Not What I Expected

Part 8

Nicole dropped her purse on the table beside the front door and hung up her coat on Tuesday evening. She had been back to work for a week now and she was tired. Her mother had offered to keep Hudson that night so that she could have some alone time and so that she could get a decent sleep without having to worry about her baby.

Nicole kicked off her shoes and put them in the closet before she walked into the kitchen to heat up some left over spaghetti that she had made the night before at Hudson's request.

It had, for the most part, been a quiet couple weeks since she had seen Dr. Mason with Chad. No drama, no commotion and no pressure from Chad. Chad had showed up the Wednesday after their first appointment to move out some of his stuff while she was out grocery shopping with Hudson. He had done everything possible to make the transition easy for her and for that she was grateful.

She and Chad had rebooked their appointment with Dr. Mason for four weeks from the last time they had seen her and she was preparing herself mentally and emotionally for it. After the last two weeks without Chad in the house, she was actually missing having him around, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to take the next step. She was afraid that he would only hurt her again.

Nicole removed the spaghetti from the microwave and went and sat down at the kitchen table. She took a bite of food and looked down at her cell phone, considering whether or not she should make the call or if she should wait. After a moment and after another bite of dinner, Nicole bit the bullet and dialed the familiar number. It rang and rang and finally, he picked up.

"Hey," Chad said quietly on the other end, "Are you ok? Is Hudson ok?"

"Yeah, everything is ok," Nicole replied, smiling a little to herself when she heard his voice, "I just...I...well...I miss you."

It was silent for a moment and she listened closely to make sure the phone hadn't gone dead or that they hadn't been disconnected. She could hear him breathing softly on the other end and she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she quickly threw in, "Because I can let you go if you want."

Secretly, Nicole had been afraid that the moment she kicked him out of the house he had run back to Anna. She was hoping that he hadn't, but you never can be too sure.

"No, not at all," he replied, "I was just hoping that you telling me that you missed me wasn't just my imagination."

"No, I actually said those words," Nicole said with a smile.

"I know you might not be comfortable with this, but it's still early," Chad stated, "Could I come over and see you and maybe help you get Hudson ready for bed? I just miss my family so much. I had so much fun with him on the weekend."

"Hudson is staying with my parents tonight," Nicole replied, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, "But I'm up for some company, if you are ok with it just being me."

"I would love that," Chad exclaimed, "I will just get cleaned up and make my way over. It was a long day at work, as I'm sure it was for you as well."

"Ok sounds good," Nicole said, feeling nervous all of a sudden, "I'll see you soon."

Nicole pressed the end button on her phone and pushed her food aside. She was nervous and shy and she felt like she did the first time her and Chad had gone out. She had been blissfully happy and excited to see him, but this time Nicole was nervous, but she had to make sure she was cautious as well. She didn't think that she was ready to just trust him again, but strangely she felt like she was ready to be near him again. She had missed him so much that she wanted to know if she could let him in and give him her heart again, or at least what was left of it.