Ties That Bind

The move had gone well. They had painters come in the and everything was done by the end of the weekend. They had hired a team of movers to move her stuff in and it took them nearly a week to finish putting things in their places. With the help of Penny though the yard and living room had been decked out For Halloween.

“I feel like a whale,”Cecelia sighed.

“Well if it makes you feel better you don’t look it.”

She groaned,”Small consolation I guess.”

Penny hooked her arm with Cecelia's. Mark stood behind them. This was the last concert she would be going to for awhile. And knowing she would be missing out on them made her a little sad. But she knew it was for a very good and important reason.

“Are you going in with us or waiting until almost our set time?”he asked.

Penny nudged him,”Give her a minute to decide. It's still undecided how she plans to sneak in.”

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea being this close to your due date,”he grumbled.

“Ariel will be here very soon. I need this one last show,”she smiled.

“Well we could all walk in together. We could shield her from all sides so maybe with the black clothes and the shitty lighting they won't really be able to tell,”Penny smiled.

“That's not a bad idea,”he smiled. “We could have a couple of the guys on one side. One in front and us on the other side.”

“Yes!”Penny nodded.

With things being decided it was time to head to the venue. It wasn't often but sometimes they had shows that had nothing to do with a tour. Yes they were going on tour soon. But the guys had an itch and wanted to play a small show for a local venue looking to drum up some business.

Getting to the venue and getting inside wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. Guitar cases and everyone hid her stomach well. What she didn't count on was Alice rounding the corner heading for the back door. She looked up and they locked eyes. She tucked her phone away and headed their way.

“Ce, can we have moment?”she asked.

“We’ll wait in the dressing room,”Penny unhooked her arm.

“We will?”Mark asked.

She nodded,”Yes.”

She tugged him along after giving Alice a hug and they disappeared through a door down the hallway. Alice nodded in the direction she’d come from. Cecelia nodded and followed her. She led her to a restroom at the end of the hall. She ushered her inside.

“Imagine my surprise when I see a picture of a very pregnant you moving into a house,”she locked the door effectively sealing them inside alone.

“Alice, it's not what it looks like,”Cecelia sighed.

She looked pointedly at her large stomach,”Judging by that, it is exactly what it looks like. Some Avenged fan lives near by and snapped a few pictures of you.”

She leaned against the sink and crossed her arms over her chest. Waiting for Cecelia to confirm what she could already see.

“Does he know?”she asked when Cecelia didn't talk.

“Who?”she asked knowing exactly who Alice meant.

“Don't play coy, Cecelia. Does he know?”she asked.

“I didn't even know until I was almost four months along. I haven't spoken to him since that night in Chicago.”

“You're for sure it's his?”she asked.

Ouch. Alice had called Cecelia after the guys got back asking her what had happened? She had also asked if Matt asked her if she wanted to work things out with him. Which he didn't. They didn't exactly do much talking that night.

“Yes I'm sure. It's been about the same amount of time since that night. We weren't careful. And well, hello Ariel,”Cecelia waved her hand over her stomach.

“A girl?”she smiled.

Cecelia nodded,“Ariel Rose.”

“That's beautiful. Congrats. You know you have to tell him,”she frowned.

“I tried. Well sort of. I came to Huntington after I found out. But I couldn't bring myself to do it alone. He would have called me a liar.”

“Well in his line of work it's not uncommon for that to happen.”

“Yeah with gold digging groupies. But we were together for years. He knows I've never lied to him,”she sighed.

“Be that as it may, he has the right to known.”

“Don't you think I know that? More than anyone else I know that. But we didn't exactly part on the best terms. And then that night was like the be all and end all of us I guess. So I was going to do this on my own.”

Her face fell,”You were going to keep her and him from knowing about each other? What were you going to say when we showed up?”

Cecelia shrugged,”I hadn't thought about it much. With the move and stuff.”

“We'll be here in a few weeks. She would probably be here judging your readiness to pop.”

“Probably,”she nodded. “What are you doing here now?”

“Well I told Bri I had to handle something out of state. And I came as soon as I saw the picture. It's everywhere, Ce. Everywhere.”

“Has he...”she couldn't finish it.

“God no. You know he doesn't use the net for more than music and gaming. Plus I've been running them all on errands for the trip.”

Cecelia felt a bit of relief. But it was short lived when Alice’s phone beeped and her eyes widened as she looked at Cecelia to the phone.

“What is it?”she asked.

“Okay I set alerts for your name. And Mark's. Just in case. Well there was a ping.”

“And?”

“Some fan blog has linked the pregnancy to the last night you saw Matt. Someone sent them pictures of you two in the club that night and leaving together,”Alice frowned.

“Oh god.”

“You get back to them. I'm gonna head out. I do have business to attend before I catch the red eye tonight. I will make sure they don't see this. But you have to tell him Cecelia. Before he finds out on the internet.”

With a quick hug and goodbye she hurried out of the bathroom. Cecelia took a moment to gather her thoughts. This was fucked up.