Page 61 of Flawless Lyric

“Whatever happens today, I’ll be right beside you. Hell, not only today but everyday thereafter. I love you, Beauty. More today than yesterday. In fact, you’re the sun to my rainy day, the stars to my night sky, and the rock to my roll.” My heart swells when she starts laughing.

When she catches her breath, she says, “Is that like the ying to my yang or like two peas in a pod?”

“No way, Beauty. Mine are so much better than that and they come from my heart.” Using my thumbs, I swipe the wetness off of her cheeks. I really don’t know if they’re real tears or from her laughing so damn hard.

When she munches on another cracker, I grab her soup and set it in front of her. Without a word, which is rare, she takes a spoonful and begins to eat. I keep telling myself that I need to take baby steps with this girl. Since her emotions are all over the place, it’s understandable. Her hormones are bonkers at the moment, and it should all even out in another month or so.

“Why aren’t you eating, Micah?” Good question. I pour the rest of the soup into another bowl, grab a spoon, and sit down next to her.

Once we’re finished, I rinse the dishes, throw them in the dishwasher, and then we sit on the sofa. We’re chilling until it’s time to leave. Her head’s on my shoulder so I’m playing with her hair. Lulling her to sleep. A nap will do her a world of good, and if she’s sleeping, she’s not worrying. I’ll be doing plenty of that for the both of us.

Since I found out that she’s pregnant, I’ve been reading anything and everything I can get my hands on. Hey, I want to be prepared. Imagine my surprise when I learned that in the second trimester, her sex drive could be in overdrive. I say bring it on! Three months of dirty, carnal lust that would satiate any normal man from here to eternity. Sign me up.

Unfortunately, thirty minutes later we’re driving to her appointment while I hold her hand over the center console. I’m not sure if it’s her hand or mine, but it def feels damp. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, she starts shaking. She’s stressed and I totally understand because I’m feeling it too.

Beauty is in fight or flight mode, so I need to dig deep and be strong for the both of us.

* * *

LYRIC

I’ve never beenthis nervous walking into the doctor’s office before. Ever. But I have a good reason to be. Today I find out if I can carry my baby to term or if it won’t survive. Yeah, I did the whole internet thing and looked up everything about ectopic pregnancy. Now I have a mental picture and I’m even more frightened than before. I never knew I wanted another baby until I found out I was pregnant, and Micah was the father. Now I’m obsessed with starting over because he’s going to be a wonderful dad. Life can be so fickle at times.

After checking in, we don’t get the chance to sit down before they’re calling my name. “Lyric, come on in.”

Micah squeezes my hand as we walk into the room. I immediately freeze when I notice Doctor Taylor is already there. Normally, the nurse does the preliminaries first. It has to be bad news if he doesn’t want me sitting down or waiting any longer than I need to.

“Please sit down and I’ll go over all the test results with the both of you.” Micah tenses and I’m about to calm him down when he loses it.

“Let’s get this show on the fucking road. Is Lyric going to carry full-term or not, doc?”

“Micah…” I reprimand, as Doc Taylor holds up his hand.

“The bloodwork acknowledges you’re pregnant and the ultrasound confirms that you can carry the baby to full-term. Congratulations to both of you. I sincerely didn’t mean to cause you any distress, I just wanted to give you the good news in person.”

Micah catches me in his arms before I hit the floor. Relief like I’ve never known courses through me. It’s so damn powerful that it buckles my knees. Happy tears stream down my face and sobs wrack my body. I hate all of these emotions that have been swirling around me since I found out I was pregnant. Hell, who am I kidding? I swear they were there the moment I conceived.

“We’re going to have a healthy baby, Beauty.” Yes, we are.

“According to the ultrasound, your due date is around April tenth. As you know it could change, but it’s a starting point. For now, get plenty of rest, take your vitamins and if you have any issues or questions give us a call. I’ll see you in a month.”

We’re more relaxed on the way out than when we were going in. I can now take a deep breath and let it all sink in. I’m having a baby. No, we’re having a baby. There’s no doubt in my mind that Micah will be right by my side through thick and thin.

“This calls for a celebration, Beauty. Let’s go paint the town red or go shopping for baby furniture and a ton of clothes to fill up a room.” I share in his enthusiasm but then it hits me. Will we be setting up a nursery in both of our houses?

I suddenly feel trapped like he’s going to insist I move in with him. Do I want to? I’m not sure. I scold myself because he hasn’t even brought up the subject of us living together. Pregnancy hormones are the worst. They force me to overthink everything.

“If not, we can go home and just relax for the rest of the day. Whatever you decide is fine with me. Or we could go bungee jumping.”

If we do decide to live together, it would make more sense to live at my house. After all it’s the only home that Novalee’s ever known. I realize she’s in college now but when she comes home for the holidays or summer months, she’ll be more comfortable in her own home. Besides, Micah might not invite her to stay with us and that would be an awkward situation.

I startle when Micah opens the car door. Good god, I remember him pulling out of the lot and mentioning something about going bungee jumping, but not driving home. Bending down, he examines me closely.

“Are you okay, Lyric?” I blink up at him. When he reaches over and unbuckles my belt, I snap out of it.

“I’m fine. Couldn’t be better. Why do you ask?”

I slide out of the car when he steps aside, giving me a wide berth. After closing the door, he gently places his hand on my lower back and guides me to the front door. Why is he treating me like I’m physically disabled? I’m pregnant, that’s it.

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