A/N:
Check out the song above towards the end of the chapter, it's beautiful!
Enjoy the chapter, guys!
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Chapter 36 - Troubled Waters
After I'd left the office building, a heavy feeling settled at the pit of my stomach and continued worsening to the point where I felt physically sick.
"Earth to Scarlett?" Melissa's voice spoke out, snapping me out of my trance.
After leaving the office I decided to visit Melissa for the rest of the day but I wasn't doing a great job in terms of keeping up the conversation as my mind was elsewhere.
"Sorry, Lissa," I apologized as she eyed me weirdly.
"I know you said yourself and Jasper had a minor conflict but judging by your demeanor, I'm guessing whatever happened was a pretty big deal. So, spill. What's the matter?"
"Like I said, Melissa, it really is not that big of a deal," I shrugged as she continued scrutinizing me. "I'm just a little -"
"Tense, upset, angry and hurt?" She interrupted, raising a brow. "Explain."
"My dad sent me a letter, Melissa," I began as the pit in my stomach deepened. "He attempted to apologize and he... He wants me to visit him."
"No. No freaking way is that happening." She replied defiantly as I resisted the urge to remind her that that was not a decision for her to make.
"I don't know, Melissa..." I trailed off as she stared at me, her expression perplexed.
"Scarlett Avery Valentina, are you telling me that you are even contemplating to see that sick son of a bitch after everything he put you through?" She yelled as I glared at her.
"Can you keep your damned voice down please? Your family are still here," I snapped quietly before pinching the bridge of my nose. "I need closure, Melissa. I have my mom's version of events and I need his."
"Scarlett," she whispered, her eyes becoming glassy. "Look at what he did to you. He broke you into a million pieces and shattered your confidence so terribly I thought you may never recover from the damage. He put you through sheer and utter hell, so, I cannot understand for the life of me why you would ever want to stand in that bastard's presence ever again. He doesn't deserve a second chance, Scarlett, he really doesn't."
"Melissa, I'm not going to see him to award him with a second chance," I sighed tiredly. "I told you - I need the closure. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I don't like this one bit, Scarlett," she responded, shaking her head. "But if you need to do this then I understand and I'll be there for you. You don't have to go through this alone anymore I promise."
"Thanks, Lissa, I love you," I smiled enveloping her in a hug as she squeezed me tight.
"I love -"
"Melissa?" I questioned worriedly as she stopped speaking mid sentence.
"My water," she breathed heavily. "It just broke."
"Holy shit!" I squeaked as I called her mom inside.
"Honey? Is it time already?" Melissa's mom, Samantha, questioned worriedly as Melissa groaned very loudly.
"Four weeks," she muttered through gritted teeth. "It's four weeks early."
Letting her mother guide her through the process, I quickly dashed upstairs and threw an overnight bag together for Melissa before making my way back down.
"My car's outside, Melissa, do you think you can make it there?" I asked her gently as she glared at me before waddling out of the door.
"Oh, for the love of God, hurry up, Scarlett!" She barked from the backseat as I drove around the city like a maniac.
"Sweetie, calm down, its okay," Samantha spoke soothingly to her daughter.
"I am about to pop out a freaking human being, mother! How do you propose I calm down?" She yelled loudly as I parked up outside the hospital, before guiding a very pregnant and distressed Melissa into the building.
"Hi, Rachel," I greeted the receptionist quickly, earning a scowl from Melissa.
"Hi, Scarlett!" She grinned before frowning. "Is your friend okay?"
I genuinely did like Rachel but there was no denying that she was incredibly slow and ditzy.
"BÃtch, I will spread my legs and welcome my unborn child on your lap if you don't call me a fücking doctor in the next three seconds!" My best friend screeched causing me to wince while Rachel looked rather taken aback.
"Of course," she replied quickly as I shook my head at Melissa.
Minutes later, doctors emerged with a wheelchair in tow as they wheeled a pained Melissa towards the birthing suite.
"Are you sure she doesn't want me to come in, Samantha?" I asked, just as Samantha was about to walk into the suite.
"She knows what you're like with births and babies, sweetheart," she chuckled before taking my hand in hers. "Scarlett, I just want to thank you for everything you've done for my little girl; you've been there for her more than her own sisters have and you've looked after her so well. You're an amazing woman, Scarlett, don't ever forget that, okay?"
"Thanks, Samantha," I smiled as she turned to walk into the suite. "Let me know how it goes as soon as possible."
"Of course," she replied, walking inside.
I walked down the hall and took a seat in the waiting area, taking my phone out of my bag only to see thirty missed calls from my boyfriend who was now probably going to skin me alive.
~
Hours later, there was still no news on Melissa and I continued to ignore Jasper's calls until he rang me for what felt like the one hundredth time.
"Jasper," I greeted apprehensively.
"Fuck, Scarlett," he replied, his tone exhausted. "Are you okay? God, you had me so fucking worried, where are you?"
"I'm at the hospital. Melissa's having her baby." I told him.
"Why didn't you tell me? Do you want -"
"I should be home in a while." I interrupted him. "Please, don't wait up for me."
I ended the call abruptly, tossing my phone back into my bag.
As I rubbed the sleep and exhaustion from my eyes, I heard footsteps fast approaching.
"Scarlett!" Samantha's voice yelled gleefully. "It's a girl! I have a granddaughter!"
"Oh, congratulations!" I replied, equally as giddily. "And Melissa- how is she? She was in there for hours!"
"She's fine, sweetheart, she's extremely exhausted though."
"I can imagine," I smiled thoughtfully.
"I'm going to quickly call my husband and the rest of them, you go along and meet the little one."
I made my way to the maternity ward where I saw my best friend cradling her newborn child in her arms; I had never seen anything so mesmerising in my life.
I took out my camera from my bag and took a photograph, the soft sound of its clicking snapping us back to reality.
"Oh, Scarlett!" Melissa whispered as I walked over to her bed, giving her a small one-armed hug.
"Congratulations, Lissa," I grinned as she pulled down the blanket so I could see her daughter's face properly.
"Isn't she so beautiful?" Melissa smiled to herself.
I looked down at her and tried to agree but honestly, newborn babies weren't exactly the cutest of things in my opinion.
"I know what you're thinking." Melissa stated bluntly whilst resisting the urge to smile. "My daughter looks like a potato."
"No, of -"
"Please, Valentina, I know you way better than that," she scoffed. "Remember when Camilla had her boy? We both pointed out he looked like a potato. And what about my sister's kid? We left the hospital red faced when we told her he looked like a potato."
"In our defence," I began, grinning, "we did say he looked like a cute potato, did we not?"
"That pissed the bitch off even more," Melissa laughed loudly as I joined her. "But, whatever. My child is a beautiful potato."
"You know, you need to watch your language around her," I told her, raising an eyebrow as she continued grinning.
"Do you want to hold her?" She asked, holding the little bundle of blankets out to me.
"Um..." I began hesitantly.
Truth was, I wasn't great at handling really small children; I had a constant fear that I would somehow harm the child.
"Stop being silly and take her." Melissa ordered as I held her in my arms. "She needs to get to know her godmother."
"Godmother?" I asked in disbelief. "Are you sure you -"
"Yes, Scarlett. Yes, I am." She cut me off in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't try and fight me on it."
I rocked the baby back and forth as she slept before catching Melissa watching me with a creepy expression on her face.
"What are you looking at?"
"You will make an amazing mother one day, Scarlett," she said softly.
"Whatever," I dismissed. "Have you thought of a name for her?"
"Yep." She grinned happily as I raised an eyebrow.
"Well? Care to share?"
"Avery Winchester-Kingston," she stated, smiling. "She's named after the two most important people in my life. You and Blake."
"You gave her my middle name?" I chuckled as I looked down at the sleeping potato, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. "But why Flake? I know he's her father but... You know what I mean."
"I know," she nodded. "But he's a part of her and she's a part of me. We're both intertwined whether I like it or not."
"Good for you," I told her before handing Avery back to her. "Your family will be here soon, so I'm heading out. I'll be back in the morning though."
"Alright, thanks for everything, Scarlett."
"It's no problem," I told her before pecking her and Avery on the cheek.
"Scarlett?" Melissa's voice called out just as I was about to leave.
"Yes?"
"Fix things with Jasper, I want to have little Scarlett's and mini Jasper's running around, too," she said genuinely as I turned to face her.
"You are becoming too broody for your own good," I said sternly as she laughed.
"Just think about it. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Melissa," I chuckled before leaving the hospital.
I parked up outside Jasper's place, feeling a little nervous about having to face him after our little... confrontation earlier during the day but obviously there was no use hiding outside all night.
Sighing, I got out of the car and let myself in, noticing that the house was completely dark. It was three o'clock in the morning so I guessed Jasper must have gone to bed.
I took off my shoes and placed them in the cabinet before making my way upstairs. I showered quickly and changed into a pair of pink cotton pyjama's before going into the bedroom, only to find that the bed was empty.
Where the hell was Jasper? I thought as I sat on the bed, ready to dial his number.
"I'm sorry," a cracked voice spoke as I looked up at the doorway. The dim light illuminated his tall and muscular frame as he walked into the room.
"Jasper, I -"
"I'm so fucking sorry, Scarlett," he whispered as he knelt on the ground in front of me.
"Baby, it's okay," I murmured, placing my hands on either side of his face, pulling him closer to my chest.
"You are nothing like Lisbeth," he spoke with anger in his tone. "I'm so fucking sorry I said that to you, Scarlett; God, I really don't deserve you."
"Jasp, please don't say that -"
"But I can't let you go - I won't let you go."
"And you will never have to, Jasper Queen," I whispered running my fingers through his thick hair. "Because I love you."
"I don't know what I would do without you, I don't have a single fucking clue what I'd do. When you disappeared, the only thing keeping me from going completely insane was you." He said as I felt a tear slide down my cheek. "Even in your absence you have this hold over me and I don't ever want it any other way."
"You never will have it any other way till the day I die. Actually, even then I'll be haunting you to make sure you're eating correctly and separating your whites from your colors, don't you worry," I told him in a matter-of-fact tone as he laughed into my chest. "I love you, Jasp."
"I love you more than you will ever know, Scarlett Avery Valentina."
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A/N:
Hey guys!
Early update, I know! My procrastination game is too strong, let me tell you! Buuut I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Did you guys get the play on words with the chapter title? Lol, I know I'm so sad :P
I'd also just like to point out, I've never given birth so obviously I made it up based on whatever I've seen regarding births and all that jazz - so do forgive me if what I've written is a load of baloney in your mind!
Do remember to check out the song, 'Sad Song' by We The Kings - it fits SO well with the ending of the chapter and is such a beautiful song. Check it out if you haven't!
I'd also like to thank you all again for your votes and comments, I really do appreciate it!
Do continue voting and let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments section!
Love as always,
Ana