baby season

chapter three

"he hasn't talked to me all day," maia complained as she facetimed nia. "and he completely ignored my text."

"maybe he's just processing it," nia replied as she took off her makeup. "you know he's not gonna leave you."
maia sighed, wrapping her hair so she could go to sleep. "i guess so. i'm just-"
her phone buzzed from her desk and she immediately snatched it, seeing it was from chase.
can we talk?
maybe facetime?
"gotta go," she blurted, hanging up on nia and dialing chase.
he responded immediately. maia could tell he hadn't been taking care of himself; his hair was messy, there were bags under his eyes, and his entire demeanor was off.
"hi," she whispered.
"hey," he replied, and finally a weak smile appeared on his face. "um-i don't want an abortion either. but i don't think i want adoption either."
"s-so you wanna-"
"raise it," chase interrupted, noting maia's stunned face. "i know it'll be super tough but i've looked at every other option and that's the only one that feels right."
maia nodded. "y-yeah, honestly that-that's what i want too."
"so, i scheduled a doctor's appointment for you on wednesday. it's at a clinic, it's really basic and it's $150-"
"$150?!" maia exclaimed.
"yeah, but it's better than nothing. i just want you to be seen by a doctor before we tell our parents or whatever. i'll pay for it-don't try to argue-and i've been looking at quick after-school jobs i could do to save up. i have about $1,000 in savings but that'll barely last here, so we'd probably have to move somewhere much cheaper."
"wow, you really have been thinking about this."
"yeah," he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "i'm not gonna leave you, maia. we're in this together."
maia teared up. "that's so sweet, shut up."
he smiled. "so, um, how are you feeling?"
"i keep throwing up," she confessed. "i feel super tired and my parents are wondering why, i think they're getting suspicious."
"when do you wanna tell them?"
"maybe after the doctors appointment," maia suggested. "that way we can show them the ultrasound and they'll know it's too late for an abortion."
"yeah," chase agreed, looking somewhat worried. "do you wanna tell them separately?"
maia nodded her head. they were both quiet for a bit, seemingly thinking about their predicament.
"i'll...talk to you tomorrow," chase told her, hanging up. he didn't even say 'i love you'.
that made maia break into quiet tears, quickly texting nia she'd explain everything tomorrow before she plugged her phone in and cried herself to sleep.