The Stars Lie
Lips of An Angel
-x-One Year Later-x-
“Baby, what’s wrong? Lately you seem like you’ve been distant,” Matt murmured into Elise’s ear a year after Dylan had been born. Their son was sleeping in his crib in the nursery, and Elise hadn’t gotten out of bed yet though it was nearing noon. She sighed and turned to face her husband, her eyes watery as she studied him. Looking at him now, he seemed so worried about her. He loved her so much, and she was afraid that it was all going to end when she told him what he needed to hear.
A few weeks before, she’d been getting sick often, and she’d gone to the doctor to see if it was just the flu or if she needed some kind of medicine. She had been shocked when the doctor had walked back into the small room with a piece of paper and a grin on her face, announcing to Elise that she was a month and a half pregnant. She knew it was Matt’s baby; she hadn’t had sex with anyone else since she’d met him, and it wasn’t the fact that she was worried that he’d think she’d been cheating. It was the fact that he had a job of his own; a job that took him on the road often with his band, and she knew the chances of him being here for the baby’s birth were slim to none. She didn’t want to lose Matt, and she was scared that a second child would be too much for him to handle. He adored Dylan, and he took good care of the one-year-old baby. But how would he handle another one?
She took a deep breath, seeing all of the worries in his eyes, and she knew that she needed to tell him now. She took a deep breath, turning away from him as she muttered under her breath a few words. She didn’t want to see the look of rejection in his eyes if he turned her away. Matt seemed to realize that she was having issues telling him what was wrong, and instead grabbed her shoulders to make her look at him.
“Elise, nothing you say can make me hate you,” Matt whispered to her, pushing some hair out of her eyes as he smiled reassuringly at her. “I love you. I always will,” he continued before squeezing her hand tightly as he reached down to grab it with his own.
Elise nodded. The look in his hazel eyes told her that he was telling the truth. He would love her until his dying day, and she had a feeling that she wasn’t exaggerating that statement. The way he’d made her feel since they’d gotten married six months before confirmed for her that he loved her. “Matt…Remember when I went to the doctor’s a few weeks ago?” She asked him quietly, keeping his hand in hers, threading their fingers together as she kept her eyes on his.
Matt thought about it and then nodded, the look of worry becoming more apparent. He thought that she was going to tell him that there was something seriously wrong with her; something like cancer, or some kind of incurable disease. He tightened her hand in his, and awaited her next words. “They…did a lot of tests,” she muttered under her breath before looking up at him again. “And they said that…”
“Elise, please, just tell me,” Matt whispered urgently into her neck, grabbing her into a tight hug. Her next words could make or break him; they could shatter his entire heart, and he didn’t want that. He loved Elise too much, and he didn’t want to hear that there was anything wrong with her.
“We’re going to have another baby,” she whispered, the tears that had been threatening to spill out of her eyes dampening his shoulder as she looked up at him. Matt’s breath hitched in his throat as he looked up at her, his face completely shocked. “If…Matt, please don’t say that—”
“Did I hear you right?” Matt asked her, his voice almost too quiet to hear. “Say it again,” he whispered, needing her to repeat her words. He didn’t know if the words she’d said were the same as the one’s he’d heard. He was too far in shock to know for sure; he needed to know.
“I’m pregnant,” she said bluntly, licking nervously over her bottom lip as she held on to his arms. She was so scared that he wasn’t going to be happy about this. She was terrified that he was going to tell her he wanted a divorce; that he wanted to give it up for adoption, or worse, that he wanted an abortion. She wouldn’t do either of the last two, but if it was a divorce he wanted, she couldn’t—
He cut her thoughts off by planting a passionate kiss on her lips, an excited sound almost similar to the yipping of a happy dog falling off of his lips as he hugged her tightly. The corners of his eyes had crinkled and tears were starting to well up there, his heart swelling with pride as he thought about the words she’d spoken.
“I thought you were going to hate me for this,” Elise whimpered, her hands holding on tightly to him. She couldn’t believe he was happy about this; she couldn’t believe he was still holding her, kissing her, hugging her after the words she’d just spoken.
“Baby, why would I hate you? You’re making me a fuckin’ Dad again,” he said excitedly as he held her at arm’s length to look at her, his hazel eyes shining with tears. He dropped his hands to her stomach, and carefully lifted her shirt off of her belly to expose it. There wasn’t even a baby bump forming yet, but he knew that somewhere inside of his wife, a little baby was forming.
The sweetest words she could have said to him right now were that she was pregnant with his child. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, juggling his family with his job being in a band, but he also knew it was worth it. For these first few years that Dylan and the unborn baby were young, they would stay at home. But someday, when they were older, he was going to take them on tour with him; he would show them the world, and he’d encourage them to chase their dreams just the same way his parents had for him.
He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her stomach, smoothing his hand over the skin there before hugging her, a few of the tears falling out of his eyes and dripping onto her skin. Elise let her hands find his hair; he’d grown it longer since they’d been together, and she rather liked it, she thought to herself with a smile. Dylan had ended up with her hair color, and she hoped that this baby looked identical to Matt.
“I love you so much,” Matt whispered to her, sitting up straight after several long minutes, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He was careful to keep the pressure off of her stomach as he pressed a wet kiss to the inside of her neck. She sobbed happily as he held her; just rocking her back in forth as he let the news completely sink in.
In nine months, Dylan was going to have a baby sister or brother. In nine months, they would have a second child to add to their nursery, and Dylan would be old enough to start sleeping in his own room. He knew the probability was that in nine months, he’d be on the road, but he also knew there were ways to work out scheduling so that he could be here for Elise when their baby was born, just like he had been for Dylan.
“I love you too,” Elise whispered into his neck. She couldn’t be happier about the way things were turning out for them. She didn’t let him go until they heard Dylan start to cry in the nursery, wanting attention, a diaper change, or a bottle. Matt murmured into her neck that he’d take care of their son, and she smiled as she laid down, pulling the blankets up again as she rested in the bed with a smile. It was only noon, she knew, but she didn’t feel like getting out of bed yet. She wanted to just sit here; to think of Matt, and she wanted to think of the life they were building for themselves.
A year ago, she never would have thought she’d be married by now, let alone having a second child. That night she’d met Matt, a family had been the furthest thing from her mind. She’d always believed that everything had a time and place; that things happened according to a plan fate had set up long ago, and she’d never believed her fate was to have children and a husband. Elise had always thought her place in the world was to be a career woman, and that she’d grow old by herself. And before that night in Vegas, she’d been fine with that. But now, as she thought about all that she had and the love that radiated in her life, she couldn’t be happier. She never wanted to let go of Matt, and she knew that he’d never let her go.
“He’s sleeping again,” Matt said with a small smile as he walked into their bedroom again, kicking off the sneakers he wore on his feet before he lay down next to her on the mattress, gathering her in his arms. Elise just smiled and closed her eyes as he held her. Yeah, she thought to herself. Life couldn’t get any better than this.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Lately you seem like you’ve been distant,” Matt murmured into Elise’s ear a year after Dylan had been born. Their son was sleeping in his crib in the nursery, and Elise hadn’t gotten out of bed yet though it was nearing noon. She sighed and turned to face her husband, her eyes watery as she studied him. Looking at him now, he seemed so worried about her. He loved her so much, and she was afraid that it was all going to end when she told him what he needed to hear.
A few weeks before, she’d been getting sick often, and she’d gone to the doctor to see if it was just the flu or if she needed some kind of medicine. She had been shocked when the doctor had walked back into the small room with a piece of paper and a grin on her face, announcing to Elise that she was a month and a half pregnant. She knew it was Matt’s baby; she hadn’t had sex with anyone else since she’d met him, and it wasn’t the fact that she was worried that he’d think she’d been cheating. It was the fact that he had a job of his own; a job that took him on the road often with his band, and she knew the chances of him being here for the baby’s birth were slim to none. She didn’t want to lose Matt, and she was scared that a second child would be too much for him to handle. He adored Dylan, and he took good care of the one-year-old baby. But how would he handle another one?
She took a deep breath, seeing all of the worries in his eyes, and she knew that she needed to tell him now. She took a deep breath, turning away from him as she muttered under her breath a few words. She didn’t want to see the look of rejection in his eyes if he turned her away. Matt seemed to realize that she was having issues telling him what was wrong, and instead grabbed her shoulders to make her look at him.
“Elise, nothing you say can make me hate you,” Matt whispered to her, pushing some hair out of her eyes as he smiled reassuringly at her. “I love you. I always will,” he continued before squeezing her hand tightly as he reached down to grab it with his own.
Elise nodded. The look in his hazel eyes told her that he was telling the truth. He would love her until his dying day, and she had a feeling that she wasn’t exaggerating that statement. The way he’d made her feel since they’d gotten married six months before confirmed for her that he loved her. “Matt…Remember when I went to the doctor’s a few weeks ago?” She asked him quietly, keeping his hand in hers, threading their fingers together as she kept her eyes on his.
Matt thought about it and then nodded, the look of worry becoming more apparent. He thought that she was going to tell him that there was something seriously wrong with her; something like cancer, or some kind of incurable disease. He tightened her hand in his, and awaited her next words. “They…did a lot of tests,” she muttered under her breath before looking up at him again. “And they said that…”
“Elise, please, just tell me,” Matt whispered urgently into her neck, grabbing her into a tight hug. Her next words could make or break him; they could shatter his entire heart, and he didn’t want that. He loved Elise too much, and he didn’t want to hear that there was anything wrong with her.
“We’re going to have another baby,” she whispered, the tears that had been threatening to spill out of her eyes dampening his shoulder as she looked up at him. Matt’s breath hitched in his throat as he looked up at her, his face completely shocked. “If…Matt, please don’t say that—”
“Did I hear you right?” Matt asked her, his voice almost too quiet to hear. “Say it again,” he whispered, needing her to repeat her words. He didn’t know if the words she’d said were the same as the one’s he’d heard. He was too far in shock to know for sure; he needed to know.
“I’m pregnant,” she said bluntly, licking nervously over her bottom lip as she held on to his arms. She was so scared that he wasn’t going to be happy about this. She was terrified that he was going to tell her he wanted a divorce; that he wanted to give it up for adoption, or worse, that he wanted an abortion. She wouldn’t do either of the last two, but if it was a divorce he wanted, she couldn’t—
He cut her thoughts off by planting a passionate kiss on her lips, an excited sound almost similar to the yipping of a happy dog falling off of his lips as he hugged her tightly. The corners of his eyes had crinkled and tears were starting to well up there, his heart swelling with pride as he thought about the words she’d spoken.
“I thought you were going to hate me for this,” Elise whimpered, her hands holding on tightly to him. She couldn’t believe he was happy about this; she couldn’t believe he was still holding her, kissing her, hugging her after the words she’d just spoken.
“Baby, why would I hate you? You’re making me a fuckin’ Dad again,” he said excitedly as he held her at arm’s length to look at her, his hazel eyes shining with tears. He dropped his hands to her stomach, and carefully lifted her shirt off of her belly to expose it. There wasn’t even a baby bump forming yet, but he knew that somewhere inside of his wife, a little baby was forming.
The sweetest words she could have said to him right now were that she was pregnant with his child. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, juggling his family with his job being in a band, but he also knew it was worth it. For these first few years that Dylan and the unborn baby were young, they would stay at home. But someday, when they were older, he was going to take them on tour with him; he would show them the world, and he’d encourage them to chase their dreams just the same way his parents had for him.
He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her stomach, smoothing his hand over the skin there before hugging her, a few of the tears falling out of his eyes and dripping onto her skin. Elise let her hands find his hair; he’d grown it longer since they’d been together, and she rather liked it, she thought to herself with a smile. Dylan had ended up with her hair color, and she hoped that this baby looked identical to Matt.
“I love you so much,” Matt whispered to her, sitting up straight after several long minutes, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He was careful to keep the pressure off of her stomach as he pressed a wet kiss to the inside of her neck. She sobbed happily as he held her; just rocking her back in forth as he let the news completely sink in.
In nine months, Dylan was going to have a baby sister or brother. In nine months, they would have a second child to add to their nursery, and Dylan would be old enough to start sleeping in his own room. He knew the probability was that in nine months, he’d be on the road, but he also knew there were ways to work out scheduling so that he could be here for Elise when their baby was born, just like he had been for Dylan.
“I love you too,” Elise whispered into his neck. She couldn’t be happier about the way things were turning out for them. She didn’t let him go until they heard Dylan start to cry in the nursery, wanting attention, a diaper change, or a bottle. Matt murmured into her neck that he’d take care of their son, and she smiled as she laid down, pulling the blankets up again as she rested in the bed with a smile. It was only noon, she knew, but she didn’t feel like getting out of bed yet. She wanted to just sit here; to think of Matt, and she wanted to think of the life they were building for themselves.
A year ago, she never would have thought she’d be married by now, let alone having a second child. That night she’d met Matt, a family had been the furthest thing from her mind. She’d always believed that everything had a time and place; that things happened according to a plan fate had set up long ago, and she’d never believed her fate was to have children and a husband. Elise had always thought her place in the world was to be a career woman, and that she’d grow old by herself. And before that night in Vegas, she’d been fine with that. But now, as she thought about all that she had and the love that radiated in her life, she couldn’t be happier. She never wanted to let go of Matt, and she knew that he’d never let her go.
“He’s sleeping again,” Matt said with a small smile as he walked into their bedroom again, kicking off the sneakers he wore on his feet before he lay down next to her on the mattress, gathering her in his arms. Elise just smiled and closed her eyes as he held her. Yeah, she thought to herself. Life couldn’t get any better than this.