Partners

Chloe POV

Dude. I'm fucking having a kid. I'm gonna be the best daddy ever, right up there with William.

Okay, so maybe William was a legit father, and I'm just a girl who's girlfriend is pregnant, but a family is made with love, not biology, damn it!

It had been a little over a month since Max and I chose to keep the baby. I was so Goddamn proud of her, she's so strong. With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, we drove up to Seattle to spend it with Caulfields. Joyce and David came, too. They were in the spare room of the extravagant house, while Max and I were in her room. Her room at home was pretty much just like her room at Blackwell, with lanterns strung on one wall, where pictures hung all over the wall. A desk in the corner, a couch right next to said couch and her bed tucked into a little cubbie by her closet, under her window. 

Her house in Seattle was nice. white walls, wood floors, scented candles pretty much everywhere, lots of Gothic Victorian decor, though.

"Are you nervous?" I asked Max.

"A little. I don't know how they're gonna react to the news that I'm pregnant, let alone that I'm keeping it." She sighed.

"Well, at least you haven't really started showing yet. That would've been a cover blow for sure." I smiled at her, causing her to giggle.

"You're ridiculous."

I smiled sadly at her. "You'll thank me for that one day."

//////////\\\\\\\\\\

Around noon the next day, everybody sat at the table and said a quick prayer.

"Let's eat now." Vanessa said.

The meal was amazing as always, and dessert was even better. Before anybody left the table, Vanessa cleared her throat, pointing towards Max and myself.

"The girls have news for us. Take it away."

Max had been hiding her ring in her pocket, choosing to wait to tell anyone until now. But as Vanessa spoke right then, Max had sneakily slipped her ring on under the table.

"We're engaged," Max said, lifting her hand to show off her ring. This was the agreement. Max would tell them about the engagement, and I would tell them about the pregnancy. Backwards, yes, but that's how Max wanted it.

A chorus of congratulations was heard before I held my hand up to silence everyone. "That's not the only news, though it is the most lighthearted." I giggled humorlessly.

Everyone but Max wore confused expressions. I decided to do this like a band aid. Just rip it off, Chloe!

"Max is pregnant."

Gasp.

"From the incident back in August."

Gasp.

"And we're keeping it."

Gasp.

Rolling my eyes at just dramatic they were being, I glanced over at Max to see how she was holding up. She literally looked like she was gonna sick. "Are you okay, Max?" Joyce was the first to ask. Max answered by holding up her index finger, nodding ever so slightly, then comically running to the bathroom.

"I'll go check on her." Vanessa said. She got up and made her way down the hall. Ryan excused himself and left the room.

"Chloe." It was David asking for my attention. 

"Yes?"

"Are you sure about this? The baby?" I could see the genuine concern in his eyes, and knew he meant well, but I still could't help the anger that flared in me. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose with one hand, the other holding up a finger to signal David to shut up for just a minute. I took a deep breath, counting in my head until the anger subsided. "Okay, I'm calm. So, here's the thing, David, and you should know this full well: Max and that baby are a package I am more than willing to sign for. Max is the love of my life, and her stresses are mine, too. She didn't ask for this. But she's willing to deal with a consequence to actions that were not hers. I love her, and I am just as attached to the little tadpole as she is by now, so of course I'm going to legally adopt the baby and everything." I shrugged. "To answer you question, David, yes. I am one hundred percent sure about this." 

Joyce and David looked at me like I grew a second head. Then Joyce spoke up. "Chloe." I looked toward her, and away from the proud grin David was sporting.

"We're so proud of you." Just that sentence makes me tear up, but the next words have me literally blubbering like a baby: "William would be proud, too."

A/N: This is a bit shorter of a chapter. Get ready for some time hopes next. Woot woot.