The Last Thing (25 page)

She put her hands into her face and began to cry.

“Just breakup with him already. Why do you put up with his
shit?”

“Because I love him.”

“He obviously doesn’t love you. But that gives you no excuse
to stay drunk all the time. You’re gonna lose your job and everything you have
worked so hard for. You need help, Ginger.”

“Just like you took help? You’re one to talk!”

Her words hit me like venom. It burned me, seeped deep enough
to leave a scar. It was the truth.

“Oh crap, I’m sorry.” She gasped at her harsh words.

Shaking my head from side to side, I put my hands out to stop
her from coming closer.

“Don’t do that Ginger. You’re right; I took the coward’s way
out. I should have gotten help right away, but that’s why you need to listen to
me now. If I could go back and pull myself from that dark place, I would. It
took a bad fall to pull me out of it, but I’m here now. It’s an everyday
struggle. I have to live with the pain and guilt every day, and some days are
better than others. I think it’s worth it though. Things are looking up and the
shadows are rare.”

“I’m scared of being alone,” she whimpered into the couch.

“You never needed a man before.”

“It’s different with Barrett; he makes me feel like I can’t
live without him.”

I couldn’t understand it. The Ginger I grew up with would
never have been so dependent on a man. I reached down to pull her off the couch;
she stood easily against me as I walked with her toward her room.

“How did you get home?”

“A friend.”

“Not Barrett?”

“Barrett wouldn’t drive me home.”

I let it go. Ginger used to drink in high school, but I
thought she had left that childish rebellion behind in Tennessee. I couldn’t
believe I hadn’t seen it before. Ginger was running from something as well.

“Are you ever going to tell me why you moved to LA? Why you
packed your bags and left without telling anyone?”

Her glossy eyes closed, and she groaned while leaning against
the banister.

“We have already discussed this.” She didn’t want to tell me.
I could respect that.

“And this vendetta you have against Chase whenever you’re
drunk?”

“Why can’t Barrett change for me like Chase did for you? It’s
not fair. Men have always flocked to me for a good time and stayed with you
because you were worth it.”

Ginger was outgoing and men loved her. She’d find the man who
would change for her.

“Chase has been nothing but great to me. He won’t hurt me and
you need to stop putting him down. I mean it, Ginger.”

“But it’s not fair!”

 “You’ll find someone who treats you the way you deserve,
Ginger. I promise.”

A Few Days Later

Quinn

We were supposed to find out the sex of the baby that
afternoon. I waited on the steps of Ginger’s front porch for Chase to pick me
up. We had found a new house in Bel Air, but we were still buying furniture and
hadn’t quite moved in yet. Nervous energy filled my body. It wasn’t as if being
pregnant was a dream, but finding out the sex would change everything. This
‘it’ in my body would become a he or she. When Chase pulled in with his new
SUV, I stood up to jump inside.

“Hey.”

I buckled up and nervously tapped my fingers along my new
maternity jeans. Ginger had insisted I buy some clothes, and I also started
using the money that Chase had given me.

“You excited?” Chase asked me. He wore a tracksuit with his
signature ball cap and dark glasses. 

“I guess you could say that.”

He took a sip of coffee and set the cup back down before
taking off his glasses.

“Seriously, Quinn. What’s wrong?”

“I’m just nervous. What if the ultrasound shows that
something is wrong?”

“I’m sure everything will be fine. I for one can’t wait. My
mom will be here next week. We can break the news and surprise her with the
baby’s room. If we get all moved in by then…”

It was sweet how close he and his mom were, but meeting his
family while five months pregnant wasn’t my ideal situation. My phone started
vibrating, and I picked it up to see who it was. My dad again. He kept calling,
no doubt my mom had told him about my predicament.

“Do you want a girl or boy?” I asked him.

“A boy would be fun, but I don’t care as long as he is
healthy. What about you?”

I sat in silence for a few moments trying to decide.

“I would like a girl so I could fix her hair and have cute
dresses, but I doubt I’ll get my wish.”

Chase grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss into the back of it.

“Well, then I hope we have a girl.”

 We drove the rest of the way in silence; this would be the
first doctor’s appointment Chase would be attending.

“Are you sure no one will recognize you?”

“I already called ahead and spoke with the office manager
about your patient confidentiality. We will be in a private room. No one will
even know we’re there.”

When we arrived at the medical building, Chase led me to the
top floor where an older lady with gray hair, dark rimmed glasses, and a professional
dress suit greeted us.

“Welcome back, Mrs. Bardot. I understand we have a private
ultrasound scheduled for you today.”

“Um… I suppose.” I peeked at Chase for confirmation.

He gave me a reassuring nod and grabbed my hand to lead me
back to the dark room. He’d arranged all of this, that snaky bastard. The lady
smiled at us eagerly and pointed to a gown on a table.

“Put the gown on, and I’ll be back in a moment.”

When she left, I put on the gown and sat down. Chase stood
beside me.

“Are you ready?”

“No. No I’m not.” I shook my head and took a deep breath. In
and out to calm my nerves.

“Are you having a flashback?” His hand came out to rest on my
leg.

“No, I just hate waiting.” As if on cue, the technician
walked in shut the door behind her.

“Good afternoon, I’m Ellen, you’re the ultrasound technician,
and I’ll be conducting the ultrasound today. Now let’s see what we have here.”

Without hesitation, she put a sheet across my lap and pulled
the gown up to reveal my growing baby bump.

She placed a bit of warm liquid on my stomach and placed a
large remote looking thing on top. With a few clicks of her keyboard she cleared
her throat and began.

“What? Does everything look okay?” Chase grabbed my hand and
squeezed it tightly.

“Oh everything is wonderful…” she kept clicking on her
keyboard and using a mouse to make lines on the black and white blob on the
screen.

“I can’t see a thing. What is it?” I whispered to Chase. He
shrugged.  Not being able to tell what was on the ultrasound was a little
disappointing, but after a few moments, Ellen flipped something on the screen
and the picture turned 3D.

“Oh my goodness…” I could see everything. There was an entire
baby on the screen who moved and kicked against my stomach. This thing inside
of me suddenly had a face. It was an actual baby.

“That’s our baby,” Chase said, kissing me on the forehead.

“Alright look here…” Ellen said, moving the object all around
my stomach. She pointed out the arms, legs, and head.

“Do you want to know the sex?”

Chase and I both looked at each other in excitement. His eyes
were wide, and he had a huge goofy grin on his face.

“We are ready,” he told Ellen.

“It is a…..” she held out for dramatic pause. “It is a boy.”

“Yes!” Chase pumped his arms up in the air a few times.

Ellen held back a delightful smile. Chase tried to gauge my
reaction. Happiness displayed proudly on my face. A boy? The sex didn’t matter
to me anymore.

“Congrats. Everything looks normal and progressing at a normal
rate. Have you thought about a birthing plan?”

I shook my head.

“That’s okay, you have plenty of time. You’ll want to start
thinking about where you want to have the baby, a lot of our exclusive clients
prefer private quarters. We have a birthing center here as well if you prefer a
water birth. Here is a pamphlet of information about your choices. Oh, and
these are a few pictures of your baby.” She pulled out a sheet of baby pictures
and handed them to me followed by a stack of pamphlets. I had a lot of baby
reading to do now. I gawked at the ultrasound photo. Even from the side, the
baby had Chase’s exact profile. There was no way he could deny his paternity,
not that he had even mentioned it lately. As if on cue, the nurse cleared her
throat.

“We do need to discuss birthing classes. They are preferred
in first pregnancies. I understand your need for privacy, so we may be able to
schedule some in home classes.”

Chase and I shared a glance. “Yes, that would be wonderful.”
I told her.

She beamed and shook our hands.

“Thanks for coming, enjoy your day.” We walked from the
office back toward Chase’s car.

 “A boy!” Chase said, taking the photos from my hand.

“Yup a boy.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m excited. This just feels… surreal.”

“What do you wanna do now?”

My stomach grumbled in response.

“I’m hungry. Can we get some food to celebrate?”

He laughed at my response. Did he really expect anything
else?

“Let’s go get my babies some food.”

We left the medical center hand in hand, both donning a hat
and sunglasses. As we walked toward the parking garage, Chase stopped in his
tracks.

“Shit.”

“What? What is it?” I followed his gaze to a man in the
distance with his camera clearly pointed at someone walking down the street. He
was a few dozen yards in front of us, and we had to pass him to enter the
garage.

“Is that—” I started.

“Yes, just keep walking and don’t look at him. He may not
recognize me.”

“They are going to know. Chase, what if they see us
together.”

“Just act normal and it will be okay. My face is covered.”

I didn’t know who they were taking pictures of, but I didn’t
care.  Chase held my hand steady as we walked closer to the man with the
camera.  He was young with blonde hair and designer jeans. As we walked past, I
swear I could see his head turn to look at us.

My stomach wrenched when I heard the guy call out Chase’s
name.

“Chase Crowley?”

Chase didn’t waver, but kept walking. I was too afraid to
turn around and see if the man had taken our picture, but by the time we made
it to Chase’s car, I felt like I was going to throw up.

“Are you okay?” Chase asked, bending down to wrap his arms
around my stomach.

“I just wrapped my mind around people finding out about us,
but I won’t ever get used to the cameras, the lack of privacy. I don’t know how
you deal with it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure
they don’t bother you. I promise.”

He stood up and opened the passenger side door for me, and I
climbed in.

Chase was supposed to take me back to Ginger’s house. I would
be staying there only a few more days, so I was surprised when he pulled up to
our new home.

“I have a surprise,” he said before jumping out and running
around to open my door.

“I’m hungry,” I complained as he helped me out of the car.

“It will only take a moment.”

I walked behind him through the house, past our living room
and upstairs where the bedrooms were. He led me into one of the smaller
bedrooms where the entire floor was covered with plastic.

“What is this?” I asked taking in the cans of paint that
lined the side of the room.

“It’s our nursery. I want you to paint our son’s mural.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, I was speechless.

“Before you say no, just please think about it. This is your
chance to do something you love in a way to preserve a memory for our child.”

“But…my inspiration left me when Bash died.” I’d tried so
hard after his death. I’d tried to paint, draw, and sculpt. I’d even signed up
as the lead makeup artist in a play, but nothing had come out like I’d
envisioned in my mind. I was talentless now.

“Then you find some new inspiration. You can do this, Quinn.”

“Maybe.” I gave him a tight smile so I didn’t disappoint him.
He proceeded to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me against him securely.

“You take your time. I’ve seen your artistic work and I’d be
honored to look at it every night when I put our child to bed.”