Double Back - Mistwater Chronicles #1

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hey y'all! So this is a chapter I've had planned since the beginning, so I hope it's a good one. I spent a lot of time on it, so please tell me if you enjoyed it! I hope it's mind-blowing, because I think this is a fabulous plot twist :)

Anyways, enjoy! I won't bore you with a super long author's note. Please comment your reactions at the bottom!! I couldn't wait to post this for another week so I jumped ahead:D

xoxo,

Morgan

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It turns out Amber really is pregnant. The nurse looks incredibly uncomfortable as Amber bursts into tears, leaving the room to go get some pamphlets for her. I hug my friend hard, letting her break down in my arms.

She's still crying when we get back to her apartment, toting a little goodie bag of prenatal vitamins and the do's and don'ts of pregnancy. She can't drink or smoke, her exercise is limited, and she's given another appointment to come back and check the progress of the baby.

“I don't know what I'm going to do,” Amber sobs into her purple comforter, wrapping a pillow around herself. “He's not going to help me, Teresa.”

I'm at a loss for words. How do you possibly uplift someone's spirits when you know they're right?

“You have until late February or early March to talk to him, Amber,” I try and console her. “He can't ignore the fact that you're having his child.”

“Yes, he will,” she wails. “How am I supposed to take care of this baby? I don't have anyone to watch it for me. I'm supposed to give birth in three to four months, and I don't even have any baby stuff at all!”

“I'm sure your siblings can help with that,” I say. “Have you told anyone other than me?”

“No!” she snaps. “Sorry.”

“It's okay,” I say, stroking her hair. “Why don't you get some sleep and we can talk about it more in the morning, okay?”

“Okay,” Amber agrees, her lip trembling. “Are you gonna stay over?”

“Of course,” I immediately say. Zack will understand, even if I can't explain why. Amber is one of my best friends. “Let me just text Zack and tell him that I'm sleeping over.”

“Don't say a word to him about this, Teresa.” Her grip on my arm is like a vise, nails digging into the skin. “Please.”

“I promise,” I say, looking at her with wide eyes. She visibly relaxes, although she still looks scared as hell. I mean, who can blame her? She's going to be a mother.

●●●●●

Several days have passed since I last saw Amber. It's now Saturday afternoon, and she's still feeling awful about the entire situation. She told her sister, Nicki, but not Ollie. Apparently he'd flip and go directly to Adrian about it, which is exactly what she doesn't want. 

I'm currently in the middle of texting her, but she says she's about to leave for her sister's house. Apparently she has a ton of baby stuff that Nicki says she can use, including cribs and diapers and baby clothes. But the gender-specific stuff is for when she actually knows if it's going to be a boy or a girl, something Amber will know as her due date approaches.

Bored, I put my phone in my pocket and go in search of Zack. The house is mercifully quiet, something that hasn't been that way since before my family came to town. But we all went our separate ways this morning, my family going back to their respective homes in Colorado and Virginia. My parents had been coming to see us off and on, but they said their goodbyes at the airport and at the pack house as well.