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'Eve'ntually - Chapter 14

To most, this Monday September 20th, 2021, would be nothing, just another Monday with Monday problems. To others, however, this day brought great sadness and suffering.

The sun had just begun bringing it's light to the world around them as Lumina walked out of her bedroom. She went about her daily routine, only making one alteration.

"Eve." She whispered, not wanting to startle her friend from her sleep. Eve had always been a light sleeper, mostly because of her big ears, but on rare occasions she slept like the dead. "Eve." Lumina spoke again, this time louder, shaking her a little.

"Hmm?" Eve said drowsily, sitting up to make eye contact with the raccoon above her, "what is it?"

"Why don't you go in my room and rest in there today?"

Eve shrugged, glancing back towards the doorway, "I'm okay."

Lumina eyed the blue snow leopard in front of her, hinting at the fact that she wasn't letting this go, "I think it'd be better for you in there."

With a groan, Eve forced herself off of the couch and stumbled across the living room towards the small bedroom.

"You don't work today, right?"

"No, I made sure to take it off."

"Okay, I have to go in to work, but if you need anything just call, okay?"

"I will." Eve said with a yawn, crossing the threshold into her friend's room. She heard the front door 'click' as Lumina left to begin her day, and Eve looked towards the bed longingly.

Lumina usually kept her room...let's just say comfortable. While Eve didn't typically choose to live that way herself, she accepted Lumina for the way she is. Much to Eve's surprise, however, the room was tidy and smelled of a vanilla candle. As Eve got closer to the bed, she saw that there were a couple of things placed carefully on top of it.

She noticed a fancy box of chocolates, a medium sized plush pillow, and a note.

I know today isn't going to be easy, and I'm sorry that I can't stick around more today, but I hope these things will help make it a little better. Eat the chocolate to your heart's desire. Yes, there's more but, you'll have to text me to get the location of the other box. It was the only way I could think to get you to actually check in with me throughout the day.

The pillow is for cuddling, I know that you like to hug on things when you're feeling down, and I'm sure it wouldn't mind a few tears if you need that too. Otherwise I'll be home around 5 tonight if you'd rather cry on me.

I love you girly, and you're stronger than you think <3 xoxo -Loomy

The gesture alone brought tears to Eve's eyes as she ripped open the box of chocolates and popped one in her mouth. She crawled under the blankets, carefully placing the pillow in a prime cuddling position, and laid back, letting sleep take her away once more.

--

1 year, 3 months earlier

Three minutes could feel like a really long time under certain circumstances, and this was definitely one of them. Eve paced the bathroom, her timer slowly tick...tick...ticking down.

There was a light tap at the door, and a very muffled Lumina spoke softly, "What's it say?"

"It's still got 30 seconds..."

"Yeah, but what's it say right now?"

"It says," Eve started, opening the door to face Lumina, "that I'm pregnant." She finished just as her timer began to ring from the bathroom counter behind her.

"Okay, alright, so how do we feel about that?" Lumina asked, her own nerves peaking through as she tried to remain supportive.

"I think... we feel like taking more tests?" Eve suggested, pulling out the box of pregnancy tests she kept under the sink.

"Holy shit why the fuck do you have so many?"

"I am a paranoid woman, you know this."

"You're right, you're right, more tests. Take the tests."

*9 minutes and 3 more tests later*

"Lumina, I'm pregnant."

"Okay, so, now, how do we feel about this?"

"Happy? I think?"

"Is that a question?"

"No. I'm happy!" Eve said, a grin forming on her face as she looked back down at all of the tests. "But also confused and overwhelmed at the same time" A nervous chuckle came from her mouth as her mind raced with questions. Do I tell Eric? How am I going to do this as a single mother? How am I going to afford this? What about daycare? Is it a boy or girl?

Lumina reached out, placing a gentle hand on Eve's arm, "How about we just focus on the happy for now?" Her eyes gleamed, hopeful, as she knew of Eve's dreams of being a mother.

Eve nodded, her other thoughts fading, at least for now. "Ice cream?"

"Ice cream."

***

Present Day

Eve stirred from her sleep, her dreams filled with old memories. She groaned, her body telling her to move, her brain telling her not to. The feline managed to roll over, landing her feet on the soft floor, and stood. Her long stretch caused her claws to peak out from their little pockets before retracting back.

The room was cool, even with Eve's thick coat. She grabbed the blanket from the bed, wrapping it around her to make a cozy cocoon as she walked out of the bedroom. The sunlight was pouring in from the windows of the living room, and Eve flinched at the sight. She stumbled through the kitchen, attempting to find something substantial to eat to appease her growling stomach.

The fridge proved to hold a small package inside, with another note in Lumina's handwriting:

If you get hungry~ <3 Loomy

Eve's smile was uncontrollable as she was reminded, once again, of the amazing friend she has. Her heart fluttered a little as she opened the bag, noticing the label from one of her favorite restaurants on the front. The tail logo gave away a local small-town shop called Two Foxes.

Inside was a mixture of all of Eve's favorite things. Their famous, yet strange tacos, a take-out mixed drink- if she so chose to drink, some chips, and a slice of cheesecake. She pulled out one of the tacos and took a bite, not even bothering with warming it up.

Eve made a pit stop at the bathroom before making her way back into the dark bedroom. She padded around, looking for her phone and sent a quick text.

To Loomy:

Thank you.

Only a few minutes had passed before she noticed a response.

From Loomy:

Of course, are you doing okay?

Eve didn't have the energy to respond right away, and instead switched the TV on. The first thing that popped on was a sappy rom-com and it didn't take 2 seconds for Eve to switch the channel.

"Don't need another reason to cry today." She said to the empty room.

Eventually, she stumbled across a pranksters episode and settled in.

***

1 year earlier

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lumina's voice was heavy with concern as she navigated down the street.

Eve hesitated, her words unconvincing as she spoke, "Yeah, It's been three months...I don't want to keep it a secret. That's not fair to him."

"It's not fair to you to have to deal with his unstable ass."

"Loomy! He's the father to this baby... whether he's unstable or not, I want them to know their dad."

Lumina rolled her eyes, but nodded, turning onto Eric's road, "Can I just say, that I can't wait until we know what sex the little nugget is?" She said, changing to a more light-hearted topic.

Eve lit up, a small gleam in her eyes, "I know, it's starting to feel so real."

They pulled up to Eric's house, parking in the street, and Loomy looked once more to Eve, "Do you want me to go in with you?"

"No, I don't think so." Eve said, looking at the daunting building, "I need to do this on my own." She swallowed loudly, "My stomach is in knots..." She said, clutching it gently, "But I can do this."

She finally opened the car door, and took a step outside into the unusually cool air. Eve was only a few steps in before she stopped, clutching, again, at her stomach.

"Are you alright?" Lumina said, rolling down the window to the car, but she wasn't met with a response. Eve fell to the ground, with an audible thump. "EVE!!!"

***

"You have a healthy, beautiful baby girl." The nurse said, handing the little fluff-ball over to her mom.

"Thank you." Eve said, tears welling up in her eyes, "She's beautiful."

"Yes, she is, just like you.." Eric said, stepping forward to look at the two women in his life. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have you both in my life."

"Likewise." Eve said, smiling up at him, "Would you like to hold her?"

Eric nodded, reaching out to take the little girl into his own arms.

"I call next!" Lumina chimed in, walking back into the room. "Of course, after dad gets his turn." She nudged Eric's arm with a chuckle.

"Thank you for that privilege," Eric threw back, carrying on the joking attitude.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that Eve is lucky I let her get first, so you better as hell feel lucky that you get seconds." Lumina, came up behind Eric, peaking over his shoulder to get a look at the baby. "Auntie Loomy is going to spoil the shit outta you."

"Loomy! Language!!"

"Whatt?? She doesn't even know what I'm saying!!"

Eve glared at the raccoon, shaking her head. "Where have you been anyways?"

"Well, first, I got a call about your wedding venue, and as your wedding planner, and biggest supporter, I had to take the call, plus, I don't think either of us minded me being out of the room while they got you all stitched up." She waved in the general direction of Eve, "And I also had to get the little nugget her first stuffy."

"Well thank you for all of that." Eve laughed softly, her eyes feeling heavy.

"Hey, by the way, what'd you guys land on for her name?"

With a large smile, Eve looked to the love of her life, and in unison, they said "Natascha Nicole."

"Nicole? Is that like.."

"Yes, that's because of you." Eric said, "You've been such a large part of our lives, we can't imagine it without you."

"We'd also like you to be her godmother...if you're interested." Eve chimed in.

"YES! Obviously YES!!" She practically jumped. Then she wrapped her arms around the shoulders of Eric, giving him a quick hug, "I'm so happy you two have each other." She moved over to Eve after, being as careful as possible with another hug.

"I'm happy to hear it." Eve was having a harder and harder time keeping her eyes open.

"Get some rest, honey." Eric said, noticing.

"Yeah, we'll take care of little Nat."

"That is NOT happening. She is not a bug."

"We'll see"

***

Present Day

Eve stirred from her dream, drool lingering on her face as she sat up. The TV had begun playing a cop car chase and the loud sirens rang in her ears. "Ewe" She muttered before switching it back off.

The dream lingered in her mind, making it harder to keep her composure. Tears welled in her eyes, and the sniffles took over. Despite these emotions, though, she found the motivation to message Lumina back.

To Loomy:

I'm okay. Just had a dream that's got me shook. But I'm okay."

From Loomy:

Do you need me home?

To Loomy:

No, I think I'm okay. Chocolate helps.

As Eve hit 'send' on her phone, she opened up the package of candies once more.

***

1 year earlier

The ambulance sirens rang for what felt like hours as Lumina laid next to Eve on the ground. Eve nodded in and out of consciousness a few times, but not anything significant enough for Lumina to feel better.

Once they got there, and went about loading her into the vehicle, Lumina could barely shake herself out of shock. "I'm coming." She finally muttered.

"Only family can come in the ambulance, ma'am."

"I'm her adoptive sister." She said without hesitation. She would do anything to stay by Eve's side.

The paramedics nodded, motioning for her to hop in the back. Lumina took the steps up to the large vehicle and noticed movement from across the yard. A very inhibited Eric stumbled out of his front door.

"Lumina?? What the hell are you doing here? Get your fucking car outta here!"

Lumina's eyes rolled and she finished climbing in and the door was quickly shut behind her.

--

After about 5 hours, Lumina was finally back at Eve's side. The doctor's had to perform emergency surgery, both Eve and the baby had been at high risk of not surviving. Lumina was relieved to hear that she didn't lose both of them.

It took until the next morning, however, before Lumina had to share the news with Eve.

"Loomy?"

Lumina placed a soft hand on Eve's arm, "How are you feeling?"

"Lumina?" Eve couldn't finish the sentence, and quite frankly, she didn't need to. The look in her eyes was enough for Lumina to know exactly what she wanted to know.

"Eve..." She took a deep breath, "You lost the baby."

The tears were instant, "N-no, Loomy, noo." Eve rolled, curling in on herself, unable to deal with the pain, "Loomy why did this happen to me?"

Lumina took a second, searching for words and resisting her own urge to cry, "The doctors said that it was probably stress related... and that there wasn't anything that anyone could have done, Eve. That means you too. You didn't do anything wrong."

Eve heard the words, but they didn't mean anything to her, at least not yet. The darkness took over, engulfing every bit of her being. All she could feel is the pain. Her thoughts swirled statements over and over in her head, none of them helpful.

Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why can't I be happy? I'm such a fuck up. I fuck everything up. I'm so sorry.

***

Present Day

The night had set in, and Eve felt a soft bump beside her in the bed.

"Hey sleepy." Lumina said, smiling down at her.

"Hey." Eve managed, her throat thick with sleepiness. She rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to being open, "What time is it?"

"It's 12:01 AM." Lumina continued to grin, "You've officially made it through the day."

"Yaaayyy" Eve said half heartedly. She was grateful to be through, even more grateful for Lumina, but the pain lingered, despite the passage of time. Truth be told, she didn't think the pain would be going away anytime soon. Maybe someday... maybe...eventually.