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Rosie stared in shock at the stick in her hand. "Bloody fuck," she whispered under her breath. She pinched the bridge of her nose before laying her forehead against the countertop of the sink. She stayed in that position for another five minutes before she heard a knock at the door.
"Alright in there love?" The apothecary clerk - who she learned was named Ruby - was just on the other side of the splintered wooden door.
Rosie sighed lightly, wiping small tears from her eyes. She let out a weak, "No," before twisting the knob to the door and letting Ruby in. The minute Ruby sat down, Rosie let everything spill, sobbing the entire time.
"G-Greg is gone. He found some job two nights a-after it happened. I can't raise a fucking kid on my own, Ruby. I can't do this," she sobbed.
Ruby sighed and thought for a second. "Sweetie, there's plenty of options. You can always give the kid up for adoption. Or, if you really don't want to have it.. Well, there's an option for that, too. But no matter what you decide, you won't be alone. You'll have your parents, and now you have me. I don't just sit through finding out someone is pregnant with anyone."
"My parents are super Catholic. I don't really believe in all of that, but I couldn't do that to them. And my mother hates foster care or anything like that; she thinks the treatment towards the kids is terrible. I'm not sure I could say she's wrong. I'm having a fucking kid, Ruby." Rosie sighed and laid her head on Ruby's shoulder.
Rosie had thousands of thoughts swirling around in her mind, but one stuck out.
'I'm fucked.'
-
Rosie and Alex were sitting together in her room, covered in piles of blankets. It was their weekly ritual to binge movies, and this week it was horror. But when Rosie wasn't covering her eyes like she usually did, and was instead staring off into the distance, Alex knew that something was wrong.
"Okay, tell me," he said, pausing the movie and turning on his side to look at Rosie in the eyes.
"I dunno what you're talking about," she replied attempting - but failing - to act nonchalant. Alex knew his best friend better than that though, and continued to press the issue.
"C'mon, love. You have to tell me, especially because of what I told you about last week," Alex grinned like a little boy. Last week, Alex had admitted to Rosie that he had, in fact, gotten a virus on the school's computer after attempting to donate to a Nigerian princess's cause. Turns out, that Nigerian princess didn't exist, and Alex now refuses to work on the school's computers.
Rosie stared at him for a moment, contemplating if she should tell him or not. Just a few weeks ago, Alex had told her that he would be attending Harvard, and hoped that she would join him in Boston. How could she tell him that she wouldn't be coming alone? It was going to be hard enough raising a child with the help of her parents. There was no way that she would be able to do that thousands of miles away from them in another country. Rosie continued to mull over telling him. How would she say it? Would she just come out with it? 'Alex, I'm pregnant, and Greg is the father. Of course, since it's Greg, he's no longer in the picture.' Good God, this was too much to handle.
"Y-You're what?"
Fuck. Dear any God above that may be listening, please say that she hadn't said that out loud. Please, please, please.
"Rosie? Would you care to explain?" Alex looked extremely confused, along with a hundred other emotions showing on his face.
There was absolutely no going back now. It was too late; she'd already dug her own grave. Alex was going to be so pissed.
Rosie wiped the tears that were already forming in her eyes. "T-The night after homecoming-" She had to stop to hiccup and wipe her eyes. "Me and Greg went upstairs to the hotel room. He d-didn't put the condom on correctly or something, and so it didn't work. And I missed my period and I started feeling sick, so I went to the apothecary and got a pregnancy test and it was positive. A-nd t-then Greg found a job a few days after, so he's gone to Scotland and he blocked my number so now I can't even tell him, even though he's probably figured it out by now. Alex, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I can't do this." At this point, she was hyperventilating and Alex had to wrap both of his arms around her to console her. The pair were rocking back and forth on her bed, as Rosie cried and Alex kissed her head.
"Rosie, you're not alone. I refuse to let you be alone." Alex looked stern as he said this, and for a moment she believed him. That was, until she remembered that he was supposed to be leaving England soon.
"But you're going to America, and obviously I can't go with you," Rosie said, crying even harder now.
"Listen, I've been meaning to tell you. In fact, I was going to tell you today," Alex looked sheepish, pulling away from Rosie while scratching his neck. "I've decided not to go to Boston anymore. It's what my dad wanted, but it's not what I want. I want to stay in England. I want to stay and be there with you through this. No matter what you choose to do."
Rosie continued to let the tears fall, and now sobs were wracking her body. What did she do in her past lives to deserve a best friend like this? Rosie went straight back to squeezing the life out of Alex, who squeezed her right back.
Of course, Rosie was still bloody terrified of the thought of becoming a mother, but with Alex and Ruby, maybe - just maybe - things would work out.
-
Alex had been there the entire pregnancy, rubbing her feet and bringing her whatever she asked for. Not once did he show any sign of annoyance, he was beyond okay with being there for her, no matter what she needed.
It wasn't until a few days into her eigthth month of pregnancy when Rosie reallized she was in love with him. She remembers the exact moment it happened. They were watching a rerun of The Office (the American version, obviously) and Rosie had her head in his lap. His fingers were slowly making their way through her chocolate curls, yet it was such an absentminded action for him. Alex did this all the time, why would this be any different? Rosie was cradling her stomach and laughing at something Michael had said - until she wasn't. Suddenly, her laughter died down and she was, instead, focused on the sparks of electricity that Alex's fingers were leaving along her scalp, along her shoulders. She looked up slightly, adoring the way the glow of the TV accentuated his featers; his sharp jawline, his crooked nose, and his boyish grin.
"I'm so in love with you," she said. She knew exactly what she said, it's not like she said it on accident. No, she had meant to. She wanted him to know. Yet, she was still slightly shocked. Not as shocked as he was, though.
"You're in what with who?" He looked beyond shocked, as if he didn't believe her.
"Love, you. I'm in love with you; with everything about you," she said, with no hesitation.
Alex hesitated a moment, before a shit-eating grin overtook his features, and he dove down to kiss her. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours; kissing and smiling and laughing.
-
After a gruesome birth that lasted too long for anyone's preferences, Katie Dunne-Stewart was born. Rosie insisted on including Alex's last name, as he was more of a father than Greg ever would be. Both watching Rosie suffer through the birth and seeing Katie for the first time made Alex cry, but hearing Rosie call him Katie's father broke him. He was so incredibly happy in this moment. They both were. The couple sat side by side in Rosie's bed admiring her - their daughter squirm around. Alex pressed a kiss to Rosie's temple and told her how much he loved both her and Katie.
They were a family, and everything would be okay.