Surprisingly Perfect

Paternity Test

The next day, while Poppy was babysitting and Mom was at work, Cler came with me to my doctor's appointment. Dr. Andrews took a few blood samples for tests to make sure the babies wouldn't have any birth defects or to see if they would have Down Syndrome.

I wasn't even worried, maybe because of Mother's Intuition, but I knew they would be perfectly healthy.

I saw Brittany again, who did an ultrasound. It could be on my belly this time. It was way more comfortable. We couldn't tell the genders just yet, but I was trying not to cry.

Instead of the shrimp and the snowman, I could see two things that actually looked like little babies. I could make out their heads and their stubby arms. Cler was beside herself.

Brittany handed me an updated set of pictures and told me that if there were no issues, she'd see me for my twenty-week appointment, where we'd finally find out the genders.

The suspense was killing me. I just wanted to know what they were so I could start buying the right clothes and decorations for their half of the room.

Then another week flew by. Time for my blood test so I could prove to Jace that he was the father or my babies. I rode my bike to the clinic because it was close by.

I purposely made the appointment during the day so Mom and Poppy wouldn't find out. I hadn't even told them I told Jace because I knew they'd be upset about him denying the babies, even though we all expected it.

While I was waiting in the lobby of the clinic, I could see Jace roll up on his motorcycle. And if that wasn't surprising enough, he walked in and sat down right next to me. He didn't look at me, though, but it was probably because I was trying as hard as possible to avoid eye contact.

"You're going down, maid," Jace whispered.

Before I could answer, a nurse called our names. She brought us back into two different rooms. A different nurse came in, cleaned my arm off, and tied the rubber strip around it.

"Do you happen to know how long the results take?" I asked as she drew my blood.

"About a week," she said, probably secretly judging me.

I held my breath. In just one week this whole dilemma would be over. Whether he liked it or not, Jace would have to step up. Who knows, maybe I'd even get lucky and he'd want to be a part of the babies' lives?

I waited one more agonising week before I finally got the call I was waiting for.

I hung up the phone, and surprise, surprise, Jace was the father. The nurse who called said she would be calling Jace right after, so all I had to do was wait. I sat on the living room couch and scrolled through my social media, then got distracted and looked at nursery ideas. Only six and a half weeks until finding out the genders.

There were a lot of ideas for two girls, two boys, and even super cute gender-neutral designs for one of each. Whether they were boys or girls, I was definitely thinking of doing brown cribs.

When I realized how much time I'd spent wasting time, I texted Cler, did some cleaning, and then looked at cars. Everything was too expensive. I asked Jace for extra hours since I couldn't get ahold of his dad. They were away for months at a time while Chase filmed.

Jace wouldn't even talk to me. I knew he was upset about the paternity test because deep down he realized he was guilty as charged. I had a feeling he knew what the results would be before they even swabbed his cheek.

I was so frustrated with waiting that even though my feet hurt, I was pacing back and forth all around the house. Was he going to text me at all? By the time six long hours passed, I sent him a text. I couldn't take it anymore.

I'm guessing you got the results of the test?

I laid down on my bed for a quick nap and was woken up by his response.

Don't care if they're mine. Get an abortion. Not gonna be part of this bullshit.

I hadn't felt like throwing up all day until then. After my express trip to the bathroom, I cleaned myself up and then laid face-down on my bed. The tears wouldn't stop coming. I cried and cried until I could barely breathe. How could he say something like that about his own flesh and blood?

I don't even know how long I was sobbing on my bed, but it must've been hours. As soon as Mom walked through the front door, she heard me wailing and ran up the stairs. Poppy was trailing right behind her.

"Chrys? Chrys, what happened?" Mom asked, totally frantic. I couldn't even speak. Instead I pulled out my phone and showed her the text. She gasped. "He doesn't think they're his?"

"N-no," I said, trying as hard as I could to catch my breath. "I talked to him last week and convinced him to get a paternity test. The results came back today and he sent me this!"

I showed them my phone and watched as their eyes scanned the messages on the screen. Poppy gasped. Mom's face scrunched up into her "somebody's-going-to-get-it" look.

"Everybody in the car," Mom said.

I didn't protest. I grabbed some tissues to wipe my eyes on the car ride, and we all went into her SUV.

"Are we going over there?" Poppy asked.

"You bet your butt we are," Mom said, turning to me for just a second. "And I don't want to hear your speech about me fighting your battles. Let Mom handle this one."

"Okay," I said.

I felt powerless and defeated. Just this one time, someone else could take the reins.

We pulled into Jace's neighborhood and up to the front gate of the Hetcher mansion. Mom pressed the button by the gate.

"Hello? Can we help you?" said the voice on the speaker.

"Yes, you can. My name is Jennifer Everston. My daughter, Chrys, is carrying Jace's children and I need to have a word with him."

"I'm sorry, but I'm only allowed to let household employees and guests enter at this gate."

"My daughter Chrys is with me. She's an employee here. Let us in, please."

"I don't see a 'Chrys' on the schedule for tonight. My apologies, but I'm unable to let you in."

"This fifty in my wallet says otherwise." There was no answer. Mom pressed the button again. "Come on, what do you say?"

"I'm actually being told to let you in. One moment, please."

"I can't believe that actually worked," Poppy said. 

"Ha! That's how it's done," Mom said. 

"Did you guys hear what they said? If someone told them to open the gate, maybe Jace actually wants to talk," I said, feeling a tiny bit of hope.

The gate parted and we drove in. Poppy was in total awe. She'd never been anywhere near the Hetcher mansion. I'll have to admit, the big mansion and the five-tier fountain also left me in disbelief the first time I saw it.

Mom parked the car and we all got out. Like the leader she was, Mom walked right up the steps and didn't even use the doorbell. She balled up her first and went straight for a bunch of loud knocks.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" I said.

"Me too," Poppy said.

I could hear footsteps coming towards the door.

"Oh please. I'm not scared of anyone," Mom said.

"Are you sure? Jace can be really intimidating!" I said, hugging myself because I was so nervous.

"Have you forgotten that I work as a CO during the night? I deal with hardened criminals every day," Mom said.

The door opened, and I froze. I was expecting to see Henry or one of the other house staff, and maybe even Jace—but I couldn't have been more wrong. A super cute guy with slicked back blond hair, perfectly tanned skin, and eyes the color of the ocean stood in front of us.

It was none other than the sixteen-year-old celebrity superstar himself: Chase Hetcher.