Class 19864

Chapter 29: Phoenix

Song: Crazy Love by Michael Bublé

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Chapter 29: Phoenix

Well Nova recently dropped the bomb that she had taken out legal papers to give the baby to Beth when she is born. I’m hurt that she didn’t ask me at first and I was looking forward to being a dad and having a daughter. I get that this is a lot tougher on her than it is on me and it is kind of my fault but sometimes I wish we got a happy ending. Instead, Beth is going to get our baby and Nova and I are going to be left without anything to show for the last nine months of struggling. I know that’s not Beth’s fault. This whole thing is my fault. I just wish I got some say in this. I now also know that after much persuasion Beth has signed the legal papers meaning the only way Nova and I will get to keep our baby is if in the time before she is born, Beth becomes pregnant. I mean we have hardly any time left. Two and a half months. And Beth doesn’t even have a boyfriend. 

                I have made the conscious decision to leave the complex when the baby is born. I’m going to move back to California where my parents live and try and fix things up with them. I haven’t told Nova this yet but I know for sure that being around with Beth and baby will not help either of us. Especially since because of this entire thing Nova is likely to end up with depression. I figure I should probably tell her that I’m leaving sooner or later so I plan to do so.

                I knock on the door of her room and I can hear crying inside. I try the handle and find the door unlocked. When I enter the room, I find her sitting on her bed, crying and staring at the sonogram picture. We went last week and the doctor confirmed that the baby is a girl. I sit beside her and hug her until she stops crying.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She shakes her head, smiling sadly. “I wish I’d waited. I wish I’d talked to you before I’d taken out those papers. There’s nothing we can do now. I am legally forbidden to do anything to harm the baby and Beth signed those papers which means unless she gets pregnant before the baby is born, she belongs to Beth.”

I nod. “I know. I was looking forward to being a dad. But we can have more children. Later in life.” I take a small box out of pocket. “I was kind of hoping we could make another milestone first.”

I hand her the box and she opens it, revealing the ring that I’ve had for months. She looks up at me and smiles.

“Yes. Yes of course we can.”

I smile and she kisses me.

“One more thing.” I say.

She nods.

“I want to speak to Beth about naming her. I want us to name her before we hand her over.”

Nova nods. “Of course. If Beth agrees.”

I nod. “I’ll go talk to her.”

Nova nods and I leave.

                I knock on the door of Beth’s office and enter when I hear her calling.

“Phoenix! Is everything okay?”

I shrug. “I wanted to ask you something. A favour.”

Beth nods. “Of course. Anything.”

“Well first of all I wanted to tell you that Nova and I got engaged.”

Beth smiles. “That’s wonderful!”

I smile. “We wanted to ask your permission to name the baby before you take her.”

Beth nods. “Yeah of course. I’m only looking after her. She’ll always be your daughter.”

I smile. “Thank you Beth. It means a lot to me. It’ll mean a lot to Nova.”

Beth nods and I go to find Nova, intending on telling her of Beth’s agreement and notifying her about my move to California.

                I’ve searched all through the complex and have found no sign which means she must be in the rose garden. I walk outside and as I suspected, I find her sitting on one of the benches.

“Hey.” I say.

She smiles. “Hey. Did you see Beth?”

I nod. “She said it’s fine. She wants us to name her.”

Nova smiles. The first genuinely happy smile I’ve seen since this whole mess began.

“There’s something else I have to tell you.” I say quietly.

“What is it?” Nova asks.

“I want to be here for you through this. But when she’s born Beth is going to have her. I- I can’t stay around seeing Beth with her. When she’s born, I’m moving to California. I’m going to try and find my parents.”

She shakes her head. “No you can’t. You can’t leave me here.”

“You can come with me. We can start fresh.”

She shakes her head. “She’ll be here. And my dad and Abigail. I can’t do that to them.”

I nod. “We can talk about this another time. Do you have any name suggestions?”

Nova nods. “Isabelle Beth Reece.”

I nod. “I love it. It’s perfect. Except for the surname obviously.”

“Why?” Nova asks.

“She won’t be Reece. She’ll be Coventry like Beth.”

Nova nods. “Of course. How silly of me. I just- I just wanted her to have something of us.”

I nod. “She’ll be better with Beth. She’ll have a life we can’t give her.”

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This makes me sad!

Thanks for reading!

Sarah xx