Chapter 81, It's Not His |
Breanna and Howie sat on the bed trying to think of a way to get out of the room. "So, we have to have a key to get out of here?" Howie asked her. "Yeah..." She replied quietly. They both sat in different parts of the room looking at magazines and books to pass the time. "You're not talking!" Nick shouted from the other side. "Talk talk talk!" Breanna yelled sarcastically causing Howie to snicker softly. "Well, at least I can hear both of your voices." Nick replied as he walked away. "We might as well talk about something or they're never going to let us out of here." Howie stated as he moved to sit closer to Breanna. Breanna shifted uncomfortably with the look of pain on her face. "Are you okay!?" Howie asked hastily as he ran to be by her side. "Yeah, the baby's just stretching and it hurts. Feel." Breanna said as she grabbed Howie's hand and placed it on her lower stomach. "Oh, what is that!?" He asked with a slight smile on his face. They made eye contact for the first time all day. "It a foot." Breanna explained. Howie smiled more as the baby kicked him. "She/He never does that. Just for you." She laughed.
"She/He? You don't know what it is?" He asked her. "No, I wanted to wait..." She replied. "Oh. So, um, how far along are you?" He asked. "Six months." She said. "I hope Mitchell is happy about this." Howie stated as he took his hand away. "I guess he is." She replied. "When did you tell him?" "Um, a month ago, I think. I don't remember." She explained. "And you guess he's happy?" Howie asked sarcastically. "He said as long as I was happy he'd be happy for me." Breanna stated as she rubbed her stomach. The baby was kicking like crazy. "Some father he's going to make." Howie said under his breath as he stared off into space. Breanna laughed, "I doubt he'll ever be a father, Howard." Howie looked at Breanna for a moment before turning his attention elsewhere. "What?" Howie asked. "Oh my God...you think...!" Breanna said quietly as a tear slid down her cheek. Her chin was almost to the floor as she stared at Howie in shock. "I think what?" He asked her as he searched her eyes. "You think this baby is Mitchell's!" Breanna cried. "Well, isn't it?" Howie asked back. She shook her head as more tears came to her eyes. "Then who's...oh my god..." He whispered. "London." She stated.
Breanna continued to cry when she realized that Howie didn't know it was his baby. Her nightmare wasn't over yet. Howie swallowed all the confusion and pain her felt as he pulled Breanna towards him. They didn't speak for a few hours as Breanna continued to cry. Howie didn't want to talk because he knew that he would probably say something he would regret later. A few more hours passed as they stayed in the room. Neither talked to one another. Instead Breanna slept in Howie's arms as he rubbed her stomach. When the sun started to go down, Howie heard the door unlock. "Hey." Brian whispered as he saw Howie sitting on the floor with Breanna laying in his arms. "How is she doing?" Howie didn't know what to say as he glared at Brian. "Why'd you lock us in here? We're not children." Howie explained as he woke Breanna up. "C'mon." He whispered to her as he helped her up. Howie lead Breanna to her room and helped her into bed. Howie was in her room for almost an hour before he walked back downstairs to the living room. His eyes were red from crying. "What happened?" AJ asked. "How come none of you told me that she was sick?" Howie demanded. "We just found out the other day. That's why we flew out here. She wanted to tell you on her own." Kevin explained. Howie looked at everyone angrily before he turned around to go back upstairs.
"You didn't yell at them, did you?" Breanna asked softly. "No." He replied. "I'm gong to be fine." She stated. "I know. You're strong." He whispered as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. He sat on the edge of her bed looking into her eyes as she laid on the bed. She was fighting to stay awake. "Breen?" He asked quietly. Her eyes fluttered open again. "Hmmm?" "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked. "I was scared." She replied. "When were you planning on telling me?" "Today." She said quietly. "Howie, I'm really tired." She whispered. "Alright, Bree. Goodnight." Howie whispered back as he kissed her cheek. Before he had pulled back, she was already asleep.
Howie walked down the stairs and grabbed his keys off the bookshelf where he had left them. He glanced around the room and realized that the house was quiet. Kevin and Eve were in their room with Sarah while Brian and Izabel were out with Thomas. Nick and Natasha went out to dinner to catch up on the past week while Mya slept, her body jetlagged. "Where are you going?" AJ asked as he entered the room. "Out. I need to think." AJ didn't bother to ask anymore questions as he watched Howie leave the house.
Howie drove down the hills towards the Santa Monica coast. Once he reached Pacific Coast Highway, he pulled off the road into one of the parking lots. He parked his car and quietly got out. He looked down at his pants as he walked slowly towards the water. His black Dockers had moist sand clinging to the bottom cuffs as his tucked in white button down shirt collected moisture from the ocean. The shirt had satin maroon lining that helped keep the moisture from his skin. Howie walked down the the beach in the dark thinking about everything. Before long he became tired and sat down on the sand. He looked up at the sky and almost smiled. "Hey sis, it's me again. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard spot and I don't know what to do. Bree's pregnant, but you probably already knew that. I've always wanted to be a dad but now I don't know what to do. I love her more than anything but she waited until now to tell me about the baby. How do we start over? There's a new life involved. And what am I supposed to do if God takes her from me like he took you? I'm scared and for the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do." "You love her! There isn't anything else to do but take things one day at a time." Howie heard AJ reply. Howie turned around and saw his best friend watching him with a look of concern. AJ took a seat next to Howie and looked out at the ocean. "How long have you know?" Howie eventually asked. "Since I was touring with her. She never knew that I knew. I didn't know how to tell you and figured she would tell you when the time was right." AJ explained. Howie stayed quiet as he watched the waves crash onto the sand. "I don't know what to do." Howie whispered as a tear slid down his cheek. "Help her. Support her. Love her. Learn to trust her again. And be the best dad you can be. That's about all you can do. She'll eventually start to open up again to you. By the time that baby's ready to make an appearance, things will probably be almost normal between you two." AJ said as he continued to watch the ocean. "Do you think things will go back to the way they were?" "Well, they sure as hell couldn't get any worse! Damn, our lives were miserable while you two were apart! Now, c'mon, it's fuckin' cold out here." AJ complained as he stood up. "I'll be home in a little bit. I just want some time alone." Howie commented. "Alright, I'll see you. Be careful on your way home." AJ said as he walked away towards his car. Howie watched the waves for an hour thinking about the baby. He knew it would be a girl with light brown hair and big green eyes. Before long, he was smiling. His dreams were coming true, they were just out of order. "Nothing's perfect yet." He commented to himself as he stood up to leave the beach.
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