Fifty-Two Weeks

five

Scarlett

Well it's official, I hate moving. Picking the right apartment and decor was easy, packing my belongs was not.

"Scarlett, the truck is here!" Jess called from downstairs as I packed the last sweater from my closet.

"Coming!" I yelled. All my nice clothes were in various boxes, leaving me in gym shorts and yet another one of Ashton's shirts. This one seemed off too, like it wasn't as comfy as before.

"Bring down a couple of boxes while you're at it!" She added and I stacked a couple together. I started with the lighter ones and made it halfway down the steps before I became short of breath and needed to take a break.

"Jess, can you take these off my hands?" I pleaded. She hurried towards me and took the boxes, set them aside, and wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"Scar, what's wrong?" Her eyes wide with concern.

"Nothing! I'm just really out of shape I guess." I laughed trying to break the tension.

"Bullshit. You haven't been yourself in weeks and you know it. Are you sick?" She held the back of her hand to my forehead for a moment, "You're boiling. I'm taking you to the doctor." She insisted while guiding me down the stairs.

"But what about the big move? We should really get settled in." I argued, not wanting to take one step in a doctors office.

"We have the truck all day and the boxes aren't going anywhere!" She laughed, "It'll only take a bit." She concluded before I could argue anymore.

---

"We ran your blood and it doesn't look like you're anemic like we first suspected, which would've explained the sudden fatigue. However, we did find something. Miss Pierce, how long have you been sexually active?" The doctor questioned. Jess lied. It didn't take "just a little bit", we've been here for well over an hour.

"Um, I haven't been active that way in a while." I blushed.

"How long is a while? A month? A couple weeks? We need to know this information for your benefit." He explained.

"The last time I had sex was June 27th, so roughly two months ago." I nodded, counting the weeks along on my fingers.

"Miss Pierce, your blood work showed that you're pregnant. Of course we'll do a few other tests to confirm, but for now I think it's safe to say you're pregnant." He spoke for a while after but I tuned him out. Everything was tuned out, aside from a buzz in my ears and the 'thump thump thump' of my heart. I couldn't be pregnant, not when I was barely twenty years old. Not when I hadn't graduated. Not when I had no career. Especially not when I had no husband, or even boyfriend for that matter.

"Miss Pierce? Miss Pierce can you hear me?" The doctor waved his hand slowly in front of my face, bringing me back to reality.

"Hmm? Oh yes sorry." I mumbled.

"I know this is a lot to take in at once. Does the father suspect anything?" He questioned. The father. Ashton was the father, this was our baby.

"No." Maybe it should stay that way. He had his whole tour to worry about, let alone a baby to take care of.

"Is there someone with you that you could tell? We find that the first trimester is often the hardest on your emotions. A good confidant can make all the difference." He smiled.

"My best friend is in the waiting room." I spoke in monotone, still trying to process everything.

"Good! I'll just set you up with some prenatal vitamins and you'll be on your way. Now, I want you to take these everyday. They contain many essential nutrients your body needs to support the fetus, and make it strong." He spoke while handing me several bottoms, all with complex labels. "All set?" I nodded, "Let's get you to that best friend of yours." He smiled and led me out of the room.

---

"What the hell happened in there? You haven't said a word the whole ride home." Jess asked while we stopped at a red light.

"Jessica." I sighed.

"Oh no, no no, please tell me everything's okay?" She cried, knowing the use of her full name indicated something major.

"I'm pregnant." I whispered, tears falling down my face.

"Pregnant? H-how? Does Ashton know?" Her mouth spoke a thousand words a minute.

"No he doesn't know! I didn't even know until ten minutes ago. I-I can't do this Jess. This baby needs so much more than I can give it." My sobbing completely took over my body now.

"You have to tell him!"

"I just need time to figure stuff out." I sighed. Out of nowhere Jess erupted in a fit of laughter. "What in God's name is funny about this?" I exclaimed.

"Remember when we watched Nemo and I poked your food baby? I guess it wasn't just food." She giggled, my jaw dropped. That's why I didn't like the salt and vinegar chips. "How did you not know you were pregnant?" Jess mumbled under her breath, but to her dismay I heard it.

"I missed my period, but I put that down as stress from the new job. I didn't think anything of it." I grumbled. "You're my best friend, how did you not notice my weight gain?" I quizzed her.

"I figured you were just stress eating because of Ashton! Besides it's hardly even noticeable, you're not far along enough to show yet!" She argued back.

"For now let's focus on moving okay?" I asked changing the subject, "Once we're settled in, I'll figure this all out." I tried to smile but my lip quivered and I was a sobbing mess again.

"You can't lift anything when you're pregnant, Scar! That's like, the number one rule." Jess moaned.

"What are we going to do?" I groaned, throwing my head into my hands.

"Shh, calm down sweetheart. I'll talk to the guys who loaned us the truck and see if they'll help us out. I'll pay them for it. Everything will be okay, you'll see." She took my hand in hers, rubbing the surface gently with her thumb.

But 'okay' doesn't always workout the way you hope it will.

---

I know this is super short please don't kill me but omg it needed to be done and Allison my number one reader guessed this from the start (a bunch of you probably did too) but I PROMISE this won't be a cliche 'boy meets girl, first comes love, then comes marriage' type of story. That ain't how I roll😎 I'm currently at 25 reads, let's make that 30-35 before the next update? Love you guys:)