The Last Thing (20 page)

“That’s amazing.” She beamed in wonder at the picture on my
phone.

“You really haven’t been reading baby books?”

“No, my aunt and uncle have, like, a bazillion kids. Ginger
and I were always babysitting and helping with her mom’s pregnancy. I know the
basics. Reading about it makes it feel all too real.”

Was she really ignoring the pregnancy to make it feel less
real? This was the same thing she had done with Bash.

“You can’t ignore the problem and hope that it goes away.”

She tilted her sunglasses down off her nose so that she could
glare at me.

“I never said this baby was a problem. I just said that I
wasn’t interested in picking out baby names or looking through baby books.”

I decided to let the issue go. She wasn’t drinking or doing
drugs and that was all that mattered.

“On a lighter subject, what about any movements? Have you
felt the baby move?” My hand set on her stomach in anticipation.

“No,” she fidgeted her hands nervously, “I haven’t felt
anything.”

“ Well it will happen soon, I guess.”

She gave me a careless shrug as if she wasn’t worried.

  When we reached the chairs and sat down, I slathered
sunscreen all over her body. My body tingled as my hands slipped down her
smooth back. It was an uncontrollable desire to be near her at all times.

“Do you come here a lot?” she asked me as we sat in the hot
sun. She peeked out from under her large straw sunhat.

Unfortunately, yes.

“I surf sometimes. Actually I only live a short distance from
here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you would like my place too. It’s a small loft. I even
have a canal in my back yard.”

“A canal? Like water?”

Stupid. Chase. Of course she wouldn’t like your moat!

“Yeah… speaking of the devil.  Let’s get in the water.”

Not so subtle, Chase.

Her body froze at the sound of my voice.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“I bared my soul to you last week.  I haven’t been to as much
as a lake or a pond since I drove my car off that bridge. You know I have
issues with water and crowds, but you keep pushing me. Why?”

“I just want you to be okay. You’re pregnant with my baby,
and I need you. You once told me that I could save you. I can. Whenever you’re
near me, nothing bad will happen to you. Do you understand?”

I stood up and held out my hand to her, waiting impatiently
for her to take it. She took my hand and followed closely behind me to the
shore.  I picked a spot in the sand not too close to the waves, and we sat
among the shells with the tide licking at our feet.

“How are you feeling?”

“Scared…” Her hands were shaking so I scooted closer to her.

“Talk to me, Quinn.” I squeezed her hand to help keep her
grounded.

“I can hear the sound of the water in my ears. They just
popped from the pressure…”

“Go on,” I urged. Everything was quiet. The sound of seagulls
in the distance was the only thing I could hear. Her breathing intensified.

“People always leave,” she whispered. I could barely hear her
over the waves.

Ginger had explained it so clearly to me. Nothing had been
perfect.

“You can’t run from your past, Quinn. It’ll always catch up
with you.”

Quinn

The cold waves splashed up along my legs, washing away the
sand that stuck to my body. Though everything inside of me screamed
run!
I sat as still as possible.  This day would have come eventually, the day
when I came near a large body of water again. Breathing in and out was easy,
but still I continuously pushed away the bad thoughts. Chase sat beside me for
the longest time, not saying a word.

“It’s getting easier,” I told him. It was like overcoming my
fear of cars. It was unavoidable, but I was able to push past the anxiety and
find my peace.

“Good.” His lips pressed against the top of my head as we
watched the waves crash against the shore. This entire trip had been
unexpected. I figured we would stay indoors like we normally did. Never did I
expect him to take me out somewhere. It wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined either.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

“Not much. Just thought you’d like to help me pick out
some art pieces for my new house. There’s a pop up art gallery on the boardwalk
tonight.”

My ears perked up at the sound of art. I loved galleries,
well I loved anything creative, and I could settle for picking out art.

“Did you find a house you liked yet?”

“Not yet, but I’ll keep looking. I want to be settled in
before the baby is born. I’d prefer it if you were the one making the art for
me. I wish you’d let me see your creations,” he whispered. 

Me too. But that part of me was in the past.

“My favorite median is special effects makeup, it’s really
not that beautiful.”

“Oh come on, I know you do more than just makeup. I saw the
picture in the hallway of Ginger’s house.”

My face grew hot.
How did he know I painted that? Ginger
must have told him, that loudmouth.

“I painted that a
long
time ago.”

 A very long time ago. High school to be exact.

“If you’re good at something, and you’re passionate about it,
don’t ever give it up.” The seriousness of his gaze made me uncomfortable. 
I’d never intended to give it up, it just reminded me too much of Bash.

“I’m…I’m not ready to do that. Not yet.”

I was slowly making my way back to the person I used to be.
My art would come eventually. I could feel it.

A mischievous sparkle gleamed in his eye.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. I just had an idea that’s all.”

“Well are you gonna tell me?”

“Hell no. Let’s enjoy the view a little while longer then we
will go back into town.”

We only had our privacy for a few more minutes before a neighbor
came wandering out. Not wanting to draw attention, Chase put his shades back on,
and we both ducked back to the privacy of Barrett’s porch. I enjoyed the shade
while Chase pulled out snacks for us to share.  As I tried to get comfortable
in the chair, a tiny flutter in my stomach made me stir.

“What the crap?” I sat up and put my hand to my bare stomach.
It didn’t feel like gas, and it wasn’t painful. It felt like my heart had
moved, and my pulse was in my stomach.

“You okay?” Chase looked over from his spot beside me.

“I think.” I paused as I felt the flutter in my stomach once
more. Yes, this time I was for sure. “I think the baby is kicking.”

I gasped as the motions in my belly became stronger. This was
real. The doctors didn’t lie. There really was something inside of me. Chase
sat up, knocking a bag of trail mix onto the floor and put his hand out on my
stomach.

“I don’t feel anything…” he whined.

“Well if you would shut-up you might.”

He pretended to zip his mouth closed and waited patiently. The
baby kicked again. A tiny flutter in my lower abdomen.

 “There it is!”

Chase raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I felt it…barely.
That’s our baby?”

He reached out to wipe away a stray tear that fell down my
cheek. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

“Yes, that’s our baby,” I said as Chase laid his head down
along my stomach.

“I don’t want to leave tomorrow. I wanna stay here with you
and feel our baby kick every day.”

“I don’t want you to go either.”  I ran my fingers through
his dark hair. We had just started dating, and now his work would be pulling
him away.

“Just promise me that you’ll trust me. Don’t believe anything
the tabloids say. In fact, don’t even read them. Just focus on taking care of
yourself and our baby. I don’t want you getting stressed out and risking your
health.”

He sat up and enclosed my hands in his.

“I promise.”

“Good.” He picked up his phone and flipped through a few
messages. His face scrunched up in annoyance.

“I need to make a few  work calls real quick. Change and we’ll
go back out to the boardwalk.” He gave me a quick kiss before leaving the room.
I looked around at the oddly bare home. There weren’t any photos or anything
that made it homey. Barrett wasn’t the type to claim a space. He wouldn’t even
claim his own girlfriend. It was probably still decorated the exact same way as
when his parents lived there.

I realized I left my sunblock down near the water, so I
sighed and started out through the hot sand to retrieve it. As I neared our
spot on the beach, a small figure caught my attention. A young girl was walking
along the shoreline.  Every few feet she’d stop and pick up a small object.
Maybe a shell? I knew her from somewhere. I just couldn’t pinpoint it. She
seemed vaguely familiar. I lifted my hand to shade my eyes from the sun. The
girl had blonde hair that flew in the wind and a thin figure.

“Quinn?”

She walked a bit closer and smiled. Yes! It was Jenna, the
girl from the plane.

“Fancy seeing you here,” I told her.

“I live near here.”

“What an odd coincidence, there are like a million people in
this town.” 

She looked me up and down. “I see you got a boyfriend.” She
nodded at my belly.

 Laughing, I placed my hands on my stomach.

“I did.” I wanted to ask her where her parents were, and why she
was always alone, but I decided against it.

“I know, you wanna know where my parents are.”

“I didn’t want to pry, but you’re always alone. Most kids
your age aren’t so… independent.”

“My dad is an actor, so he works a lot. My mom is off at some
charity or event. She’s hardly ever around.  I spend most of my time at the
beach house with friends.”

“You could hang out with us tonight. We’re going to the
boardwalk.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, but I have some friends from school
coming over tonight. We’re gonna watch movies and eat junk food. Yum!”

“Sounds like a good time.”

“So what’s your boyfriend like? I can’t wait to get one of my
own.”

“He’s an actor like your dad. He’s sweet and passionate, not
at all like I first thought he was.”

“That sounds so romantic.” Her eyes were dreamy.

“I guess so.”

“Do you love him?” she giggled and covered her mouth.
Something tugged at the back of my mind. I’d heard that laugh before.

“I’m not telling you that!”

“Oh, well. I better get going. I just came out here to get
some fresh air and your boyfriend is watching us.”

I turned around to see Chase watching us from the porch.  I
gave Jenna one last look and smiled.

 “See you soon, Jenna.”

Chase gave me a concerned look as I walked up to the porch. He
tightened a white towel around his waist and leaned against the railing.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Some girl who lives around here.  I actually met her on the
plane when I moved here.”

“Huh. What a coincidence. Everything okay?”

He kissed me on the forehead and pulled me close.
I took one last
look at the lonely girl walking along the beach. I felt bad for her, but she
looked and seemed happy. There was something about her though. Something that I
hadn’t noticed the first time we’d met. It irritated me that I couldn’t figure
it out.    

“Yeah, there’s something familiar about her though. I can’t
put it into words.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Hopefully.

“Now come on, this is my last night here. Let’s make some
memories.” He scooped me up in a strong embrace causing me to wrap my arms
around his neck in surprise.

“What type of memories do you suggest we make?”

“Memories on the bed, then the shower, then the couch...”

I threw my head back and laughed. My fingers inched down to
caress his nipples.

“I don’t think I have enough energy for all that if you plan
on going out for dinner.”

“So we’ll order in.”

Quinn

My days blurred together. Sick all day, work all night, pass
out in my bed. Sick all day, work all night, pass out in my bed. It repeated
endlessly.

Chase kept to his word. He stayed out of the tabloids as much
as possible, and I tried to not read them.  Life went on normally, which
was what I wanted.  Chase usually worked over eighteen hours a day on set, and it
ate up a good chunk of his energy. We still found time to see each other via
Skype, and communicated via texts and emails. That day at the beach had been a
turning point in our relationship. I’d trusted myself around him. I’d partially
given in to one of my biggest fears, and he had stayed right beside me the
entire time. He didn’t leave.