Truth, Lies, and Silver Eyes (A Sequel to STRQ) [Book 2]

Chapter 19: Raven

I was silent as Tai drove down the road. I didn't know what to think. I couldn't possibly imagine myself as a mother. I never really liked kids and I didn't remember wanting any growing up. I noticed the car had slowed to a stop. I lifted my head up and saw that we were at the post office. 

"Sorry for the pit stop. I have to mail off this application to Signal before the deadline," Tai said to me, as he slid an envelope into the blue collection box.

"It's fine," I said quietly.

"Are you okay? You seem quiet..."

"I'm just nervous. I've never had to go through anything like this before."

Tai smiled a little as he drove away from the post office.

"Well, that makes two of us. You aren't alone in this, Raven. This is my first time going through something like this, too. Granted, we're going to be experiencing this differently, so I might not understand things like morning sickness."

I smiled at him. "So you're nervous too?"

Tai shook his head. "I think... scared might be the better word. I'm terrified of being a father. I've never really worked with kids, so I'm not sure if I'd be any good at it."

"I think you'd be a good father, Tai."

"You think so? Why?"

I shrugged. "It's just a feeling I'm getting. If anyone should worry about being a parent, it should be me. I'm not good with children at all. How am I supposed to raise a child?!"

Tai had slowed the car to a stop due to a red light. I felt his hand rest gently on top of mine.

"Raven... everything is going to be okay. We may not have parenting down, but that doesn't mean we can't learn. Maybe having a child will be a good thing for us."

I stared out the window. "Maybe..."

Once we arrived at the store, I followed Tai around for a few minutes getting the essentials for the house. When we had finished, I excused myself to go look at the pregnancy tests. I was instantly overwhelmed with how many brands there were. They all seemed to be marketing the same thing.

"Maybe I should buy a few, just to be sure," I said to myself, picking out a few random tests and putting them into the basket.

"Ready to go?" Tai asked.

I nodded and we headed towards the check out. After we had loaded the groceries into the car, we drove back to the house. I was silent all the way back. I didn't want to talk. All I wanted to do was take those tests. When we arrived back at the house, I quickly took the bag that held the pregnancy tests and ran inside. I locked the bathroom door behind me and took the first pregnancy test out of the box. After using it, I placed it onto the counter and waited. Those few minutes felt like hours and it didn't help when Tai knocked on the door to check on me.

"Raven... are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I snapped at him. "Just leave me alone!"

After a few minutes had passed, I slowly grabbed the pregnancy test and turned it over to look at it. I almost jumped for joy when I saw the single line. ...Until a faint second line started to appear.

I froze. The test had to be wrong. I quickly took out the second test to use it. I heard Tai knock again.
I jumped and ended up almost  dropping the test.

"Dammit, Tai! I told you I'm fine!"
I yelled.

"I just wanted to make sure. You've been in there for a bit," he replied.

"Just... go and wait for me, okay? I'll be out in a little while."

I waited a few seconds before using the second test. After a few minutes, it too showed me the same results. I sat there in silence, not sure what to think. I gazed down at my flat stomach curiously. I still couldn't believe there was a child growing in there. I got to my feet and flushed. Tai was waiting for me when I finally came out of the bathroom.

"Well?" he asked.

"I took two," I said. "The first one was positive, and I thought it was wrong, so I took a second one. ...It was positive too."

Tai hugged me. "Raven, it's going to be okay. I know you're nervous about this, but I promise I'll be there for whatever you need."

I hugged him back as tears flowed down my cheeks.
"Tai... I'm scared. I can't be a mother. I can't!"

Tai held me closer and stroked my hair softly, comforting me.
"We'll figure this out, okay? I'm kind of scared, too. But I know things will be fine because I have you. I love you, Raven."

I sniffled and rested my head against his shoulder.
"I love you, too," I whispered to him.

After holding each other for a few more minutes, I followed Tai into the living room.

"So... what do we do now?" I asked.

Tai sighed. "Well, I would like to schedule you for an appointment, but I know you hate hospitals."

I rolled my eyes. "Why do you want me to go to one of these appointments anyway?"

Tai glared at me. "Because we need to be sure that our future daughter or son is healthy. And don't you want to see our baby?"

"Not really. There's not going to be much to look at. I'm not that far along yet."

"Well, you're going to an appointment whether you like it not."

I sighed. There's wasn't any use arguing over this.

"Fine," I snapped.

"I'll schedule you an appointment tomorrow," he said.

"You know, there's still a problem we need to deal with."

Tai looked at me. "And what might that be?"

"Telling my brother that he's going to be an uncle."