Therapy
Forty Five
Paige and Zack bounded out of their bedroom like lovesick teenagers, holding hands as they found their way downstairs. They were now dressed and it was early afternoon. They bumped into Alex and Bella who were almost inseparable, as they prepared lunch for everyone. Jack and Rian sat on the sofa awkwardly, knowing that every single person in this room had gotten laid at some point between last night and this morning.. except them.
- - - - - - - - - -
Everyone was sitting in the lounge, waiting for Paige to stand up and make the big announcement that she had been bragging about all morning. Zack was the only person in the room who knew that Paige was pregnant - even Jack hadn't been informed, or Bella. Everybody was completely clueless and anticipating the arrival of the news.
Bella fidgeted in excitement as she cuddled up to Alex, Isobel in her arms as both proud parents cooed at the precious life in her arms. It was like Isobel had known that her parents were getting up to something, as she hadn't started crying at all. It got to the point where Bella and Alex were completely dressed and ready for their day ahead, and Bella had to remove Isobel from her cot. Alex stroked Isobel's forehead as she giggled and yawned, her eyes wide open and seeming to smile as Bella leaned down and kissed her nose. The two of them nuzzled Isobel gently as Rian and Jack sat there watching with smiles on their faces, like the proud Uncles they were.
"Hurry up, Paige! Whatever you have to announce, just announce it already!" Bella squealed, keeping her grasp tight on Isobel. Alex pulled a concerned face at just how over-excited Bella seemed to be. But then, taking in the events from that morning, it was probably to be expected.
"Yeah, what crazy Mama over there said! You can't keep us waiting all day, we need to go to the studio later!" Jack stated.
Paige looked at Zack as she sat on his knee, he bounced in anticipation along with the rest of them, even though he already knew the big secret. "Just go! Do it! Otherwise they're just gonna get bored and they'll lose interest.. tell them whilst they're all buzzing off their tits on fucking adrenaline!" Zack commanded in a whispered yell. He held Paige tight and kissed her cheek before giving her a gentle shove off of his knee, forcing her to stand up. She walked to behind the coffee table, in front of the television and stood silently. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, she fiddled with her hands and fingers and looked over to Zack for confidence.
"WELL?!" Bella, Alex, Jack and Rian screamed in unison.
"Guys. I want to tell you first. But first, I feel like I need to thank you for all being there for me. Especially over the last few months. You all know how hard -"
"Will you just fucking tell us, Paige?" Bella demanded, laughing as she bounced Isobel on her lap.
"Yeah, spit it out!" Rian grinned.
"- it has been for me." Paige carried on, giving Zack a knowing smile. "So that's why you're all going to be the first ones to know.. I'm pregnant."
Each and every single person's face dropped in shock, even more so Bella and Jack's as they were there when Paige showed a negative result. Zack rose from his chair and walked over to Bella, taking Isobel from her arms, knowing what was about to come. He quickly ran out of the way to the back of the sofa, and counted in his head as he held Isobel close to him.. knowing that within a matter of months, he and Paige would finally have a baby of their own; the only thing they had each dreamed of since the day they found out that she had miscarried.
Their baby would know all about their could-have-been brother or sister, and they would be loved unconditionally by everyone in this room, if the reaction that Isobel received was anything to go by. And what's even better is that Isobel would only be a few months older than their baby. Even though he kept it inside for the time being, Zack was secretly excited to find out just how far Paige was, and what they were having. He was excited to start their future.
He focused back on the current situation.
5.. 4..
"But.. I don't get it.." Jack looked at Paige with a confused smile.. a look of bewilderment.
2..
In the last second, each and every one of them ran up to Paige and took her in the biggest embrace they had ever known. Paige was almost sent flying as she burst into tears. Bella was the first one to have her arms around her, protecting her best friend. They looked at each other with ecstatic smiles and happy tears as Bella kissed her on the forehead, wrapping her arms around her tight and bringing her close. The boys formed a protective circle around the two of them. Alex, of course, standing behind Bella as he outstretched his arms to the both of them, Jack standing behind Paige like the big brother he'd practically been to Paige the past couple of days and Rian squashed somewhere in the middle between the four of them. Everyone started to cry as Zack stood there watching, still holding Isobel as she looked up at him with what he swore was a smile. Either that or her nappy was now full.
- - - - - - - - - -
Everyone had settled back into their seats and Bella was once again holding Isobel, having missed having her in her arms. Paige had taken her seat back on Zack's knee and was smiling gleefully at everyone, her smile lighting up the whole room as she sat with a hand covering her stomach. She was absolutely glowing and everybody could see it.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Paige suddenly stood up and darted for the bathroom, as Bella shouted behind her..
"Enjoy it while it lasts, preggo!"
Zack stood up once Paige was out of sight.
"Bro, what are you doing?" Rian questioned dubiously.
"You'll see." Zack replied, a smirk on his face.
- - - - - - - - - -
Paige returned to the lounge to find her boyfriend standing in the middle of the room, talking to everyone and laughing. He was beautiful, and she wasn't sure whether it was just the hormones kicking in or if she was realising something that she should have realised a long time ago.. she trusted this boy with her life, and she wanted to spend the rest of it with him. Nobody else. Just him. Paige glided up to him and smiled, reaching up on her tiptoes to level herself with his face and kissing him as they both smiled. Paige started to walk back to the seat that her and Zack were sharing and as she reached it, she turned around and frowned at the fact that he was still standing there, in the middle of the room, talking to everyone.
"Baby, why you no?" She asked, pouting with her eyes almost bulging out of her head.
"Paige. I love you. You know that, right?" Zack asked.
Paige nodded in confusion.
"Look, you've made me the happiest I have ever been. Ask Alex. Ask Jack. Ask Rian. Hell, ask the crew. Everyone knows it and everyone can see it. I've never been as happy as this before and I never want it to stop. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I really can't wait for our baby to get here."
"Is this like honesty hour or something?" Paige added, laughing to herself but slowly frowning when she saw that nobody was laughing with her. "What? Who's next?" She giggled, straightening up when Zack moved closer to her.
"Paige." His face was serious, more serious than she'd ever known it to be before. Zack pulled his hand from behind his back as he moved in even closer. He reached the point where he could get no closer and lowered himself down on one knee.
Paige gasped.
"SHUT. UP." She squealed.
Zack and everybody else in the room smiled, they all knew and none of them had told her.
"Paige. I love you. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Zack held out a ring in front of her and she jumped forward in excitement, sending Zack flying backwards to the floor as they both lay there laughing. "Can I take that as a yes? Because you haven't really given me a definitive answer.." He smirked.
Paige sat up and helped Zack up from the floor and once they were standing, she snatched the ring from his grasp and put it on straight away. "What does this tell you?" She smiled wider than the Cheshire Cat.
"Say it." Zack smirked.
"YES." Paige jumped at Zack but this time, he was ready. He caught her and spun her around as everybody sat watching with a tear in their eye. "I love you so much." Paige settled as she looked Zack in the eye.
"I love you too. Now let's go."
"What? Where?"
"Yes.. where, Mr Merrick?" Alex asked, just as confused as everybody else.
Zack reached into his pocket after putting Paige back down on solid ground. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her, after forcing her to give him a kiss. She was as happy as a child with their favourite toy, jumping and bouncing around, giggling and laughing. Paige stood there with her mouth agape as she opened the envelope, pulling out two pieces of thin card that said in big letters 'Flight to: Paris'. She looked up at Zack who did nothing but point to the corridor where there were some bags packed.
Looking at the expressions on the boys faces, he answered the question that was on everyone's lips. "Don't worry, I've already cleared it with Matt. He knew all along." He focused back on Paige. "Baby, let's go." He smiled.
- - - - - - - - - -
Everyone was sitting in the lounge, waiting for Paige to stand up and make the big announcement that she had been bragging about all morning. Zack was the only person in the room who knew that Paige was pregnant - even Jack hadn't been informed, or Bella. Everybody was completely clueless and anticipating the arrival of the news.
Bella fidgeted in excitement as she cuddled up to Alex, Isobel in her arms as both proud parents cooed at the precious life in her arms. It was like Isobel had known that her parents were getting up to something, as she hadn't started crying at all. It got to the point where Bella and Alex were completely dressed and ready for their day ahead, and Bella had to remove Isobel from her cot. Alex stroked Isobel's forehead as she giggled and yawned, her eyes wide open and seeming to smile as Bella leaned down and kissed her nose. The two of them nuzzled Isobel gently as Rian and Jack sat there watching with smiles on their faces, like the proud Uncles they were.
"Hurry up, Paige! Whatever you have to announce, just announce it already!" Bella squealed, keeping her grasp tight on Isobel. Alex pulled a concerned face at just how over-excited Bella seemed to be. But then, taking in the events from that morning, it was probably to be expected.
"Yeah, what crazy Mama over there said! You can't keep us waiting all day, we need to go to the studio later!" Jack stated.
Paige looked at Zack as she sat on his knee, he bounced in anticipation along with the rest of them, even though he already knew the big secret. "Just go! Do it! Otherwise they're just gonna get bored and they'll lose interest.. tell them whilst they're all buzzing off their tits on fucking adrenaline!" Zack commanded in a whispered yell. He held Paige tight and kissed her cheek before giving her a gentle shove off of his knee, forcing her to stand up. She walked to behind the coffee table, in front of the television and stood silently. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, she fiddled with her hands and fingers and looked over to Zack for confidence.
"WELL?!" Bella, Alex, Jack and Rian screamed in unison.
"Guys. I want to tell you first. But first, I feel like I need to thank you for all being there for me. Especially over the last few months. You all know how hard -"
"Will you just fucking tell us, Paige?" Bella demanded, laughing as she bounced Isobel on her lap.
"Yeah, spit it out!" Rian grinned.
"- it has been for me." Paige carried on, giving Zack a knowing smile. "So that's why you're all going to be the first ones to know.. I'm pregnant."
Each and every single person's face dropped in shock, even more so Bella and Jack's as they were there when Paige showed a negative result. Zack rose from his chair and walked over to Bella, taking Isobel from her arms, knowing what was about to come. He quickly ran out of the way to the back of the sofa, and counted in his head as he held Isobel close to him.. knowing that within a matter of months, he and Paige would finally have a baby of their own; the only thing they had each dreamed of since the day they found out that she had miscarried.
Their baby would know all about their could-have-been brother or sister, and they would be loved unconditionally by everyone in this room, if the reaction that Isobel received was anything to go by. And what's even better is that Isobel would only be a few months older than their baby. Even though he kept it inside for the time being, Zack was secretly excited to find out just how far Paige was, and what they were having. He was excited to start their future.
He focused back on the current situation.
5.. 4..
"But.. I don't get it.." Jack looked at Paige with a confused smile.. a look of bewilderment.
2..
In the last second, each and every one of them ran up to Paige and took her in the biggest embrace they had ever known. Paige was almost sent flying as she burst into tears. Bella was the first one to have her arms around her, protecting her best friend. They looked at each other with ecstatic smiles and happy tears as Bella kissed her on the forehead, wrapping her arms around her tight and bringing her close. The boys formed a protective circle around the two of them. Alex, of course, standing behind Bella as he outstretched his arms to the both of them, Jack standing behind Paige like the big brother he'd practically been to Paige the past couple of days and Rian squashed somewhere in the middle between the four of them. Everyone started to cry as Zack stood there watching, still holding Isobel as she looked up at him with what he swore was a smile. Either that or her nappy was now full.
- - - - - - - - - -
Everyone had settled back into their seats and Bella was once again holding Isobel, having missed having her in her arms. Paige had taken her seat back on Zack's knee and was smiling gleefully at everyone, her smile lighting up the whole room as she sat with a hand covering her stomach. She was absolutely glowing and everybody could see it.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Paige suddenly stood up and darted for the bathroom, as Bella shouted behind her..
"Enjoy it while it lasts, preggo!"
Zack stood up once Paige was out of sight.
"Bro, what are you doing?" Rian questioned dubiously.
"You'll see." Zack replied, a smirk on his face.
- - - - - - - - - -
Paige returned to the lounge to find her boyfriend standing in the middle of the room, talking to everyone and laughing. He was beautiful, and she wasn't sure whether it was just the hormones kicking in or if she was realising something that she should have realised a long time ago.. she trusted this boy with her life, and she wanted to spend the rest of it with him. Nobody else. Just him. Paige glided up to him and smiled, reaching up on her tiptoes to level herself with his face and kissing him as they both smiled. Paige started to walk back to the seat that her and Zack were sharing and as she reached it, she turned around and frowned at the fact that he was still standing there, in the middle of the room, talking to everyone.
"Baby, why you no?" She asked, pouting with her eyes almost bulging out of her head.
"Paige. I love you. You know that, right?" Zack asked.
Paige nodded in confusion.
"Look, you've made me the happiest I have ever been. Ask Alex. Ask Jack. Ask Rian. Hell, ask the crew. Everyone knows it and everyone can see it. I've never been as happy as this before and I never want it to stop. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I really can't wait for our baby to get here."
"Is this like honesty hour or something?" Paige added, laughing to herself but slowly frowning when she saw that nobody was laughing with her. "What? Who's next?" She giggled, straightening up when Zack moved closer to her.
"Paige." His face was serious, more serious than she'd ever known it to be before. Zack pulled his hand from behind his back as he moved in even closer. He reached the point where he could get no closer and lowered himself down on one knee.
Paige gasped.
"SHUT. UP." She squealed.
Zack and everybody else in the room smiled, they all knew and none of them had told her.
"Paige. I love you. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" Zack held out a ring in front of her and she jumped forward in excitement, sending Zack flying backwards to the floor as they both lay there laughing. "Can I take that as a yes? Because you haven't really given me a definitive answer.." He smirked.
Paige sat up and helped Zack up from the floor and once they were standing, she snatched the ring from his grasp and put it on straight away. "What does this tell you?" She smiled wider than the Cheshire Cat.
"Say it." Zack smirked.
"YES." Paige jumped at Zack but this time, he was ready. He caught her and spun her around as everybody sat watching with a tear in their eye. "I love you so much." Paige settled as she looked Zack in the eye.
"I love you too. Now let's go."
"What? Where?"
"Yes.. where, Mr Merrick?" Alex asked, just as confused as everybody else.
Zack reached into his pocket after putting Paige back down on solid ground. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her, after forcing her to give him a kiss. She was as happy as a child with their favourite toy, jumping and bouncing around, giggling and laughing. Paige stood there with her mouth agape as she opened the envelope, pulling out two pieces of thin card that said in big letters 'Flight to: Paris'. She looked up at Zack who did nothing but point to the corridor where there were some bags packed.
Looking at the expressions on the boys faces, he answered the question that was on everyone's lips. "Don't worry, I've already cleared it with Matt. He knew all along." He focused back on Paige. "Baby, let's go." He smiled.
I just read this story and its prequel and sincerely loved them both. You're an amazing writer, and these stories dealt with a lot of emotions, ranging from sad to loving and I just really enjoyed them both. You captured both of these themes really well. It took me a few chapters to get into the first story, but once I did, I was hooked and just kept reading until I finished this one. All within... two days I believe, I just couldn't stop reading it.
Even though it's been a few years since you've posted them, I just thought I would leave a comment and let you know I really enjoyed them. Great job with them. Just wanted to show people like me are still stumbling across them and enjoying them. <3
I'm bummed to see you haven't written anything else; if you ever choose to one day, let me know and I will for sure read what you have. You're a very talented writer and I would love to read more of your writing. No pressure though, lol.
1/12/17