Chapter 22

80 1 0
                                    

A few weeks went by, and Taylor had found a new place for him and his family. They were in the process of unpacking the moving truck now, and Rachel was there helping out as well. Natalie and Christopher had continued to make some progress in their relationship, and were getting along much better. He was still pretty upset at the whole situation, but he was no longer blaming her for it.

Arielle continued to struggle as well. If it wasn't for having Rachel around, she probably would have done something stupid by now. She had run into her mom a few times, and each time Rachel found her with a drink in her hands afterwards. It became such a problem that Rachel finally went to Taylor and Natalie about it. They sat her down and had a big talk with her about it. Once again she was pretty much under house arrest, as her car was taken from her and unless someone was with her, wasn't allowed to go out anywhere. 

Zac had by this time moved out of Kate's, upon her kicking him out recently. She had filed divorce papers, and hadn't let Zac anywhere near their kids since they had last seen each other. He had only ever had one other run in with Taylor after the first one, and probably would have suffered more bruises and cuts if Natalie hadn't stopped Taylor from pounding on him again. He felt terrible about how things had played out, but it's not like he could really take it back.

Since there was no way Taylor would allow him over to help out, Isaac and his family were there to help. So were their sister's Zoe, Jessie, and Avery. 

" Natalie, where do you want this?" Christopher asked, stepping into her's and Taylor's room. He had a box of their stuff in his hands.

Natalie pointed to a corner of the room, and watched him set it down. " Thank you for all the help, Christopher. I really appreciate it." 

" Your welcome." He smiled. " I'm glad we've worked things out, Natalie. Your pretty cool actually."

" I'm glad you think so." Natalie ran her fingers through his hair, and hugged him. " Your kind of cool yourself."

He hugged her back, and stepped out of the room to go grab another box. Nikki stepped into the room with a box herself, and set it down by the rest of the boxes. She watched as Natalie unpacked some of her perfumes and make up. " I can't believe we're doing this again. You and Taylor are getting back together, and now this time Zac's relationship with Kate is going down the drain." She couldn't help but frown a little. " Ever since the day Ashley came into our lives, she has changed everythiing. And you were pretty much right about her from the beginning. I can't believe I even bothered to give her a chance to prove herself."

Natalie stopped what she was doing, and gave Nikki a big hug. " It is because you have one of the biggest hearts, Nikki. You like to see the best in people, and that is one of the things I love about you." She kissed her on the cheek. " Let's not even think about Ashley right now though. I just want to concentrate on moving on." 

With a nod, Nikki left the room to go grab another box of stuff. Natalie finished arranging her stuff before walking out to see what else needed to be done. She ran into Arielle in the hallway, sho had just stepped out of her own room. Noticing how sad she looked, Natalie took her into her arms for a hug. Kissing her on the forehead, she held onto her tightly. 

______________________________________________________


Ashley sat at the doctor's office for a check up, waiting for the nurse to bring her in. She couldn't remember the last time she had been to the doctor. She played around with her phone, checking her email and came across a picture as she scrolled through, one of her with her kids and Taylor.  Tears came to her eyes as she thought about how screwed up everything was. As much as she blamed Natalie for most of it, she had really been thinking about it lately, and had come to the realization that she was to blame as well. She wasn't exactly innocent. When Natalie had come back into the picture and moved back, she could have handled it better. She had no right to treat her as badly as she had. Of all people, she should have known that a chemistry between two people with kids, could never really get over each other. Maybe it was life's way of saying she was wrong in ever coming back to Oklahoma. 

" Ashley, come on back. The doctor is ready for you." The nurse interrupted her thoughts, and she put her phone back into her purse. Following her back, she got her weight checked and then walked into an empty room. 

During her appointment, the doctor noticed a few changes in her and asked if there was any possibility that she could be pregnant. It wasn't even something she had thought about. With everything going on, she thought maybe it was just stress. But his question sent her into a panic. She looked at him. " I... I guess... I don't know. I mean, I... things have been so complicated lately." She played with her wedding ring that hadn't been able to bring herself to take off. " I guess it's possible."

He nodded, and ordered a pregnancy test for her. She waited out the half hour for the results, and worried what could happen if she was. How would she tell Zac that he's going to be a father again? How would she tell her kids, and Taylor? It would only complicate things so much more. She took her phone out again, and looked through her contact list. She technically had no one she could call for support in this time. Her mom was too sick to come to Oklahoma, and she really had no other family. Taylor's whole family at this point knew every single detail of what had happened, and were all mad at her. So she couldn't exactly call them. The doctor came into the room, and once again she threw her phone into her purse.

" It is as I thought. You are indeed pregnant, Ashley." He looked at her happily. " Looks like you and Taylor are having another baby. Congratulations!" 

She didn't even bother to correct him. All she could do was nod, and agree to make an ultrasound appointment as soon as possible. She walked out of the doctor's office a nervous wreck.

Switching SidesWhere stories live. Discover now