Welcome to the Queendom

Chapter Twenty-Six

In my opinion, I think Washington D.C. has seen enough WWE to last a lifetime because we're staying, once again, for SmackDown. Since it was Thursday and we didn't have to do anything, I dressed into the same workout clothes I had on Saturday and went to CrossFit Balance off 14th Street for a little while. When I walked into the gym, I saw Jackson doing burpees and sweating like crazy.
"Jackson?" I said.
He looked up when the door opened and grinned at me. "Well if it isn't little Ms. Chelsea," he said making me blush.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Working out?"
"Don't get smart with me," I warned playfully.
He chuckled. "You walked into it."
He started to do push-ups and I decided to join him.
"So I think Dean's disowned me," he said casually.
I frowned. "Why do you think that?"
"Because he hasn't talked to me since Sunday night. I thought I was taking the situation hard."
"What does him being mad at what's happening relate to you?" I questioned.
"Not sure," he said. "Just a random theory."
"So what do you think it's gonna be?" he asked a few push-ups later.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"The baby. Boy or girl?"
"Oh, um......I was kinda hopping for a girl," I answered.
He scoffed. "Well I want another little brother."
"Don't you think two's enough?" I questioned.
He shook his head. "Nope. I wonder if it is a boy if Mom will name it with a J, too. Josh? Justin? Jason? I like Jason."
"Me too," I agreed. "But what if it's a girl?"
"Jessica? Jennifer? Jasmine?"
"Ooh! I like Jasmine," I said.
"I like Jennifer. I dated a chick named Jennifer."
"Naming your little sister after an ex.....nice," I replied sarcastically.
"Oh, shut up. It's not like Mom's actually gonna name them any of those. Mom's weird, she's not gonna go for something simple like that. She'll probably name them something crazy."
"But Jonathan and Jackson isn't crazy," I pointed out.
"This is her last child. She's gonna go big," Jackson countered.
I had to nod in agreement. We finally stopped the push-ups and pushed our bodies up with one arm, using the other to reach for the ceiling while facing each other.
"In all honesty," Jackson said, "Chelsea isn't a bad name for the baby." I looked at him wide-eyed. "It sounds really nice."
"Hm," I said trying not to blush. Get it together, Chelsea.

I went back to the hotel to find Dean knocked out. Glad he's doing something productive with his day. I walked past his bed and sat on mine, taking deep breaths to cool off. I kicked my sneakers off and laid back on the bed. When I turned and looked over at Dean's bed, he was laying on his side staring at me.
"Oh gosh," I said, startled as I put my hand over my heart. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you were asleep."
He didn't say anything, just continued to stare.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"My mom called me today," he said. "She told me that you were gonna come back to Cincinnati and help her with the pregnancy and she wanted to know if you were still coming. She's been trying to call you." Because he said it so calmly, it made me even more uneasy. I slowly sat up.
"What?" I asked. "I haven't talked to her since Monday and she hasn't tried to call me," I explained.
"So you didn't agree to help her?" he questioned standing up to get in front of my bed. I stood too and bit my lip.
I took a deep breath. "Actually I did," I replied. "But I bailed out and said I couldn't, I swear," I quickly added when I saw his expression. "Our friendship was just too important to me."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why would my mom lie, then?" he asked.
"I don't know," I said with a shrug.
He ran his fingers through his hair again. "But why would you say yes in the first place?"
"Because," I said tiredly, rubbing the middle of my forehead, "I just felt like I had to. I mean, the woman's pregnant for goodness sake's, Dean, I couldn't just leave her hanging. But then I talked to Sheamus and he really opened my eyes, you know? That's when I called and said I couldn't do it." I folded my arm across my chest and frowned. "I was thinking about you."
His face softened some, but when he saw me reach down to get my shoes, it hardened again. "Where are you going?" he asked, his voice bitter.
"As far from here and you as I can possibly get," I replied before jamming my feet in the sneakers and stomping out.