13. Selena

"Fuck, that was close." Sam lets out a deep breath as he drops on the couch beside me.

Once Sam arrived, Zeke, as he told me he preferred to be called, made a quick exit, but not before letting me know he'd be in touch.

"Yeah, it was. I should have checked who was at the door before opening it. Something I"ll definitely do next time." I go to stand, but another wave of dizziness hits me and I drop back down to the couch.

"Shit, are you okay?" Sam rushes to my side, dropping the bag in his hand to the floor.

"Yeah, just dizzy, nauseous. Pregnancy isn't a joke." I can't help but let out a small chuckle, just as a wave of nausea hits me with full force, and I scramble to stand before rushing down the hall to the bathroom. I drop to my knees in front of the toilet, barely lifting the seat in time, before all the contents in my stomach come up.

I can hear his footsteps behind me, just before he rests his hand on my back, rubbing it gently to soothe me.

"Let it all out, Selly. I brought some ginger ale and saltine crackers, but I don't suggest opening it just yet unless you want to take a bath in it."

"I don't think there's anything else left in me." I moan as another wave takes over.

"Once you're done, brush your teeth and come back to the living room. I'm going to make you something to eat that's light on your stomach. Then we're calling the doctor and scheduling your appointment."

I nod and wave him off, not wanting him to be subjected to any more.

Ten minutes later, and what feels like thirty pounds lighter, I trudge back into the living room, flopping on the couch.

"Here!" A hand appears in front of my face, with a cell phone. "Let's get an appointment to check on you and Chicken Nugget. They have to know about something to help with the morning sickness."

"It's more like all-day sickness. It never stops. Please tell me this won"t last forever." I open up my contacts and scroll to my gynecologist and hit the phone icon.

It rings and a cheery voice answers, "Women"s Health. This is Cassie. How can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm a patient of Dr. Anklan and I need to schedule an appointment."

"Your name?"

"Selena Middleton."

I glance up at Sam, who's setting a bowl of soup and crackers down in front of me. A soft smile graces his face as he sits down beside me.

"Ahh, here you are. It looks like you've already had your yearly check-up. Are you having an issue?"

"Umm, no, not a problem. I've taken an at-home pregnancy test, and it was positive. I was hoping to schedule an appointment to begin prenatal care."

"How exciting. Hold on and let me see what we have available."

Reaching out, I pick up one of the crackers and take a small bite, praying I can keep it down.

A moment later, Cassie's voice rings out through the line. "We had a cancellation for this afternoon at two. If you're not able to make it at that time, the next available appointment will be next Friday at eleven am."

"Today. I'll be there."

"Great, we will see you then."

I disconnect the call and set my phone on the cushion beside me.

"They have an opening this afternoon." I let out a sigh, the corners of Sam's mouth turning up in a smile.

"Are they going to do one of those ultrasound thingies? Will we get to hear the heartbeat?" He's giddy with excitement as he pulls out his phone and his fingers fly across the screen.

I leave him to his research as I pick up the bowl and slowly eat the now lukewarm soup. He laughs and makes oohs and ahhs sounds beside me, but I tune him out. All I can think about is the visitor I had this morning and how he almost found out about my baby. Why do they even care what I think about them, or that I didn't overhear the complete conversation?

The last thing he said—he'd be in touch—lets me know he's not giving up easily.

"Look." Sam bumps my shoulder, showing me the picture on his phone. It's an app that gives you all the information about your baby as it's growing inside of you. "We need to download this."

My heart swells with love for the man beside me.

After peeing in a cup and giving what seems like all the blood in my body, they lead Sam and me to an examination room.

"I need you to remove all your clothes and place the paper top on with the opening to the front and lay this over your lap. The doctor will be with you shortly." The cute brunette nurse leaves the room, her ponytail swinging behind her.

I set my purse in the chair and begin to undress, not even phased that Sam is in the room. It's not like he hasn't seen me nude before.

Just as I finish folding my clothing and placing it in a neat pile on the chair, I hear a whistle behind me.

"Looking good, mama," Sam cackles behind me. As I roll my eyes, I take a seat on the end of the table, covering my lap with the paper. I swing my feet back and forth, gripping my hands together nervously.

"It"s going to be okay. We're about to see our baby." He steps over beside me, taking a seat on the rolling chair.

I love Sam with all my heart; he's like the brother I always wished I had. But there's a small part of me that feels like a villain. Am I wrong to keep this baby from his biological father?

There's a knock on the door before it opens and in steps Dr. Anklan.

"Good afternoon, Selena. How are you?" The nurse steps in behind him, shutting the door. This room has gotten awfully crowded, really quickly.

"Wondering how long morning sickness lasts?" I laugh awkwardly.

"It's every woman's question, I think. For the most part, it calms down after the first trimester. You already know, but your tests did come back positive for pregnancy. Two months by my estimations of your last period and when you suspect to have conceived. And you are?" He extends his hand to Sam, shaking it.

"Sam. The baby's daddy. Not biologically, but for all intents and purposes."

"Very well. Let's have a listen to the heartbeat and then we'll do a vaginal exam, some more tests, and we'll try to get a picture of the bundle of joy. I'm just going to do a quick breast exam and then we"ll listen to the heartbeat."

I shove the fact that Sam's present for all of this and not one of the three men who helped create this life inside me to the back of my mind. Guess when he said he would be at all the doctor's appointments, he meant it. But should it be him? I know he's willing and excited, but should Elijah, Ezekiel, or Elias have the chance to come? He reaches out and takes hold of my hand as the doctor moves the paper top and examines each breast.

"Everything looks good. Now, let's take a listen." The nurse hands him the fetal doppler.

He squirts some cold gel first before placing it on my stomach, moving it around until finally, the baby's heartbeat fills the room and tears come to my eyes.

"That's a good, strong heartbeat," he tells me as he pushes it around, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You hear that, Selly? That's our Chicken Nugget." Sam's face is beaming, his eyes tearing up just like mine as he squeezes my hand tightly.

"Let's do the pelvic exam and then we'll take a look inside. You'll even get a picture to take home and show off. Just slide down and put your feet in the stirrups."

I do as he says and scoot down until my ass is flush with the end of the bed, then place my feet up. I never in my life imagined Sam being present while another man examined my hoo-ha and my face burns in embarrassment.

"Okay, Selena, there's going to be a little bit of pressure, but we'll get it done quickly."

It takes a couple of minutes, and some uncomfortableness, but the exam is finally complete. All we need to wait for now is the test results. The doctor states one of the tests was for STDs, while I would think my new brothers are clean, you never know. I didn't use a condom with any of them. Maybe Zeke, but I was drunk, so I don't remember.

"Okay, time to see your baby." His face tenses, as he clenches his jaw, and creases form on his forehead. What's that about?

He pulls over the monitor, taking a wand out of the holster. "We're going to do a transvaginal ultrasound to get the best view of the baby."

He squirts some gel in his hand and spreads it along the wand before inserting it inside my vagina.

He moves it around and a picture appears on the screen. I'm not even sure what I'm looking at, it looks like nothing.

"Okay, Mama and Daddy, you see this right here?" He uses his free hand and points to a spot on the screen. "This is your baby."

"Sam, it's real. There's a baby in my stomach."

"Selena, Sam. I'm not done. You see this right here?" He points to another spot. "This is your other baby. You're having twins. I heard an echo heartbeat and had a suspicion, but this confirms it."

"Twins! I'm having twins?" My eyes widen and I feel like I'm about to pass out. I had just come to terms with one baby, but two? How am I going to do this alone?

"Do you or the biological father have a family history of twins?" Dr. Anklan asks as he presses some buttons, then pulls the wand out and places it on the cart.

"Umm, yeah they do."

Dr. Anklan removes his gloves and tosses them into the trash. "You can take your legs down and sit up, Selena." He takes hold of the pictures he printed and hands them to me once I'm sitting. "The nurse will be back in a few minutes with some prescriptions for prenatal vitamins and some nausea medication, as well as your next appointment date. I want to see you a little more often than normal since you are pregnant with multiples."

"Thank you, doctor," Sam replies before I do, shaking his hand.

As soon as the doctor leaves the room, Sam's arms wrap around me.

"Twins, Selena. You're fucking having twins. We have a Chicken Nugget and a Jalapeno Popper."

I can't say anything.

Fucking twins.