Best of Me
Heartbeat
At three o’clock in the morning, Kat found herself hunched over the toilet, puking up everything she had eaten and then some. Even when her stomach was empty, she was still dry-heaving. By the time she was finished, her back was hurting, and her throat was raw. She leaned against the bathtub, hand resting on her flat stomach.
“Jesus Christ, kid. You were conceived eight weeks ago, and you already hate me.” Kat chuckled to herself, feeling exhaustion wash over her. She forced herself up, quickly brushed her teeth, and went back to bed. Today was the day of her first OB/GYN appointment, and she was nervous all over again. She knew that she should have had it confirmed when she found out, but she couldn’t bring herself to go until she decided that she was keeping the baby.
Since her appointment was only a few hours away, she forced herself to go back to sleep so she could function. The last thing she wanted was to get into a car accident because she was so exhausted.
**
“Well, Miss Taylor, are you ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat?” Dr. Stratford asked as she smiled softly at Kat. She nodded and immediately, the sound filled the room. It was fast like a train and it was holding strong. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Kat was never one that thought about having children. She never thought about it all, so she didn’t know if she wanted them or not. She was so wrapped up in being carefree and her career, it just never crossed her mind.
Hearing that heartbeat, seeing it on the sonogram, it all started to feel right. She was eight weeks pregnant, but she loved that little bean more than anything else in the world already. And all it took was hearing that heartbeat. She was on the brink of tears, but she blinked them away.
Dr. Stratford clicked something on the screen and a picture of the heartbeat and sac printed out. Kat took the picture from her doctor and stared at it, her thumb tracing over the little blip that was her baby.
Kat finished up her appointment and sent a text to Val, letting her know she was done. A moment later, Val texted back inviting Kat to come to their barbeque. Kat agreed to go, letting her know she would be there in a couple hours. She had some work to do, but it wasn’t much, so she could knock it out fairly quickly.
Before going home, Kat decided to stop in at her dad’s house. She figured that if she could get through telling her dad that she was pregnant then she could tell Brian a lot easier.
Kat had always been close with her dad, especially after her mom passed away. This was not going to be an easy conversation because her dad was overprotective, but she hoped that he would at least be somewhat understanding.
“Kit Kat!” David exclaimed as he saw his daughter, a bright smile appearing on his face.
“Hey, daddy.” She smiled, hugging him tightly. He all but dragged her inside the house and shut the door behind her. She saw her dad on a regular basis, but he always acted like he never got to see her.
“So, what’s going on with you baby girl?” David asked as they sat down in the living room. Kat ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, searching for the right words.
“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Before I do, I need you to promise that you won’t freak out. I’m doing enough of that by myself.” She laughed slightly, but it was humorless. David sat silently, patiently waiting for her to continue.
“Two weeks ago, I found out I’m pregnant.” The words rushed out, and she knew right away that her dad was shocked and caught off guard. “You’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Are you serious? Wha-? How did this happen?” He fumbled over his words, and Kat couldn’t tell if he was mad or not.
“I don’t think we need to go into specifics. The important part is that it’s happening, and I am really going to need you for this.” Kat explained, still trying to gauge her father’s reaction.
“Well, I’m a little confused, but if you’re happy, that’s all that matters. I would like to know more, but we can discuss that later.”
Kat felt a massive weight lift from her shoulders as she showed her dad the sonogram picture. He smiled brightly, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. If he couldn’t discern the image, he never said a word about it. He would have been more disappointed about this pregnancy if Kat was a lot younger and she didn’t have a stable career. Of course, he wanted more for her, but he just cared about her happiness, and he always wanted to be a grandfather. He knew that her mother would have been proud of her for taking this on with so much strength. She was, without a doubt, her mother’s daughter.
**
The last two weeks had been really hard on Kat. Anytime she saw Brian, she wanted to tell him about the baby but the moment she opened her mouth she chickened out. She was terrified, not because there was a possibility that she would be doing this alone, but because there was a possibility that she could lose her best friend. The mere thought of that was hurting her.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Brian was in an on again off again relationship with Val’s twin sister, Michelle. On the night he and Kat hooked up, he and Michelle had broken up, so there was never any cheating going on. However, Brian’s relationship was an absolute clusterfuck and this baby was only going to make it worse.
There had always been a part of Kat that was jealous of Michelle. For a long time, it was because she felt that Michelle was taking her best friend away. Brian had always made it clear that being with him meant that Kat was part of the deal, but that never stopped Michelle from disliking her.
Kat and Michelle could have been friends, but at one point, Michelle thought there was something going on between Brian and Kat. A lot of insecurities were developed and there was a lot of bad blood.
Kat tolerated Michelle for Brian’s sake. They were acquaintances and things usually went pretty smoothly whenever they were in the same room together, but this baby was going to blow that all to hell in a handbasket.
Kat didn’t think it was fair that Brian was now going to be put in the position of maybe choosing his child over his girlfriend. She hoped that this would go smoothly, but knowing Michelle, it probably wouldn’t.
“Jesus Christ, kid. You were conceived eight weeks ago, and you already hate me.” Kat chuckled to herself, feeling exhaustion wash over her. She forced herself up, quickly brushed her teeth, and went back to bed. Today was the day of her first OB/GYN appointment, and she was nervous all over again. She knew that she should have had it confirmed when she found out, but she couldn’t bring herself to go until she decided that she was keeping the baby.
Since her appointment was only a few hours away, she forced herself to go back to sleep so she could function. The last thing she wanted was to get into a car accident because she was so exhausted.
**
“Well, Miss Taylor, are you ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat?” Dr. Stratford asked as she smiled softly at Kat. She nodded and immediately, the sound filled the room. It was fast like a train and it was holding strong. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Kat was never one that thought about having children. She never thought about it all, so she didn’t know if she wanted them or not. She was so wrapped up in being carefree and her career, it just never crossed her mind.
Hearing that heartbeat, seeing it on the sonogram, it all started to feel right. She was eight weeks pregnant, but she loved that little bean more than anything else in the world already. And all it took was hearing that heartbeat. She was on the brink of tears, but she blinked them away.
Dr. Stratford clicked something on the screen and a picture of the heartbeat and sac printed out. Kat took the picture from her doctor and stared at it, her thumb tracing over the little blip that was her baby.
Kat finished up her appointment and sent a text to Val, letting her know she was done. A moment later, Val texted back inviting Kat to come to their barbeque. Kat agreed to go, letting her know she would be there in a couple hours. She had some work to do, but it wasn’t much, so she could knock it out fairly quickly.
Before going home, Kat decided to stop in at her dad’s house. She figured that if she could get through telling her dad that she was pregnant then she could tell Brian a lot easier.
Kat had always been close with her dad, especially after her mom passed away. This was not going to be an easy conversation because her dad was overprotective, but she hoped that he would at least be somewhat understanding.
“Kit Kat!” David exclaimed as he saw his daughter, a bright smile appearing on his face.
“Hey, daddy.” She smiled, hugging him tightly. He all but dragged her inside the house and shut the door behind her. She saw her dad on a regular basis, but he always acted like he never got to see her.
“So, what’s going on with you baby girl?” David asked as they sat down in the living room. Kat ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, searching for the right words.
“Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Before I do, I need you to promise that you won’t freak out. I’m doing enough of that by myself.” She laughed slightly, but it was humorless. David sat silently, patiently waiting for her to continue.
“Two weeks ago, I found out I’m pregnant.” The words rushed out, and she knew right away that her dad was shocked and caught off guard. “You’re going to be a grandpa.”
“Are you serious? Wha-? How did this happen?” He fumbled over his words, and Kat couldn’t tell if he was mad or not.
“I don’t think we need to go into specifics. The important part is that it’s happening, and I am really going to need you for this.” Kat explained, still trying to gauge her father’s reaction.
“Well, I’m a little confused, but if you’re happy, that’s all that matters. I would like to know more, but we can discuss that later.”
Kat felt a massive weight lift from her shoulders as she showed her dad the sonogram picture. He smiled brightly, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. If he couldn’t discern the image, he never said a word about it. He would have been more disappointed about this pregnancy if Kat was a lot younger and she didn’t have a stable career. Of course, he wanted more for her, but he just cared about her happiness, and he always wanted to be a grandfather. He knew that her mother would have been proud of her for taking this on with so much strength. She was, without a doubt, her mother’s daughter.
**
The last two weeks had been really hard on Kat. Anytime she saw Brian, she wanted to tell him about the baby but the moment she opened her mouth she chickened out. She was terrified, not because there was a possibility that she would be doing this alone, but because there was a possibility that she could lose her best friend. The mere thought of that was hurting her.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Brian was in an on again off again relationship with Val’s twin sister, Michelle. On the night he and Kat hooked up, he and Michelle had broken up, so there was never any cheating going on. However, Brian’s relationship was an absolute clusterfuck and this baby was only going to make it worse.
There had always been a part of Kat that was jealous of Michelle. For a long time, it was because she felt that Michelle was taking her best friend away. Brian had always made it clear that being with him meant that Kat was part of the deal, but that never stopped Michelle from disliking her.
Kat and Michelle could have been friends, but at one point, Michelle thought there was something going on between Brian and Kat. A lot of insecurities were developed and there was a lot of bad blood.
Kat tolerated Michelle for Brian’s sake. They were acquaintances and things usually went pretty smoothly whenever they were in the same room together, but this baby was going to blow that all to hell in a handbasket.
Kat didn’t think it was fair that Brian was now going to be put in the position of maybe choosing his child over his girlfriend. She hoped that this would go smoothly, but knowing Michelle, it probably wouldn’t.