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Unsung Heroes

Ch. 25 The Start of Everything

*a month later*
I’m now two months pregnant. I’ve been taking my prenatals and taking the amount of rest needed for the baby. Now, when I went to my ultrasound, I could see it better. It was still too small to see much other than cells, but there was a heartbeat, now. When I went to the ultrasound, I got a recording of the heartbeat and called Ash right before I went in.
I called him when I was lying on the examination table with my shirt up.
“Hey babe,” he said brightly. “What’s up?”
The nurse walked in, at that point, and smiled at me in acknowledgement.
“I’m at the doctor’s getting an ultrasound. Hopefully this is the one where we hear the baby’s heartbeat and I wanted you to listen to it. I’m getting a recording but live is better.”
I gasped when the nurse squirted cold gel onto my stomach and prepped the machine.
“Really?” He sounded excited. “Babe, hold on a sec I’m going to go into another room.” I heard him get up and then a door opened and shut.
“Alright, are we ready?” The nurse asked, picking up the wand.
Nodded, I watched her press the wand carefully against my stomach, pressing lightly. I watched the screen, seeing just grey until a larger white dot appeared, and a sudden, rapid drumming sound could be heard.
None of us said anything for a moment. My eyes felt watery and I had to swallow to keep from crying.
“Oh my god,” Ash breathed. “Is that…”
“Yup,” the nurse said brightly. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat you hear. It’s strong and fast – you’re baby’s healthy. You must be taking good care of yourself.”
“She better be!” Ash said teasingly.
I rolled my eyes. “Ash, if anything, I’m being overprotective. I promise, I’m not doing anything that could put the baby at risk.”
The nurse smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll make sure you have a copy of the heartbeat and we’ll send you on your way.”
She got up and wiped the gel from my stomach, and then proceeded to leave. I set the phone next to me and sat up slowly, pulling my shirt down and my pants back up my hips.
“So how’s the house hunt going? You haven’t sent me anything since that apartment last week.”
I picked my phone back up and sighed. “Honestly, not that great. I guess the market isn’t that good, or something, right now, because all the places I’ve seen are either too expensive or they don’t have the right things we need.”
Ash groaned. “Baby, you’re too picky. You said the house you saw on Monday was nice.”
“Yeah, but it also didn’t have enough rooms in it. Ash, it would have only worked if I either wasn’t pregnant or you were willing to give up your guitars to a storage unit where they’d get destroyed. Plus I didn’t like the kitchen it was too small.”
I picked up my purse from the chair next to the table and walked out of the room to the waiting room.
“Babe, if you keep picking through houses in LA, pretty soon you’re going to run out of options. Are you seeing any more apartments?”
“One tomorrow, and Angel and Maya are both coming with me. When are you getting home?”
“Indy, I still have another month before I get home. But you’re coming this weekend, right?” He said hopefully.
I grinned. “Yup, I’ll be there Friday afternoon. I really wish my stomach was starting to show, and then this would actually count for something. Literally all it is is this little hard bump between my pelvic bones and my boobs hurt and are starting to swell a bit and food is starting to gross me out. I think I might actually get morning sickness because we found out so early.”
Ash sighed. “Maybe, I don’t know. I don’t know much and it’s not like I bought books or anything. I’m actually avoiding that right now because I know you want to wait to tell people and I don’t want to buy anything that could make the guys question anything.”
“Yeah, I get it, no worries.”
The receptionist smiled at me when she saw I was on the phone and mouthed, “See you in a month?” I nodded and waited for her to hand me the appointment slip so I could leave.
“I miss you so much, Indy. I still can’t believe this is happening to us.”
“Yeah, me either. I kind of wish I had family I could tell, but even if I wanted to, I doubt my grandparents would even give a fuck. And they kind of turned my aunts and uncles and cousins against me. What about your family?”
Ash laughed slightly. “They know I’ve been seeing someone but they don’t know all that much about you. And… um…” He went quiet.
I paused, halfway through the parking lot to my car. “What, Ash?”
“Um… I may have…. Sorta… kinda… promised my grandparents we’d see them for Thanksgiving this year…” he said quietly. “I go every year I can, and they made me promise this year, and they want to meet you. I literally just remembered.”
My eyes widened. “Ash, I’ll be six months pregnant by then, we need to tell them sooner, otherwise I get the feeling that your family might kill you for not telling them. A six-month pregnant belly is kind of impossible to hide.”
Ash laughed nervously. “Yeah, I think you’re right. I think you should tell at least someone in your family, too. We’ll tell my family when you hit the second trimester, and I really think you should tell maybe an aunt or something, and we’ll tell the band and everyone else.”
I groaned when he mentioned my relatives. I came from a family that doesn’t approve of having kids before marriage, and telling them could result in chaos. I wish my relationship with them was better than it is, but they basically made the decision to not try and get to know me and what I liked and chose to act like I was the devil. My grandparents spent most of my childhood telling me everything I did wrong and telling me that I wasn’t going to amount to anything. When I was sixteen, I told them I was done with their crap and left for America a week later. Right before I left for America, they told me never to contact them, again.
“Ash, I told you, I don’t talk to my family. They rejected me years ago and told me never to talk to them again after telling me I wasn’t going to amount to anything. I wish our relationship was better, but they chose to not accept me for who I am, so they’re basically not my family anymore.”
“Are you sure you can’t do anything?”
“Ash, I doubt any of them would even pick up the phone.”
He sighed again. “Okay, I’ll tell them this weekend, with you. We’ll skype my grandparents and then my other relatives. I wish you could tell your family, though.”
“Me too. I wish I could tell my parents about you and the baby but…” My voice trailed off.
“Me too,” he said. “Do you ever visit their graves?”
“I go on their death day, their anniversary, and their birthdays. My mom’s is next week, actually. I usually go and sit with them and talk to them and bring flowers and tell them about the stuff I’ve been doing.”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “That’s awesome, sweetie.”
I heard someone – I think it was Jake – calling for Ash in the background.
“Babe, I need to go, we’re performing in about an hour and we need to go and get ready,” he said sounding disappointed.
I sighed. “Okay, I need to drive back to the apartment, anyway. Thanks for lending me the car, by the way.”
“No problem, I’d rather you used it instead of your bike, anyway. Why don’t you sell it, Indy? After the baby’s born I’d be more than happy to get you a new one, anyway.”
I frowned. This was a sore conversation topic for us. Ash found out that Mitch had given it to me for my 21st birthday and he immediately decided he hated it. He didn’t care that I rode a bike; it was that it was a gift from my ex who cheated on me and abused my best friend. Plus me being pregnant didn’t please him all that much, either. He would rather I never went near it for the kid’s sake, and to be honest, that part didn’t bother me all too bad. I actually love that bike. Yes, it was given to me by an asshole, but I;ve disassociated him from the bike entirely so to me it was just a bike.
“Ash, we’ve been over this, I’m not giving it up.”
“Indy, why would you hold onto it? You can’t ride it and it was given to you by someone we all despise.”
“A, it’s a bike. B, I don’t associate it with him.”
“Indy…”
“Ash, let’s not argue about this, right now. Go do the show and have fun! I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby. Let’s skype tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’d love that.”
“Okay, talk to you later.” I sat in the car and shut the door and hung up the phone.

When I reached the apartment, I stopped short and sat in the car, staring. Mitch was sitting on the porch, clearly waiting for someone to come by. When he saw me, he stood up. He was wearing a clean shirt, for once, and he didn’t look drunk, this time. But I didn’t trust it. Placing a hand briefly over my stomach, I grabbed my bag and held it in front of me before getting out of the car.
“Indy” – he started to say as I walked past him, pushing him out of the way.
“Indy, can we talk?”
“No.”
“C’mon Indy, just hear me out!”
I turned and struck him across the face. He stumbled back and put a hand over his reddening cheek.
“What the fuck gives you a right to even crawl back here again, you piece of shit?!” I hissed. “I know what you did to Maya, Mitch. You betrayed both of us. Now leave, and if I see your hide around here or around Maya, again, you will not walk away in one piece!”
Mitch’s eyes flashes in anger. “So you DO know where she is!” He hissed, getting so close to me that I could smell the stale alcohol on his breath. He was still drinking, but clearly not as much.
I frowned. “I didn’t say that. All I said was that I know what you did to her. I have more than enough evidence to put you away for a very long time so I wouldn’t press your luck if I were you!”
“Maya needs to come home, Indigo!” He snarled. “She’s mine!”
I scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh. She left you, you prick! She left you because you’re a selfish, abusive asshole who doesn’t know when to keep his hands to himself!”
He made a noise of anger and balled his fists. “You’re such a bitch, Indigo! I should have left you a long time ago!”
I laughed. “Yeah, I kind of wish you did, too! Because sex is amazing and clearly you were never meant to be my first!”
His eyes grew wide. “You… you’re having sex?” He sounded shocked.
I smirked and drew my height up to push him down a couple stairs so that he was looking up at me.
“Yeah, and guess what? He makes me scream way louder than… well, even if you ever did make me scream, from what Maya’s told me, Jinxx is a WAY better fuck than you EVER were.”
His eyes flashed dangerously. “She’s seeing someone else?” His voice grew dangerously quiet.
I smiled. In truth, Mitch wasn’t nearly as tall as Jinxx, and while Jinxx isn’t the most muscular member of the band, he could take Mitch down easily. Mitch was pretty scrawny in comparison.
“Yeah, and he’s twice the man you’ll ever be. My man’s three times the man, and both of them will kick your ass across the fucking country if you come near either of us ever again!”
With that, I pushed him away with my hand and when he stumbled down the stairs, I turned and slipped into the building, making sure the door was locked behind me.
Running up the stairs, I called Maya.
“Hello? Indy, I can’t talk during work” –
“Maya, I just ran into Mitch do not leave the building, whatever you do!”
Maya was quiet for a moment. “What? Does he know about the baby?” She still thinks he wants me.
“No, Maya, he was looking for you. He has this weird idea in his head that you belong to him – whatever you do, please don’t go anywhere alone, or please just wait for me to come get you after work. I don’t care if Agnes wants you to leave the building, DO NOT go outside!”
Maya was quiet for a few moments. “Okay, I will. Are you going to tell Ash?”
I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. “I’m going to have to, I promised I would.”
She chuckled. “I’m glad I don’t have to listen to that conversation.”
Hanging up on Maya, I speed dialed Ash and pressed the phone to my ear. I guess he was still onstage because it went to voicemail.
“Hey, Baby, it’s Indy. I thought I should tell you that Mitch came around again. He was looking for Maya, so could you tell Jinxx that he’s been poking around? He didn’t do anything, and I made him leave. I’m okay, the baby’s okay, and Maya is still at work so she’s in a place with people and cameras so she should be okay, too. I love you and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Hanging up, I sat down slowly on the couch and put my feet up on the opposite end.Tokyo sat down next to me and looked up at me like he was waiting for me to let him up. Killer didn’t seem to need an invite and jumped up right onto my legs.I picked up Tokyo and put him on my thigh next to Killer. They both sat and curled up on my legs, turning into little puffballs. They panted and watched me excitedly.
Pulling out my laptop, I set it in front of them – not on my stomach – and started to search more apartments in the area. Ash and I were going to split the budget and buy it together, but neither of us could afford to spend a whole lot. Ash told me that if it a bit out of my price range, he’d cover more of it – it was no secret that he made more money than me, and that was just kind of the fact of the matter.
There was a really nice one a few blocks from the studios Ash works in that had three bedrooms and two baths, but only a half kitchen and living room. I’d rather have a full kitchen. Plus it was a bit pricey.
There was another one a bit closer to where Ash was currently living that had two bedrooms – NOPE .
Another with three and only one bathroom... we could technically make use of it, but I got the feeling that the kid would become tired of sharing a bathroom with their parents.
Then I found one that was under budget that was actually a condo with three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and a living room, and a small backyard. I think I found my dream house.
Marking it to be viewed with the realtor, I shut my laptop and got up and went into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and then watered it down. Looking in the fridge, I saw that I was running low on groceries and needed to go shopping soon.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I saw that Ash was calling me. Readying myself for the anxiousness that would endure, I pressed receive.
“Hey, Baby,” I said cheerfully.
“Indy, are you okay?” Ash sounded like he was panicking.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I told you, I made him leave!”
“Indy, what was he doing?”
“He was sitting on the porch, and I think he’d been drinking but was starting to sober up. He wanted me to tell him where Maya was, and he kept claiming she was his. I told him her new boyfriend was much better than him and that you guys would kick his ass if he didn’t leave us alone, and then I pushed him and ran inside. He doesn’t know about the baby and he doesn’t know where Maya is. I told her not to leave work until I came to get her from the building in your car.”
Ash sighed. “Okay, Jinxx and I are really worried. Jinxx is thinking that maybe, for her safety, she should stay for the rest of tour with us.”
“Let me talk to him.”
“Indy?”
“Hey, Jinxxy,” I said happily. “How are you doing?”
“Where’s Maya, Indy?” He didn’t sound mad, just scared.
“Jinxx, she’s at work. I just talked to her, she’s okay. She knows he was around, and knows not to leave the building, even after the store closes. She’s okay, don’t worry.”
“Indy, as much as I’d love to, I trust you and Maya, not Mitch. I know you guys will try to be safe, but who knows what he would try to do. I would really feel better if she came to stay with me for the rest of tour. If she’s not with you, Mitch will have no reason to be around, and will leave you alone. At least until we arrange a restraining order against him for both of you.”
“Jinxx, I would love to have her stay with you, but she has to work. I used to work at the record store she works at, and believe me, the manager is a horrible person who hates giving vacation days. She hates me because she was second choice for manager and I decided against it because it meant more hours than I could handle.”
“Indy…” Jinxx sounded really hesitant. “I’ll just call her after her shift ends and talk to her about it. If her boss doesn’t let her, maybe she shouldn’t be working there, anyway.”
“Jinxx, she’s not going to quit just because you want her with her during Warped. Please understand that more goes into it than just leaving.”
“Okay, but I’m still going to talk to her.”
“Please do, I’m sure she’s freaking out over there, right now, and could use the support.”
“Okay, I’m gonna give you back to Ash. Thanks for telling me though, Indy. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem, Jinxxy. See you this weekend.”
I heard some scuffling noises and then Ash started talking again.
“Hey, baby, are you sure that he’s not going to bother you?”
“Ash, I may be pregnant, but I still have a lot more training in martial arts than he ever got. I can still kick his ass, but I’m going to avoid it. He’s seen you, and you’re much taller and stronger than him. He knows to be afraid and knows you’ll drop everything to help me if it comes down to it.”
“So you’re going to be okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Go have fun, Ashes. I love you and I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Okay, I love you too.”
*click*

Three hours later, Maya and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating dinner. I was eating roast chicken and fried potatoes. Maya was eating something similar. The dogs were between us.
“Jinxx called me,” Maya said casually. “He wanted to make sure Mitch hadn’t come to the store. I told him I was fine, and then he had an… interesting proposition for me. He wanted me to stay with him at Warped until the band comes home and he can be with me more to keep Mitch away from me.”
I swallowed my bite of chicken. “Yeah, I told him that it would basically be impossible for you to get a whole month off of work, mainly because Agnes is a bitch.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “I know, I told him that. Agnes saw me on the phone and yelled at me, so I told her to shut up because I was dealing with a stalker. She got all weird and walked off funny.”
I laughed. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna go to Warped this weekend, with you. And then I’m going to figure out what I’m going to do, from there. I’ve been with Jinxx for two months, and I may stay on tour to get to know him better. I’m thinking about quitting my job at the record store.”
I looked at her in shock. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged and patted Killer’s head. “Hey, whatever works, right?”

Notes

I know this one isn't that good, but i'm working on better chapters, i promise!

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Comments

@Red Phoenix77
I write it out on Microsoft word and then copy and paste. Usually if I type it out directly it lags and refuses to let me edit it. When I write it out and copy and past, it shows paragraph breaks. Maybe it reads differently on other computers or something, but I have always been able to distinguish the paragraphs with my computer.

BlackIris BlackIris
11/12/18

I don't know how it would work on a phone, but I figured out on my computer that I have to click the Enter key twice at the end of a paragraph to get it to space, because just indenting doesn't work on here.

Red Phoenix77 Red Phoenix77
11/11/18

@BlackIris
Im reading on my phone and there are no spaces between each of the paragraphs. It might justf be my phone

@BlackVeilFireGirl99
Thanks. I don't know what medium you're using to read my story, but on my computer it shows separate paragraphs. I don't indent as it takes forever to do and doesn't always read. This site doesn't always like to allow me to edit and upload the way I would in any other scenario.

BlackIris BlackIris
11/1/18

This is a good story but you need to put spaces between the paragraphs otherwise its really hard to read as its just a giant block of text other then that I love the story. Its certainly and interesting read.