The Treehouse - Chapter 11

Early the next morning, Brie opened the door to Chris's room. He had one arm and one leg hanging off the side of his bed, and the sheets were tossed off, exposing his bare chest and plaid boxers. Brianne tiptoed in, considering the pleasure of shaking him to scare him awake. However, she settled on putting her face in front of his so he'd open his eyes and see two large pools of blue staring back at him. When it finally happened, Chris still jumped out of his skin.

"Never, ever do that again!" he pleaded, wide-eyed. Brie just laughed it off.

"You have today off, right?" she inquired.

"Yeah…"

"Could we hang out for the day? 'Cause I know as soon as Victoria has Tyler, you won't have time for it."

"Oh, it's a boy," Chris murmured. "Yeah, sure."

"It should be fun at least. Lots of fun…" she smiled mysteriously. Chris and Brianne spent the day shopping at the local outdoor mall. It was actually Chris's idea because he noticed that Brie hadn't bought anything for the baby yet, and they couldn't think of anything else to do that she was capable of. All Brie needed to buy were clothes, since Mrs., Morro had kept the crib and such for some reason.

Although the reason for the trip was the baby, that wasn't all Chris and Brianne shopped for. Other necessities were needed, including a couple of new outfits for themselves. Brianne always liked shopping with Chris because he sometimes came up with the craziest outfits ever. One time, he picked out a lime-green shirt with hot pink designs and navy blue UFOs, but Brie thankfully talked him out of buying it. He insisted he was just kidding, but she didn't really believe him.

Chris and Brianne strolled along later, with no particular destination. They chanced upon another clothing store for infants, most of the items being unisex. They went in a browsed, when a cute onsie caught Chris's eye, and he pointed it out to Brie, insisting it was his gift to the child.

"This might sound really corny…" Chris began as they left the store.

"Corn is yellow…" Brianne murmured, her smile forcing dimples to appear. Chris laughed softly and continued.

"Anyway, it's going to sound stupid, but you've changed my life. I don't really know how or why, but it's definitely not a bad thing. Brie, I…" Chris stopped walking and turned to her. "I… I…" he sighed, dropping his head. "Forget it." They began walking again, Brianne wondering what was going on with him. She almost asked what he was going to say, but since she knew he wouldn't tell her, she decided against it. The two of them walked back to the car in silence, pondering different thoughts, when Chris came to a conclusion.

"Am I right in saying the Victoria sleeps around?" Chris asked. Brie nodded as he unlocked the car and climbed in.

"Then I might not have gotten her pregnant. I'm going to ask her to get one of those tests done to prove it's not my kid, because I really don't think it is. You know, I don't exactly remember, but I think there even might have been a condom involved." Chris started the car, chuckling.

"Now THAT would be funny," Brie smirked. "I'd laugh in her face if that happened."

"Me too. I'm going to call her when we get home."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Folding the baby's new clothes and arranging piles, Brianne decided to call Noelle. She picked up the phone to dial her number, but there was no dial tone. Instead, it was Vickie.

"You didn't use a condom," she argued. "I would know, I was there!" Chris was on the phone with Victoria, obviously. Neither of them heard Brie pick up the phone, so she didn't put it down.

"Whatever, I still want a test done," Chris demanded.

"Fine, fine. Have it your way." Vickie hung up, then Chris, leaving Brianne in control of the phone. She called Elle as soon as there was a dial tone. Chris walked into her room mid-conversation, as the door was ajar.

"I'll call you back," Brianne told Noelle, hanging up. "Did you call Victoria?" she asked Chris, turning toward him.

"Yeah. She's going to do the test as soon as I can get over to the hospital to give them a sample."

"That's good." Brie suddenly remembered something Chris had told her when they were in elementary school. "Do you remember that time in third grade when you told me you saw your mom hide a gun in her sock drawer?" She smiled, pretending that she was thinking of an old, happy memory.

"Yeah…"

"Is it still there?"

"I think so," Chris replied. "Why?" He watched her suspiciously.

"I don't know, I just remembered the time you told me." Chris appeared to have brushed the matter off, but he was really wondering if he should be concerned. That wasn't a normal question…