Maven

I've been pacing back and forth in my room for almost an hour now. Mare dashed off to Evangeline's and slammed the door in my face rather quickly.

I wonder what is up with her.

She's been vomiting for 3 weeks now, that's what she said. Once she looked at her planner she freaked out, dropped it on the floor, questioned me about Evangeline, then ran off.

I put her planner away and didn't look at it, I can give Mare her privacy on that at least.

I don't know whether to be angry, scared, or sad. Or thrice.

All of this seems messed up. What can Evangeline do to calm her nerves? Maybe it's Coriane, maybe she just needs a happy smile to cheer her up.

Or I could cheer her up. I am her fiancé.

Maybe she is asking Evangeline to see Cal, so she doesn't have to ask me about him.

No, Maven, she is loyal. That one time was because she was drunk, and so was he. Their judgment and emotions were fogged, it's not like that.

I can't let my mind wander off into those thoughts of Mare not being loyal to me, or anything else tragic.

But what if Mare has fallen ill and she is avoiding me?

What if she won't make it until our wedding?

Maven Merandus Calore, calm yourself.

I give myself the mental slap to tell myself to shut up. Something I do too much, sadly.

I decide to do the most unkinglike thing I can think of right now and I do a faceplant onto the bed.

It annoyed Mother to no end when I did it as a child.

I roll onto my back and stay in the starfish position. I exhale sharply and stare blankly at the ceiling.

I look at the clock on the bedside table again.

Only two more minutes have passed.

I look back at the ceiling, wanting to let my mind wander but I know well enough that if I do, it'll walk off into a dark place.

Maybe I should go to Evangeline's and check on her.

Maybe she is staying with her because she knows this state I'm in.

Maybe she isn't with Evangeline.

The deadlock of the door clicks, and the door opens.

I pop my head up and roll over to stand up and see who it is.

It better be Mare.

I roll, only I don't meet the bed, I flop onto the hardwood floor.

I could have sworn there was more bed for me to roll onto.

The bed disappeared on me.

I stand up promptly and greet the person who watched me fall fashionably onto the floor.

It is Mare.

She looks like a mess. Her hair is tattered, her eyes all red and puffy, her cheeks a bright pink and shiny, her clothes all wrinkled and scrunched.

I don't know what to say.

"Hi," I stammer.

She sniffles. "Hey,"

She continues to sob.

Now is the time to be gracious and intimate when my future wife is crying.

I walk around the bed and across the room to hug her tightly. As soon as she weakly falls into my arms and buries her head into my chest, my heart melts. She breathes heavy, uneven breaths, choking out a sob every other breath.

"What happened?" I ask her softly. She pulls out of our embrace, but not our arms. She held onto my elbows while I held her arm with one hand and her waist with the other.

She pulled away from my touch by backing up a step.

"What?" I quickly asked her.

Her jaw trembled as tears continue to river down from her eyes. She goes into her dress pocket on the side of her blue skirt and pulls out a long white wand-looking thing.

I raise my eyebrow. She is fretting over a stick?

She keeps it face down and hesitantly hands it to me. I grab it out of her plump hands gently. Once I turn it over, my skin goes numb.

That's what this is.

I look at the side, one line for negative, two for positive.

In the middle part, I see two strong red lines.

I look up at Mare, the tears continue to stream down. She isn't even trying to fight it anymore.

"A-are you?" I ask her dimly.

She just nods, then her hurricaning eyes continue to sob.

She's pregnant.

That's what all of this is.

I pull her into a hug again, and she practically falls into me. I stroke her back and run my fingers through her messy hair.

"It'll be okay," I whisper.

"No, what if it's not going to be okay? What if it's Cal's? What if everyone will know about what happened between me and him?" She rambles. There is the possibility it couldn't be mine and could be Cal's.

Mare has a point, that wouldn't be okay.

"I can take you to a doctor, then we can see if it's mine or not,"

"No," She cuts me off. "They will go public, and everyone will know, nurses and maids love the gossip."

Again, she has a point.

"I have my own private nurse, one for you and one for me. I freshly hired both within the past month, I will be very firm with them and tell them not to come out about it," I explain.

She pulls out a bit and looks into my eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise," I say, smiling faintly. I hug her again, resting my chin atop of her head. "On the bright side, I might be a father."

She chuckles a bit. "And I am going to be a mom."

That makes me smile more than it should. I know Mare might not see it, but she will be a great mom.

"When will we plan the appointment with the doctor?" She asks me, her face buried into my chest.

"Do you want to do it before or after the wedding?" I ask her a follow-up question.

"Before, I know I will be a panicky mess before the wedding anyway," She responds.

"Alright,"

She pulls out of our long hug and hugs herself now, mostly her stomach. I want to smile at that, but I know it wouldn't be appropriate.

"Want me to go and schedule it now or should I stay with you?" I ask her, she isn't facing me, her head is turned to her left.

"I-I don't know, I just need to let this settle in, okay?" She looks over at me.

"That's fine," I tell her. "I can schedule it later."

She nods then walks to the bed and sits down on the edge of it. She runs her fingers through her hair, then the waterworks come again.

She cries as she falls onto her side of the bed, her head falling into the foam pillow. I walk to my side of the bed and crawl onto it, and eventually next to Mare.

I lay down next to her as she continues to sob into her pillow. I hug her from behind, spooning her.

"I love you," I whisper in her ear.

"I love you too,"

Y'all waited three days for Maven's reaction, I'm so proud.

Well, here ya are folks.

Do y'all want it to be mavens?

Or cals?

Comment and tell me.