"It's okay Brenda, I know her." She rolls her eyes and sits back at her desk. What's her problem? Noah ushers me into his office. "Is everything alright?"
"Uh..." I freeze. I don't know how to tell him. This whole time, I never thought of what I would say when I actually saw him.
"I-I.." At that moment, I throw up all over his shoes. Of course, I do. He grabs a few napkins and hands them to me. He then grabs a few more and uses them to take off his shoes.
"I'm s-so sorry." I stutter.
"Don't worry about it," he says as he sits me down on one of his office chairs. He rubs my back. Why is he being so nice to me? I just threw up all over his carpet. He looks me in the eyes.
"Are you feeling better now?" I don't know what provokes me, but the words uncontrollably escape from my mouth. "You got me pregnant." I quickly cover my mouth, wishing I could retract my words. He stops patting my back and stands up. He puts his hands on his hips and bites his lips.
"That's impossible," he says.
"I know it was only a one-night stand. I mean, I was surprised too," I start.
"You're lying."
"Excuse me? Do I look like a gold digger to you? I know you're rich and everything, but do you really think I'd get away with lying about having your child? There's something called DNA, you know?" I continue with my rant. "This was a mistake telling you. I knew I should never have come here." I get up to leave and he grabs my shoulders.
"No, I don't think you're lying. You might just be confused." He moves towards the window. "Three years ago I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was treated with chemo and I'm in complete remission. I was cured. But when I beat it, my doctor told me I wouldn't be able to have kids because of all the chemo." He says. The room grows quiet. This situation is worst than I thought.
"But you're the last guy I slept with," I whisper, processing everything he is telling me. He looks at his ring. "Can we please take a DNA test? It's not that I don't believe you. I just want to be sure before I-it's just unbelievable that's it. I want to be sure."
His request doesn't upset me. I understand why he would ask for one. I agree to it.
"We'll go right now," he says.
"Now?" I ask.
"Yes now." He grabs his jacket and puts it on.
He pushes a button on his phone. "Brenda, cancel my one o'clock meeting, I'm going out."
When we leave his office and pass by Brenda, she gives me a dirty look. What is this woman's problem? Is she in love with him or something?
He escorts me to his car and I almost forget that Dayna is still waiting for me. I text her to let her know she should go home and we drive to a hospital. Within an hour and forty-five minutes, we've both been tested.
"How long will it take?" Noah asks the doctor.
"It should take about three days."
"Is there a way we can rush the process? It's an urgent matter."
"They usually all are," the doctor says as he leaves the room. "I'll call you in three days." We sit there in silence.
"So I guess I'll see you in three days?" I ask him.
"Sure. I'll drop you home," he says as he gets up. We walk to the car and the drive to my house is awkwardly quiet. I keep my eyes focused on my lap the whole ride. He drops me home and barely says goodbye. I must have unleashed some past demons of his. I get in the house and Dayna rushes toward me.
"Ava! How'd it go? What'd he say?" I throw my purse on the couch. She looks at my facial expression. "What happened?"
I tell her everything, from the moment I walk into his office and vomit on his shoes to the nurse taking the baby's DNA.
"Are you serious? Oh my God...are you sure it's not Chris' baby though? Maybe you made a mistake. Wouldn't that be so embarrassing if it was? You'd really look like a gold digger."
Of course, she turns this into a joke. I ignore her and walk to my room.
"Ava, I'm just joking. Don't be mad," she calls out. I close my door and bury myself under my covers. This is too much for me right now. How did I end up in this mess?
Three days later
"I'm glad you guys came in. I understand how important this is for you two." The doctor is sitting across from me and Noah. We've barely said anything the whole ride here.
"So we got the results this morning." He opens up a piece of paper. "Noah Andrew Knight is the biological father of Avana Cole Stephenson's unborn child." He takes off his glasses and puts down the paper. "I understand these are incredible and unordinary circumstances, maybe even miraculous if I may say. If you're up to it Noah, I would like the run some more tests on you. See if I may have missed anything. But for now, you're going to be a father! Congratulations"
I look at Noah who is speechless. I think he's still trying to process all of this information.
The doctor gets up.
"I'll leave you two alone," He says before he leaves. Noah and I are alone in his office.
"So what now?" I ask him. "I don't have to have this child," I say. "And if I do, you for have to be apart of the baby's life." It's quiet for about three minutes before he talks.
"No." He grabs both my hands. "I was told I could never have children. Imagine I was only twenty-three and I was told I can never have children." His eyes sadden as if he is remembering a bad memory. "This may be my only shot at having a son or a daughter. I want this baby. I'll be there every step of the way with you, I promise."
What about your fiancé?" I ask. This was probably not the best time to get into that. He sighs.
"I'm sure she'll understand," He looks into my eyes. "Look, Ava. I'm sorry if I offended you. It's not that I thought you were lying or trying to get money out of me. I hope now you understand why I was acting the way I was when you told me." I smile. For some reason, I can't stay mad at him. I don't know if it's those grey eyes or the fact that, up until the day I told him I was pregnant, he's been nothing but nice toward me.
"I understand," I tell him. This makes him smile. He hugs me. God, he smells good.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a father," he says. I can hear the excitement in his voice. I wish I was as excited as he is. Instead, I'm terrified. What do I know about raising a child or starting a family? I don't even have a family myself other than my grandma, who is stuck in a home because of her Alzheimer's. How could she help me? I don't have parents to help me or to teach me. Dayna is the closest thing I have to a family, other than my grandma, and she is the last person I'd ever ask advice about children from.