Chapter 40: Bryn

The next thing I see is my mom’s worried face in front of me.

“Little Bee, are you awake?” She says, and I smile at the old nickname.

I try to sit up, but she gently presses my shoulder back. “Rest. You had a fainting spell. The doctor said your blood sugar was really low. Did you not eat today?” She asks.

Now that she’s mentioned it…I can’t remember when I ate last. This happens all too often, and it’s not good, but I get so busy that I forget to eat.

“I-I’m not sure.” I mumble and rub my eyes.

My mom makes a tsk sound. “What happened to the reminders you set up for yourself?”

“You mean the reminders I needed to be reminded to set? Yeah, that didn’t go well.”

“Poppy offered to set it up for you, didn’t she?” She asks, sounding a little annoyed.

“Yes, I just forgot to give my phone to her so she could. I’m fine, mom.” I assure her.

“That she is.” The woman who walks into the room says.

She’s wearing a doctor’s coat, which makes me realize I’m in some sort of exam room.

“Hi! I’m Doctor Smith. How are you feeling, Bryn?” She gives me a sympathetic look and then glances at my mom.

I watch her closely and it almost seems like she doesn’t want my mom here for whatever she’s planning on saying. Great, if she says I have some terminal illness when my poor niece is only a few doors away, I might hit her. I’m here for Milly. I don’t have time for this!

“Hey mom, can you go let everyone know I’m fine? I don’t want them worrying.”

My mom smiles at me and leans in to kiss me on the forehead. “Sure sweetie. I’ll be back.”

She thanks the doctor and leaves the room. The doctor watches her go before she turns her head back to me.

“Okay doctor, lay it on me. Is it cancer? Or a tumor? Why does your face look so grim?”

She laughs. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing like that. You are perfectly healthy. Which is good, since your health is going to be even more important now.”

Um, okay…” What do you mean?”

“Your pregnant.” She says and smiles slightly, but she’s tense, like she expects me to scream or cry or something.

“N-no. I can’t be. I have an IUD!” I yell just a little, but can you blame me?

“I saw that in your chart, but IUDs can fall out sometimes. It’s possible the doctor who did the procedure didn’t secure it right, and it fell out during your period. There is no real explanation for why it happens sometimes.”

What? What is she saying? It happens? How does that just happen?

“I think I’m going to faint again.” I say, dropping my head back and covering my face with my hands.

“Don’t worry, it’s still early enough for you to terminate if you choose to. Or there is adoption. There is no reason for this to ruin your future.” She says quickly.

I drop my hands and look at her like she just told me the sky is yellow.

“Terminate? Adoption? No! I’m not giving up my baby! I’m just…shocked. I wasn’t expecting this to happen.”

Not for a while, anyway.

“I see. Well, I can tell you that the baby is doing fine, but you will have to eat a lot more to keep it healthy and growing. It’s pulling all the nutrients it needs from you, so you will have to replenish all your needs more frequently.”

“Right. Eat more. Got it.” I’m just agreeing to everything right now.

I’m pregnant.

I let out a laugh. “Oh, my god. I’m having a baby.”

“Congratulations.” The doctor says, and she sounds like she really means it. “We listened to the heartbeat already, but if you like, we can bring the ultrasound in so you can see the baby.”

No. She can’t do that with my family here! They’ll ask questions. Milly is sick and all of their attention needs to be on her. This can wait.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll make a doctor’s appointment for when I get back.” I promise her.

“No problem. I’ll make a list of a few vitamins I recommend for early pregnancy on your discharge papers.”

“Thank you.”

“Your welcome. And congratulations again.” She waves and leaves the room.

I sit there and try to let this all sink in. I’m pregnant…with Sawyer’s baby, no less! This is crazy! This is amazing! I never planned on having kids this young, but I’m happy. Milly has certainly trained me on taking care of babies, and she’ll have a little buddy to play with. Maybe I can move back home for a while…

Oh god. Sawyer. He’s supposed to be focusing on the draft. This is going to ruin everything. I can’t tell him about this! What if he thinks I expect him to give up hockey and end up in some dead-end job to take care of me and the baby? He can’t do that! He is meant to be a pro hockey player.

I can’t tell him.

The door opens again and guess who walks in.

“Hey B, you doing okay? You scared the shit out of me.” He says with a weak laugh.

I force a smile on my face. “I’m good. I just didn’t eat enough today.”

He shakes his head. “I forgot to feed you. What kind of boyfriend am I?”

“A great one.” I tell him because it’s true.

He’s been amazing to me and we fell into this relationship like it was meant to be, if you believe in that sort of thing. What will happen to us now? Should I break up with him and let him go on without me chaining him to me for life?

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks and brushes a finger across my cheek. “Why are you crying?”

“I- “

“Okay mommy, here is the- Oh Hi! You must be dad.” The excited nurse says when she notices Sawyer.

Crap!

“Dad?” Sawyer asks and then looks at me.

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I’ll just give you guys a minute.” She ducks out as quick as she walked in, leaving me alone with Sawyer.

“B, what was she talking about?”

I take in a shaky breath and then break down. I’m full on crying with snot and everything. He’s going to hate me! This is going to ruin all his plans, and even if I tell him he doesn’t need to take responsibility, he still will. Then he will always wonder what his life would be like if he had never slept with me.

He’s going to break up with me with my sick niece and family here. God, this is the worst.

“B- “

“Sawyer, I’m so sorry. I had an IUD! But the doctor said it must have fallen out at some point! I didn’t know that could happen! I mean, I guess it makes sense that it could, but I never thought about it! I’m so so sorry. I don’t expect anything from you, I swear. I can take care of this baby just fine. You don’t have to do anything. I- “

“Bryn.” His voice is clipped and has me shutting up instantly.

His face is hard to read right now. Is he really that mad? Then he slowly starts to smile. It grows until it his eyes crinkle in the corners and that faint dimple on his right side becomes more noticeable.

“Your pregnant? I’m going to be a dad? We’re having a baby together! Bryn, this is amazing!” He cups my face and kisses me hard. “I can’t believe this! We’re having a baby! Whoo!”
He throws his hands in the air like he’s just won a game. “Man, I broke your IUD. I have super swimmers!”

That breaks me. I start laughing too. “I don’t think that’s what happened.”

“I don’t care! We’re having a baby. We have to tell the others.” He starts to leave, but I grab his hand before he can.

“No. Milly is sick right now. We should wait until she’s okay. Please?” I beg him.

His joy dims a little, but he nods. “You’re right. I’ll need a minute then to chill out.”

He takes a few deep breaths, but he still has a big smile on his face.

“Sawyer, are you sure you want to be involved with this baby? What will happen when people find out? Don’t you get the wrong idea? We just announced we’re dating.”

He sighs and sits on the bed next to me. “Listen to me very carefully, Bryn. I love you and I’m going to love this baby, too. I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else. It's meant to be baby, and I couldn’t be happier. So stop worrying about other people and be happy with me. Okay? I’ll take care of everything. Okay?”

I smile at him and nod.

We’re going to be parents. Me and Sawyer! My first love and me bringing a baby into this world. I don’t think I could be happier than I am right now.