Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Or maybe I’ll just scan it in the campus computer lab and send it to her from my phone, because I really want to show off my baby’s pretty face to someone ASAP!
“You’re welcome,” the nurse says.
She pulls the camera away from my stomach and turns her equipment off.
"Okay, they have your chart up front already so when you're done here, you can go ahead and leave and set up your next appointment with them. We'll see you again in a few weeks," she says.
She must notice the worry and confusion on my face, because she adds, “Just to make sure nothing has changed. Your appointments will increase now that you’re halfway through your pregnancy, until the time that you deliver the baby.”
“Oh, okay,” I tell her. “I thought maybe it meant there was a problem.”
“No, definitely not. It’s just routine,” she reassures me, and I smile. “If there are any issues I wasn’t able to spot, the doctor will be in touch, but no news is good news, and everything looked fine in there to me.”
“I see.”
She hands me a napkin so I can clean the gel off my stomach. After I do that, I throw the napkin in the trash and put the photographs in my purse, being careful not to wrinkle the thin paper they’re printed on.
"Thank you again for everything," I say with a smile as I leave the room.
“No problem. Congratulations on your healthy baby girl you’re growing in there!”
She leads me down in the hallway back out into the reception area. Once the door closes, I walk up to the receptionist and schedule my next checkup for the baby. I walk out of the clinic feeling overwhelmed and overjoyed at the same time.
I'm also thinking of Steve. I hate feeling so lonely and I really miss him, but I know that I can't involve him. I recently read an interview that he gave in some kind of sports magazine. He talked about forgetting about the past and anything that would distract his head from the game. I guess I fall into that category.
It's really obvious that he was talking about only focusing on the here and now. He said that was the secret to his success.
So, that leaves us out of the picture. As sad as that makes me, I know that there's no future for us, but that's okay. I have an entirely different future now.
I start walking away from the clinic and head back towards the direction of campus. Then I feel something in my stomach and stop walking. I put my hand there, waiting for a few seconds before I feel it again.
At first, I assume it's gas, but I'm about to take another step when I feel those same little movements in my stomach again and again repeatedly. I realize with a soft gasp that it's the baby kicking inside me!
Wow!
It feels so cool.
Now I guess I definitely have to start telling people— well, everyone except Steve, but I know that when I tell Derek, he’ll tell him.
“Tell” as in kick his ass for getting his little sister pregnant, probably.
Crap.
I start to cry a little bit right here and now again. I can feel my little baby moving and kicking around inside me. This is the most emotional and overwhelmed that I've ever felt. And I have no idea what will happen when it comes to Steve— the baby’s father and the love of my life.
Despite my best attempts to get over him, I know I never will.
I walk back to my dorm and go to lay down for a little bit. Once I’m in bed, I pull the ultrasound pictures out of my purse and hold them up so I can look at them again while I'm laying here.
No matter what happens, I’m so glad I chose to continue my pregnancy and I can’t wait to finally meet my baby girl!
I just wish Steve could be here with me to experience this.
Chapter 10 – Bella
I wake up from my short nap in my dorm room. I already put the ultrasound pictures away before I fell asleep.
I spent a long time thinking about this after my appointment. There is one thing I have to do— well, actually, there are a lot of things I have to do, but the first one will be to tell my brother everything, or at least the basics.
He deserves to know, at least, after everything he’s done to practically raising me, even though I know he won’t be nearly as happy about this as I am.
I pick up the new phone that he bought me a while back. It’s been great for anything I’ve needed to use it for and I still really appreciate it. My old phone was a piece of crap and this one is a lot more reliable.