13 | Clutch

                                    

                                          
"Kristen! How are you doing, love?" Robert asks, his smile wide as his face fills up the entire screen.
                          
"Rob! Hey! Look, Alicia! Robert's online." Kristen calls over her girlfriend. Alicia comes over quickly and gives her a peck on the cheek. They adjust the screen of the laptop, letting the screen capture both of their faces. 
                          
"Alicia! Hope you're taking good care of my girl over there." He grins at the two of them. Tahliah appears on the screen, cozying up to Robert. "Hey lovelies. How's the weather in LA?" She asks. 
                          
"It's great! I've been stuck on set though, so not really much going on with me, but after this week I'm free. How about you guys? How's London?" Kristen replies. 
                          
"Brilliant. I wish you could be here. My folks say hello, by the way. They miss your delicious apple pie." Robert says. 
                          
Kristen chuckles, waving at the camera. "Say hi to them for me and the little one!" Robert murmurs something to Tahliah, who moves out of the screen. Robert moves to the center of the sofa, the camera focused on him. 
                          
"Sorry, Tahliah had to take a call. So, how are you two?" 
                          
"Things are good." Kristen and Alicia exchange a look, big grins spread across their faces. Alicia's phone buzzes in her pocket. As she takes it out and reads the message, she sighs. "It was great talking to you, Rob! I have to go. Work calls." With a peck on the cheek and a whisper goodbye, Alicia walks out of the room. 
                          
"I'm glad the two of you patched things up." He comments once Alicia left the room. 
                          
Kristen stretches on the couch, placing the laptop on top of her legs. "Yeah? Me too. She's been really great during this time, even though I'm a cranky bitch most days." 
                          
"Well, I'm glad I'm here in London then." Robert laughs, receiving the stink eye from Kristen. 
                          
"Oh laugh all you want, fucker. You're not the one who's going to push out a watermelon out of your body." 
                          
"Aww, baby. Don't be like that. You want anything before I get back to LA? I'll be there in two days for the doctor's appointment. I can't believe you're at the end of your first trimester." He grins. "How are you?" 
                          
"Fine. The only thing I hate is my skinny jeans are getting a bit too snug for me. The wardrobe people were all over the place trying to make some adjustments, it was crazy! It's a good thing I'm not showing that much yet, though." She looks down to her belly, the bump more pronounced than before. 
                          
"Yeah, the paps would have a field day with you. Those bloody fuckers better not touch you." He said, his eyes furrowing together as the thought crossed his mind. 
                          
"Don't worry about it. I told the guys on set, they added extra security just for me. Pregnancy perks, I guess." Kristen shrugged, grabbing the bottle and taking long gulps from it. 
                          
"Did you eat already?" 
                          
"Please, I'm always hungry. At least now, I have an excuse. I'm eating for two now." She said with a laugh. 
                          
"That's great. Wouldn't want you two to get hungry." Rob reaches out to touch the screen. "Can't wait to see you two again. Tell the little one daddy says hi." 
                          
"Of course. Bye Rob. See you soon." 
                          
"Love you, Kris. Bye." 
                          
"Love you too, Rob." 
                          
The words echoed in their minds as their screens faded to black. 
                          
———————————— 
                          
-A month after-
                          
"Bye Kris. Call me if you need anything all right? Bye baby." Alicia bends over to Kristen's now obvious baby bump.
                          
"Sure, Al. Take care!" Kristen shouts as she waves goodbye. She closed the door and went back to the living room, getting cozy on the sofa. It was a relief that filming had wrapped up last month, so all she had to do was focus was taking care of herself and the baby. 
                          
Usually, by this time Kristen was having dinner with someone. Unfortunately, Suzie wasn't around, Jack was back in London, Tom and Sienna were out, and Alicia had to work. 
                          
Tonight, she had the house to herself, so she decided to do her usual routine. 
                          
Kick back, relax, and find something to watch on Netflix.
                          
As she pointed the remote to the television screen, she felt a sharp pang of pain in her lower area. 
                          
"Fuck!" Kristen shouted, wincing at the pain. "Little one, please don't do this right now." A few minutes later, another wave of pain hit her again. "Jesus fucking christ!" She was moaning in pain, her heart was pounding as she started to panic. She didn't know what was happening to her, or to the baby. 
                          
Looking around her surroundings, she grabbed her cellphone and called the first person that came to her mind. 
                          
"Hello? I need you. Please. Jesus Christ, it hurts so much. I need to go to the hospital." 
                          
"What? I'll be right over, love. Just wait for me, okay?" Robert's concerned voice crackled through the phone, rushing to get to her. 
                          
——————— ———————— 
                          
Robert was relieved once he got Kristen to the hospital. As it turns out, Kristen was experiencing a painful bout of Braxton-Hicks contractions, and was assured that both Kristen and the baby were fine. 
                          
It was an eventful night, and he waited with Kristen at her home until Alicia was able to keep her company, not wanting to leave her alone for the rest of the night. 
                          
It was two in the morning, and Robert yawned as he unlocked the door to his house. To his surprise, Tahliah was there, sitting on the couch, waiting for him to come home. 
                          
"Tahl, what are you still doing up?" He asked, dropping of his keys at the end table. 
                          
"Oh, nothing. Just...thinking." 
                          
"Come on, let's go to bed." He says, giving her a kiss on the forehead. 
                          
"You know what, I think I'll just head back to my place if it's okay." She said quietly. 
                          
"What? You know you don't have to. Just sleep here, hun." He frowned, holding her hand tightly. 
                          
"No, I just- I just need some alone time. You can understand, right?" She replies. Although she was smiling, Robert couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in her voice. 
                          
"Well, if you're sure." He leans over to kiss her, but she turns her head slightly, so he ends up kissing her cheek instead. 
                          
"Are you sure everything's okay, Tahl?" He asks again, this time his concern is apparent on his face, hesitant to let her walk away. 
                          
"Hopefully, it will be." She says, letting go of his hand and exiting the door. 
                          
Lost and confused, Robert didn't know what else to do. 
                          
So he let go. 
                          
-------------- 
                          
A/N 
                          
WHERE AM I GOING WITH THIS???? 
                          
I DON'T KNOW TBH
                          
Also, if you're confused why Clutch is the chapter's title:
                          
1) to clutch up is to become nervous and panicked
                          
2) Clutch is used as denoting or occurring in a critical situation in which the outcome of something is at stake.


                          
See where I'm going with this? Okay. See you next chapter.