Class Novel: Chapter 16 by Carrie Mullenholz

Author's Note: Sorry this is so late guys. Today was really not a good day for me to have to post a chapter (which is why I chose yesterday...) Anyway. I was trying to do what everyone was posting in the comments, bringing in more people knowing about her pregnancy and bringing a conversation with her mom in again.  I thought about telling Cody, but it didn't feel like the right moment, plus I have no idea what climax we are working up to right now so I was honestly a little lost.  Sorry if it's not very good, I didn't have a solid amount of time to work on it. I also was confused on what the brother's name is so I just went with Nathan. Also I thought bringing her mom to Unalaska would make it interesting, but you can certainly change that. I had the thought that she could show up, Jack could show up or they could both come together. Either way, I think Jack needs to be brought in soon.

Nat woke up in the hospital and cringed at the headache she had.  Eugene and Susan were sitting in chairs at her bedside.

                “Oh thank God,” Susan said, “we thought you were never going to wake up.”

                “How long have I been out? Is Cody okay? Is the camera working?” she asked.

                “You’ve been out for a couple hours. Cody is having an x-ray done, they think he might have broken a couple of ribs,” Eugene answered looking nervously at Susan.

                “What about the camera?” Nat looked from Eugene to Susan.

                “The lens is broken,” Susan said gently, “it turns on, but you can’t see anything.”

                “Shit.” The doctor came into the room and said,

                “Sorry to interrupt, but we ran a CT scan and everything looks okay there bu—”

                “What about the baby? Would the fall have damaged anything?” Eugene blurted out.

                “Eugene…” Nat sighed looking at the bewildered look on Susan’s face.

                “We will run an ultrasound to make sure everything is fine. But it is very rare that a fall this minor would damage it,” the doctor continued on without noticing the obvious tension in the room, “We will be right back in to set everything up.”

                “You’re pregnant?” Susan said once the doctor had left the room. Nat nodded staring down at the hospital bed she was sitting on top of, not able to look Susan in the eye. Eugene exited the room, giving them their privacy.

                “Why did you tell Eugene and not me?”

                “I only found out about a month ago and Eugene just happened to catch me at a weak moment. Plus you’ve been going through everything with Cody, I just didn’t want to bother you with it,”

                “Is it Jack’s?”

                “Yeah.”

                “And you haven’t told him yet? Or your mom?” Nat shook her head, tears starting to sting her eyes.

                “Oh Nat. I’m sorry.”

                “Susan, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I always thought having kids was going to be in my future. Not now, but somewhere down the road. I’m not ready to be a mom. This movie was supposed to be my introduction into the movie industry, but now Jack is somehow holding me back again.” The doctor with impeccable timing strolled back in with a nurse and a cart with the ultrasound machine on it.  They put a gel on her belly and moved the wan around to find the baby. Nat grabbed Susan’s hand nervously and they both stared at the screen until the outline of a baby appeared.

                “Alright, there we go. I can hear the heartbeat and they look fine. I don’t see any damage done. Would you like to know the sex?” the doctor asked. Fear electrocuted her body as she gulped and nodded her head.

                “It’s a boy,” he said. Susan gripped her hand and smiled at her.  

                “Okay, everything looks okay to me. I don’t think there is any reason you should have to spend the night in the hospital,” he said, “Let’s be a little more careful when diving for replaceable objects, you have precious cargo.”

                “You got it. Do you know what room Cody Jackson is in?” Nat asked as they stood up to leave.

                “I don’t, but you can check at the nurses’ station, they have the list of patient rooms on their computer.” They walked out to the nurses’ station and they sent them to the third floor to Cody’s room.  He was sitting on a bed talking to a doctor.

                “You need to stay in bed for a few days and take some painkillers for a few weeks and you should heal in no time,” the doctor said.

                “Well that’s good to hear,” Nat said holding her stomach subconsciously.

                “Nat. You’re okay?” Cody asked.

                “Yeah I’m good. I’m more worried about you,” she said while Susan stared at her questioningly, “Because you’re my lead actor, we can’t do this without you.” This seemed to placate her a bit and Nat praised herself for a good recovery.

                “We are going to head back to the hotel, but we will call you in a few days to see about filming some more scenes—”

                “Umm, Nat. The camera?”

                “Damn it. I forgot about the camera. I’ll have to figure out how much money it is going to cost to fix the camera. And then we will call you about shooting some more scenes.”

                “Okay, sounds good. You’ll find the money somewhere, right? This can’t all be for nothing,” Cody said.

                “I hope you’re right. Maybe I can see if I can take out a loan somewhere.”

                “Or you know? Maybe ask your parents for some?” Susan pressed.

                “You know that’s not an option,” Nat muttered, “Especially not right now.”

                “It may be our only option,” Susan responded.

                “We will figure it out. Bye, Cody.”

               

                

Later on at the hotel Nat sat down with the phone in her hand typing her mom’s cell phone number out and then deleting it. She knew she had to call her, but she didn’t know how to brace herself for the lecture that was going to come with it. She was going to tell her mother about the pregnancy and hope she could deal with the money for the camera later.  She couldn’t have her parents thinking she was knocked up and needed to beg them for money.

                “Natalie?”

                “Hey, Mom.”

                “What’s wrong?”

                “Why do you automatically assume something is wrong?”

                “Because you called me. And you never call me,” her mom said skeptically.

                “That’s not true… I call you sometimes.”

                “Natalie. What is going on?”

                “Umm right. Well I found something out recently and I couldn’t figure out how to tell you.”

                “Are you out of money? You know if you talk to your father, he could probably loan you some.”

                “No, that’s not it.”

                “What is it?”

                “I’m pregnant.” There was nothing but silence. 

                “Mom?”

                “I’m here. Whose is it?”

                “Jack’s. I haven’t slept with anyone else since him,” she groaned having to share this intimate detail with her mother.

                “You need to come home. You need to tell him. I know you miss him, honey. He can afford to provide a good home for you and your baby.”

                “I don’t love him anymore, Mom.”

                “But you’re going to have a baby together. You don’t think it’s worth thinking about? You aren’t the only one to be thinking about in this situation. What’s going to be the best option for your baby?”

                “I don’t know, Mom. It’s all happening too fast. I haven’t had time to fully wrap my head around it.”

                “How far along are you?”

                “I think the doctor said I’m in my second trimester. It’s a boy, by the way.”

                “Oh how wonderful, Nat. You need to come home. Let me look after you and you can tell Jack and it will all be okay. Just abandon your movie. You need to do what’s best for your baby boy’s future.”

                “I can’t come home, Mom. I feel closer to Nathan here. I’ve found an actor that I can see Nathan in an—”

                “Natalie, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You need to come home. You and Jack should figure this out together.”

                “No, Mom. I’m staying here for now. I’ll tell Jack on my own terms.”

                “Well if you aren’t going to come home, I will just have to come and get you myself. I’ll be there on the first flight I can find to that God forsaken town. Goodbye,” she said hanging up before Nat could protest.

                “Oh shit.” Nat sunk back on her bed and wished she had never pressed the call button.