baby // m.c

5

I groan out loud, a faint throbbing in the back of my throat.  "Tori!" I hear someone yell before I'm pulled into a hug. I rub the back of the person that just grabbed me before grumbling out a "Hi."

Mali-Koa pulls back and she has tears in her eyes. "Oh, Tori Bug, I'm so happy for you! I can't believe your-" "Mali!" I hear Calum's voice stiff yell, breaking off Mali's words. I look up to see him leaning against the door way, stiff as a board. "Cant believe I'm what? Why am I here? Am I sick? Do I have cancer?!" I stumble out, tears welling up in my eyes. When there's a pause I start to get hysterical. "Oh my God, I do! Oh why, Mum told me-" "Tori, Tori, calm down, you don't have cancer." Cal chuckles. At this point, I'm just confused.

"Then why-" "Ah, Ms. Finati-Hood, your awake." A woman in a white doctors coat says, walking into the room. I put my head back on the pillow and groan, quite loudly may I add. What is it with people cutting me off today? I think to myself. The woman chuckles. "I'm sorry, Toria, you must be really confused and annoyed right about now." She says. "Got that right." I grumble under my breath, shooting a glare to Calum. I see him put his hands up in surrender and I focus my attention back to the doctor. She then puts her own hand out to shake. "I'm Dr. Camilla." She states, and I grab her hand, giving it a shake. "Tori Finati-Hood." I say back. She laughs a bit, "Oh I know hunny, you've been here for quite some time today, about 3 hours actually. And plus, my daughter is a huge fan. Wants to be just like you when she grows up." She says, a proud smile on her face at the thought of her daughter.

"Awh, that's cute. Do you want me to sign-" "If your talking about work while your in a damn hospital bed, you will officially be the most work addicted model I've ever met." Mum says, walking into the room. I give a soft smile to my momma, I could never snap on her. "Hi Mum." I say softly. Mum smiles at me and chuckles.

"Well either way, Tori, your my patient at the moment. Speaking of, your free to go in about 10 minutes." Dr. Camilla says, smiling at me and Mum. I furrow my brows in confusion. "Speaking of which, why am I here?" I ask and look around the room. Mum heaves a heavy sigh and Mali looks like she's about to hop through the ceiling. "And why is Mali about to jump through the roof?" Everyone chuckles at this, but it's still extremely tense. "C'mon, someone please tell me why I'm here." I say, my patience thinning more quickly than usual. "Tori, what do you remember?" Shit, what did I do? "I remember crying with Laurel, then I puked, then I remember being in Dirk's arms and asking for my Mum and Mali." I tell Dr. Camilla.

"Well, the throwing up was morning sickness. And you passed out because the baby took most of the energy in your system, causing you to pass out." Dr. Camilla says, and I'm almost positive she's lost her fucking marbles. "Dr. Camilla, I think you have the wrong patient file. I'm not pregnant." I say, looking around the room at my family. She chuckles, but after seeing everyone else's reactions, is also tense. "Well, Toria, I hate to break it to you but, your pregnant." At this, Mali let's out a squeak at the same time I do. But while hers was in excitement, mine brought tears to my eyes. "I'm what?" I ask, causing pure silence in the hospital room.

"Toria Finati-Hood, your pregnant."

If my world came crashing down when I found out my birth mother died, this is it going up in flames.

I nod slowly, making sure I have a blank look on my face. "Okay." I then get up out of the bed, take my clothes Mali Koa brought for me to change into, and go into the bathroom to redress. I redress and come out, and that's when all Hell breaks loose. I grab Laurel's keys from the seat and bolt out of the room, barefoot. Everyone stands up in the waiting room, thinking I'm ready to go home but I keep running as fast as my legs can take me. I can hear Laurel and Cal running for me, but I hear a thump and I know that one of them just fell. "Oh, Damnit, I can't- Oh fuck it." Calum says, stopping to help Laurel and I keep going though the corridors, all the way till I get to Laurel's car.

I unlock it and rip the drivers side door open as fast as I can. I hop in and start it immediately, practically speeding out of the parking lot. I drive down the street I know all too well from buying liquor for my model friends' parties. I pull into the lot and look at the sign. Dani's Liquor Shoppe. I smirk to myself before patting my tummy. Then, I walk in.

"Dani's Liquor, how can I- hey your Tori Hood!" the clerk says, shortening my name. My face turns into a scowl. "Theres a Finati in there." I snarl at him and go to the back shelf where they keep the strong stuff.

I go back up to the front counter and the guy immediately pales and stands up straighter. "I-is that all, miss?" The young man says. I give him a look. "Is there anything else on the fucking counter?" I ask sarcastically. "N-no ma'am. I'll just get this wrapped up then-" "Dont bother, kid, just take this and keep the change." I say, handing him two $20 bills, knowing the bottle I just bought is at least $30. "O-oka-"

"And quit fucking stuttering, it's annoying."

That's all I say before I grab the bottle and strut out of the store, still barefooted. I get back in the car and put the bottle of Hennessey of the seat next to me, knowing it's not safe to drive while I'm drinking. Well, it's not safe to drink while your pregnant eithe- "No!" I scream out loud and take a 3/4 donut right out of the parking lot. I drive to the only place I'd want to be right now, the park. Our park. The park we all came to in high school when we needed to think. The park where Michael had his 21rd birthday party last year.

Michael.

And that name alone was enough for me to rip the tape off the bottle, unscrew the cap, and tip the bottom up on my drive there.