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storiesofomelia · 4 years

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One Last Chance

Hey everyone! It’s taken me a lot longer than I thought it would to get this story up and going. I’m not happy with this first chapter, but I figured I owed you all something because I feel like you’ve been waiting forever. I hope y’all like it! I’m trying to get back into my Omelia mojo.

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I just told the biggest lie of my life. I wasn’t planning to do it. I wasn’t going to. This could affect my entire future; my son’s entire future. What in the world was I thinking? Or maybe I wasn’t... How far is this going to go? Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?

***

The bright morning sun peeked through the shades and onto the pale face of the beautiful brunette laying in bed. A soft groan escaped her lips as she closed her eyes tighter against the bright rays of the sun, not wanting to be up at this hour. With the time change, the sunrise came a little later in the mornings, but Amelia still hated being up this early. Usually, she wouldn’t mind being up; most of the time she would be still be at work at this hour, or at least she would have been there for a few hours, but nowadays, her fatigue was getting the best of her. This pregnancy hadn’t been difficult at all so far and she thanked the heavens above for that, but every once in a while, she just needed to sit down and take a break.

The past week, though, had been particularly difficult for her. She had done something awful. Something that couldn’t be taken back or fixed with a simple ‘I’m sorry’. No, this was the worst of the worst. Amelia Shepherd had done something even the devil himself would deem cruel, and now she was going to have to deal with the consequences.

Amelia’s relationship with Link was almost what most people would call ‘picture perfect’ right now. He had shown up her door one rainy night with a guitar in hand and told her that he loved her, no matter who the father of her baby was. It was the kind of gesture that most women dreamed of and she stood there and witnessed it firsthand. It was all for her. When did she become this person? When did she become the kind of girl who was unbothered by all of the corny love declarations? Who was she becoming?

After Link’s whole speech, Amelia couldn’t help but feel bad for everything she had put him through. He was a good guy and he didn’t deserve to be put in the middle of it. Amelia hadn’t thought about what she was going to say; to be honest, she didn’t have the time to think about it because he was standing right there, and at the risk of looking like an idiot, she just vomited words. Amelia hadn’t planned to tell him that he was the father. To be honest, she hadn’t even looked at the results of the paternity test and had no idea why she told him that. Maybe she just needed some reassurance that someone was there for her and this was the only way to do it. Maybe she just needed someone to love her after everything she’d been through. Maybe she just wanted to be happy. She deserved that, didn’t she?

A small humorless chuckle escaped her lips as she slowly sat up in bed. “As if..” She whispered. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, then rubbed her temples as a loud sigh escaped her lips. A loud bang made her almost jump out of her skin and she got out of bed quicker than she had in months to see what was going on. When she opened her bedroom door and glanced out into the hallway, she spotted the little noise maker just a few feet from her door. “Ellis..” Amelia whispered, not sure if anyone else in the house was awake or not. When the little girl looked up at her aunt, Amelia smiled and motioned for her to come to her.

“What are you doing up this early?” Amelia asked as Ellis walked up to her bedroom door. Zola and Bailey were usually the first ones up. They were both early risers, much like their mom, but Ellis loved her sleep. She’d sleep all day if she could.

“I had a bad dream..” Ellis whispered as she looked down at the floor. She was the shiest child Amelia knew. To be honest, Amelia wasn’t even sure she had ever heard her talk above a whisper.

Amelia smiled a little and kneeled down as best as she could to her level. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked gently.

Ellis shook her head slightly, still looking at the floor. “Can I sleep with you?” She whispered.

A soft chuckle escaped Amelia’s lips as she looked down at her niece. “Well... I was just about to get in the shower and get ready to go to work...” She replied as she glanced around in the hallway. The house was unusually quiet for this early in the morning. “You know what? You go ahead and lay down on my bed while I check on everyone else, okay?” She said as she struggled to stand up.

Ellis looked up at her aunt with a confused look. “Mama’s not here.” She spoke softly. “Auntie Maggie took Zola and Bailey to school.”

Amelia’s brows furrowed for a second as she glanced down at Ellis. How did she not hear anyone? Was it later than she thought? Had she actually fallen asleep at some point that morning? With a resigned sigh, Amelia nodded and offered the little girl a small smile. “Okay. Come on, sweetheart. Let’s lay down for a bit, huh?”

***

“Amelia? What are you doing here?”

Amelia looked up at her sister and raised a brow. “Uh.. I live here.” She replied softly.

Maggie sighed and set her bag down in the floor as she walked into the living room. “I heard you were in labor...” She said, her voice full of concern.

“Oh.” Amelia chuckled softly and shook her head. “Braxton Hicks.” She said with a shrug. “I was certain it was the real deal, but... I guess I was wrong. I’m fine. I guess this little guy wants to stay in there for a few more weeks.”

Maggie sighed in relief as she sat down on the couch beside Amelia. “Thank goodness. I was so worried.” She said. “I looked all over for you, and when someone said you went home, I thought something was wrong...”

“No, Maggie, I’m fine. We’re fine. Really. I’m just trying to take it easy.”

“Good. You need to.”

Amelia smiled and rubbed her hand over her stomach. “I just want him to be as healthy as possible.” She said.

“I know. He is. He will be.” Maggie said softly. “Have you thought of a name for him yet?” She asked.

Amelia shook her head as she looked down at her growing belly. “No, not yet. It’s harder than I thought it would be.” She said. “I want his name to mean something. I just don’t know what.” She said with a small sigh. “I can’t name him after my dad. I already did that. And Derek already has a son named after him.”

“What about his dad?” Maggie asked.

Amelia took a deep breath and picked at an invisible string on her shirt. Her silence was deafening and Maggie quickly caught on.

“Amelia? Link is the father... right? Because he’s not exactly shy about telling people that he is..” She said softly.

Silence.

“Is the baby Owen’s?”

More silence.

“Amelia!” Maggie whispered urgently. “Did you tell Link he was the father and he’s not? Is this baby really Owen’s?”

“Yes... no... I-.. I don’t know, okay?” Amelia whispered back. She sighed out loud and ran her fingers through her hair. “I got the results of the paternity test last week, but... I haven’t been able to look at them.” She said. “I just told him that he was the father because he showed up here being all sweet and he offered to write me a song, Maggie. I.. I couldn’t break his heart again.”

“But what if he’s–”

“I know. What if he’s not the father? I’ve been thinking about this since I found Owen could be the father and I don’t know, Maggie. I don’t know what to do. I know I need to just... look at the results, but I can’t. Owen has a family now. He’s happy. He’s getting married, and if this baby’s his.. it’ll complicate things. Again. We’ve been through enough complications. He deserves to be happy.” Amelia sighed.

“But, if this baby is his, he has a right to know. Do you really want Link to raise Owen’s kid? Could you do that to them?” Maggie asked. She sighed and stayed quiet for a minute before she got an idea. “What if I look at them?” She asked.

Amelia looked over at her. “What?” She asked.

“I’ll look at the results for you.” She said softly. “Or I’ll look at them with you. I’ll be right here with you the whole time.”

Amelia sighed and looked back down at her hands. “Okay..” She rubbed her hands across her face and sighed once more before she looked over at her sister. “Okay.”

“Where are they? Do you need me to go get them?” Maggie asked.

Amelia shook her head and reached into the pocket of her shirt. She pulled out a folded up piece of paper and looked at Maggie once more before she unfolded it. “Hold my hand?” She asked softly.

Maggie grabbed the hand she held out for her and held it tightly in both of hers as she waited patiently. She knew Amelia was scared. Whatever that piece of paper said could change Amelia’s life forever. For good or bad, Maggie wasn’t quite sure.

Amelia sighed deeply, trying to calm her nerves as she closed her eyes for a second. She needed to relax, but she couldn’t. This was it. The moment of truth. She felt Maggie squeeze her hand gently and opened her eyes, finally making herself look down at that dreaded piece of paper.

Maggie looked down at their hands clasped tightly together when she felt Amelia squeeze her hand, then she looked up at her and met her eyes. She couldn’t tell what she saw in those eyes. Fear? Dread? Hope, maybe? Maggie wasn’t quite sure. She couldn’t read Amelia’s expression. She couldn’t push her, though. Maggie knew Amelia would talk when she was ready. Right now, all she could do was wait.

“Amelia?”

She was so deep in thought, Maggie’s voice startled her. Amelia squeezed her hand gently and laid the paper on her lap. “It’s, uh...” Amelia swallowed hard, her mouth feeling suddenly very dry. “The baby’s.. the baby’s Owen’s...” She whispered, her voice so low, Maggie had to lean in close to hear her. “What have I done?”

What have I done?

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