Chapter 12

William was sitting on a bench near the art gallery. It was still morning and there were not many people around so no one had noticed him yet. In the distance, he could see a park with a small lake in it that he knew had some animals around. He was thinking about seeing it more closely when he noticed Leah's car pulling in front of him.

“I'll go park and come quickly.”

He nodded and saw her drive away. After two minutes, she was back in his view; she was wearing red high heels with black tight pants and a black shirt, and over that, she was wearing a long red coat, and her hair was curly and loose. It was the first time he saw her with her hair like that so when she stood in front of him, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch it.

“I thought it was naturally straight.”

“No. You better don't get used to it straight. I'm very lazy to straighten it every day.” she looked around. “By the way, hello.”

“Hello, you too.” he stood up, smiling. “You look a little better.”

“Well, I did sleep a little last night and also before you left.” She signed him to follow her and he did.

“Any specific reason as to why you wanted to come here besides admiring the works?”

“Not really. I like sculptures and that's what's being presented here these days.” they stopped in front of a big marble sculpture of a man that seemed to be suffering. “The way some people can express emotions, portray them onto a solid object; it has always fascinated me.”

“I see,” he muttered wondering how someone had managed to portray so much pain in that rock. It almost looked like a person had turned into a rock in the middle of its suffering.

They walked around the gallery seeing all the works for a while. There were some sculptures that William really liked but every single work had left him with the question 'how.'

There was a specific piece that got his attention, not because it was the most amazing one, but because Leah completely ignored it. While she was looking at another piece, he came close to it and looked at it. It was the figure of what seemed to be a ballet ballerina. The figure was pretty, around 20 inches tall; small compared to other works. The outfit of this one was a black one-piece that always reminded him of a swimsuit, light pink leggings, black socks that reached below her knees, and the typical ballet shoes. She was standing on her toes on one leg while the other was completely stretched in front of her, back slightly curved, an arm stretched behind her and the other stretched up but her hand was touching her face with the back of the hand. There was something regal and familiar about the woman so he checked the name of the piece but got lost when he saw a known signature. LMM.

“I thought you got lost.” he heard Leah, behind him.

He turned and saw she was looking at him, but when she saw the piece he was looking at, she frowned and then looked back at him.

“You made this?” she nodded. “What’s the material?”

“Ceramic.”

“It’s small but it almost looks like a real person. The leggings and even the socks look like they have a texture different from the skin.”

“Well, that was the point, and it’s called tights, not leggings. And those are warmers, not socks.”

She looked knowledgeable so he didn’t say anything else although he wanted to ask what the difference would be. She stretched her neck as if it was hurting her and at some point, he saw something familiar. He looked back at the ballerina and then at the information of it.

“You didn't name it.”

“I didn't exactly give it to the exposition; someone took it and put it here. As long as they return it, I have no problem.”

“Someone took it?”

“Leah.”

Before she could explain, Dr. Allison Keller, called her, getting close to them, then she noticed William and looked surprised.

“Mr. Solace. A surprise to see you again, but it's still nice.”

“Dr. Keller, nice to meet you again, too.”

“I was explaining to him how you stole my sculpture," murmured Leah.

“Please, I just borrowed it. It's weird that you make them all the time and never expose them. You just end up getting rid of them when they start to occupy too much space.” she looked at William. “My husband owns the place.”

“I would never get rid of this one,” Leah muttered, frowning.

“I know that. So, I assume you came back so soon to make sure it was still in a single piece.” Leah nodded and Allison rolled her eyes. “Well, you see, not a single crack on it.” she looked at Leah. “How have you been doing?”

"Fine.”

“Right.” she looked at William and asked him this time. “How has she been doing?”

William's eyes widened a little as he look from Allison to Leah and back. He knew she was not doing that fine but if she didn't want to talk about it, he was not going to say otherwise.

“Fine,” he repeated.

Allison looked at him as if she didn't believe him and Leah was rolling her eyes at her.

“If you both say so.” she crossed her arms and looked around. “Would you like to go eat something?”

“No. Liam and I were leaving already.” she grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her. “We already ate.”

“Right. Maybe another time.” he quickly said.

“However you want it. See you next time, then.”

“Say hi to uncle for me.” Allison nodded and waved them goodbye, William did the same before walking away.

“So, have you eaten anything?” he asked when they were outside and had walked for a moment.

“A plate of fruits is good enough for you?”

“Maybe, depending on the fruits, I guess.”

“I had an apple, a pear, two peaches, a mango, and a banana.”

He looked at her in surprise trying to imagine all that on a plate.

"That sounds like a lot.”

"It was. I might vomit it later if it doesn't digest fast enough.”

They started to walk to the park he was looking at before.

“Did you use to eat a lot before?”

“Maybe too much. You don't keep these hips just with genetics.”

“It's hard to believe considering how thin your waist is compared to your hips.”

“That's because you never saw my belly after eating properly. The night I met you I had gone to a fundraiser and didn't eat anything there mostly because they only had finger-size biscuits and things like that so I didn't want to look like I was taking too many, and before going I only had a meal.”

“And then you went to drink at a bar?”

“I didn't plan well. But I didn't drink that night, as you noticed.” she looked around at the ground. “I don't think it's a good idea to walk this path.”

He looked down and saw the floor was too unstable for her to walk with those heels.

“You want me to carry you?” he joked.

“No need, but I still don't want to–”

She interrupted herself with a gasp as she tripped with something. William caught her before she fell and helped her get straight.

“Did you hurt your ankle?” she nodded slowly. “Well, no discussion now.”

He gave her his back and pulled her to him while crouching for her to climb his back. Leah groaned before climbing up and surrounding him with her arms and legs. He sat her on a bench in front of the lake before sitting next to her looking around. There were no people around the area but he noticed people noticing him while they were in the gallery, so maybe the situation would change over time.

“You asked me but I didn't ask you,” she said next to him. “Have you eaten?”

“Yes, don't worry. I was with my mother and she prepared some pancakes.”

“That sounds good.” after a pause she continued. “I don't want to look like I don't care.”

He looked at her and she looked like she was uncomfortable.

“That's why I said to not worry. I know you are not very vocal.”

“Right, but it's not like I cannot have a conversation. I make the questions in my mind but sometimes don't let them out.”

They stayed quiet for a while looking at the peaceful place. At some moment they were able to see ducks swimming in the water; Leah stood up and stayed standing without putting any weight on the hurt leg. He looked at her prepared to catch her if she looked like she was losing her foot and decided to let out what bothered him the whole night.

“I asked you what was tormenting you so much to not let you sleep, but I guess I didn't directly ask you what the nightmares were about. It could be two different things.” he saw her looking back at him with a frown and body tensing. “I've heard that talking about it helps.”

“It’s not important.” She said with a shrug and took a step forward to escape.

He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her a little to stop her from leaving, but she lost her foot and started to fall. He pulled her harder so she would fall on him instead of on the floor and get hurt. So, there she was now, sitting on his lap.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pull you like that.” He continued before she could say something. “I know we barely know each other so it would be weird if you start telling me your secrets and how you really feel about the pregnancy, but I can’t help but feel this is all my fault.”

“Your fault?” She frowned.

“The pregnancy.” He explained. “At the end of the day I was the drunken asshole who couldn’t control himself and got you pregnant and now it seems like you are suffering from it.”

She fixed her posture so she would still be sitting on him but facing him a little more. She grabbed his face with both of her hands and looked at him straight in the eyes, still frowning.

“It’s not your fault. You were drunk and excited; that is not a good combination.”

“I’ve always prided myself for not doing stupid things while being drunk. I failed this time.”

“Then what about me?” He frowned at her. “I didn’t drink, I was not drunk. I could have walked away if I wanted to when you said you didn’t have more condoms.”

“It’s hard to walk away in the heat of the moment.”

“But I’m not an irrational person; I know every contraceptive has a chance of failing even if it’s very slim. I didn’t want to get pregnant but I was very conscious when I didn’t back away.” She squeezed his face harder for him to understand. “This was also my choice; it’s not your fault.”

Then he asked what has been in his mind since speaking with his mother.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you keeping the baby?” He felt her tense so he put his arms around her to try to soothe her. “The operation you and your aunts were talking about was to avoid getting pregnant, right?”

She let go of him and looked away.

“It was about a uterus removal.” She muttered.

He was shocked and silent for a moment even though that reason had crossed his mind.

“Then, it is my fault.” she looked at him with confusion. “You are keeping the baby because of me.”

“I’m not keeping it just for you.”

“Then why? If you were willing to remove your uterus to ever have a child, why would you suddenly keep it if it was not to give me the chance to have it.”

She squirmed uncomfortable, looking around as if she wanted to leave.

“Selfishness, I guess.” She whispered, but he still heard her. He tilted his head in confusion. “I want to prove to myself that I can do it.”

“And if you can’t?” He wanted to know if she had thought it through.

“Then I’ll find the baby the best family that could exist for it. Or any of my aunts can keep it if they get too attached.” He frowned at her. “Or you can keep it if you want to.”

William sighed and looked to the side, thinking he saw something but nothing was around.

“Liam.” He looked back at her. “Even if you are involved in some way, my decisions are not your responsibility. So, stop worrying too much.”

“Do you want to go to my little cousins’ birthday party?” he suddenly asked.

She grimaced and fixed her expression so fast that William ended up laughing out loud.

“Sorry,” Leah said a bit embarrassed. “But why?”

“Because everybody loves them. I’ll make sure to enter you in that list.”

“I doubt it, but let’s see.” She lay on him, putting her back on his chest, and looked at the river. “When is it?”

“In three months.”

“Hmm… I’ll be around five months. Hard to hide from your family then.”

“I’m not trying to hide you.” She turned her head to look at him. “Even if we are not in a relationship we can still be friends.” Her lips twitched and looked back at the river posing her head on his shoulder. “And even if I’m embarrassed about how we got in this situation due to my behavior, I’m not embarrassed by the baby so there’s no need to hide the pregnancy either.”

“Sounds like you will be a good father.”

“You will be too.” She shook her head softly and he knew she was negating his statement. “You will, honey. I’ll be here to help you be.”

After a moment he felt something on his shoulder. He looked and Leah had her head turned to the other side so he couldn’t see her face but he was sure the wetness he was feeling on his shirt was from her tears. He hugged her tighter, rubbing one side of her face with his like a puppy, and the other with his hand to dry her tear. He started to whimper like a dog and she gifted him one of his favorite sounds in the world; her laughter.