Third Degree

chapter twelve.

Thalia's POV

I run inside and let myself crumble to pieces on our bed. I grab his pillow and pull it to my chest, letting my tears soak it. He's gone. Off to university, not even aware that his child has been forming inside of me for 17 weeks.

Although it's only 3 in the afternoon, I end up crying myself to sleep, waking only to eat, use the restroom and go back to sleep. Hopefully this will energize me enough to receive my guest on good terms in the morning. If I'm being honest, it won't work.

By 8 in the morning, I'm woken up by frantic doorbell ringing and the occasional knocks against the door. I groan and walk over to the door, forgetting about my anticipated guest as I grumpily answer the door.

I swing the door open as I rub my eyes and begin the sentence before I realize who's standing there. "You better have an absolutely phenomenal reason as to why you're waking me." I angrily mumble before my eyes adjust to the light pouring in and the features of my longtime friend come into focus.

He chuckles, "Well, seeing that you've asked me to help you with your secret bun in the oven, I think I've got that phenomenal reason you asked for." I immediately wrap my arms around him.

"Holy crap! Hi! I totally forgot you were coming!" I mumble into his shoulder. Nate laughs, hugging me back.

"How dare you forget! I am the Nate Garner!" He pulls away and smiles. "Let me quickly get my bags and then you can show me around, yeah?"

I nod and offer to help, but of course, because I'm pregnant, he doesn't let me help. By the time he has everything set on the living room floor, I'm cooking breakfast and thinking about Grayson.

"You know, it's been nearly two years since we've seen each other and I've missed you. After the appointment, can we put off unpacking and just catch up?" Nate asks as he takes a seat at the table. I turn and smile, nodding.

"That sounds absolutely wonderful." I plate our food and we eat, making small talk before I completely choke up, thinking about Grayson again. Tears fill my eyes too fast for me to process and soon, they're streaming down my face.

"Woah, are you okay?" Nate immediately asks, concern lacing his words. I force myself to nod as I quickly wipe the tears away.

"Y-yeah, I just miss him."

At 11:02 am, Nate and I are barely done checking in when the doctor comes asking for me.

"Has Ms. Garrett arrived yet?" the lean man with bright red hair asks. The receptionist nods and points at Nate and I.

"She just checked in." I smile nervously at the new doctor before he smiles and waves us over.

"You're just in time. Dr. Adams is out today, so I will be of service today. My name is Dr. Abbott." He begins to lead us to the room that I've been coming to every two to three weeks for the past four or so months.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Thalia Garrett and this is my best friend Nate Garner." We walk into the room and I lay on the doctor's chair, mentally preparing myself for the next part of the appointment.

"Is he the father, or...?" Dr. Abbott trails off as he grabs the gel for the ultrasound wand and grabs his clipboard. I'm hit with a wall of shock, why else would I have specified that he is my best friend?

Nate blushes furiously, "Uh, no." I blush.

"The father is off at college." I mutter before we continue with the appointment.

I then proceed to tell Dr. Abbott about my symptoms, the larger breasts, gas, backaches, everything. He confirms that it's normal and tells me that the baby should be approximately the size of a fig. Then, I bring my concern over the small bump growth from 11 to 17 weeks to the table. From graduation up until now, the bump stayed about the same size. In the case of Grayson, it made me kind of happy, or more appropriately, relieved, because I wouldn't have to continue saying I was just putting on more and more weight, but for the baby, I was concerned.

"There's nothing to worry about," He assures me, "Bump growth doesn't matter much, it's all about the baby's actual growth and development. Every woman shows differently."

"Oh thank god."

"Ready to find out the baby's gender?" Dr. Abbott smiles widely. My breathing increases slightly. I haven't even thought about which gender I wanted.

"Before that," I turn to Nate. "If it's a boy, you take me for Chinese right after this, and if it's a girl, I'll order your favorite pizza."

The doctor chuckles as Nate nods.

"Deal." The doctor takes this as the green light and he begins to move the stick around.

"Those are the baby's arms..." He points and follows his movements with descriptive words. "Head, legs, and..." He grins and points to right between the baby's legs. "This is his genitalia, congratulations! You're having a son!"

I can't help but let my eyes glaze over with tears. A baby boy.

And Chinese food!