𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙾𝚗𝚎𝚜 ❀ 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚢

Quinze

z a c h

the next morning i woke early enough for it to seem like i was getting ready for school.

i had told Jonah last night that i had rescheduled the appointment so i would just go to school today.

since the appointment wasn't until ten, and i usually got up about 7 i had a little over two hours before my appointment.

Jack Avery
princess. you said the appt is at 10 right?

me
yes, don't you think you've lost the right to call me that?

Jack Avery
not in the slightest. you may be dating my bestfriend but you're still pregnant with my child, i can call you whatever i want, peach

me
very psychopathic behavior, have you been skipping your therapy sessions?

Jack Avery
haha. i'll have you know that i don't see a therapist princess.

me
maybe you should start. i don't know if i want to raise my child around a psycho.

Jack Avery
*our child* and aren't psychotic traits hereditary?

me
your point?

Jack Avery
well princess, if psychotic tendencies are transmitted from father to offspring and i'm the father... you would be raising a psychopath

me
...is that true?

Jack Avery
would i lie to you, darlin?

me
...yes

Jack Avery
🙄it's true. but i'm not psycho, im traumatized. so no worries 😌

me
oh yeah, no worries 🤥🙄

i shut off my phone and tried to sneak out the front door without making too much noise. the thing about Jonahs family was if one person was awake, then all of then were awake.

do you know how hard it is to sneak out when you're pregnant in a house full of girls?

i shut and locked the door before waddling over to the white jeep in the drive way.

that was a fun little conversation to have with Jonah last night. he's so overbearing sometimes like... why does it matter where i got the car, it's not like i stole it.

Jack Avery
wanna meet for breakfast? it's still kinda early...

i stared at my screen. he wants to meet for breakfast? it's not like i'm not hungry, i'm always hungry. i just didn't know how well having breakfast with my ex who had psycho tendencies would go.

but if there was anything that anyone knew about me, it's that i'm curious by nature. so, naturally, i said agreed to have breakfast with my baby daddy.

it wasn't like this was gonna become a regular occurrence, lots of people get breakfast together. i mean when you think about it, you basically eat breakfast with hundreds of people with you eat in the school cafeteria.

i had no reason to feel like i had to justify myself, yet here i was, trying to make up excuses to go to breakfast with someone.

i rolled my eyes with a sigh, starting the jeep i was glad it had a somewhat quiet engine.

•••

"so, is there a due date?" Jack asked as we took a booth in a breakfast cafe.

"yes it's due at the end of January. hopefully, we won't have any problems until then" i laughed awkwardly, glancing over the menu. it was early December joe which meant i had about two months before this baby was out of me and i was terrified. i'm bringing a life into this world. there's never enough time to prepare for that kind of stuff.

"right. i'm sorry, princess. for the way i left... i can't imagine the stress and pain i put you through." jack shook his head, frowning at me.

i smiled a little and reached across the table for his hand, "it's okay jack, with everything that was happening i understand you leaving. and besides, i had jonah to help me through this" his hand squeezed mine at the mention of jonahs name.

"i hate that you rely on him that way, i'm supposed to be the one you relied on like that. i know it's selfish, especially after disappearing for months. i just- i"

"please don't" i swallowed thickly, shaking my head.

"zach" i pulled my hand from his.

"jack, don't. i-i need to go to the bathroom" i excused myself and stood up quickly.

rushing to the back of the cafe to the public bathroom, i immediately threw up in the toilet. what gives him the right to say that kinda stuff to me? he left me, he didn't want me anymore. i moved on. at least i thought i had.

He's changed. the more i talked to him the more i realized something about him was different. he wasn't the same guy he was before he left.

Afraid of his own emotion and selfish with horrible communication skills.

there was just something different and i didn't quite know what it was.

i pulled myself up and went over to the sink to rinse my mouth. i ran a hand through my hair and wiped my eyes.

okay zach. just go back out there and have breakfast with him. it's not a big deal, it's just food.

i nodded to myself and took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom.

i smiled at Jack when i made my way back to the booth and he placed his phone down, returning my smile.

"i overstepped earlier and i'm sorry-"

"no, it's okay. don't even worry about. let's order" i replied, as the waitress came over to us.

i knew he wanted to say something else but he didn't. instead we talked about how things had been with me and the baby since he left.

any questions i tried to ask about him he avoided. but he was weirdly polite about it.

at around 9:30 we decided we should head the the doctors office.

"so you said you were leaving this town after graduation?" Jack asked as we sat waiting to be called.

"yes. i've had a lot to think about and i've lived in this town my entire life. it's a little boring and the institute, no matter how prestigious isn't the best education. the school in the city, Charlton's is a private school, it's pretty affordable and has great programs. also it would be easier to find a job out there.

"you're talking about Charlton as an option for the baby?" jack asked, looking surprised.

"yes, it's a private school and it's got three separate buildings for elementary, junior high and high school. if we put our reservation as soon as the baby is born we're almost guaranteed a spot" i replied, rubbing my belly.

"you've really thought about this."

"course i have this isn't a situation to be taken lightly. it's another human life and i will provide for it with the best of my ability." i said.

"Herron?" the nurse called my name and i took a deep breath, getting up from my seat with a little help form jack.

"you ready?" he asked, holding his hand out for me. i took his hand with a small smile,

"shouldn't i be asking you that?"

he shugged.

he had definitely changed, but in a good way. and i was weirdly proud of him. i wasn't sure what he did or what happened to him while he was gone but i knew one thing.

i still had a pull to Jack Avery.

•••

it's short i know and long awaited but i hope you enjoyed. i'm so excited to write the new jack Avery because he my favorite... :)

anyway i hope you enjoyed and have a nice day or night :)

-k.c 🍜