pretty little liar // brad simpson

twenty five

SPENCER

Brad was in the shower, singing quietly to himself as I sat in bed. My back was to the headboard and my knees were bent, the blankets hanging over in my lap as I fiddled with the bracelet Brad had gotten me yesterday.

I'd come home to two boxes on the table, one long and rectangular and the other a square. Inside of the square one was a thin chain bracelet, a little silver rectangle sitting in the middle. The rectangle was bare, with enough room for a word, or maybe a name.

The second box was a commemorative box, one of those pretty patterned ones with a magnet on the rim so every time you shut it it'd stay secure, and you could slide it into a drawer or leave it out on the bedside table. I pulled open the drawer of our end table beside me, picking up the box and resting it in my lap.

My fingers held the edges of the lid and I took a deep breath before I lifted it, looking down at the three pregnancy tests inside, all with the little double blue lines on them, like a pair of eyes looking narrowly up at me.

The water shut off, and I closed the lid again, setting the box in the drawer and pushing it closed as the door creaked open and Brad appeared. A towel hung around his waist and he smiled at me as water dripped from his hair onto his nose, sliding towards his soft smile. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning." I responded, tucking my hair behind my ears and sending him the same sweet smile. He dropped the towel, giving me a cheeky look as I burst out laughing, putting a hand over my mouth and closing my eyes.

"You absolute weirdo!" I laughed, flipping over and burying my face in my pillow as Bradley laughed loudly, pulling open our underwear drawer and stepping into a pair of pants. I peeked an eye open, seeing his head flipped over as he tousled his hair with the towel before dropping it onto the floor.

"You love me!" Brad laughed, climbing onto the bed and wrapping his arms around me over the blankets, his wet head nestled against my neck.

I sighed, closing my eyes and resting my head against the top of his hair. "You caught me, I do."

Brad's lips spread into a smile, and I wriggled around until I was able to give him a soft kiss, resting my own forehead against his. "I think we ought to talk."

Brad nodded, sitting up and grabbing his sweater off the foot of the bed. He pulled it over his head, seemingly oblivious to the words that I was about to speak. My stomach sank. "Chipper up!" Brad encouraged, tapping my chin with his finger.

"You got me this lovely bracelet, and the box.. with the tests in it." I began, looking down at my fingers where they were laced together. "But we never really talked about what our plans are, how we could do it, who we tell, if we keep it..." I trailed off, avoiding Brad's gaze as much as possible.

I was scared out of my mind, but I knew that this wasn't something I could keep in my own head and never bring up, something I could just go along with without words or a point of understanding.

"Do you want to keep this?" Brad asked quietly after a long, lingering pause. I licked my lips.

"I think so," I breathed, realizing how unconvincing it sounded as I looked up at him. Brad's face was unreadable, his head tilted slightly to the side. "I think I want it, but I'm scared... what if I didn't? Would you still love me?"

Brad let out a coo and he climbed closer to me, pulling my head down onto his chest where I could hear his heart pounding relentlessly. "Spencer, I couldn't stop loving you if I tried. If you said you couldn't keep this kid, would I be upset?" He paused, running his hand over my hair soothingly.

I wrapped my fingers around his shirt as he thought, the silence tangible around us. "Yeah, I reckon I'd be upset if you said you couldn't do it. Just think, just for a second - how magical a little baby would be. Our little baby, Spencie." Brad breathed wistfully, his breath tickling my forehead. "I'd be sad, to let that go. But I would give up anything for you, and I'd get over it, and there would be other chances and times and as long as all of that was with you? I reckon I'd be okay."

My heart fluttered, the fear still sitting low in my stomach but no longer pressing on my shoulders and pinning me down. "I love you Brad."

"I love you back." Brad responded without even a second's hesitation. He pulled back, his hands holding my shoulders as his brown eyes wandered mine. "But Spencer, we - you need to decide this. If you're keeping them, I mean."

Instantly, without a fleeting thought, my head was bobbing up and down. "Yes, yes, I want this so badly that I am petrified."

Brad's hands slid down to mine, and he let out a short sniff, revealing what I could see in his eyes - the tears, the fear, but the anticipation. "I'm absolutely scared shitless, Spencer. I haven't got the first idea of what I'm doing."

"Me either," I laughed, shaking my own head. My eyes wandered the room, nowhere to land because I had no idea where my thoughts had disappeared too. Everything in my mind was so overwhelming that I had reached sensory overload, and I couldn't even think any longer.

"We'll figure it out, won't we?" Brad shrugged, his eyes drawing me back.

I nodded, searching the face that was making a magical new being inside my body. "Yeah, I suppose we will."