Whole Again (book 4)

Chapter 21

Jade

"Aria, hey, what's wrong?" I asked as she rushed inside, tears streaming down her face. I walked over to the couch, where she curled up in my arms. After Aria and Henry graduated high school, Henry shipped off to boot camp.

"I don't know what to do?" she sobbed as I waited for her to tell me more.

"Aria," I whispered, running my fingers through her hair as she started to calm down.

"We were trying." she cried. I gasped, realizing what she meant.

"Oh, Aria."

"I'm pregnant, and he's not here." she sobbed as I nodded.

"You guys talked about it, right?" she nodded, sitting up looking me over.

"Yeah, but now that it's here, I'm not prepared." I whipped the tears out of her eyes as I looked her over. I could see how scared she is it was the same way when I found out I was pregnant.

"Aria, take a second and breathe. I know you're scared and overwhelmed. You and Henry talked about this and wanted this."

"I'm sorry for dumping this all on you. I know what you and Colby have been through." for the past couple of months, Colby and I have been trying for another baby. Every month another negative test comes making me believe it won't happen again. Tomorrow we go to the doctor to get some answers about why I can't get pregnant.

"Aria, you can always come to me for anything. This is an exciting moment in your life, and I want to be there for you." she nodded as I gave her another hug.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Colby asked as he walked into the living room. I looked at Aria, trying to decide what to tell him.

"Just some sister bonding." he looked between the two of us, trying to figure out what's going on.

"Aria, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just missing Henry." he nodded, walking over pulling her into his arms.

"He will be home before you know it. What is the plan with that?" tears filled her eyes again as she looked at me.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry."

"Aria, it's okay. You can talk to him." I squeezed her hand as she pulled herself together.

"I'm pregnant. Please don't be mad." She whispered, watching his expression.

"Why would I be mad? I have no room to talk as I have two three-year-olds. If you are happy, then I'm happy with it."

"What about school?"

"You can always go next year once you figure out a routine that works for you guys. Jade went back to school." She nodded, looking back at me.

"Thank you both for everything."

"Have you told mom yet?" She shook her head no.

"No, I ran here as soon as I found out."

"You stay as long as you need to, but I think you should talk to mom."

"Can I stay here for a little longer? I'll tell mom tonight, but I'm tired."

"Of course. You can take our room. The twins are with Sarah so that they won't bother you." She nodded, hugging us before going to our room. Colby reached over, pulling me into his arms.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but it does sting a little. I'm happier for them, and I will be there every step of the way."

"We will have a chance."

"At this point, I don't know. What if I can't?"

"Let's learn the facts first. If we can only have the twins, I will be happy with that. We can always adopt if that's something we both want."

"I've thought about it a lot. I want you to experience the pregnancy and all of that. Then we can adopt. I still feel guilty about the whole thing."

"You did what you thought was best. It was a tough situation, and you came out on the other end. We have two beautiful kids that have both of their parents." I nodded, resting my head against his chest.

"Maybe I should talk to your mom."

"Might be a good idea. She has the experience that you two can relate to."

"Yeah, I'll talk to her when I get the twins."

***

"Momma," Alex yelled as I walked into Sarah's house. I smiled, pulling him in for a hug.

"Hey, buddy."

"Grandma got us new toys."

"She did!" he nodded his head as I let him back down. Addie came walking over to us with Sarah close behind her.

"Hi, baby girl." I hugged her before she ran off with her brother.

"How were they?"

"Good, we went to the store and got a couple of things."

"Good. I actually want to talk to you."

"Of course." she nodded as we walked into the living room. The kids were playing with their new toys on the floor.

"Colby and I have been trying, and nothing happening. So tomorrow we go to the doctor and find out what's happening." she nodded, turning her head to look at a picture of her late husband, Jack.

"Sometimes, these things happen. I was born with PCOS. Jack and I tried for many years before we couldn't take the pain anymore." I nodded, knowing she's gone through so many miscarriages.

"I want Colby to experience it all, and I'm scared that won't happen." I cried she listened.

"And the guilt is eating at you?"

"It's hard not to. After my miscarriage, I never wanted to have another baby. But, now that I'm ready, I'm being punished."

"No, Jade, your not. After the last miscarriage, I didn't want to try either. We looked at couples, and nothing felt right. I was so far in depression. It took two years to decide to look again."

"You found Courtney." she smiled, nodding her head.

"I did. She was so sweet. As soon I met her, I knew everything was going to work out. I got my little boy out of it. But, listen, Jade, you have two amazing kids, and if you want to stop, that's perfectly okay. Adopting is hard, but in the end, it's worth it."

"It's something I've thought a lot about. Without you guys, Colby and I would have never met. I want to be able to help a child that's in need."

"You'll figure it out. Just have a little bit of faith."