Caring For The Unknown {Victoria & Hunter}

The false jolts of pain were common as of lately. Eight weeks still lingered until the expected day of their arrival. But with water pooling upon the floor in an unpredictable manner, she knew the undesired day was truly upon them. With harsh breaths pulling from her lungs, she grips the doorframe to her room within their raggedy shack of an apartment. Eyes dash to a nearby clock as she clenches through the moment. Purely half the day has skimmed by, alerting her that Hunter’s return from work wouldn’t be for a few hours still. Warning her that she had to retrieve to him to ensue she wouldn’t have to embark on this alone.

Fingers rattled. No, the entirety of her hands rattled. No again, everything was rattling with extreme anxiety. The worst possible situation sprang upon them, and before her stood her bother with crossed arms and impatience waiting him in suspense. A mixture of confusion and anger wrinkled his brow, knowing without knowing. “I… I’m… pregnant.” The words were finally released, along with a breath that was not so relieving.

Heat lingers through the massive buildings forming their district, making the streets feel even more unbelievably long to Hunter’s employment. The sun beats from the highest heights of the sky against Victoria’s pale skin. A healthy complexion coated her not too long ago, recently drained away from being locked away in the apartment for the past two months at her Brother’s stern request. With her belly swollen to a massive degree it was difficult to debate against him, especially with his threat of informing the soon-to-be Father of the oncoming arrivals. And his disapproval of her escape was beyond evident against his features as she clampers into the office.

“They’re coming!” Vic alerts before a word has a chance to peal from his lips, sparring her a lecture within this crucial, and painful, moment. Acceptance of her flee from the apartment shifts his features, momentarily before fear replaces his expression. The gulp that slithers down his throat she can even see across the room. His head bobs in a nod as he crosses the room to her side, and drapes one of her arms around him for support. Enduring this alone is now washed from her fear, while the fright of their next destination still rings within her.

Rage layered his face in a way she never remembered witnessing before, along with grief… disappointment. “It doesn’t matter who the Father is.” She attempted to convince to no avail. A sigh exhaled from her chest with in an inability to withstand her side of the debate, though crumbling never graced her so easily in the past. “It’s… It’s A…Atticus.” But she admitted it then rather quickly. A chunk of her cheek lingered between her teeth in a harsh pinch, for once even disappointed in herself - unable to excuse herself from this one.

“Is daddy-to-be staying in the delivery room with you?” The overly-pleasant nurse questions while pushing the wheelchair, holding Victoria, through the halls.

“He’s my Brother.” She states in a monotoned pitch, annoyed by the happiness of the nurse and her incorrect assumption. Instantly her energy shifts to her error, her lips pursued in a blockage to not say another word. “And yes, he’s not leaving my side.” A contraction cramps her a second later, as she grips the armrest of the wheelchair in attempt to absorb the pain. All of this was occurring far too fast, increasing her pain in tenfolds. How were they possibly going to care for little ones, while struggling to even care for themselves?


Calmness roams the atmosphere of the sterilized room in a manner Victoria predicted to never experience after the arrival of the bundles - surely this will be her last. With two swaddled little ones in each of her arms, and the third in her Brother’s, silence is definitely a thing of the past. Speechlessness coos her in union with the quietness, unsure of what to possibly say. They looked so much like their Father, the boys especially… while the little girl resembles her in ways she’d rather not observe. Eyes peal from the constantly shifting gaze between the three of them, and over to her Brother.

The only man who’s stuck by her side through thick and thin, the only one she’d trust to endure this new obstacle with, the only person she can call family - that’s not a googling newborn; a fearful, wobbling grin strikes his way. “How are we going to do this?” A question she’s had since her earliest memory. A question that has increased to a daily concern since the news of her pregnancy. A question she might never know the answer to now. And to ensure her inability to ever retrieve that answer, the three babies begin to stir.