Step Up

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen:
Lift my spirits with your
life, my darling

Two weeks ago

"Maya, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately, truly. This isn't me. You do things to me, to my head!-"
"To your dick."
She rolled her eyes and turned her gaze towards the outside of the bakery she grew up in.
"Maya..."
She looked at him with the pity settled in his eyes, in his face.
"So- you said the baby's twelve weeks now? It's a-a a 'fruit'?"
"That was weeks ago Luke! I'm past fifteen weeks now, the baby's grown- I've grown! Are you blind?" she stood up.
He was trying but it didn't seem to be a very big effort.
"Maya, give me a chance! I'm trying here, I really am."
She sighed before taking her seat again.
"Two weeks." he looked at her in confusion and waited for her to continue. "I've got another appointment in two weeks. Find out the sex and all."
"Oh, so you want to know? That's good! That's good. Cause you know, some people don't, they wait. You know till it's born."
"-Luke."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to go or not?"
"Go to the- oh! Yeah, yeah! Yes! I'll be there, you can count on it."
Maya stood up, picking up her purse to exit the bakery when he called her again.
"Maya." He stood up. "You can count on me."

Present

Eighteen weeks pregnant

"Okay Maya, on the count of three. One, tw-"
"Wait!" she yelled to hold off the doctor as Riley walked in.
Maya looked at her with a face like she was waiting for an answer to a question that had never been verbally asked.
And with that, she shook her head no. Sending a shot of dissapointment through her body and thoughts through her head.
That's my fault for thinking I could count on him like he said, for thinking he'd actually changed like he said.
"But Josh is out there." she smiled, "And he'd be more than happy to come in. I think he'd prefer it actually." She chuckled.
She did nothing more than let out a near silent laugh and agreed.
Josh was everything that Lucas wasn't. And he was there.
As soon as Josh entered, I was automatically at ease and gestured for the doctor to continue.
Instead of counting to three this time, she went straight for it. The cold gel making it's way onto my wintery pale stomach. I jumped a little when it did, everyone in the room laughing a bit and Dr. Melburry saying "Sorry about that," in her pure and endearing voice. Josh wrapped his hand around my free one, my other placed at the top of my stomach where the bump began.
She moved the device around a bit, staring at the monitor before her and beside me, with a smile on her face. Her smile even more lovely than her voice. She was very soothing, more so that you could see just how much joy doing this gave her.
"Congratulations, mom and dad--"
"Oh, I'm not the--"
"Actually! Before you tell us the sex, I was wondering if we could do it another way." I smiled. I know I'm cheesy, and I know everyone else knows as well. I just can't help myself; I like things to be sweet, charming.
"Well, what did you have in mind Maya?" The doctor asked. She made me feel so comfortable, when she spoke my name so clearly and talked to me like any average aged woman with a baby rather than seventeen and pregnant, being frowned upon, it soothed me.
"One of those cupcakes with the icing inside, or a balloon that pops and the colored glitter bursts out."
She laughed on my right and on my left, Riley and Josh just smiled at me.
"You're one of the fun mom's, huh?" she chuckled. "I'm sure we can arrange that. Would you like to see your baby now?"
I shook my head vigorously, I've never been so anxious in my life. She moved the monitor for a second longer and then layed her finger upon it.
"This ... is your baby's head. The feet. Oh and look, that right there is your baby sucking it's thumb."
I've seen tons of movies and I've seen mom's excitement when they show everyone their baby's sonograms just like Topanga did when she had Auggie. I've seen it everywhere. But I never knew it would feel this... invigorating, this amazing.
I gasped, giving up on trying to hold the tears back as they leaked out. When I looked back at Josh, his eyes were filling up faster than a pool, the tears building up, getting ready to burst like a waterfall.
"You're a mom, Maya." Riley spoke up, her voice even more calm and soothing than the doctors. Maybe because she's my bestfriend or because the words she let out were the best I've ever heard, but I let out a smile brighter than the sun and tears cascaded down my cheek.
"And I'm an aunt!" she jumped, making everyone laugh a little harder.

After I cleaned up, and the doctor sent in for the sonograms to be printed up at the front desk, and we spoke about arranging for the gender announcement, we all stood up to leave.
"Is there any way you could tell me the gender and just not tell them?" Riley whispered.
"Riles!" I yelled.
"Okay, okay! Fine!"
She looked back at the doctor, "Goodbye Riley!" she chuckled, "Bye mom, bye dad." she looked at me and Josh.
"Oh, no--"
"It's fine, Maya. I don't mind it."
He smiled at me, placing his hand on my back as we walked to the waiting room again where I got the pictures from the front.
All of a sudden Lucas stood up. And Josh pulled his hand from my back, returning to his pocket where the other rested.
"Luke."
"May--"
"You're late. You missed the appointment and now it's over. Maybe next time."
"But--"
"Oh yeah, you're right. There won't be a next time!"
"Maya. Maybe he has a reason." Josh spoke up, sending me into a state of shock.
Since when did he stand up for Lucas?
"Fine. Let's hear it. What's your excuse for this one? And make it a good one, not one of those lame "my car wouldn't start," or "I got lost on my way here," kind of excuses."
"Can we talk in private, please?"
I scoffed as he pulled me in between the two sets of automatic doors, standing aside. "Maya, you know I didn't want to miss this. I really wanted to be here with you, with our baby." he said, laying his hand on my baby bumb and smiling.
"Then why weren't you?" I asked, pushing his hand away.
"Brianna was hurt."
Brianna is Lucas' little sister. She's only ten and he looked over her like she was his own. With their mom always at work and their dad, a deadbeat, like my own, he basically raised her. Lucas could lie about a lot of things, hurt a lot of people. But not her.
"What, Lucas what happened?"
He looked at me and then his dead sunk to the ground.
"My dad ... my dad came home and he, he was drunk and yelling and I-I couldn't protect her. I couldn't protect her from him."
And with that, his voice cracked but he wouldn't let out a single tear, no matter how hard they fought him.
I couldn't say anything to make him feel better so I pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck and he held my waist with his strong, heavy arms.
When we left, Riley rode with Josh and I rode with Lucas and Brianna back to the Matthews'.
I knew nothing would make him feel better but I also thought showing him pictures of the life he created might help lift his spirits and distract Brianna as well.