Troian Bellisario: Just Me & My Girl

A Test You Can't Study For

Troian's Pov

This is it. This is where we're finally going to find out who Aspen's dad is. No more confusion, no more wondering. Just the truth, plain and simple.

"Come on Aspen, Max is waiting up there." I say, helping her out of her car seat. We walk toward him, toward the man who I believe is my child's father. Blond hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and the same smile lines that Aspen gets near her mouth. It's him, I'm sure of it.

"Hey," I say to Max, stopping in front of him.

"Hi Troian, hi Aspen." He replies, giving us both a smile "I see you still like the teddy bear I got you." He looks at Aspen, motioning to the grey and white plaid teddy bear in her arms.

"Yes, I love Rosie." She says, hugging the bear tightly.

"Well I'm glad." He smiles, lines appearing near his mouth "Shall we go inside?" He asks, pointing to the door of the Doctor's office. I nod, taking Aspen's hand and following Max inside. We sit down in the waiting room, Aspen immediately sitting down at the table and colouring a picture of Rapunzel and Pascal from Tangled. I look around at the other people in the waiting room, some who have children, some who don't. A lot of people could be here for just a casual checkup, maybe some to talk about an illness they think they have. But I bet we're the only ones here for a paternity test.

"Who's name will the appointment be under?" Max asks me.

"Well, I booked it, so mine probably." I reply. He nods, looking back down at his lap. I can't imagine how nerve racking this must be for him, I mean he only met Aspen a couple of weeks ago. Sure, we've been trying to hang out as much as possible in the days leading up to the appointment, but two weeks is two weeks, and that's not a lot of time to get to know someone who may be your daughter.

"Troian Bellisario." A lady in scrubs calls from the entrance of the hallway. My heart does a nervous leap as my name is said, but I stand up and follow the lady with as much confidence as possible. Max walks beside me, and Aspen holds my hand as she clutches her teddy bear with the other. The woman leads us to a room and tells us to wait there, saying a doctor will be with us shortly.

"Am I sick mommy?" Aspen asks once the door is shut.

"No baby, you're not sick." I reassure her "We're just here to...to get a check up." Though I absolutely hate lying to her, I can't tell her why we're actually here. It's better she knows as little as possible, at least until we figure out the truth.

A man walks into the room, who I assume is the person that will take Max and Aspen's blood for the paternity test. I can't believe that we're so close to figuring out who my little girls father is.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Hayworth, but you can just call me Joseph." The man says "I'll be taking the DNA samples for the paternity test. Now if I can get one of the patients, it doesn't matter which as we'll be doing both, to sit up here, we can go ahead and start the test." He motions to the paper-covered doctor's table.

"I'll go first." Max says, knowing Aspen won't want to. He stands up from his chair and sits on the table, although not without glancing back at me first. I give him a hopeful look, trying not to show how nervous I really am. I'm sure he's trying to hide it as well, although he's not doing the best job. But Max has every right to be nervous; he's about to find out if he is in fact a father or not.

Dr. Hayworth pricks Max's finger, just enough to get a little bit of blood. After putting the sample in a small container, Max is given a cotton ball and a band-aid, then is ushered off the table. He sits back down on the chair beside me, a weary look on his face. Maybe because it's nerve-racking knowing that we're that much closer to finding out if he's Aspen's dad, or maybe because after Aspen's blood is taken, our lives will never be the same. There will be definite proof of whether or not he's her dad, it's something we won't be able to look past anymore. After this, Max might be able to say I have a daughter, when that's never something he's been able to say before. Suddenly, it won't just be about him anymore, but about Aspen too. He'll suddenly have to work being a father into his life, thinking about what's best for her before himself. There will be custody grants, visitation rights, and maybe even child support thrown into the situation. This isn't something little, this is something that will change my life forever.

"Alright, it's your turn sweetie." Dr. Hayworth says gently to Aspen "Just hop up here on the table, it'll only take a few moments." Aspen looks at me expectantly, as if to say Please don't make me go. I just give her a small smile, then stand up and lift her onto the table.

"Mommy I don't wanna." She pleads "Can I get down now?"

"No baby, you have to do this. It'll only take a few seconds." I tell her calmly "And I'll be right here with you the whole time."

"But momma, that man made Max bleed." She says, looking at Dr. Hayworth "I don't want him to do that to me."

"Oh Aspen, I promise that it'll hardly feel like anything." I say soothingly "It'll be over before you know it. This is very important, honey. Will you do it for me?" She opens her mouth to say something, but quickly closes it and nods solemnly. I kiss her forehead, before grabbing Rosie, her teddy bear, off of the chair.

"Here, hold Rosie." I say "Hug her tight." Aspen clutches her teddy bear with one arm, then holds her free arm out in front of her. I don't watch as Dr. Hayworth pricks her finger, but instead look directly at Aspen. She scrunches her face together so that her eyes are closed, squeezing Rosie as if for dear life. She jumps a little as her finger gets pricked, but doesn't make any noise. The blood sample is collected quickly, Dr. Hayworth putting a band-aid on her finger and giving her a lollipop.

"Excellent job!" He says as Aspen rips the wrapper off her candy "That didn't hurt too much, did it?" Aspen shakes her head, a small smile on her face.

"Hey, how come I didn't get candy?" Max says jokingly "Wasn't I a brave boy too?"

"Here, have one." Dr. Hayworth says, tossing Max a green lollipop.

"Oh, thanks!" Max exclaims, sounding surprised.

"No problem. Now, I'm just going to go take these samples to get tested, and I'll be back in about ten minutes with the results." He tells us, leaving the room. I lift Aspen off the table and sit down in my chair, setting her on my lap. She holds her teddy bear as she sucks on her lollipop, leaning against my chest.

"I'm proud of you, Aspen." I tell her "You were very brave."

"Thank you mommy." She replies sheepishly. I just kiss the top of her head, holding her securely in my arms.

The next ten minutes pass in near silence, giving me time to focus on my thoughts. In just a few short moments, I'm going to find out if my daughters father is in fact Max. Though he was just a stranger two short weeks ago, I feel like both Aspen and I have gotten to know him so well. He's caring, sensitive, and could speak sarcasm as his second language. He's got a boyish personality that makes you want to get to know him, and never fails to make me or Aspen laugh. He's got the kindest, most generous heart of anyone I've met in a long time, and treats his huge random acts of kindness as if they're nothing. Max is an amazing person, and if a stranger is going to end up being Aspen's father, then I'm glad it's him. It's just still hard to comprehend how close I am to knowing who my little girls dad is. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this day, and now that I'm here, it seems almost surreal.

Dr. Hayworth walks back into the room, papers in his hand. After shutting the door, he sits down in the chair opposite us, an unreadable look on his face. This is it I think to myself The moment my life will forever change. I look at Max next to me, then to Aspen in my arms, wondering if they're related. Although for some reason, I can't stop thinking about Keegan. How sure we were that he was Aspen's dad, how confident we were about it. But as soon as I saw Max, things changed. Once I saw him, I realized that maybe he was the answer I was looking for, not Keegan. He was the one that fathered Aspen, he was the one who would change everything. But now, I feel as if I sit right in the middle, like I could go either way. That maybe Aspen's dad is Max, or maybe it's Keegan. And honestly, at this point, I don't know who I'd rather it be.

"Okay, I have the test results here." Dr. Hayworth says. Max and I exchange a glance with each other, both of us with nervous expressions. The anticipation makes my heart beat so loud that I'm afraid I won't be able to hear what Dr. Hayworth says. But before I have any more time to think about it, he begins talking.

"The test came back positive. Max Ferguson is the father."