Somebody Like Me

Resting his weight against the bedroom’s door frame, Sergio allowed a small sigh to fall out his mouth, his dark eyes settled on Cassie who was still asleep, her soft and gentle snores filling the air. It had been a long night, after she had told him that she was pregnant, they’d spent a lot of time talking before they’d retired to bed, but still Sergio’s head was spinning, even if he had offered to stick around. The idea that Cassie was expecting their baby still felt foreign to him.

Watching her for a couple of seconds, he let out another gently sigh before he closed his eyes, his hand gently attempting to straighten out his hair.

“You know, you can still run if you want to”

Sergio, who’d been enjoying the quiet, flinched as Cassie’s voice entered his ears before he lifted his head, not missing the slightly nervous smile which graced her features.

It wasn’t the first one, since she had told him about her pregnancy, everything she said or every action she made seemed forced and awkward, and whilst it upset Sergio a little, he knew that he couldn’t change it. Things were strange, with her announcement hanging around them, things seemed tense and awkward, and Sergio knew that it wasn’t going to change quickly, even if he didn’t want them to skirt around one another. He knew that it would take a while for things to settle down.

“I am not going anywhere” he mused softly “I just…I was having a hard time sleeping and I figured I’d leave you to it. You looked like you needed it last night” he added, gently settling down on the side of her bed.

Cassie watched him for a couple of seconds before she shook her head. “You know that if you wanted to, you could still duck out. I mean, I know what you said last night…”

“I meant what I said, Cass” Sergio interjected, his stare meeting hers briefly “I mean, it was a surprise, you telling me that you’re…that you’re having our baby came along out of nowhere, but I am not going to change my mind about this. I want to be here, Cassie, for you and for the baby, and that’s not going to change” he added, his tone soft, yet still insistent and firm. He knew that she was concerned, from the second the words had fallen out of her mouth, she had looked worried, and he wanted to reassure her. He wasn’t going anywhere.

Cassie mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she lifted her head, her green eyes mirroring his briefly before she dropped her stare towards the bedspread. “What about us?” she mumbled quietly.

Sergio, who’d been staring towards the floor, stilled slightly at her question before he lifted his head. “I don’t know” he mumbled softly “I mean, you said it yourself, this wasn’t exactly what either of us planned” he added, a feeble smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

It wasn’t something they’d discussed a lot, after they’d met, both of them had agreed that they weren’t looking for something serious so soon after the conclusions of their previous relationships, but it was something he knew that they needed to discuss, even if he did want to avoid it for a while, it was the elephant in the room that they couldn’t avoid forever.

Cassie noticed his awkward smile before she gently stretched her hand out, lacing their fingers together before she offered his hand a light squeeze. “I am worried, Sergio” she mumbled softly “I mean, I love that you want to stick around, the idea of doing this alone scared me, but what happens if…if something goes wrong between us?” she added quietly, her eyes not moving away from their hands.

Sergio tilted his head, allowing her words to hang in the air for a couple of seconds, before he gently squeezed her hand. “That won’t change anything” he mumbled softly.

“Sergio…”

“I am not going to just walk away from you, Cass” Sergio interrupted “This is my baby too and, even if something was to go wrong between you and me, I give you my word that that will not stop me from being around for them. I am with you, Cassie. I promise you” he added, his tone insistent and comforting. It was a concern, with things between the two of the being more than slightly obscure, he didn’t blame her for being slightly worried, but he didn’t want to leave her in any doubt. He had little intention of going anywhere, even if things did get complicated.

Cassie looked at him for a brief moment before she dropped her head, mumbling something about being silly, something which caused Sergio to smile a little before he lifted his hand, gently cupping her cheek in order to tilt her head so that their eyes met. “You know, it is ok to be scared” he mumbled softly “I mean, this…this is huge and it’s more than alright to be worried, Cass. I know that I am” he added kindly.

“You are?” Cassie squeaked, her expression slightly dubious.

“Of course I am” Sergio chuckled “This is…this is something huge, Cass, and it’s come along out of nowhere. Of course I’m scared” he added gently.

Cassie spared him a soft look before she shook her head. “What are we going to do?” she mumbled softly.

Sergio gently brushed his thumb over her cheekbone before he quirked another soft smile. “We’re going to figure it out as we go” he mused softly “I mean, we could get ahead ourselves and freak out, but I think this way is probably better” he added, offering her a soft boyish grin.

Cassie let out a weak laugh, something which made Sergio’s smile widen a little before he leant into her, sneaking a light kiss which made Cassie squeak a little in surprise before she lifted her head, offering him a slightly quizzical look. “Sergio…”

“I don’t want to push us, Cass” he interrupted, anticipating the question which was sure to fall out of her mouth “It wasn’t supposed to get serious, at least not this quickly, and I’d hate for us to ruin things by trying to force it. We should figure this out as we go too” he added, flashing her another brief smile.

Cassie mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she nodded. “You’re probably right” she mused softly.

Sergio nodded in agreement before Cassie pushed herself up to her feet, mumbling something about needing a glass of water before she padded out of the room. Sergio watched after her for a brief moment before he moved to lean back against the mattress, a sigh tumbling out of his mouth. It was a big deal, the idea that Cassie was pregnant was huge, but still he knew that it was going to take them some work to figure things out. With the baby on the way, the last thing he wanted was for things between him and Cassie to become too complicated.