Page 64 of Knocked Up by Mr. Grump Lawyer

Should I call her? Maybe she’s waiting for me to make the first move.

I was perplexed about this relationship thing. I’ve never pursued a girl or entered any serious romantic relationship. This was all new to me and it was driving me fucking nuts.

When my phone rang, I ran toward it to answer it. However, it wasn’t Kayla but Jaynie. She didn’t sound bothered that she had missed my message and call.

“How’s my boy?” she asked, her voice filled with concern. I wasn’t sure, though, if it was genuine.

“He’s fine now,” I said, informing her about the diagnosis and what the doctor had advised.

She asked to speak to Riley, so I handed the phone over. They spoke for just a minute or two. I was glad that Riley seemed a little pleased to be getting this much attention from his mother. And when she came to visit her that afternoon, he looked very happy.

I didn’t bother to try making any conversation with her when she arrived. I just let them be while I hid in my home office, thinking about Kayla and how I wished she was the one who’d come here.

The next few days went by in a blur. I expected Kayla to be more receptive when I eventually started chatting her up and even sending her sweet quotes in the morning. It was so unlike me, but I was feeling all these new sensations toward her. She probably thought I was going insane, which is why she’s just choosing to ignore me completely. However, another explanation could be that she just wasn’t interested.

The day before our appointment with her doctor, I decided to dial her number. “Hi, Kayla,” I greeted nervously when she picked up. “I was… just wondering… if we’re still on for tomorrow?”

“Yes, definitely,” she said. I could picture her smiling as she cradled her phone between her chin and shoulder, strands of her auburn hair framing her lovely face. “I’ll see you there, Robert. Gotta go for now.”

The few times I’d called her, she was always in a hurry. And when I was trying to chat her up, she would hardly reply.

Perhaps she wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with me. I should just give up now while it’s still early.

Chapter 27

KAYLA

“Iloveyou,Beatrice…”I whispered as I touched my much bigger tummy, remembering how Robert and I had looked on in awe when the doctor did the ultrasound exam. I clearly recalled the image of the fetus curled up like a ball. Its tiny hands and feet were now more evident. The arms and legs were longer too. The head was certainly prominent.

“It’s a girl!” the doctor had announced. At that very moment, Robert and I exchanged amazed, loving looks. I felt a surge of excitement, and I could see in his eyes that he felt the same way.

But somehow, after that doctor’s appointment, I found myself shying away from him despite the deeper connection that we were forming.

When Riley kept asking about our supposed baking session, I didn’t have a choice but to go to their house. However, it felt strained. Robert and I were both consciously making an effort to pretend for his sake. It was terrible.

After that, I told Riley that he could just come to see me when the baby came out.

“What’s wrong with me?” I once asked Raven.

Raven shrugged then. “Maybe you’re just afraid that this is temporary and that he won’t stick to it, you know… Or it could be that you’re also afraid of yourself, that you won’t commit for the long term and you’ll end up hurting the baby.”

I sighed and nodded, thinking about what she’d said. “You may be right.”

And so I ended up avoiding him at all costs, only attending our case meetings once in a while. He too, began to act distant. Not cold but distant and aloof. More professional than an actual friend.

Suddenly, we were back at square one.

I was eight months pregnant and wasn’t even doing anything physically tiring when I felt the waves of pain across my tummy. At first, I tried to ignore it. But then it came to a point that the pain seemed unbearable.

I slowly dropped down to the sofa and started heaving. My first instinct was to call Robert, but his line was busy. The next thing I did was contact my doctor, who advised me to go to the hospital quickly. It was my dad who got out of the office in a jiffy and brought me to the hospital.

Holy fuck. What the hell’s happening to my baby and me?

I started bleeding, scaring me to death. I shut my eyes and prayed hard for my baby to be safe.

I didn’t understand what was happening, though my doctor kept telling me to calm down.

“You have to undergo an operation now…” I heard the doctor say to me. She explained many other things, but my mind had shut down, completely engulfed in worry and fear.

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