Game Changer

by Amelia Whitmore

  I’d been asleep for a few hours when I heard my phone ringing. Half asleep, I answered it, without thinking.

  “Hello?”

  “Emily?” I heard yelling through the phone.

  “What the f…“ I looked down at the screen, saw Aiden’s name, and groaned “Fuck.”

  “What the hell is going on?”

  I bit my lip and hung up the phone, squeezing my eyes shut and holding the phone to my chest. That felt wrong, yet when he called back right after, I didn’t answer.

  I didn’t realize they’d started but soon enough tears were flowing down my cheeks and I was asleep before they stopped.

  I woke up in the morning to somebody ripping the covers away from my body.

  “What the fuck?” I mumbled groggily.

  “What the fuck is right. Why the hell have you been avoiding me?” Aiden was in my bedroom, standing over me in a pair of sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt, looking angrier than I’d ever seen him before.

  “Go away,” I groaned and turned away, trying to bury my head in my pillow.

  “No,” he said sternly and I felt the bed dip under his weight as he sat next to me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me so I was lying on my back. “Do you know how fucking worried I’ve been about you since yesterday? Do you have any idea how fucked up this all is?”

  “Aiden, quit saying fuck,” I mumbled.

  He scoffed out a laugh and ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I’m yelling at you and you respond with a comment about my use of the word fuck. How priceless.” He didn’t sound humored by it.

  “What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Brittney right about now?” I asked, glaring at him.

  He looked startled for only a moment. “Brittney? Brittney? This is all about god-damned Brittney?” He yelled the last part.

  “I thought that this Brittney bullshit was over.” I yelled back.

  He stood up. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He shouted.

  “Don’t act stupid you asshole!” I screamed.

  Me calling him a swear word seemed to make him pause for a second, long enough to stop yelling.

  “Emily,” he said calmly, “Please tell me exactly what you mean.”

  “I saw Brittney at your game and the announcer called her your fiancée and said you two were having a baby boy next week.” I started crying. “Then when you didn’t call I just assumed the worst because you told me before you left that you would call after each game. But you didn’t,” I whispered shakily. “I waited by the phone for hours and nothing. Not even a text to let me know you were okay.”

  Aiden’s sigh was resigned and he leaned towards me, attempting to pull me into his arms. I jerked away before they could close around me and made an attempt to wipe my eyes. Aiden would have none of that though and he pulled me to his chest anyways.

  “Don’t you pull away from me when you’re hurting! I’m here for you, even if I’m the bastard whose making you cry. I didn’t do what you think I did though.”

  My shoulders slumped as I felt a mixture of defeat and relief flow through me, “You didn’t?” I asked, my voice sounding weepy.

  “No, of course not. I didn’t even know that Brittney was there. The reason that I didn’t call you was because by the time the game ended and interviews were done and I was showered, it was really late and I didn’t want to wake you up. I’m sorry, I should have called anyway.”

  I felt a sob wrack through my body. I felt so stupid, yet happy at the same time.

  “I wanted to trust that you wouldn’t hurt me but I figured that it would hurt more in the end if I didn’t prepare myself for the worst.”

  “I love you so damn much Emily, more than I ever expected, to be honest. You’ve become my whole world. The last thing I want to do is jeopardize that by cheating. I don’t want anyone but you, and that most especially includes Brittney. I really don’t know why she was at the game or why they said she was my fiancée but you have to know by now, that that isn’t true.”

  “I’m sorry,” I sighed, wrapping my arms around him, finally feeling better than I had in the past couple days.

  “Me too,” he whispered, his lips moving to mine.

  Kissing Aiden just felt right, and I couldn’t believe I let my own insecurities almost tear us apart.

  Chapter 16

  “I’m so hungry for pickles!” I groaned to Kira as we walked through the mall. “I mean seriously, my mouth is literally watering as I’m talking, just by imagining the taste.”

  Kira laughed. “And I’m the pregnant one.”

  I rolled my eyes and shoved her gently, not wanting her to fall or anything.

  “Shut up. Speaking of, what’s it like?” I asked.

  She looked up from the picture frame she was holding and met my eyes with a curious look, “What’s what like?”

  “Being pregnant,” I said, blushing a little.

  The smile that lit up her face was beautiful. Kira had a tendency to glow these days, even though that’s a completely cliché thing to say, it was true. She walked taller, smiled wider, and laughed happier.

  “Honestly? Being pregnant is great. I mean, you know I’ve had a crush on your brother since forever, but now it’s so much more. I never expected to be living with him and having his baby, but it’s happening. All things considered, I feel really fortunate. Now, if you’re wondering literally what having a baby feels like, I’m not sure yet. The bean in here hasn’t really started moving yet, it’s too soon, but I’ll tell you how it feels when it happens,” she said, rubbing her hand across her nearly flat stomach. At only eight weeks pregnant, she had a tiny bump, but that was mostly because she was such a tiny girl in the first place.

  Right after we’d found out she was pregnant, Ethan started calling the baby ‘the bean’, thinking it was hilarious and somehow it caught on.

  It was weird to me; Ethan was one of those guys who loved his freedom and hated when people relied on him. He was stepping up to the plate fabulously for Kira. He’s been so strong for her. I was so proud of my brother.

  I tilted my head to the side, “I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to be pregnant.” I mentioned casually.

  I wasn’t experiencing baby fever or anything, just curiosity. My mind started drifting to what Kira’s baby would look like. Then I started wondering, if Aiden and I had a baby, what would she look like? Yes, in my mind, my first born child was definitely going to be a girl.

  I shook my head around the time I imagined cribs, that just seemed a bit too real. Then an idea struck. “Come with me,” I smiled and grabbed Kira’s hand.

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise, Goose!” I announced, practically dragging her in what I hoped was the direction of the shop I was looking for.

  As soon as I saw the white letters against that yellow background with teddy bears, I increased my pace. “I’m giving you your first baby gift,” I told her, answering any unasked questions she may have had.

  “Really?” She asked, her voice already heavy with tears. She was so hormonal it was downright funny at times.

  “Yes, really.” I said as we stepped inside, little kids were running around, collecting everything they may need. “I think this should become a tradition for us. Whenever one of us gets pregnant, the other one has to build-a-bear for them.” I said.

  “I’m so in!” She exclaimed, obviously happy that I was going to do this.

  “Now, personally, I imagine little bean will be a duck lover.”

  Her eyes welled up with tears again, completely emotional, “I think little bean will look perfect with a stuffed ducky.”

  I smiled and went over to the scarily flat ducks. There was just something about the fact that the stuffed animals had no stuffing in them that reminded me of road kill, something that I didn’t like at all. The sooner this ducky was fluffed up the better.

  A lady came over and helped us. When the time came to put the small red heart in ducky,
I asked for a sharpie. She gave me an odd look, so I raised an eyebrow and she immediately handed one over. On one side, I wrote ‘Little Bean’ and on the back, I neatly spelled out ‘Siempre en mi corazón’ which was Spanish for Always in my heart.

  “Aww, you wrote in Spanish?” Kira asked, peeping over my shoulder. I laughed and nodded, “Yep, little bean is going to be a traveler someday, I can feel it.”

  I turned around to face Kira and saw that she had a flat monkey in her hands. “What’s that for?” I asked.

  “Your first one. I think if we’re going to do this right, we’ll do it together,” she explained.

  I wrinkled my nose, “Isn’t that a little presumptuous?”

  “No, I think it’s encouraging,” She said, stepping past me.

  “What are you calling it?” I asked.

  “Sobri.” She answered. It took me a minute, but I finally got it. In Spanish, nephew and niece are sobrino(a), so by shortening it, it could turn out to be anything. In case you’re wondering, all throughout school Kira and I were the biggest Spanish nerds, we even took a trip to Mexico when we were seniors.

  It was my turn to cry which was odd for me, “That’s so cute!” I exclaimed, cupping my hands to my chest.

  She winked, “I’m aware of that.”

  “Little Bean and Sobri are going to be the cutest babies ever,” she cooed.

  After our shopping trip was over, we were both immensely pleased with ourselves. We went back to my house and as soon as we walked in the door, we smelled pizza. Usually pizza makes me really happy, it’s one of my favorite foods. However, this time my stomach flipped, and not in a good way.

  I took a deep breath and shook my head, figuring it was just a wave and it would pass, however as soon as I stepped into the kitchen and saw Aiden and Ethan working on applying the perfect amount of oregano, I gagged and covered my mouth. I dropped my bags, and ran to the bathroom. Three sets of footsteps followed me into the bathroom and they watched me as I retched into the toilet bowl.

  “Go away!” I gasped when I could finally talk.

  “Honey, are you okay?” Aiden asked, cautiously walking towards me.

  I held my hand out for him to go away but he just crouched down and pulled my hair back as another round hit me.

  “Did she eat anything today?” Aiden asked Kira.

  “No, nothing out of the ordinary.”

  I finally finished and flushed the toilet then leaned back against the tub. I looked up at Ethan and Kira, “Can you two please leave?” I asked politely.

  Kira held Ethan’s arm and closed the door behind them, giving us our privacy.

  I stood up and walked over to the counter, washed my mouth and hands, and turned to Aiden. “That was so weird, I never get like that.”

  He looked really pale.

  “Are you thinking what I am?” He asked.

  I bit my lip and asked what he meant.

  “I forgot the condom that one time…” He started slowly.

  “Right, but that’s the only time that’s happened and it was like four weeks ago.” I responded.

  “When’s the last time you got your period?” He asked bluntly.

  I counted back the days in my head, becoming horrified. “It was before we got together.”

  “What?” He said on an exhaled breath.

  “I think so! I mean, you came back six weeks ago, right?” I asked for clarification. When he nodded, I continued. “Well I haven’t gotten it in about eight. I didn’t realize that though, I mean, I’ve never had to keep track of my period, it would just come back like clockwork but I got distracted with you being around.” I rambled, then looked at him accusingly. “Didn’t you wonder anything when you’d been back for six fucking weeks?”

  “Woah, how was I supposed to know?” He held his hands up.

  “I don’t know! You were just supposed to,” I cried.

  Aiden pulled me to his chest and rubbed my back. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s going to be fine, I promise. No matter how this turns out, we’ll get through it together.”

  “I’m not ready to be a mother yet. I’m only nineteen years old,” I sniffled, squeezing my arms around his waist.

  “I know honey, neither of us are prepared for this. How about you call your doctor and make an appointment? I’ll take off work if you need me to, so that I can go with you.”

  I nodded and looked up at his face, “How are you so calm?” I whispered.

  “Because I know that you need me to be the level headed one right now. I also know that if you really are pregnant, that baby is a part of you and me, and that in itself will be beautiful.”

  “So if I’m pregnant, you want me to keep it?” I asked.

  Aiden’s strong hand grabbed my chin and he made me look up at him. “Of course I want you to keep it, but I’m not going to force that decision on you. We’ll decide once we know for sure, okay?”

  I nodded and walked out to make the call.

  Chapter 17

  I walked out of the bathroom and ran into Kira who was waiting around the corner.

  "What's going on? Are you okay?" She asked, taking in my pale face.

  "I might be pregnant," I whispered, brushing past her to get to my phone.

  "Wait, what? You're pregnant?"

  I turned towards her and shrugged. I felt so terrified. At nineteen, what was I supposed to do with a baby? I wasn't married, I didn't have my own house, my parents still paid my rent on the house I shared with the others, I was in college, the most parenting experience I had was babysitting a couple of times when I was in high school. What the hell was I going to do?

  Kira pulled me into her arms and guided me to the couch.

  "Look at me Emily," she said, cupping my face. "I know this is scary, believe me, I know. But you need to stay calm; you have an amazing boyfriend, a family that will support you no matter what, and our babies would grow up together which is something we've always wanted. The timing is crap, but you're one of the strongest people I know and you CAN handle this." She paused for a moment before saying, "Okay?"

  "Yeah." I whispered. I would handle this because I had to. Also, her speech left me with a moment of clarity and I realized that if I really was pregnant, I needed to be calm for the baby. "Okay, okay." I said slowly, finally calming down slightly. "I need to call the doctor."

  Kira smiled softly and handed me the phone. I quickly dialed the phone number of my doctor.

  "Good afternoon, thank you for calling The Village Medical center, how may I help you?" A woman asked.

  "Hi, I need an appointment with Dr. George."

  "Alright." I heard typing. "Can I get your name please and the reason for the appointment?"

  I gulped, "Emily Smith. I think I'm pregnant." I leaned down, putting my head between my knees when I suddenly felt light headed.

  "Congratulations." She sounded so happy for me that I nearly puked again, "How does 3:30 on the fourth work for you?" She asked, I did the math. That would be about three days from now. Wow was it already November?

  "Sounds great, thank you."

  We hung up and I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I really had no idea what the conversation going on around me was about. "Emily?" I heard a voice beside me, snapping me out of my haze.

  I glanced over and saw Ethan looking at me worriedly. "You okay?"

  I tried to give him a supportive smile, "I don't know," I said honestly.

  "What's wrong? Kira won't tell me anything."

  I spent a minute trying to get the words out of my mouth, "I might be pregnant." His shocked expression sent tears to my eyes. "I'm sorry." I whispered, feeling ashamed.

  "Why are you sorry?" He asked, hugging me.

  "I got knocked up!" I exclaimed as though it should be obvious. His laughter made me realize how dramatic I was being.

  "Knocked up, Emily? Really? You only get knocked up if it's a one night stand," He teased.

  I slapped his shoulder, then pulled
back to wipe my tears. "Only you could turn this into a joke, Ethan."

  "That's what I'm good for."

  I hugged him again and whispered, "You're good for so much more." His arms tightened slightly.

  I felt really silly for the way I acted when I found out. Why did I feel like I was alone? I have so many beautiful people around me that I could never be alone in this.

  Now then, I just had to find Aiden. "Do you know where Aiden went?"

  "I think I heard his hooves clapping up the steps."

  I shook my head, Aiden's heavier weight on the stairs made a louder sound than the rest of ours.

  I went upstairs, feeling oddly happy. Maybe, if I was pregnant, my change of emotion could be blamed on the hormones… either that or I was crazy. Either one was kind of likely. I found him leaning against the headboard of my bed, his head resting on the wall and his legs straight out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. I knocked slightly so I wouldn't surprise him. He turned and when he saw me, a soft smile crossed his lips.

  "Hey," I said, smiling lightly.

  "Hey."

  He held his arm out to me, indicating that I should join him. I didn't waste any time climbing onto the bed with him. I rested my head against his shoulder, his arms went around me and mine went around him.

  "I love you, Aiden. I'm ready for whatever happens."

  "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying what you think I want to hear?"

  "I mean it. Obviously this wasn't planned, but I feel like you and I are meant to be. Maybe this is meant to be too."

  He used his fingertips to turn my chin up, and he met my lips with his, sending a shiver through me. His large hands were pulling me closer, molding his body to mine, sending heat rippling through my enter body.

  He pulled me onto my back, breaking our kiss as he pulled my shirt up and over my head.

  His eyes met mine for a brief moment before his head dipped down and he began sucking on my nipples.

  I helped him remove his shirt. I not only needed to see his amazing body but I wanted to put my hands all over his chest.

  When his mouth met mine again, I pulled him down on top of me. I loved the feel of his skin sliding over mine and I loved even more the way it felt when I ran my hand over his muscles.