Forever.

Chapter 32: So you're telling me...?

Claire's P.O.V. (Continued)

"I'm pregnant." I say. Immediately after I say it, I expect a huge weight to lift off of my shoulders. But it doesn't.

His face stays frozen and he holds his breath. A few seconds pass, and I need him to talk. I can't read his facial expression or his body because they're the same as when I dropped the bomb.

Now that I look at him, he's not breathing. Did this kill him?

"Braden, breathe." I say as I put my hand on his shoulder.

He blinks, but then supports a pair of wide eyes and heavy breaths.

I really hope that everything will turn out okay with us, regardless if he stays or not.

"I know that you probably have a million and a half things running through your mind right now, but I want you to know that there's no pressure on you. You can leave if you want, and you won't have to see or talk to me ever again. Or you can be as involved as you want, it's totally up to you." I say quickly, but stop when he gives me a confused look, and cocks his head in confusion. I take a deep breath myself, and calm down a little bit. "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

He stands up quickly and paces the room.

"You want to make sure that I'm okay? You're the one who's pregnant!" He stops and covers his face with his hands.

"I know, and I just threw a lot of information at you." I say.

"You didn't throw a lot of information at me, you threw one major, life-altering piece of information at me!" He yells.

"I know, and I've had a little more time to sit with the idea than you have. And believe me, I was exactly like you when I found out."

"But-But this is so beyond huge!" He yells.

"I know, and I'm so sorry for not telling you earlier. I was just really scared that you were gonna leave me, which you can if you want, but I knew I couldn't hide it any longer." I say.

"Why would you need to hide it?" He asks.

I drop my head. "I guess I shouldn't have, but I didn't know what to do."

He continues to pace as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"There's no pressure on you. You can take as much time as you need to think about this." I say.

His body relaxes a little bit, but I can still tell he has a bunch of things running through his mind, and I hope one of them is that he's going to stay.

"Y-You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to do." I say.

His eyes stay frozen and his breaths stay heavy as he removes his hands from his face.

"Okay, if I'm going to be doing the talking, I want to apologize for not telling you sooner. I was scared and didn't know how you would react. And when you said that thing at the pool about kids, I was sure that you were gonna leave, which I totally understand if you want to-" I say, but he cuts me by connecting his lips to mine. He wraps his arms around my waist and gently lifts me up to his level. He doesn't squeeze me too hard, which I kind of appreciate.

He kisses me gently as a smile curves onto my lips. He sets me down and keeps his arms wrapped around my waist.

"I made you a promise on that beach. I promised that I would always be there for you no matter what, and that I would always love you. This," he says as he moves one of his hands onto my stomach, "Won't change that." He says.