all too well | ethma

Six

Ethan's POV

Life can change in the blink of an eye.

For example, a homeless guy wins the lottery. Someone creates the perfect March Madness bracket. A house catches fire.

All possible, but unlikely.

In my case?

My girlfriend had a less than one percent chance of getting pregnant, yet she did.

I'm not in any way shape of form saying that I'm disappointed about it. I'm not.

In fact, I firmly believe that this is something Emma and I need.

It's just very unexpected, and not the best timing.

However, I'm going to do my best to provide for Emma and for our baby, and I'm going to be with Emma every step of the way through this.

I know due to certain circumstances that yes, it will be hard. Mostly because we're so young, and we're still in college and unemployed.

I know that Emma and I can push through it, and make the best out of this unexpected situation as we can. We will.

So, we got ready and I drove us to Buffalo Wild Wings.

The last time we came here was before Emma and I even really started dating.

We went into the restaurant, and we were seated in a booth.

Once we ordered our sodas, we started looking at the menu.

"Ethan, what are you getting?"

"I think just normal barbecue wings."

"I can't decide between teriyaki or honey barbecue."

"You could get half an order of both?"

"On second thought I think I could only stomach the honey barbecue right now."

"There you go, sweetie."

Emma smiled at me. Her face flushed a little bit. "Ethan, you are so adorable."

"Emma, darling. You have turned me into a complete softie."

"That just means that you're going to be a great father."

"You know, it still really hasn't hit that I'm going to be a dad. It's so weird to say it out loud."

"I know. It feels weird to say out loud that I'm pregnant, but at the same time I'm getting cravings, I'm emotional, and now I'm morning sicknesses' bitch."

"It'll get better eventually. We just have to figure out which foods you can keep down."

Our food came, and once Emma started eating, she noticed that the chicken wings were able to stay in her stomach.

"Yes! That's one thing you can keep down!"

"Hey, this pregnancy might just be full of chicken meals."

"Good thing I like chicken." I said, smiling at her.

"Ethan, you take such good care of me."

"It's because I love you, babe."

"Awe. I love you too."

We finished our food, and I paid the bill before we got up and left, going back to Emma's place, and cozying up on the couch for some movies.

"Ethan, can you get me the jar of pickles from the fridge?"

"Of course, Em." I responded, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

I opened the fridge and found the pickles, and then I went back into the living room.

Emma fell asleep, so I put the pickles back into the fridge before lifting her up and carrying her to her bed.

I tucked her in before walking to the other side of the bed and laying down.

I've always known since I met Emma that her and I would end up together, but it was in this moment that I knew that taking care of her was the only thing I wanted—no. Needed to do for the rest of my life.

I vowed to myself to always take care of her, and while she slept peacefully beside me, I started looking at engagement rings online.

I didn't find anything that I really thought fit, so I decided to go to a real store sometime soon.

I started thinking about how I was gonna propose to her, and I decided to wait until after the baby is born.

The due date is in mid March, so I thought that maybe in late May or early June of next month would be the best time.

I could take her on a weekend trip somewhere, and it would be a romantic getaway for a couple of days, where I would propose.

I'm going to ask her brother permission to propose to her. It's the proper thing to do, but I'll also stop by Emma's dad's grave to ask him for permission too.

I looked over at Emma, and I watched her shoulders rising and falling as she was sleeping. She looked so peaceful, and it made me happy to see that she was actually comfortable.

I know that she's been sick to her stomach a lot lately.

I texted Grayson just to tell him that everything was okay with Emma and I, and I also updated Olivia and Joey about how Emma was feeling.

They still didn't know she's pregnant, but they knew that her stomach was still having issues. Well, Joey doesn't know Emma's pregnant. Olivia is the only one that knows besides Emma and I.

After a couple hours of sitting there as Emma napped, I felt her stirring, so I glanced over, and her eyes were slowly opening.

I smiled as I softly put my hand on her face.

"Hey, beautiful. You're awake."

She smiled back at me. "How long was I asleep for?"

I glanced at the clock, and then fixed my gaze back to Emma's eyes.

"About two hours."

She sat up and scooted closer to me, putting her arm behind my back, and leaning her head on my chest.

I instinctively started to play with her hair, and she had her other hand resting on my arm, and her thumb was softly moving back and forth across my skin.

"Ethan, I don't wanna tell Joey until we're with him in person."

"Same with Grayson. And my mom. We were planning on going to Jersey at some point before next school year."

"Is she gonna be okay with it?"

"Of course, baby. She knows that we're adults, and we can handle it. I know that she'll support us. She loves us."

"I honestly think that Joey will be excited. He'll support us too."

"And we have a group full of best friends who have our back."

"Olivia even said that her mom and dad could help us if we needed. I've been very close with them since Olivia and I became best friends."

"We have people to fall back on, Em. We'll be okay."

She smiled. "As long as I'm with you, I know that everything will be alright."