Distant

{21}

(WARNING: mentions of rape)

After shopping for what seemed like forever for Avi, clothes and items for the baby room finally got picked out for sweet Adira. Mitch managed to get the cupcake onesie because he claimed that Adira is super adorable and will look more adorable if he got it for her. Avi honestly loved the fact that Mitch considered him Adira's father, but he was still so worried.

*What if she doesn't love me? What will happen when she is older and finds out about Evan? Will she still call me Daddy or leave me? I'm going to be a bad father.*

~~~

"Once upon a time, there was this incredibly beautiful man called Scott Hoying," Scott began, 'talking' to Adira( actually talking to Mitch's stomach lovingly). Mitch shook his head and slapped the back of Scott's head softly. "Ow! I'm just telling her the truth!"

"I don't want her to grow up to be egotistical," Mitch argued playfully, rubbing his stomach. The bump is so tiny. "Why hasn't my stomach gotten bigger?"

Scott shrugged his shoulders as he stood up. He began to put baby clothes away in neat stacks, not wanting to wait for Adira. He is going to treat that little girl exactly like Landon. He will spoil her endlessly and tell her how much he loves her. Avi then came in, smiling at the best friends.

"Hello," Avi replied, his smiling disappearing when Mitch flinched. He quickly went to his boyfriend, holding one of the small hands carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just when you talked, Adira kicked really hard," Mitch answered, rubbing his stomach with his other hand. "She's a kicker, I'll tell you that."

Avi nodded as he kissed Mitch's stomach lovingly. The tenor blushed, feeling more loved than ever before. Evan can never get between his family ever again.

~~~

*A week later*

The doctor who told Mitch that he is pregnant smiled when the aforementioned tenor walked in with his boyfriend. They sat down, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"You're six months now. How do you feel?" The doctor asked sweetly. Mitch shrugged as he rubbed his stomach. It was still small, but it got a bit bigger.

"Tired, exhausted, hungry. Pretty much how I feel everyday," Mitch replied, laughing a bit. Avi shook his head but smiled nonetheless and rubbed Mitch's knee. "Will my medicine affect the baby? Do I need to take less medicine per day now?"

"No, no at all. Just take your prescribed amount," the doctor replied. Mitch nodded, looking down at his stomach. "Now onto the serious part. Mitch, how was this child conceived?"

Mitch froze, looking at Avi. Avi sighed as he rubbed Mitch's knee once more, looking at the doctor.

"Mitch was sexually assaulted multiple times this year," Avi answered, causing the doctor to gasp. Mitch looked away as a tear ran down his cheek. "A while back, he got assaulted but not sexually; however, the last time he was sexually assaulted, the person who hurt him managed to get him pregnant."

"So you're not the father of Mitch's child?" The doctor asked softly. Mitch's shuddery yet quiet sob answered her question. "Mitch, you could get help for that. I know a good support group for pregnant people that got sexually assaulted."

"Won't they hate me though?" Mitch asked shyly, removing his hands from his stomach. "I don't want them to look at me weird."

"The person in charge of it is actually a male who lost the baby after getting beaten up by his ex," the doctor clarified, not knowing Evan beat Mitch up too. Mitch then began to cry more, hugging his stomach. "Did I say something wrong?"

"His ex-boyfriend was abusive too," Avi explained, hugging Mitch carefully. The doctor nodded, feeling bad for the sweet man. "We'll call you later. Thank you for your suggestion. We will consider it."

The doctor nodded as she saw the couple walking out, feeling empathy for the small tenor. Who would ever hurt someone like that?

~~~

"Is he going to go the support group?" Scott asked as painted an 'A' above the crib. Avi shrugged as he adjusted some stuffed animals around. "He should. It will be good for him."

"I know," Avi replied, hoping that whatever choice Mitch chooses, it won't hurt him. "He's just been through so much. I don't want to feel like I'm pressuring him."

Scott nodded as he continued to paint. It stayed quiet for the rest of the time they worked on the room, praying that Mitch will not get hurt in the end.

~~~

Mitch drove quietly to the hospital, sighing heavily. He didn't tell Avi or Scott, but he decided to try to go to the support group meetings. He then stopped as he got into the parking lot, staring at nothing. Subconsciously, he put his hands on his stomach, rubbing it gently.

"Well, it's been a week since I first knew about you," Mitch began in a quiet voice, smiling when he felt a little kick. "You are going to be so loved, baby. You are going to have the best daddy ever. I will not let you get hurt. If you do, I will make sure that you are happy again.

"If anybody, whether they be a boy, girl, or anybody in between, hurts you and makes you cry, I will let you sleep in bed with Daddy and I so you will know that we love you so much. If you are afraid to tell me something because of how I will react, I will tell you that it is okay. If you ever fell unloved, just come to me so I could give you all the love I have. I love you so much, baby."

Adira kicked once more, causing Mitch to tear up a bit and smile sweetly. He then got out of his car, looking around for Evan. He could be anywhere at this point. He then walked into the hospital, safe and sound. After taking an elevator to the support class, he finally got there.

In front of him were women that have big bumps. Some of them had small ones and they were conversing about something. They sat in a small circle and talked about anything random. A man sat down by the two of them, talking animatedly. He then noticed Mitch and smiled happily.

"Hello," the man welcomed, causing every woman to look at Mitch. He waved shyly, not liking the attention turned on him. "I'm Rick. What's your name?"

"Mitch Grassi," Mitch replied in a quiet tone, walking up slowly. One of the women offered him a seat and he nodded at her thankfully. "I'm here for the support group."

"Awesome," Rick commented, smiling at the small tenor. He then looked at Mitch's bump and frowned slightly. Rick then smiled once more, pretending like he didn't look sad a minute or so ago. "Anyways, the first thing we do in support group is tell our story of why we are here. What's your story?"

Mitch then froze, not expecting this so quickly. He took a deep breath, wanting to disappear.

*What do I do now?*

A/N: Rick is not a threat, I promise! He's going to be supportive.:) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I love you all.:)

-Maddie🐧🐧🐧