'Til Sun Beams Find You [COMPLETE]

Fifty-four

If ignorance was bliss could be embodied by anybody in the world, it would be Nicolette Marie Waters.

She was so stressed about the move and the furniture and managing things about moving out of her old apartment, she pushed her impeding worries about being pregnant to the back of her mind for the last week to forget about it for now.

Except, she couldn't ignore it completely.

After every shower, she stood in front of the mirror examining her flat tummy from all angles, wondering if she was supposed to be seeing a protrusion yet, and convincing herself that because she didn't, that she probably wasn't pregnant. She was just so stressed about the life changes going on that her period decided to go on a hiatus.

Yes, that sounded better to Nico.

She and Carter officially moved in together on Wednesday after the couch arrived, and then Carter took her back to the furniture store Thursday so they could buy more things, because walking into that big apartment with just one single white couch was something out of a horror film.

She much preferred shopping with him because he didn't have an opinion on anything, and she wanted to keep it that way.

A round dining table and new wicker chair bar stools?

Sure.

A large ficus plant in their bedroom?

He was thinking the exact same.

Light pink Persian rug for the living room?

Carter loved it.

Two days of shopping had their apartment feeling much more inviting than the day they moved in, and they both were enjoying the new space.

Except, she could only be ignorant for so long.

Nico was back at her old apartment, cleaning up one last time before the movers got there for her. She'd been commuting after work the entire week bringing her clothing in bunches as she did her spring cleaning early and sorted them into clothes she would donate and others that she would keep.

Carter offered to help her every day, but she didn't want him to see all the clothes she was donating and have him read the labels to realize they were expensive as hell and know the extent of her spending issues.

She was changing.

The few hours she spent at her apartment after work was also the last bit of alone time she got these days, as since she'd moved in with Carter, she realized being around someone all hours really cut back on the time Nico spent in her head with her own thoughts, just thinking.

Today was a Saturday, and she left the apartment around noon to come finish up as she only had a few hours before she was supposed to be at Carter's father's house for dinner.

Jada was supposed to come over and help her finish packing up the last few boxes, but she sent a text saying she got held up at lunch with her sister and that she'd be there soon, but that was an hour ago.

Nico didn't mind, as she needed the alone time.

She bought a pregnancy test on her way over and peed on it the moment she got in, but had left it face down on the white ikea table left in the apartment while she worked for the last few hours, nearly forgetting about it.

When every corner of the apartment was swept, and every baseboard was cleaned, and every scuff mark on the wall was wiped, and all she had were six boxes packed neatly aligning the door – two of which she'd be bringing to her new place with Carter, two she'd be putting in her parents garage as storage, and two she'd be donating – Nico took a seat on the wooden floor, sitting cross legged, and looked around.