My Baby Girl

Expect The Unexpected

Two weeks later
*Ashley's POV*

"Ooh I was so close!" Tyler whines, just as Ev crosses the finish line for the fourth time in a row. "Let's go again!"

"Or how about you stop playing Mario Cart and help me with the dishes." I suggest, tossing another dirty dish rag in the sink.

"Sorry babe, I gotta beat her." Tyler replies, his eyes glued to the tv screen. I roll my eyes.

"Make the pregnant woman do all the work." I mumble. I don't know if Tyler and Ev didn't hear my petty remark, or if they just chose to ignore it, either way they were silent.

A few weeks ago I found out I was expecting and at first I wasn't sure how to react. At the time I was with Ryan, but I knew for a fact that the baby was Tyler's because of the timing. I didn't know how to tell him or Ryan with everything going on between us. At that time I was also almost sure that Tyler was the one I wanted to be with, but I needed to weigh my options again before ruling Ryan out completely. I wasn't fully ready to make my decision, and I knew that this baby would make it even more complicated.

Flashback
"Babe, I need to run a few errands." I had told Ryan a few hours earlier. He decided to take Everleigh out for a daddy daughter ice cream date since I would be out for a while. I now sit alone in the bathroom, with a plastic target bag containing two, unopened pregnancy tests. I hold onto my stomach, and glance down, trying so hard to imagine the possibility of a tiny human growing inside. I mentally calculate the time line again, just to make sure I'm correct. Two weeks, that's how late my period is. Four weeks, that's the last time Tyler and I got intimate. One week, that's the first time in several months that Ryan and I slept together. If my timing is correct, and if my calculations are accurate, then that means that I am nearly three weeks pregnant with, undoubtedly, Tyler's baby. I take long deep breaths to help process all the thoughts rolling around in my head. What if I'm wrong? What if my period is late because of the new vitamins I've been taking, or what if, in the very rare occasion, this baby turns out to be Ryan's? What would I tell him, or Tyler? I finally think I've made up my mind about who I want to be with, could this potential baby ruin that? I tried to push the thought away. For all I know, both tests could turn out to be negative and my period could come tomorrow. With that hope in mind, I unwrap the tests with trembling hands, and take them. Once I finish, I wash my hands thoroughly mostly to kill time, but also to give myself time to think. I envision a scene of Tyler and I, a year from now, happily married with Everleigh, our eleven month old, and another one on the way. We all look so happy and content outside in a sandbox, and a playground fit for a kiddy dream land.

The timer on my phone goes off, forcing me to leave that charming family moment. I try to convince myself that it will be ok either way. This is what Tyler and I wanted eventually right? I trudge into the bathroom, forcing myself to look. I unwrap them from the toilet paper and stare in shock. Both tests are, unmistakably, positive. I feel the sudden urge to cry and I don't know why. This is what I've wanted ever since Everleigh was a baby! A part of me wants to leap for joy, but another part of me wants to crawl in a hole. What is Ryan gonna think when he knows? What is Tyler gonna think when he knows? How will Ev feel about being a big sister? How will the public react?

I'm so caught up in my own feelings that I don't even hear the voices chattering in the background or the knock on the bathroom door.

"Babe, you ok in there?" Ryan's voice says through the door. I keep my eyes fixated on the pregnancy tests in my hand and my vision is blurred with tears.

"Yeah." I stammer, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Well hurry up because Ev and I need to show you something." He replies, the sound of his footsteps sounding fainter as the distance between us grows larger. I take a few deep breaths while trying to process this news I've just received. If Tyler's reaction is anything like Ryan's, I'm not sure I can live through that pain again.
End Flashback