Having To Choose Between Brennan and Will

I jerked awake when the phone rang. Its melodic song made my heart beat wildly. As I reached for it with a shaking hand, the living room door burst open and several people filed in. I glanced at Maddie, Ramira, Caleb, and Joey before pressing the button to answer the phone, putting it immediately on speaker.

“H- hello?” I squeaked.

“Mrs. Adams, good morning. How are you today?” A male voice asked on the other line.

“Did you get the results?” I blurted out, too anxious to participate in the niceties.

The doctor chuckled softly. “Yes, I did. That was why I was calling. Do you have time to discuss the results?”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“Your CBC came back perfect. No abnormalities there. Same with your CMP. Your Vitamin D is a little low, but I think a low dose of Vitamin D every day will fix it. As for—”

“Am I pregnant, Doctor?” I inquired impatiently.

“Yes, Mrs. Adams, you are. Congratulations,” he told me before continuing reviewing my bloodwork, not that I heard as the phone fell from my hand as I trembled.

I looked up at Maddie, who rushed to my side to wrap her arms around my shoulders, murmuring soothingly to me as she ran her hand over my hair.

“Shhh, Leah, sweetheart. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Please, don’t cry,” she whispered sadly.

“Maddie, why can’t he love me?” I sobbed, clinging to her. “I just wanted him to love me.”

“He does, honey. He just doesn’t know how to show you. You’re not alone. We’re here with you. We have your back. Lean on us. Let us be there for you. And your baby. We’ll take care of you until Brennan can come and do it himself,” she said comfortingly as Ramira picked up the phone and said goodbye to the doctor before joining me and Maddie on the couch.

Ramira put her hand on my knee. “Listen to me, Leah, I know that you need time to absorb this new information, but we need to speak about something.”

Joey stepped forward. “Ramira, no! It can wait.”

“No, Joey, it can’t. She needs to know. We need to get this handled as quickly as we can.”

“RAMIRA—”

“Get what handled?” I asked, fear rising up from deep inside of me.

“It’s nothing that you need to worry about right now, Leah. It can wait for a few days,” Joey said, glaring at his sister.

I met Ramira’s eyes. “What is it?”

“With you still being married, the hospital might put William down as the father. The only way to avoid that is to get a divorce and avoid letting him know you’re pregnant.”

“But it’s not his baby,” I cried.

“Some hospitals will put the husband even if he’s not the father, and without a paternity test to prove that William is not the father, there’s no telling which way the hospital will go,” Ramira informed me.

“So, what you’re telling me is that I either tell Brennan I’m pregnant or get a divorce?” I asked, just to be sure I was understanding things the right way.

Ramira took my hand as she nodded. “Yes, honey, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

I pulled my hand away from hers as I jumped up. I began to pace back and forth, my nervous energy overwhelming me. I let out a shaky breath before stopping to meet Joey’s eyes.

“Is this true?”

“I’m afraid so, yes. I can file a restraining order against William if you want,” he answered.

“Would it help?”

“It might. It might not. I can’t say for sure. As it would only have you listed, and if the hospital put his name on the birth certificate, the law would grant him certain rights, including parental rights.”

“Oh no! What am I going to do?”

Maddie jumped up to hug me tightly. “First, you are going to soak in a bath and think for a little bit. And then you are going to take a nap. All of this stress is not good for the baby. You and my niece or nephew are the priority now. We can figure out everything else later. I will make you some food, okay?”

“I don’t want to bathe. I don’t want to think!”

“Then what do you want to do?” She pressed gently.

“I want to go back to Eden and hide from the world. Brennan is nowhere near as bad as William,” I admitted shamefully.

Maddie gripped my face between her hands. “Listen to me, Leah. I know this is scary. I know that you are overwhelmed right now. I understand that you are used to hiding from everything, but now you’re with people who care about you. We won’t let anything happen to you or your baby. Running is not the answer. Taking a step back from the situation and thinking it through is the best way to handle it. I know that Brennan makes you feel safe, but you have told me that you don’t want to tell him and then never know if that’s why he wanted to get back with you. Just breathe, bathe, and think. And when I make you some food, I will bring it to you, and we will talk about what you want to do while we eat. Okay?”

I raised my hands up to grip her wrists as I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Good. Now, go bathe. I’ll make you some food. Go on.”

I hurried out of the room to the guest bedroom, ignoring the conversation that started up as soon as I left. I grabbed some pajamas on my way to the bathroom, where I started a bath, adding some lavender bath salts to the water. When it was full, I stripped my clothes off and climbed in. I leaned back against the rim, closing my eyes. As I soaked in the bath, I thought about everything that I was told, the main thing being that I was pregnant with Brennan’s child. I had given up hope of having another child. Will and I never used condoms, and after our daughter, I never got pregnant again. And now I was pregnant with Brennan’s child.

I was confused. I was anxious. I was hurt. I wanted to run into Brennan’s arms and never leave them. I missed him, and now I was pregnant. I didn’t want to be a single mother. I didn’t want to do this alone. I wanted to raise my child with Brennan. I knew how much he loved his girls, so I knew he would love our baby just as much. Or at least I hoped he would. He would never hurt an innocent child. Not like Will.

“Will,” I spat, my voice filled with hatred and anger.

He would not care. He did not deserve to know that I was pregnant. He was a horrible man, husband, and father. And I used the word father loosely. I did not know what I was going to do, but the only thing I did know for sure was that this baby meant everything to me, and I was going to do everything I could to give him or her the best life I could. With or without Brennan. I sighed as I got out of the tub. I dried off, still debating what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to see Will in order to ask for a divorce, but I also didn’t want Brennan to feel pressured to be with me. I knew what the right decision was, but I was still terrified of making it. Once I was dressed, I walked out of the bathroom, putting my pink pig slippers on before going to the kitchen, where multiple voices were coming from. The moment I opened the door, everyone fell silent. Ramira smiled at me as she held up a pharmacy bag.

“I went and got your prescriptions,” she told me.

“Thank you,” I said as I took the bag from her.

Inside were three bottles. One was Vitamin D, another was Vitamin B, and the last was prenatals. I sank into a chair as I stared at the last bottle. Prenatals. God, this was getting more real by the second.

“Leah, are you alright?” Maddie asked, concerned.

I nodded as I robotically started to open the bottles, taking one pill out of each bottle before swallowing them without water. I lowered my head to hide the tears threatening to spill over while they watched me. I did not look up. I could not. I couldn’t see the pity in their eyes. I was a mess, and they all knew it. After a few minutes of almost silent sniffling, I lifted my head, scanning all of their faces before stopping on Joey’s. I stood up, put all the bottles back in the bag, and walked up to him, stopping in front of him. I tilted my head back to look into his eyes.
“I will not let anyone threaten my baby. Especially him,” I told him before taking a deep breath. “I need you to help me divorce Will…”