Chapter 7

I wasn't sure how long we had stood there staring at each other, but when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and the panic that washed through Vera's brown eyes, I quickly closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath, "Are you...?" "Mhmm." Vera nods. I point at her belly, "Is that...?" "Mhmm." Vera nods again. I run a hand through my hair and I blink, "When—what—you—how?" "I think we all know how a baby is made, Hay." Vera chuckles as she grabs her floral robe from the arm chair basking in the afternoon light and slips it over her shoulders. She slowly takes a seat on the edge of the king bed and I join her. "And Sam is the father?" I question as I glance down at her belly which looked larger when she was sitting down. So this is why she was wearing all those baggy clothes. Dear god, how fucking dense can I be? It was right in front of me. Her lips purse as she slowly nods her head, "Yup." "Well...that's great!" I grin as I grab onto Vera's hand and squeeze then supportively at the pleasant news. "Sam must be happy, he's told me how much he's wanted to be a father and—" "It's not great, Hay." Vera interrupts me suddenly and the smile, "Sam doesn't even know I'm pregnant." I frown in confusion at her, "What do you mean he doesn't know? Didn't you tell him the second you found out?" "Nope." Vera sighs as she pulls her hands from mine and covers her face, "Fuck, when I found out, I wasn't even sure if I was going to keep her. You know how some people aren't meant to be parents? That's me. I never wanted to be a mother." I replay a part of her words in my head, making sure I heard that correctly. Her? "Vera...how many weeks are you?" I ask slowly, confused as to how she already knows the gender of her baby. "I'll be 28 weeks on Tuesday." Vera explains as I instantly jump to my feet in shock. "28 weeks!" I exclaim as Vera gently grabs a hold of my hand while furiously shushing me. I was also in shock to see how small she was. Her stomach was still flat back in Spring Break.  I retake my seat next to her with a sheepish smile, "Shit, sorry. It's just...you're 28 weeks in and haven't told anyone yet? Not even your parents?" "Fuck no. The only ties I still have with them is through a trust fund. Last time I saw them was  when they finally decided to get a divorce and I so desperately needed to be there to comfort my poor mother." Vera explains sarcastically and rolls her eyes at the previous situation, "Yet another reason why I never wanted to have a baby. I'll be just like my joke of a mother." "Shut the fuck up, V." I say harshly as I hold her hands in mine and turn my body to hers, "You will not be a joke of a mother. Noah and I are basically children and I think you've done a pretty good job raising us." "True, but it's not the same. This is a whole damn human being that will depend on me entirely." Vera explains as she places a hand to her belly and glances down at it, "Plus there is one other person that knows and that's Sam's mother." My eyes widen, "Oh fuck." "Oh fuck indeed. It was my reaction exactly when she found an old positive pregnancy test in their 13th fucking  guest bathroom or whatever. I guess the maids forgot to clean it for a couple months." Vera shakes her hands in their air at the craziness of it all and rolls her eyes, "She kicked me out of their house the day before I flew here. That bitch never liked me anyway." "Did you even say anything to Sam before you left?" I question, already feeling like I had just been sucker-punched to the stomach. "I couldn't. I wasn't going to take Sam from his family. They would leave him with nothing if he left for me." Vera explains and I was reminded of a similiar situation I was currently in myself. "He must be going crazy right now." I scoff as I picture him in my head. He was always such a prim and proper kind of dude and not gonna lie, picturing him going bat-shit crazy is making me laugh. "What were you going to do after you delivered?" "I don't know. Give it up for adoption I guess. She'd have a much better life with someone else. Anyone else." Vera sighs and throws herself onto her back and stares up at the roof. "Sam should have a say, V. It's his child too." "I don't give a fuck about Sam. He's not the one carrying a human in his womb for a whole nine months." Vera spits venomously before she does a double take and swallows. "Sorry, Hay. Hormones are a bitch right now and you're completely right. I need to tell the others too." "Were you just expecting to leave before you give birth and then come back like nothing happened?" I scoffed while staring down at her with a smirk. She stares back with a sheepish grin. "Kinda." She shrugs and a tilt my head back to chuckle. She then jumps slightly, "She just kicked. Here, feel." Gently I place my palm to the smooth golden skin of Vera's stomach as we both stay quiet for a while. Then feel the small pressure of a little foot press against my hand and I gasp.