SURPRISES| JACE AND CRYSTAL| A SWAGGER LOVE STORY

Surprises

Chapter 1

Crytal looked at the test in front of her, this couldn't be happening she was a McDonalds all American athlete, she had brand deals, college offers, she had so much looked up for her and now this?

She thought back to how on earth this could have happened and the series of event that lead her to sitting in her bathroom at home with a positive pregnancy test in front of her. And the common denominator to her problems Jace FRICKING Carson. Her ex-boyfriend, as of last week. She knew she wasn't totally innocent in this matter but, he always did this to her, he could come back into her life, mess it up tremendously, and leave her to clean up the mess. And boy was this a big mess. She couldn't understand how she had allowed this to happen. And she was confused about what was to come next. Would she keep it, of course not, she couldn't keep it? Right? She had so much on the line. Having a baby could put all of that at risk. She couldn't keep it.

Her hand went to touch her stomach instinctively. Should she tell Jace? What would he say? Would he make her keep it? Would he hate her for ruining his life again? After the situation with her case, she promised herself that she would never put him in that position again. She wanted to protect him whether they were together or not. Because he was her person. Her 24hr person and she was his. When she thought this, she knew what the right thing to do was. She had to tell him. She picked up her phone and started formulating a text. How could you tell someone something this big over iMessage, so she decided to call him instead? It was 11pm and she knew he would still be awake, the phone rang 3 times and just as she was about to end the call she heard his deep toned voice.

Hey crys

As soon as she heard her voice, she broke down crying. She didn't know she wanted to even cry, she just stared crying. It was almost like she was carrying this weight that she didn't need to do anymore.

Crys! Crys! Crytal are you okay, talk to be crystal. Breath baby, breath through it and talk to me. Where are you, I am on my way. Crys, please talk to me, please baby I need you to be okay. I need you to be okay

But to this she just cried harder. He stayed on the phone with her unable to move sitting in his car only able to listen and be there for her this way. He knew she was okay because he could hear her repeating that to herself like a mantra she had to memorise, and after what felt like an eternity she said

Basketball court. I want to go to the basketball court; can you pick me up please, I am at home.

She ended the call with that line, and he stared at the phone still frozen in place while she stood up, took a glance at her face in the mirror and washed her face with cold water. She looked around and realised that in all her crying she had dropped the test. She picked it up put the lid back on the exposed tip and put it in the pockets of her joggers. She didn't know how long she was staring at reflection in the mirror, but she was interrupted by her phone pinging, signalling that Jace was outside. She told her mum that she was going for a walk to the shops and jumped into Jace's car without a word to him.

The car ride was silent. He didn't say mum and neither did she, they both had an unspoken understanding not to push each other when they were going through a tough time. The ride to the court was short and soon the car was put in park and crystal noticed a basketball in the back seat. She grabbed it and broke the silence

First to five?

You're on!

He was glad that she was talking, and he would do anything that he could to bring her smile back. They both got out of the car and walked the short distance to the court and along the way crystal removed her hoodie and put the test in the pockets of this hoodie. They started the game and tensions were rising they had both not forgotten the fight that was had just a week prior but there was an understanding that something more important than that right now. They battled hard and, in the end, crystal came out victorious through some rule breaking and she had that smile that he loved tattooed on her face. It sat on the bench first choosing to catch his breath and take a sip of water while she still celebrated on the court with her dances and made-up songs but soon enough the sober mood was back, this time only it was welcomed, almost invited.