Chapter Two: Mistake- Baby Two

Lydia is such a wonder. She's hardly fussy at all and is always smiling. She doesn't mind being alone and is a very active child. She's so sweet and wonderful, I almost don't want to age her up and take her from infancy to the toddler days. But I also can't wait to see what she'll look like when she ages up, so I bring out the cake and watch my baby make the transition.

Lydia looks even more adorable as a toddler. Now being able to move freely, she's constantly moving around and smiling. She does prefer to be by herself a lot and it happy being alone for long periods of time. She could spend hours playing by herself and her toys.  

The first order of business is to get her potty trained to avoid heaps of stinky diapers.  Her sweet little face looks up at me as I set her on the potty chair.

"Ready Lydia?" I ask her.

I only get another smile in response, her lips don't form any sounds other than a coo. I smile back at her and laugh a little as she makes another odd sound.

Talking is next on the list, but Lydia isn't making any sense of the words. She's paying attention, but not one syllable comes from her mouth as I try to coax her to say something. So it's quite to my surprise when something comes out of mouth after two hours.  It's barely comprehensible, but I take it as a victory.

It's well past ten before I finally manage to slip into bed. Tomorrow holds no opportunities for relaxing, I have to meet with another challenge father and teach Lydia to walk. I'm eager to progress in the challenge, but a part of me just wants it to be Lydia and I for a little while longer. I debate on calling Skye or Paisley but it's too late now and both of them would kill me if the call woke up one of their kids.

I had just given Lydia her morning bottle when I get a call from none other than my crazy blue haired friend. I smile when her name lights up on the caller I.D. and greet her with a lazy hello.

"How's the challenge?" Skye asked after a brief conversation about the Twinbrook lake. "And how is Lydia?"

"She's great!" I reply. "Hardly fussy, quiet, basically a dream."

"Don't get used to it." Skye warned. "Wait until their's more of them and see how quiet they all are then."

"Good to know." I respond, glancing at the clock. "Oh yikes! I gotta go Skye. I'm gonna be late."

"Late for-" Skye begins, but I hang up on her before she can finish her question. A frantic shower and a hurried breakfast, I'm out the door just as the babysitter comes in.

Evan Smith is the next father, a charming businessman who works in one of the companies in Starlight Shores. He  looks familiar, but I can't place where I saw his face.  He works in at a rather large company from what he told me, he might have been in the papers or something.

He takes his sweet time with me, which only gives me an opportunity to puzzle over his face as he plants a kiss on my lips. It's bothering me for a reason I cannot place and only a part of me is really paying attention to anything going on. He doesn't seem to notice my lack of awareness and continues.

Soon after, the deed is done and I'm gathering up my things when his phone rings. I pay no attention to it at first and pull on my shoes, but the way he greets the other caller stops me in my tracks.

"Hey babe."

I freeze, my right shoe halfway on my foot. He continues with the conversation in front of me, not noticing or ignoring the shocked expression plastered onto my face.

"I'm in Twinbrook, I told you that-"

He's cut off by the response of the other person on the line, who starts yelling so loud I can hear it from where I stand.

The voice is female. Although I've never heard her in person, the distorted sound of her voice is enough to tell me what I needed to know.

No...

Shaking, I stand up and without, thinking, yank the phone from his hands. He whirls at me, his exasperated expression quickly turning to anger.

"Hey, what the hell?!" he asked me almost in a shout.

I don't respond for several moments, too angry to even form words. Finally my mouth works and I glare at him, speaking in a mutter.

"You told me you didn't have a girlfriend."

"What?"

"You told me you didn't have a girlfriend." I said voice louder, shaking from rage. "In the email. You told me you were single and in Twinbrook on business. But that's not it is it?"

"Does it matter?"

His casual response sends me into a shock for a moment before being beat back by a rapidly increasing urge to punch the guy where it counted.

"Yes, it does." I reply. "Because I only do this stuff with single men. I specifically told you that in the email!"

"Hello?" The woman on the other end. "What's going on?"

"Your just a whore right? What does it matter?" he says with a sneer on his face, the charming and easygoing personality gone, replaced with one with a twisted sense of amusement on his lips.

The insult hits me hard and I nearly stumble back while he laughs. "It's the truth." he says, smirking at me with a oh-so-arrogant stance.

"I'm a challenge mother, you dolt." I shoot back, realizing how pathetic the insult was too late. He starts laughing again.

"Like's that's a difference."

I grit my teeth, visibly shaking now. No good insults come to mind, nor any comebacks. I'm just standing there while he laughs at me and my failure to see past his lies sooner.

It's at that moment I realize I still have the phone in my hand.

"Hello?" I say into the phone, smiling at Evan's shocked expression. "Is this Mary Soran?"

"Yes..." Mary replies, clear as day.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing bitch?!" James yells, advancing towards me, the smirk gone, replaced by a look of pure fury.

"Your husband, James Soran, is a cheater. I'm sorry."

I toss the phone at him and it bonks him in the face. He stumbles backwards and nearly falls onto the bed.

"Your married to Mary Soran, one of the most famous singers." I tell him, arms crossed. "For now. I doubt Mary's gonna let this slide. Don't call me again."

And with that, I leave leave his room and exit the house. He doesn't follow me, he just lays there, shaking. A small smile plays at my lips, but it's quickly replaced a look of worry, than sadness.

Your just a whore right?

I bite my lip. Is that what I'm going to be to people? Someone that sleeps with anyone and has too many kids to count on two hands? Is that all the challenge mothers in general are to everyone else?

I knew what I was getting into, I remind myself gently. Besides, my impression was hardly the biggest issue on my mind.

I just ruined a marriage.

Lydia's smiling face does little to improve my mood when I arrive home. Nevertheless, I put a small smile on my face and snuggle her, closing my eyes. There's so much on my mind I can barely focus on the blue toddler in front of me.

"Hey baby girl." I murmur, holding Lydia close. She doesn't pick up on my mood, giggling and squirming around. I sigh and put her down, the smile still on my face, although much smaller.

I head into my room and shut the door. I pull out my cell phone and dial Paisley's number as fast as I can with my shaky hands. Taking a deep breath, I raise the phone to my ear, the tears I had been holding back threatening to overflow.

She picks up after two rings. "Hey." she greets me. "What's up?"

"I am so screwed." I reply, voice quivering.

"What do you-"

"The challenge father I met with is married and I told his wife what happened and now I'm pregnant and I don't know what to do!" I wail, letting the tears free.

"Whoa, what? Slow down."

I rub my eyes and steady myself and tell her the story in more detail, only being interrupted by Paisley's questions and my sniffling.

"Yikes." Paisley replied. "You did the right thing telling Mary you know."

I sigh, sitting down on my bed. "I know. I'm just worried she's going to spread rumors and stuff."

"I doubt it. She's pretty nice in her interviews."

"That's not really the same thing." I reply. "And besides, her husband cheated on her with me. I doubt she's going to be friendly."

It's an hour later before I finally feel secure enough with my emotions to end the call. Paisley wishes me good luck before I hang up, leaving me and my thoughts alone.

I didn't tell her about the whore thing. I had already spilled too much of my problems on her, the last thing i wanted was to burden her with another one of my issues.

Besides, it was kind of stupid anyway.

I don't really feel that hungry, but I make a salad the best I can with my shaky hands. There's a little baby inside of me that needs to eat, no matter what issues I have. Lydia happily plays on the other side of the living room and her giggles bring a faint smile to my face. At least somebody is happy.

Filled with boredom, I turn on the T.V. just in time to catch the newest report on the recent crimes on the other side of Twinbrook. I shudder as the reporter shows the crime scenes of each one, reminding me how dangerous the other side of Twinbrook is. This side is well populated and safe, but the other side is swampy and hardly any safety precautions. It's been rumored for years now that there were multiple gangs hiding out there, but nobody has ever been able to find any. With  a shudder I change the T.V. to something else, anything else. Not much is on, so I flick it off and put a smiling Lydia to bed before I head there myself.

The next morning is started off with a piece of cake for breakfast, due to my cravings getting the better of me. Although it's a bit stale, it's still quite delicious, enough to satisfy my craving at least. Lydia drinks her bottle as I put another bite in my mouth, brushing the crumbs off my nightdress.

 
It's a rare warm morning in Twinbrook, so Lydia and I head out to the beach for some walking practice. We settle down in a grassy area in front of the beach and I lift Lydia up by her hands. Her face grows from a smile to surprise has I set her on her feet. She looks up at me, confused. I smile at her and I make sure she's steady before I let go and back away. It takes a moment, but she clumsily takes her first steps towards me, barely keeping her balance. I smile in delight and scoop her up into a hug before starting the process all over again.

A small bump shows up on my belly soon after and I smile, despite the sudden batch of worry that is sent through me. Is there going to be a custody battle? Is Mary going to sue me? I bite my lip and scoop up Lydia and close my eyes. I can't focus on that stuff now, I have a toddler that needs to learn to walk. I force a smile on my face and set Lydia back down on her feet.

The arrival of my new easel definitely takes my mind of my worries for a while. I'm too frustrated trying to set the thing up that I don't have any space in my brain to think about anything else. But finally, I'm able to get some paint down on the canvas before starting up a warm shower.

  I'm just about to eat dinner when Skye knocks on the door and attempts to come in. I roll my eyes and invite her inside.

"I thought you went home." I said, closing the door.

"I did." she replied. "Then Paisley told me about the James thing, so I came over to lend support. And I also want to see your blue child."

"My blue child?" I ask with a laugh.

"Yes. The people that have blue traits must stick together."

"I have blues eyes you know."

"That doesn't count." Skye replied.

"Right."

Lydia took to Skye rather well, happily showing her how loud she could bang on the xylophone. Skye tried to show her how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but Lydia was having none of it and was randomly whacking the keys at random, perfectly content making a racket. Skye eventually gave up and started up an episode of Supernatural.

Skye ended up sleeping over, passing out in one of the beds as I was putting Lydia down. I chuckled a bit before changing and heading to bed myself.

The next day was a read-a-thon, as suggested by Skye. She decided we had to find the most lengthy books in the household and whoever fell asleep first lost. I didn't think it would be that hard considering we had just woken it, but ten pages in to my old textbook and my eyelids were already droopy. There wasn't much else to do, I could hardly do anything fun with my pregnant belly.

A game of Gnubb is eventually suggested, so we shove the trampoline to the side and set up the game. Skye goes first and with careful aim, knocks down the first Gnubb. She cheers and then grins at me. "Beat that!" she teases.

"Watch me." I smirk, picking up the baton and proceeding to knock one down as well.

This goes on for several more hours, the friendly insults turning into pathetic jabs as we each progress father into the came. The friendly name calling begins along with the cringe worthy insults that somehow stay friendly in nature. Skye is declared the winner, to which she celebrates with a wild dance before hitting the road. I wave goodbye to her, then head up the porch to head in, but I'm stopped by a too familiar voice.

"Amelia, wait!"

I whirl around, so fast I nearly fall over. The nature of his tone is too casual for what I expected. An angry rant, screaming, not this. Not the casual conversation he was trying to start up.

"How's life?" he asked, an easygoing grin on his face, like we were old friends.

"Fine." I reply coldly, going towards the door, but he grabs my arm and yanks me back over to him, so hard I'm sure it'll leave a mark. "Why'd you tell her?"

"Mary?"

"Yes her. My wife. We have three kids. Things were going so good, then you went and ruined it."

"Maybe you shouldn't have messed around with me then." I replied, crossing my arms. "It's not my fault."

"Of course it is you-"

"No." I said firmly, stopping him before he could insult me again. "It's your fault. If your here about parental rights, I'm taking care of the baby, you have no responsibility. None. It's all on me. Now get the hell of my property or I'll call the police."

I yank my arm from his grip and go inside, making sure to lock the door behind me. He stands there for a few moments, looking like a scolded puppy before leaving after I flash my phone at him through the window.

The conversation with James weighs heavily on my mind as I slip in to bed later that evening. Why would he seek me out? He doesn't think highly of me, that's for certain. The baby? Maybe. Maybe he just wanted to patch things up. The last one also seems unlikely. Somehow I manage to doze off, even with my troubled thoughts.

My painting session the next day could have been going much better. My thoughts kept drifting away, leading to quite a few smudges and muck ups. The entire thing looks as well as a kindergarten drawing. I trudge on and attempt to make the thing look somewhat decent. I was in the process of covering up the random green smiley face I had randomly put on the sun when a painful contraction hit me. I wince in pain and can't help but cry out.

I can't hire a babysitter on such short notice, nor can I carry Lydia with such excruciating pains. So, I waddle as quickly as I can to the nursery and settle down for what looks like a long labor.

Three hours later, William is finally brought into the world. I set him in the crib, the smile on my face as I hear the doorbell ring. Who would be here now? Not Skye or Paisley, they're back in Starlight Shores. Cousins? Doubt it. I haven't had so much as a phone call from them. It's not like I have a ton of friends around Twinbrook.

When I open the door, I'm hardly surprised to see who it is, yet completely shocked.