Running with His Child

Chapter 6

"I'm fucking pregnant?!" I exclaim, my face filling with utter fear. I was not ready to be a mother. I was not ready to take care of another. Hell, I can't even take care of myself! My face drains of color. This could only mean one thing. This one thing that I was deadly afraid of. The person that haunted my nightmares, the person that hurt me more than any other. The person I am running from... Kyle is the father. "Holy shit." I mutter, taking many, many deep breaths.

"Miss, there are options. There is no need to panic." The doctor tries to calm me, but it just fails. "If you feel you cannot take care of this child, you have many different ways to deal with this." He'd pull out a pamphlet from a folder on his desk. The front would read in big, bold letters: " A Mother's Guide to Options".

I took the pamphlet in my hand, not daring to open it. I move my hands to the chair's armrests, pushing myself up slowly. "T-Thank you, Doctor Farley. I'll consider everything." My voice shakes, as my feet move towards the door of the office.

"Miss Hower. Take your time, breathe, and think it through." He advises me as I walk out. My face must have been pure white, because once Matilda and Jason saw me, they raced over to me with worried expressions.

"What happened?!"

"Are you okay?!"

"What's the diagnosis?!"

I am bombarded with questions, and my mind cannot process it all. A massive headache forms, and I drop the clipboard and pamphlet, clenching the sides of my head, letting out a loud groan. "Hold on!" I yell at them, trying to gather my own thoughts. I close my eyes, trying to ease my headache. When I open them, I see Matilda and Jason with shocked expressions, staring at the pamphlet and clipboard. Matilda held them both in her hands, and she'd blink every few seconds. Their shock made me even more paranoid and stressed about everything.

"Oh honey..." A feminine voice sounds as I close my eyes again. I feel Matilda's arms wrap around me, but I do not hug her back. I can't. I physically cannot move. Tears prick in my eyes as I take in the news. I'm mothering my worst nightmare's child and he doesn't even know.

Five Years Later...

My eyes open slowly, loud sounds of pots and pans clanging together sounds through my apartment. A loud groan escapes my lips as I push my face into a plush pillow on my bed. The sun was barely up, but he was. He's always up at this fucking time and it drives me nuts. I look over at my table side clock, and it'd read 6:39 AM. Huh, twenty more minutes of sleep than the last week. Sweet.

I slide off my amazingly comfortable bed, walking to my dresser. My hand flips the light switch from off to on, lighting the whole room. My brush lies on the top of the wooden dresser, and I take it, combing through my bed head. The pot and pan noise still echos throughout my home, and I let out another groan.

I make my way to the door, opening it swiftly and proceeding to shout: "Owen Daniel! You better not be playing with those pots again!" I hear some shuffling, cabinets opening and closing, and then I hear his little voice.

"Sorry Mama!" He yells back up to me. I roll my eyes, shutting my door again and going to my closet. I was so blessed to have the kid, but boy was he a pain.

I didn't have many clothes, I mean, I didn't need much. The walk-in closet was mainly for storage, only a little section was for clothes. In here, I kept all my keepsakes. Anything from gifts to Owen's baby boxes. Behind everything though, Jason installed a bulletproof safe into the wall. In there is emergency things; Money, passports, fake I.D's, you name it, we got it. He and I went over different plans of escape if anything ever happens, and Kyle finds me again. Only Jason and I know the code, not even Matilda. We are very prepared for something like this. The three of us have had four years to plan, and we haven't wasted any time.

I grab my work outfit out off the hanger, and I take it with me, along with a few other garments, to the bathroom. I check my phone and see that I have approximately seventeen minutes before Owen comes upstairs yelling for food. So, I hop in, wash my body and hair as fast as I can and hop out. I check my phone again, and learn that I only have five minutes left. I jump into my under garments, squeeze into my pants, clip my bra, throw my shirt on and tuck the top into the bottoms. My hair is now a breeze to comb, which saves me time, and I dash out of the bathroom. I did not need a temper-tantrum from him this early in the day. On the way down the steps, I clip my hair up, making it look semi-formal and straightening my work clothes out.

"MAMA!" Owen almost screams as he runs up to hug me. He's always been a hyper one, especially in the morning. He literally jumps onto me, wrapping is legs around my knees and his arms around my waist. My third groan of the morning sounds as he does so, I was not strong enough to hold him up like that. My knees give out and I fall onto them, Owen's bum would fall onto it. He'd start to giggle immensely and I couldn't help but laugh with him too.

He stood up after a few moments, giving me a proper hug this time. He rested his head on my shoulder, and I give him a soft hug as well. As soon as I got comfortable, he perked up, pushing himself off me and starting to jump around. "Breakfast! Breakfast! Breakfast!" He exclaims, running around like a mad man. Maybe I should put the sugar somewhere higher up... I think he's found it.

I push myself up, trudging to the kitchen. My arm reached up and opened a cabinet, it was filled with boxes of cereal and a few sweets. "Owen, what cereal do you want?" I call from the kitchen to the living room.

"OREOS!" He screams, piercing my ears. I pull down a bowl, and go to the fridge for the milk. My head peaks into the living room and I watch as he turns the channel to a Spongebob re-run.

"What do you want other than oreos?" I ask him, and he frowns.

"Mommy I want oreos!" He complains, and I mentally roll my eyes.

"No. Either give me a real answer or I'll pick the Chex you don't like." I put my foot down, he needed to learn that no means no.

"Fine." He lets out an over dramatic huff. Fuck. This child is definitely me. "I want the.... Trix!" He chooses, and I nod, making my way back to the kitchen. I pour him a small bowl, bringing it to the table. "Owen. Pause your show and come eat quick. I have to get you to Auntie Matilda's." I call to him and he does as I ask.

Matilda has been watching him for a while now. A few months after Owen was born, I moved out and started working. I live close to her and Jason, and Matilda watches Owen while I work. Soon after I found out I was pregnant, Matilda did as well. So, she decided to be a stay-at-home mom for a few years. She has a little boy named Ricky, and him and Owen are best friends. Ricky was off at his grandma's the past few weeks, so Owen felt alone when he went over to Matilda's.

"Is Ricky gonna be there?" He questions, and I nod. "Now, eat your food quickly. One more late clock-in and I'll be fired." I sigh, sitting down in the chair next to him.

I could tell there was a long day ahead of me.