Page 124 of Creed

“Those things will go in the exam rooms. You can set that box aside.” She was putting empty vials in a drawer then opened the last box. “Yep, here we go. I had some in my car for home visits, but I knew I ordered these.”

I watched as she pulled out some vials and whatever that hose thing with a needle on it was, then she grabbed a box of gloves from the box for exam rooms and put on a pair. Then opened my sample cup and dipped a strip into it and set it down before getting ready to take my blood. “Hop up on the counter. You should really be sitting for this. I’ll go ahead and run your monthly STD test as well. You’re not having any other symptoms? I know Creed was clean since I tested him before he left.”

I hopped up on the counter and gave her my arm. “No, just that I’ve been a crazy lady and the rest of the things I said earlier.”

“I know you’re trying to gain weight, so other than that what has been your workout plan?” She asked as she stuck the needle in my arm.

I hissed. “Honestly, other than riding bikes with Addie its not been anything. I stopped jogging when Addie came home, and I’ve been too tired for much more than my regular days. It’s been busy and a little insane.”

I watched as the vial filled with my blood. She put an alcohol pad over it before she pulled the needle from my arm. “So, you’ve had a bad diet, cut exercise out, you’ve dealt with a wide range of emotions and changed your entire life. You could be right, and this might be caused by the way you’re treatingyour body, or you could be pregnant. We’ll find out in just a bit.” She put a band aid on my arm.

“So maybe my body is in like some sort of shock?” I asked.

“I mean yeah, that’s a very small possibility. How does the possibility of being pregnant make you feel? Are you going to be alright if it’s positive?” She asked.

I thought of Creed and what he wanted, and a smile formed on my face. “Yeah, it’s something we both chanced, but I guess I’d just be shocked. Also scared and having some small regrets from not being married like my family would want, oh and there’s the whole public finding out thing. I was hoping things would calm down with the press soon. This would give them a lot to talk about.”

She checked her phone then opened another box. “You think Creed would be happy?” She asked and I smiled.

“I hope so, but our relationship has been like a whirlwind. Maybe like a fantasy as well. We were living in a tiny bubble, and he was also saying his goodbyes. This deployment is very dangerous, and he was dreading it.”

She walked over to the test strip, and I saw a smile form on her face. “Its already turned and it’s not even time yet.” She looked at me. “I bet Addie will be so excited to be a big sister. Congratulations, you’re pregnant.”

Discomfort

Josh

I had been to war, arrested for a rape I never committed, held captive, served on several missions, and never been so confused. Morgan Rossi was insane and there were no doubts left. One minute she was super happy and acting like the Morgan I knew, then the next she could be crying or pissed at me. She asked me ten times already when Creed would be home, and it was barely noon. When she was hungry she was angry, when she was crying she kept apologizing, when she was happy she seemed carefree, but the problem was how all those things could happen within a few minutes.

I just helped her carry the last pie into the firehouse and the woman was like an angry dictator. She had just bitched me out for sniffing the brownies. Earlier that morning she caught me taking one bite and suddenly everything that was wrong with her life was my fault. She blamed me for the dog because I kept Creed’s secret, she blamed me for the dog chewing up her own damn chew toy which made no sense since that was what they were for, and she found a zit on her forehead and somehow that was Creed’s fault, and since I was his friend it was my fault too. She hadn’t had a zit for years and she went on about acne scars and some other shit I didn’t understand.

Of course Addie was little miss perfect and I had to take the blame for Addie when she tricked Weston into listening to a secret but punched him instead. It was so damn funny. Weston was teasing her about beating up boys and Addie was a good actress. She played along and laughed, but then motioned for him to bend over to hear a secret. That little fist made contact with his nose, and Karter and I bent over laughing, but Morgan was pissed. She said laughing just encouraged Addie. Addie was the coolest kid I ever met. She was adorable and also had the attitude of a queen. She would have made one hell of an operative when she grew up.

For all those years watching Morgan grow up, I never saw her as a crazy person. But for Creed to deal with such an insane girlfriend, he must have been crazy too. Morgan had so many damn personalities I couldn’t keep up. One minute she would cry over something stupid like her flowers blooming, then give me a hug and tell me I was a good friend, then ten seconds later she would be slamming cabinet doors because I left something out instead of putting it away, then she’d be happy and playing with Addie. Then the next minute she would be crying what she called “happy tears.” What the fuck did that even mean?

Oh, and that wasn’t it. Morgan had to lose weight for her last movie, and she was trying to put the weight back on. The guys were getting worse at staring at her as her boobs got bigger and she started developing more curves. The woman was already gorgeous, but damn, add a few pounds and her body looked insane. If Creed came home now and saw how her body was developing he would probably lock them up in their house and not let her out of his bed. Not a lot of women realized how crazy curves could drive a man. We loved curves and the more she gained the more gorgeous her body became. Especially herboobs, she was really gaining in that area. It was just like high school again. She’d walk by men and they all probably popped boners just at the sight of her walking by. I wouldn’t have doubted if she went up a whole cup size. I wouldn’t have dared to compliment the weight gain I had been seeing lately. She’d ether punch me or start crying.

The festival hadn’t started yet, and we already had men everywhere. Between the state police and us, we had the perimeter covered. We also had two men with Morgan at all times. The paparazzi was already taking photos, but we hoped they would get bored and call it a day. We did have to pull a few away from Morgan as they spouted out questions and wouldn’t allow her to get her work done. Darren threw those guys out since it was considered harassment when one of them touched her. I almost killed the bastard, but Drakos held me back.

Addie stayed by my side until Granger arrived with his kids. Melissa and two of the other moms took Addie and the other kids to walk around and I put two men on them. As soon as all the booths opened we had a problem. The baked goods raffle had a line that wrapped around the firehouse. They didn’t just want to buy a raffle ticket, they wanted pictures with Morgan and autographs, but she let it happen and made me stand down. I watched like a hawk as men put their arms around her for a photo. Some even brought their old posters for her to sign. It wasn’t just men, it was women and children. The kids kept calling her a princess from some movie she made. We were only about two hours in when she looked absolutely exhausted but wanted to push on. I called Zoey to take a look at her, but she said Morgan was fine without even looking at her. I watched as all the color left Morgan's face then she pushed herself away and ran. I followed and heard her puking in the bathroom. She was obviously overheated and exhausted, and we should have allknown Princess Morgan couldn’t handle the heat of an Indiana humid summer. Holy shit the woman was high maintenance. I called Zoey again and she instructed me to give her some water and keep her cool inside the firehouse for a little bit and she would be fine.

“I’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes to rest.” She laid back on a sofa inside the firehouse.

“Its not that damn hot out. Maybe if you didn’t let strangers hang all over you it wouldn’t be so bad.” I was annoyed with the little princess. I told her not to let people touch her, but she wanted to sell raffle tickets, so whatever, it was her own fault. I wet a washcloth and handed it to her. “This heat really shouldn’t be getting to you so bad. It’s not even as humid as expected.”

“I’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes.” She laid back with the cloth on her forehead.

Believe it or not, the crazy lady actually fell asleep for about an hour. Then when she woke up she puked again. I had to drag her away from the festival and take her home. I knew she had a stomach bug just by looking at her. Addie stayed with her grandparents, Tanner and Jenny, while under the watchful eyes of some of our operatives. Granger said he would bring her home later when his family left.

Morgan took a shower then laid on the sofa before she fell asleep again. I never knew a person to sleep that much. It must have been a Hollywood thing. Later that day Zoey stopped by with a small paper bag and they disappeared upstairs in the bedroom. I was beginning to feel a little paranoid. All I did was heat up leftovers and she ran to puke. She said it was the smell that made her sick. I blamed it on the stomach virus she had, but what did Zoey bring for her?

The next day she was up and ready to go back to the festival. She said something about fried chicken and was in the SUV waiting for me before I was even ready. I couldn’t wait for Creed to come home. One of my favorite girls was insane to live with, so to save our friendship I was more than ready to go back to my place.

I understood she had been through a lot and that was what was causing the weird emotions, but something had to give before I lost my own mind. Yeah, fuck marriage, my life was miserable, and I didn’t even get to have sex. Creed needed some good luck to manage what he was planning with her.

We survived the festival without any incidents, thank God, then the weeks went by. I had my first mission in months coming up and I was actually excited about it. I needed a break from Morgan and Addie. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder with Morgan.

She was taking the whole gaining weight thing way too far. She began jogging in the mornings then I’d catch her shoving Twinkies in her mouth. She started doing yoga, but I was getting worried. She was really starting to fill out and got even sexier. She even had a little pudge to her stomach and still looked adorable. The woman made an entire batch of my favorite cookies then ate them all. It was weird.

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