TENACITY

CHAPTER FIVE

Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Melissa's House
12 weeks...

Alexandra felt something tickle the sole of her foot and kicked at it to get it off. But a few seconds later, the sensation was back again.

Idly, and with eyes still closed, she wondered what it was. Her own body feeling ticklish? Nope, makes no sense, she thought. Crawling insects? She shuddered.

When she felt it the third time, her eyes flew open, only to find Melissa was the cause of it—she was tickling the bottom of her foot with an artificial feather.

She reached for one of the spare pillows on the bed and chucked it at Melissa's head, groaning tiredly while Melissa laughed and said, "Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you were dead."

"What do you want?" she grumbled, peeking through her lashes at Melissa.

"Get up." Alexandra rolled her eyes and buried her face in her pillow. Melissa was not having it. "Lexi, you need to eat for the babies if not for yourself."

"Baby, Melissa," she corrected, her voice muffled by the pillow. "No one mentioned two yet."

"Exactly!" Melissa agreed enthusiastically with a clap that had Lexi wincing. Then she groaned. How was Melissa so awake while she struggled to keep her eyes open?

Oblivious to Alexandra's annoyance, Melissa continued. "We have—you have that doctor's appointment today. And we'll find out if what I told you is true. Maybe we should make a cash bet."

"I booked a private hospital," Melissa continued, "—different from Trey's—and that is where you'll be going for the time being. You can get an ultrasound anytime you want."

"I appreciate your helping me Mel, but I can't afford the expenses of a private hospital," she reasoned. "I'll just go to the public one—"

"Nonsense," Melissa cut in, eyes narrowed. "Those babies are Robinsons; my brother's babies right there," she said, pointing to Alexandra's belly.

"And God knows Ashley will have our hides if we watch you go to a public hospital when we can pay for a private one to get you the best care. I'm not settling for less than the best for them, okay?"

When Alexa didn't respond, Melissa sighed and sat on the bed next to her, taking her hand. "You've lost two babies, Alexandra. Two. I want to try to get you the best health care this time, okay?"

Alexandra didn't say 'Trey got me the best health care he could, and I still lost the babies'. She only nodded, appreciative of her friend's help.

Melissa cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears that had fallen then got off the bed. "Jason is here with Sierra. They wanted to say 'Hi'."

"Alright, I'll be down in a few."

*

Alexandra felt their eyes on her as she descended the last two steps. It annoyed and made her self-conscious.

Annoyed because these days people saw her differently—as a fragile glass that could slip and break at any time, but also self-conscious because she had put on a bit of weight.

She wasn't going to blame it all on the pregnancy because her best friend had a hand in it.

Melissa was hell-bent on fattening her up, and she had to admit that so far, she looked good. That didn't mean she felt that good about it though.

Expelling a breath through her lips, she plastered on a small smile and greeted them warmly. Sierra, Jason's fiancée, smiled back and stood to hug her. Then she sat back next to Jason who looked... grim.