Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 47

"That's not possible," I mumble to myself, causing Shauna to take a couple steps closer. "That's Jeremy, holding Mason and his name listed as the father. She said she didn't sleep with anyone when she cheated."

  "And you were dumb enough to believe her," she chimes in, making me glare at her as my anger begins to grow. "He's not yours Ari."

  My world is spinning out of control. Not fifteen minutes ago I had no issue at all walking away from Lissy but continuing a relationship with my son. And now, staring back at me is my best friend holding my son. Possible son. Allegedly not my son.

  "So, now what?" my sister watches me with expectations of what I'm not entirely sure of. 

  "This doesn't necessarily prove it, Shauna. I mean, I guess it's condemning, but it could be wrong. I mean, I don't know what the hell I mean," the words become a muttered mess as I slowly begin to break down, the possibility of Mason not being mine finally hitting me. 

  Shauna goes back to digging in her purse. "I thought you might fight me a little on it, which is why I grabbed Mason's hairbrush, too.  You're going to come with me down to the lab and we're gonna set up a DNA test."

  "Can you do that without Lissy's consent?"

  Her brow quirks and her head tilts to the side. "You've been told you're his father. Technically until this test proves otherwise, that's exactly what you are."

  I pass the frame back to her. "What floor?" I ask, my voice grave as my heart splinters into pieces.

  But not Shauna's. By the smile on her face I think it's safe to say she's ready and willing to get Lissy as far away from our lives as possible. "I'll lead the way."

 "How long?" I ask the lab technician as he begins preparing the test. Having a sister on staff apparently gets you a handful of benefits, like walking right through doors that are labeled No Entrance, thanks to her badge. 

 He opens up a specific type of bag, collecting Mason's brush from Shauna. "Around three to five days, give or take."  

 "This can be done discreetly, right?" Shauna asks.

  I run a hand through my hair, pushing it back out of my face just for it to fall back. "I'm not famous."

  "No, but people around here know you, and others," she blinks knowingly, trying to make me read her mind, "around here. I just want to make sure no one discovers things they don't have business knowing."

  The guy opens up the packaging for the swab. "I'm well aware of our HIPAA laws," he assures my sister. "Everything will be carried out exactly as it would be if it was for a random person off the street, or the President. Open wide."

  I do as asked, watching what looks like a large q-tip coming straight to my mouth. I feel it rub against my cheek a few times over before he places it into a small looking vial. "That's it?"

  "That's it. I'll call you to come and pick up official results when everything is finished."

 Shauna and I walk side by side down the hallway of the hospital, headed towards another elevator. "What now?" she asks quietly.

  "What do you mean?" I answer with my own question, pausing to press the up button on the elevator panel. 

  There's a heavy, loud sigh that fills the elevator cab when we step in, just the two of us. "How are you so calm right now?"

  I want to tell her that what she sees on the outside is definitely not the way I am actually feeling. The need to tell her that I'm praying it's Jeremy that was played and not myself is beating against my chest with each thump of my heart. And instead all I can come up with is, "I don't have a choice right now, Shauna. I'm about to go back in that room and spend the night with Holland. A woman that has been put through enough by him, I'm not willing to add this to her plate right now. So, I keep myself calm and act as though I've learned nothing new in the last hour. And you do the same. Understood?"

 Her arms curl around each other, resting against her chest which is a tell tale sign that she doesn't like what I'm saying. "You said so yourself, the stress of something like this could put her in labor. We keep our mouth shut and let her keep cooking Evy. Nothing has changed and that test won't make much difference either. I'm not going to marry Lissy. But if it shows that I'm not the father, then Mason will have lost two fathers in his short five years of life. Maybe you should focus on that aspect of it, rather than just wanting to get Lissy caught up in a lie."

  I don't wait around for her to argue with me, walking down the hallway and pausing just long enough to tap a knuckle against Holland's door. 

"Hey!" her face lights up as she sees me. "I saved you half."  She moves her tray table over towards the chair I was sitting in earlier.

 I reach a hand out, stopping it before my hand beckons her to slide over in the bed. "What are you doing?"

 "I want to cuddle my girls and for me to do that, and not fall off the bed, you're gonna have to give me at least a little bit of room."

  "Really?" she asks, hopeful that she heard me right. 

  "Yeah, now if you don't shift I'll have to be forced to lift you up myself and since you were so against me even seeing the back of your gown open-"

 "Okay, okay!" she giggles, moving a bit off to the side. "Just give me a second."

  As soon as there's about four inches cleared, I'm climbing up next to her with my feet hanging off the edge, unwilling to wait another second as my body begs to feel a comfort that only she can give. 

"Everything alright with Shauna?"

  "Yeah, all good," I lie, straight to her face. "So, what movie did you decide on?"

   "Well, you may not want to watch it, but then again it's definitely different from your day to day-"

  "Holland, what movie are we watching?" I insist.

  "Only The Brave," she tells me, biting her lip as though she's expecting me to say no. I guess I haven't exactly shown her that I'd give her anything and do whatever she wanted no questions asked.

 "Sounds great," I answer, resting one hand over her stomach, my fingers tapping against it, earning me a kick immediately. "Did you enjoy your dinner, Evy?"

  "She told me she'd have rather had chili cheese fries. But I told her Uncle Ari insisted mama eat something healthy tonight instead. She wasn't thrilled. In fact she said she's going to keep me up all night if she doesn't get some type of junk food before bedtime."

  My head falls back, loud laughter coming straight from my chest. "I thought I was the favorite," I tease, pushing against Evy's home in order to feel her again. "I guess your Ma didn't go snooping through the rest of the bag, then."  I shift my body just a bit, reaching over to pull up the white plastic bag. "Because if she had, then you'd have been enjoying a warm caramel laden brownie." Holland's eyes grow wide and she sucks in her lips to hide her smile. "I'm not so sure mama wants it, baby girl."

  Her eyes fall onto the box as I open it, revealing the gooey goodness. "Mama wants it bad," Holland's hidden smile changes to a pout. 

  I decide to play this up a bit, take my mind further away from Shauna's discovery. "How bad, beautiful?" I lean back, my nose nuzzling against her neck as I listen to the change in her breathing. 

  "What was it we were talking about?" she whimpers, her head lolling further to the side, giving me that spot just under her ear.

 I gently nip at the spot before my tongue juts out playfully. I abruptly stop when an alarm goes off, my eyes falling on her blood pressure seeing that it had risen. "Whoops," I mutter with a smirk, pulling away. 

  Holland reaches a hand out, snatching the box from my unsuspecting grip. I can't help the thoughts that run through my mind as I watch her take a bite, caramel dripping onto her chin as she smiles back at me. 

  This is the woman I want to spend my life with.

  I go back to my original spot, hand wrapped around the swell of her womb. "I love my girls."

*Unedited