too."
He didn't look at her when he asked, "Why do you think our relationship has changed so much?"
"We were kids when we fell in love. We fell in love with strangers. When we got to know each other…it wasn't the same," she guessed, shrugging.
He looked over at her and this time she looked away. "I still want to try to be husband and wife again," he told her. "Maybe we didn't lose that love; we just need to rekindle it."
"How do we do that?"
He shrugged and offered no other answer. There was another pregnant pause before he said, "Aspen and I will go after Christian."
She looked at him suddenly. "What? Without me?"
"America, I'm not going to allow you to go traipsing all over the country while with child."
She stood suddenly and crossed her arms. Maxon stood too to match her height. "I don't care; I'm still going. He's my son too. This is my fault that it all happened. I need to go."
"Ames, this isn't your fault." He rolled his eyes.
"Where would the king be?" she asked, not bothering to argue with him anymore. "There are safe houses for the royal family all over the country, which one did he go to?"
Maxon paused and looked her up and down before starting to pace. "I don't know. He could be at any of them. The only thing I can think is that he's in the north; he's not fond of warm weather. That's why I thought it safest to come here."
"Yeah, yeah. We need a map or something of the country to look at and formulate a plan with."
He nodded and they both started walking back to his apartment. There was thick tension hanging between them as their silence grew louder. Once back at the apartment, they completely bypassed Aspen sitting at the kitchen table sharpening a knife. They went to Maxon's bedroom and he pulled the map he had hanging on his wall down.
Grabbing a marker, he drew a line starting at the northern border of Carolina to the northern border of Angeles, on the other side of the country. "He'd be anywhere north of this line," Maxon pointed. He started starring specific points in the map. "These are all of the safe houses in the northern provinces. Now, he wouldn't go any further north than this line because wherever he was going, he'd want to get there fast and settle." Aspen had come up behind them. "He knows that he'd have a three hour window before guards went looking for him so we're looking at one of the safe houses in this radius." He drew a big circle.
"That's a lot of mileage," Aspen commented. "We're all going?"
America held up a hand to stop Maxon from saying anything. "All three of us going." She looked up at Aspen. "By the way, I'm pregnant."
His mouth dropped open and he immediately looked at Maxon, who held up his hands defensively and shook his head. "Get used to her being like this for the next several months."
They both bypassed Aspen's still shocked expression and refocused on the map. "We should start here, in Hansport. There's a fishing town we can take a boat into there, only a few miles from the safe house. We'll work our way across the country from there," Maxon told them.
"Okay," America nodded. "Let's go."
That's it for this chapter! I hope you liked it, review and post more questions please!