They had been the longest two minutes of her life. Naasson made the move to pick the pregnancy test up off the bathroom counter, and he cursed inwardly as he saw the two pink lines. “What does it say?” A’ja asked with a voice full of concern.
Naasson’s eyes shifted in her direction. “That we’re going to be parents.”
A’ja’s eyes ballooned out of her head, and she walked over and peered at the test. When she saw the two pink lines, tears filled her eyes instantly. Even when Naasson left to go get the test, A’ja never allowed the thought of being pregnant to even infiltrate her mind.
“Why you crying?” he asked in a gentle tone.
A’ja sniffed. “This timing is all wrong. I’m still legally married to another man. The season just started good. I don’t even really know you. I can’t have this baby.”
Naasson rested his head on the wall. Under different circumstances, he would have told A’ja without a doubt to keep his seed. But this timing couldn’t be more off. Naasson stared up at the ceiling for a few moments while A’ja sniffed and stared at him. At that moment, Naasson hated himself for not being more responsible. His orbs finally landed on A’ja’s face.
“I have to tell you something,” he confessed, and he saw her hold her breath.
Naasson grabbed A’ja’s hands. “I’m not just in London for the movie. I’m on the run.”
A’ja’s head reeled back. “On the run? As in from the police?”
Naasson licked his lips and nodded before running the story down to A’ja. He was anticipating the fact that she would look at him differently, but her facial muscles instantly relaxed. “It was self-defense, Naasson. Go back and tell them that.”
“I didn’t see the gun for real. I could have jumped the gun and damn near killed his ass without just cause. I don’t want to go to prison. But you deserve better than that. If you keep this kid…” Naasson swallowed hard. He didn’t even want to complete the sentence.
A’ja felt eerily calm, and that was strange as hell to her. “I don’t think I can keep this baby. I guess this was why my grandma told me to never say never. I almost used to think I’d never be that girl to get an abortion. Now, I’m not so sure.”
Naasson and A’ja both stood in silence for a good while. “So, you’re getting an abortion?” Naasson finally asked. It seemed like a solution that would solve both their problems, but neither of them seemed happy or sure about the idea.
“I guess.” A’ja’s eyes were filled with sadness. She wanted a baby. Her wanting a baby was part of the reason she was divorcing her husband. She was ready, and he wasn’t. A’ja had money. She could take care of ten kids if she had to, but did she really want to be a single mother? Did she want to be pregnant atthe start of a season where she’d already promised herself that it would be the best season she ever played?
Naasson held his arms open, and A’ja walked into them. She appreciated him attempting to comfort her. Naasson wrapped his arms around A’ja, and they stood as he held her for a few moments.
“Why don’t you sleep on it? Maybe you’ll be able to think more clearly in the morning. I’m sure you’re in shock right now, because I’m in shock.”
“I should have been more careful,” her voice was muffled by his chest. “I threw my pills away because I’m the middle of a divorce, and I wasn’t planning on having sex. I know better.”
“We both know better. It’s not all on you.”
“What are you thinking?” she looked up at him.
“That if I go back and turn myself in, I might be able to post bond, but I might not be able to leave the country. I wouldn’t be able to see you again until the season ended.”
“But if I get an abortion why will that matter?”
“Because I want to see you again, A’ja. I know you might not be ready for anything heavy being that you’re in the middle of a divorce, but I fuck with you. If you’re content with leaving London and us never speaking again, then I have to be cool with it too, but that’s not what I want.”
A’ja could never be mad at a man opening his mouth and telling her exactly how he felt. It was one of the main things that she desired in a man. A’ja hadn’t had to date in so long because she’d been married, but she knew as an athlete that got paid pretty well, she had to be careful of men with ulterior motives. That’s not how Naasson seemed, however. He just didn’t come across as the type that needed to use a woman for her clout or her money. He was staying in a nice flat, he dressed nice, and had jewelry that wasn’t loud and gaudy, but it wasn’t cheap either.
Not to mention, if he would just apply himself, she knew that he could more than likely make really good money off his paintings. A’ja didn’t know him well enough to know what kind of father he would be. If she decided to keep the baby, which she doubted she would, she would only do so if she was ready to be a single mother.
“I’m not opposed to it. I just want to move very slow. That sounds odd for me to say seeing as how, I’ve already gotten pregnant by you, but I just want to do things the right way. I want our connection to be organic. Not a rebound. And I need to work on certain parts of myself, so that if we ever did move into anything serious, I won’t make the same mistakes I’ve made in the past. If that makes sense.”
“It does.”
Naasson and A’ja talked for hours until she fell asleep in his arms. They talked about each other’s childhoods and all the things that they didn’t know about one another. A’ja’s heart was sad at the thought of terminating her pregnancy when all she wanted was a child, but how in the hell could she have a child by a man she was having a fling with that was on the run from the police?
Two days later, Naasson sat in a chair leaning forward with his eyes focused on the ultrasound machine. He had come to the doctor with A’ja so she could find out exactly how far along she was. She could have found that out at the abortion clinic, but she didn’t want to go that route. The day before, A’ja cried off and on for the entire day. She knew deep down inside that if she had the abortion, her mental health would suffer. Naasson’s gaze lifted,and his orbs landed on A’ja. He could tell that she was holding her breath.
A loud swishing sound filled the room. “There goes baby’s heartbeat,” the doctor smiled.
“Already?” A’ja lifted her head slightly. “My period is barely two weeks late. The baby already has a heartbeat?”
