Weigh Down on Me

|Chapter Three|

It had been a few weeks since I had last seen Noah at Charlies and I still hadn't texted him. There was something inside of me that wanted to, but a larger part of me wanted to protect my peace.

I stood outside of my bathroom with my head rested on the door frame and watched as Chelsea flipped over the pregnancy test she had just taken. I couldn't tell if she was upset, or if the look on her face was from relief.

"Well?" I asked anxiously.

She held up the test and two pink lines glared at me from the test window. My heart sank, but I wasn't surprised. She had been feeling sick the past week, and the only thing she wanted was McDonalds French fries.

I wrapped her in my arms, and she was surprisingly stoic. "I guess I did the right thing by breaking up with Rob."

The day after talking to Nick, she met up with Rob and broke things off with him. She didn't tell him the details, but I could only imagine how he was going to react to finding out she was pregnant. "There's no way that the baby is his?"

She shook her head and let out a small laugh. "We hadn't been active in that department for a few months."

I cringed and it all started to click. If she wasn't getting it from Rob, then I understand why she folded when it came to sleeping with Nick.

"So, when are you going to tell Nick?" I asked while taking a seat on my bed. She snapped a picture of the test and thrusted her phone at me.

"I am about to right now."

I gasped, "You are not going to tell him he is going to be a dad over a text message!"

She waved her hand dismissively at me and continued typing feverishly. "He told me to let him know as soon as I found out, so I am."

I shook my head in disbelief and chuckled. "You are something else."

"He wants to meet." She stated while shoving her phone in her back pocket. I watched as her nervous demeanor quickly changed to excitement and part of me was happy for her. While I had no idea how drastically our lives were going to change, I knew that Nick seemed to be the type of guy who was going to stick around for her.

I walked Chelsea to the front door, and she turned to face me. "We got this, right?"

I nodded and pulled her in for a hug. "Of course."

As she opened the door, my eyes met a familiar frame unlocking an apartment door across from me. The tattoos on his neck threw me into a tizzy of memories and I could feel my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Chelsea gave me a small kiss on my cheek. "I'll text you."

Noah turned around to the sound of her voice and his eyes widened once he saw me. I instantly felt self-conscious in my pajama shorts and stained t-shirt, but I couldn't seem to move.

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise." He sang while leaning against his door frame. The amusement on his face irked me, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"What are you following me now?" I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

He furrowed his eyebrows and took a step towards me. "I've lived here for over two years, should I be offended that you've never noticed?"

"You didn't notice I lived here either."

He cocked an eyebrow at me and nodded. "To be fair, I'm hardly ever here."

"Well, I'm always here." I said and it came out a little more depressing than I intended.

He noticed the shift in mood and straightened his posture. "Why haven't you reached out?"