Stalkers, Secrets & Lies

  Today I was officially seven weeks pregnant but we were to tell people I was four weeks. Only the bare minimum of people though, just close friends and my college, as they would need to know I wasn't coming back after the summer. Hopefully they'd find some way of letting me defer or something, but even if they didn't it didn't really matter. Dancing came a distant third in my priorities after Ethan and the baby. I didn't want to tell too many people as it was supposed to be bad luck to tell people before you were twelve weeks, and I didn't really want to bring anything like that down on us as well. Ethan wanted to tell people at his work and a couple of friends and his Uncle too.

  I smiled happily and ran my hand over my stomach, I kept doing that lately and I couldn't wait to start showing so I would at least have something to rub instead of my flat stomach. I leant on the kitchen counter thinking about names, I couldn't think of any boys names but I loved the name Imogen, and Melody was Ethan's mom's name so I thought we could use that as a middle name.

  Imogen Melody Scott, I smiled at the thought of it, it sounded so sweet. Two arms wrapped around me making me jump so hard that I spilled half of my soda on the counter.

  Ethan laughed and kissed my shoulder as I slapped his hand laughing, "Not funny, I wasted half of my can." I pouted jokingly.

  He laughed and rubbed his hands on my stomach over the top of mine. "Sorry I couldn't resist, you looked so deep in thought." he whispered pulling me closer to him, pressing his chest against my back.

  "I was thinking about baby names." I sighed and grabbed a cloth mopping up my mess.

  "Yeah? Think of anything?" he asked excitedly. I smiled and he pulled himself up on the counter next to me looking at me expectantly.

  "Only a girls name, I can't think of boys." I shrugged. "Hey maybe I could pick the girls name and you could name it if it's a boy." I suggested happily. I honestly had no preference over a boys name at all, so if he had any ideas then that's awesome.

  "Yeah? I'd love that." he looked at me gratefully as he took hold of my waist pulling me so I was standing between his legs. "So what have you got for a girl?"

  I smiled, "Well, I like Imogen." I bit my lip and watched for his reaction to see if he liked it, if not then I could think of something else.

  He smiled and nodded looking at me so lovingly that it made my heart speed up a little. "That's beautiful."

  I smiled, "Imogen Melody Scott."

  He seemed to stop breathing as he looked at me. "Melody?"

  I nodded, "Yeah, I like that and it fits nicely too."

  He smiled and nodded slowly, "That's really nice, my mom would have really liked that." he said softly.

  "I know she would." I whispered wrapping my arms around him.

  "You're so thoughtful you know that?" he said brushing my hair back from my face. His eyes were burning into mine making me feel slightly weightless.

  "I thought you'd like it, and it sounds so cute."

  "Scott is a pretty nice surname huh?" he said pulling me closer to him.

  I nodded, I always liked his surname. "Yeah, much better than Jones." I said turning my nose up slightly.

  He nodded slowly a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, "So, if the baby's going to be a Scott, and I'm a Scott, maybe we should think about making you a Scott too."

  My breath caught in my throat, is he saying what I think he's saying? Holy crap is he thinking about us getting married? I couldn't speak, I opened my mouth to ask him what he was saying but nothing came out. I just looked at him shocked.

  He laughed nervously and kissed my forehead, "You don't like the idea." he winced slightly looking disappointed.

  I gripped my hands on his shirt, is he freaking kidding me? I don't like the idea? That's the craziest damn thing I've ever heard! "Seriously?" I choked out as my eyes started to fill with tears.

  He smiled and looked really uncomfortable. "I don't want to pressure you into anything, it was just a thought. If you don't want to get married then we won't, I just thought that what with the baby and everything, but it's fine we don't have to." he rambled.

  I laughed, Ethan never rambled, he was always too cool, calm and collected. Rambling was my job.

  "You want to marry me?" I asked biting my lip as excitement threatened to bubble over. I pushed the excitement back down, he hadn't actually said the words yet, maybe I was reading more into it than he meant and I would make myself look like an idiot by screaming yes at the top of my voice if he didn't actually mean that.

  He smiled, "Of course I want to marry you Lia, I've always wanted to marry you."

  I closed my eyes and put my forehead to his, he was so damn sweet and I would kill someone to be Mrs. Ethan Scott. "I've always wanted to marry you too Ethan." I admitted laughing.

  He looked at me shocked, "Really? You'll marry me?" he asked hopefully.

  I nodded, "Absolutely tough guy, you name the day and I'll be there." I could feel the happiness building and I couldn't keep the happy grin off of my face. Damn I get to be married to the most thoughtful kind and loving guy in the world, and not to mention hot. I know they say about kids having a 'yummy mummy' but damn my baby had the hottest dad in history.

  He laughed and pulled me closer, "You think maybe we could get married before the baby's born?"

  I nodded, "Hell yeah, we can get married right now if you want to drive me to Vegas." I teased.

  He kissed me stealing my breath and making my heart race, it was a serious kiss and I could feel all of his love for me leaking through. I kissed him back with the same intensity, I honestly loved this boy more than life itself and I would do anything for him. I still don't know how I got so lucky.

  He pulled away just as I was getting slightly dizzy and put his forehead to mine as we both caught our breaths.

  Suddenly he pulled away from me looking slightly angry. "Oh shit, I can't believe I did this. I get to propose one time and I just blurt it out with no ring, in the middle of the kitchen. Wow I suck! I'm so sorry Lia. I ruined it by not making it special." he said apologetically looking annoyed with himself.

  I laughed and shook my head, "You didn't ruin anything Ethan. I don't need a fancy ring or an expensive restaurant. I don't need you to get down on one knee or make a big long speech. All I need is you, you made it special by just being you. I couldn't ask for more than that." I said honestly.

  He smiled and rolled his eyes slightly, "I love you Lia." he whispered inching his head closer to mine again.

  "I love you too." I whispered against his lips.

  He jumped down from the counter and picked me up spinning me around in a little circle grinning,

  "Oh my God I can't believe you said yes!" he shouted happily making me giggle.

  Chapter 23

  I headed to college with a huge smile on my face, I was engaged and I couldn't be happier about it. I spotted Becca waiting for me outside the door, I skipped up to her and grabbed her hand yanking her away to the grassy area off to one side so I could tell her about the baby. I waved Andrew away so we could talk privately, he stopped and waited at the edge of the grass watching the area cautiously. He was a really nice guy, I liked him a lot.

  Becca laughed and ran along behind me, "Where's the fire?"

  "I've got something to tell you." I smiled and stopped. I grabbed her hand and put it on my stomach.

  "What do you feel?" I asked grinning.

  She frowned and pushed her finger against my belly button making me laugh, "Well you haven't had your naval pierced, so I have no idea." she shrugged trying to pull her hand back looking at me like I'd lost my mind.

  "You know I think of you like a sister right?" I asked.

  She nodded still looking confused, "Yeah...." she trailed off.

  "Well how do you feel about me calling you Auntie Becca from now on?" I asked laughing.

  She looked at me confused for a few seconds before understanding slowly crossed her face and she looked down at my stomach shocked with her mouth hanging open.

&n
bsp; "Holy shit! You're pregnant?" she cried loudly.

  "Shh." I hissed looking around to make sure everyone else wasn't listening. "Yeah I'm pregnant." I grinned as her eyes went even wider.

  "Holy shit." she mumbled.

  I laughed, "Can you say something else?" I teased.

  "How far gone are you? How? I thought you had the coil fitted? How can you be pregnant?" she asked shaking her head looking like she was going to pass out or something.

  "Ok I know you're shocked but calm down, everything's fine. I don't want too many people to know about it yet so if you could keep your voice down for me." I asked grabbing her hand and sitting on the grass pulling her down next to me. "I do have the coil fitted but as with everything it's not 100%

  effective so that's how. I'm four weeks according to the test I took, I used the one with the conception date indicator on it." I bit my lip as I lied to my best friend. I felt a little bad about lying to her but I needed to protect my family and that was just one thing that needed to be kept secret from everyone.

  "Four weeks? So it's Ethan's?" she asked quietly glancing around being careful too.

  I nodded and smiled, "Yep definitely Ethan's." I lied.

  She shook her head, "Damn that boy works fast." she laughed quietly. "So what are you two gonna do?"

  I smiled happily, "Get married."

  "Holy shit!" she gasped.

  I laughed, "Again with the holy shit's? You really need to learn some more cuss words." I teased.

  "Ali, you and Ethan have been together for just over a month and you're getting married and having a baby? That's just..... fast." she said looking at me concerned.

  "Not really, it's not like we just met and Becca you know how much I love him, how much I've always loved him, so it's not really that fast when you look at it that way." I shrugged. I knew she'd be shocked and bring things like this up, she was only being protective same as usual.

  She nodded, "I know how much you love him and I can see he loves you too. Are you happy about this?" she asked quietly. I grinned and nodded which made her smile too. "Well then I guess I should say congratulations." she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "I'm really happy for you if you're happy Ali, you deserve good things and as much as I hate to admit it, Ethan is a good thing for you."

  I pulled back and smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, and Ethan's the best thing that ever happened to me." I said honestly.

  "Second best thing, after having the most amazing best friend in the world, obviously." she scoffed jokingly.

  I laughed, "Obviously!"

  She smiled and shook her head, she looked really happy for me, I was a little worried about what she'd say about it so I was glad that she accepted it so easily. "Oh crap, what are you gonna do about college?" she asked suddenly.

  I shrugged, "I don't know, I need to go in now and tell my instructors and then maybe I'll have to meet with the dean and see if I can defer for a year and still come back at the same point I'm at now. I don't know what they'll say."

  She jumped up and held her hand down to me to help me up, "Let's go do it now, I'll come with you."

  I smiled and put my hand in hers letting her pull me to my feet. "Thanks." I smiled gratefully at her.

  I didn't just mean for helping me up or for coming with me to speak to my instructors, I meant it as a thanks for everything. Becca kept me sane and grounded through everything bad that had happened in my life and I wouldn't be the person I was today without her.

  "Welcome hon. Now, are we placing bets on a due date and sex of the baby? Because if we are I'd appreciate a little heads up so I can win." she winked at me happily making me laugh.

  The rest of the day was a little stressful. I told my instructors and they were less than happy about the baby. They wouldn't let me dance at all, even though I assured them I was allowed. I was to bring in a note signed by a doctor before they would let me join in again, something to do with liability insurance and other stuff that I just didn't understand. The dean was ok though, he promised he would look into me deferring but wasn't making any promises, they had an exam board that review 'special circumstances' like mine apparently. He said that they would need to be informed at the next monthly meeting and then it would up to them to decide if I qualified for an 'emergency deferral'.

  After college I headed home and sat in the car waiting for Andrew to open my car door just like I was supposed to. He grinned as I rolled my eyes, "Don't keep rolling your eyes at me, if the wind changes they'll get stuck like that." he scolded playfully.

  "Whatever, come on I'm hungry what shall we eat?" I asked skipping up the stairs to the second floor where our apartment was.

  "Anything, you know I'm not fussy." he shrugged.

  "Oh I know you're not fussy, you're like a human garbage can." I teased sticking out my tongue.

  I unlocked the door and headed in going straight for the kitchen to make some food, I was literally starving, the baby was making me hungry all the time, even more than usual. I rummaged through the fridge finding some chicken, deciding on a casserole or something. I tried to make things that were still tasty re-heated, because Ethan didn't get home until just after seven thirty, and he was always hungry so I made sure it was hot and ready to eat when he got in which always made him smile.

  "So what's with all of the secret meetings with the dean and stuff today?" Andrew asked grabbing a knife and an onion starting to chop it up for me.

  I smiled and turned to face him, "I had something to report." He looked at me curiously so I continued. "A baby, I needed to report I'm having a baby."

  He gasped and looked down at my stomach as if he could see it or something. "Really? Is it Ethan's?" he asked shocked.

  I nodded, "Yep." I said popping the p.

  "How can you be so sure? I mean the timing between you two getting together and breaking it off with Johnny..." he trailed off looking at me skeptically.

  "I had a period right before I broke up with Johnny and didn't have sex with him again after so it can only be Ethan's, I'm four weeks." I shrugged lying through my teeth.

  He looked like he bought it though, "Well that's great if you two are happy about it. I mean are you keeping it or...." he trailed off again looking a little uncomfortable.

  I laughed and slapped his arm, "Of course we're keeping it Andrew, jeez!"

  He shrugged, "Just thinking out loud, I mean you're young and only just got together and stuff." he looked at me apologetically.

  "I know, I'm surprised Ethan didn't kick me out instead of proposing." I grinned.

  He raised his eyebrows shocked, "Getting married too?" he asked. I nodded and carried on preparing the chicken and vegetables before adding the packet of sauce over the top and some water. "That's great, you two are obviously made for each other and Ethan's a really good guy so he'll take care of you Ali." he said softly.

  "Ethan's incredible." I confirmed. I shoved the dish into the oven and leant against the counter. "Ok so I'm gonna go take a shower, that won't be ready for an hour and a half." I nodded at the oven.

  I grabbed a bag of marshmallows from the cupboard and ripped them open eagerly. His hand shot out stealing a handful almost as soon as the packet was open. I laughed and gripped the top of the bag shut so he couldn't steal anymore as I headed to the bedroom stripping out of my clothes and heading to the shower whilst eating them greedily.

  When I got out of the shower I pulled on a pair of sweats and one of Ethan's t-shirts and laid on the bed. I was exhausted even though I literally hadn't done anything all day other than watch other people dance, the baby really was tiring me out.

  I must have fallen asleep as I woke up to someone kissing the side of my face gently and two strong arms wrapped around me. I didn't bother to open my eyes, I knew it was Ethan. I could tell by the way his hand was stroking my stomach lightly like he always did.

  "Hey you." I mumbled sleepily turning my face and pressing it into his chest as I snuggled closer to him.

/>   "Hey yourself." he whispered kissing the top of my head. "Everything ok? Andrew said you went for a shower and didn't come back out and when he looked in to check on you he saw you were asleep."

  I smiled and kissed his neck, "Yeah, I'm just tired that's all. Damn baby's eating up all of my energy." I joked.

  He laughed quietly and moved so he could press his lips against mine lightly. I kissed him back hungrily and slipped my hand up his t-shirt tracing the muscles on his stomach. I missed him so much when he was at work and he worked such long hours that there just never seemed to be enough time for me to just enjoy his company.