A Selfie to Die For

31)Boiled, baked, and brutalized.

Chapter song: "The bird and the worm" by The Used
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"Why does Coach Cartwright and Miranda Carter driving the same model of car bother you so much?" Jake eventually asked. It had only been about the tenth time Emily's spoken about how strange it was that both just happened to have the same model of sedan with dark tinted windows. She couldn't help but feel it was rather a strange coincidence.

It had been seven full weeks since the incident at graduation, leaving her a little over fifteen weeks pregnant. Emily's previous non-existent baby bump had now blossomed to a tiny little thing that poked out between her hips. It gave off the impression she either ate too much at Taco Bell earlier that day, or, her unborn child was slowly starting to show.
It didn't even matter anymore to her how the baby was created, Emily found she already loved her child even though he or she wasn't even born yet. Her baby's father, was a different story. Declan's injunction had been thrown out, but, Roman Donovan had unfortunately backed up Declan's claim.

If Declan wasn't convicted for the rape by the time the baby was born and a paternity test proved he was the father,  he could very well demand joint custody.

Emily's third ultrasound was early next Monday to mark her sixteenth week of pregnancy, but, she wasn't going to get the paternity test. For two reasons. The first and her most important reasoning, there was an incredibly long needle that would need to be injected to draw blood from the baby. Emily wasn't going to put her little nugget through any unnecessary pain, so, she opted out. Her second reasoning was that she didn't want the test to come back just yet saying Declan was the father. If that happened, it would mean he could petition with the joint custody he was threatening. Emily didn't want to have to cross the bridge until absolutely necessary.

Emily placed herself down on Jake's family room couch, feeling tired. "I don't know, Jake. I just have a bad feeling it's not a coincidence I was followed by a black sedan twice and both of them just happen to own the same model, you know?"

Jake was nodding along but Emily didn't feel he was actually listening to what she was saying. "You're not listening, are you....?"
Jake was staring at Emily with a grin before he came to kneel himself down by the couch to attack her mouth with kisses.
"Thank you for clarifying you were in fact, NOT listening..." Emily murmured as she kissed him back.

"I can't help it..." Jake grinned, kissing her once more. "You make pregnancy look hot..."

Emily noted how he was staring directly at her larger-due-to-pregnancy chest as he replied that. "Just go make the popcorn" she laughed, playfully slapping his shoulder.

Jake feigned an appalled reaction as he leaned down to caress Emily's small baby bump. "You're gonna find out when your mom was pregnant with you, she abused me when she was hungry" he nodded seriously, tossing Emily a wink.

"You're a jerk" Emily called with a laugh, wiggling forward to reach the remote. Tonight had marked the first time in nearly fifteen weeks that Emily left her house to go do something with Jake. For a very long time, she didn't want to leave the confines of her home out of fear she would somehow somewhere encounter Declan. She was living in constant worry.
Today, Tom had a training seminar for recruits down in Galveston, and Madison had a dreary night shift to work until nine the next morning.

Instead of sitting at home, Jake offered for Emily to stay the night at his house so they could watch season seven of the old Law & Order series he had taped on his Netflix account. Her parents didn't object. They thought it best Emily stayed with someone to remain safe.