49. The seeds of fate
THE SEEDS OF FATE
S pring sat cross-legged on the couch, phone pressed to her ear, staring at nothing in particular.
The house felt different today.
Boxes were starting to appear along the walls, equipment cases half-closed. The documentary was in post-production, which meant the quiet work had begun – packing up the pieces of a life that only existed temporarily.
Spring moved slower than usual, touching things before she put them away.
Rae noticed.
“There’s only a few days left,” Spring said quietly. “That’s it.”
Rae continued to pack the box she’d been working on. “So how are you feeling about it, babe?”
“I’m feeling good actually. We’ve faced the world together before, and we didn’t do our best, but this time we’re together facing it all.”
“ Together together, or ‘see you when the calendar allows’ together?”
Spring exhaled. “Together.” There was a pause, a spell, where Rae’s brain clearly started doing math.
“…Okay,” Rae said slowly. “Why do you sound like you’re about to confess to a felony?”
Spring closed her eyes. “Rae, I need you to sit down.”
“Oh my God,” Rae said immediately. “You’re pregnant.”
“What? No—Rae.”
“You robbed a bank?”
“Rae.”
“I’m sitting.”
Spring swallowed. “We got married.”
Silence.
Then, a sound so high-pitched Spring had to shield her ears.
“YOU DID WHAT ?”
Spring laughed despite herself. “Lower your voice!”
“LOWER MY—SPRING GREENE, YOU RAN OFF AND GOT MARRIED?”
“Yes!”
“When?”
“Yesterday, in Beaumont.”
“Of course it was Beaumont,” Rae shouted, half-laughing. “You could not have done this anywhere normal. And a bitch couldn’t get an invite?”
Spring smiled softly. “Believe me, none of this was planned. One minute we’re leaving Galveston to get away from fans, and the next thing I know, he’s on one knee singing the most beautiful song…
I don’t know, it felt right. I’m just tired of life deciding what I should have, versus putting the work in for what I truly want.
And at the top of that list, it’s always been Preston. ”
Rae exhaled hard. “Okay. Okay. I’m breathing. I’m breathing. Congratulations, boo, I’m so happy for you! Are you happy?”
Spring didn’t hesitate. “I’ve never been happier.”
“Okay,” Rae said, calmer now. “Then I’m happy. But—” She paused. “What about work, girl? I mean, you guys are pretty much not going to see each other for a year once all of this starts going.”
“We’re determined to figure it out. It’ll be fine.”
“You’re not excited about the Obama project?”
Spring leaned her head back against the couch. “I should be on my honeymoon.”
Rae hummed. “I knew it.”
“You knew what?”
“You loved Julian, but not like this,” Rae said gently. “You jumped at every assignment –hell, any assignment. Anything to not be home, to not sit still.”
Spring’s expression hardened at the truth of her friend’s words.
“But now,” Rae continued, “you’ve got the biggest assignment in the world, the kind people dream about, and you’re like ‘I kinda want to pass’.”
Spring stared at the ceiling. “I know it’s love this time because of that.”
Rae was quiet.
“It’s even bigger than that,” Spring admitted, voice shaking a little. “When I think about my career, I want it, but not as much as I want to feel like this, you know what I’m saying? We’ve let so much time, so much momentum, pull us apart before. Why can’t we just… be?”
Rae exhaled slowly. “Girl.”
“I’m serious,” Spring exclaimed. “What if we don’t chase everything this time?”
There was a pause, then Rae said, steady and sincere, “I support whatever you do. You know that.”
Spring opened her mouth to respond?—
And suddenly she was on her feet, sprinting for the bathroom. The feeling was unmistakable.
Rae didn’t even flinch when Spring came back pale-faced, wiping her mouth. “Okay,” Rae said flatly. “Enough of this shit. We’re getting you a pregnancy test. Right now.”
Spring groaned. “Rae, stop. I literally just had my period.”
Rae raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”
“Yes,” she insisted.
“When?”
Spring opened her mouth. Then closed it.
Rae tilted her head. “You haven’t had a period since I’ve been here.”
Spring frowned. “That’s… not true.”
Rae smirked. “I know your cycle better than you, because I know you shoulda needed tampons by now. I got a full box of tampons in my bag, Spring. You have not had a period.”
Spring froze. Her stomach dropped – not nausea this time, but realization.
“Oh,” she said quietly.
Rae didn’t gloat or joke. She just said, very calmly, “Go put on your shoes. We’re going to Urgent Care.”
Spring sat back down slowly, one hand on her stomach, the other still clutching her necklace.
The world suddenly felt very, very still.
And for the first time, the future wasn’t pulling her forward.
It was waiting.
The answer, the room, the moment – something about it felt like it was already decided, and they’re just driving toward confirmation.
Rae kept both hands on the wheel, eyes locked on the road like she was navigating something far more complicated than traffic.
Spring sat beside her, quiet, watching the city move past the window in fragments – stoplights, storefronts, people living perfectly normal mornings.
The world looked exactly the same – which felt strange considering hers might be about to change.
“You good?” Rae probed, not looking over.
Spring nodded automatically, then realized Rae couldn’t see it. “Yeah.”
Rae hummed, unconvinced, but chose not to push.
Spring leaned her head back against the seat and exhaled slowly. Her hand drifted again to her necklace, fingers brushing the small compass inside the locket.
What’s true, will return.
That’s what her mother used to say. Find your north. The place inside you that already knows.
But right now, her instincts felt tangled.
A baby.
The thought landed heavy, unfamiliar. Not terrifying exactly. Just… enormous.
Her mind flickered through images she didn’t ask for.
Preston laughing.
Preston pacing.
Preston holding something small in his arms and looking completely unprepared for how much he loved it.
Her chest tightened.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Rae said suddenly.
Spring blinked. “What?”
“I can hear it from here,” Rae grumbled. “Relax your face before somebody calls you into a war council.”
Spring laughed despite herself, the sound thin but real. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Rae admonished, turning into the parking lot. “Just breathe. One thing at a time.”
The car rolled to a stop. For a second, neither of them moved. Then Rae cut the engine. “Well,” she said.
Spring sighed. “Well.”
They walked in together.
By the time Spring sat on the paper-covered exam table, the room felt smaller than it should. Quieter, like it was holding its breath.
The doctor didn’t waste time. She looked at the screen. Looked again. Adjusted something Spring didn’t understand. Then she smiled – the kind of smile that changed the temperature in a room.
“Well,” she said, amused, “you’re very pregnant.”
Rae let out a laugh that sounded like disbelief and panic trying to coexist. “Very?”
Spring blinked. “Is… is that a medical term?”
The doctor chuckled. “It’s a confident one.”
She turned the monitor slightly. Shapes, movement, a rhythm Spring didn’t know she’d recognize until her body leaned forward on instinct. “There’s strong cardiac activity,” the doctor said, studying the screen. Then she paused, tilting her head slightly. “Actually, let me adjust this.”
The cursor moved. Another shape came into focus.
Another flicker.
Another rhythm.
The doctor leaned back a little, satisfied now. “Well,” she says gently. “That explains your HCG levels.”
Spring swallowed. “What does?”
The doctor tapped the screen twice. “You’re pregnant,” she said. Then she smiled. “And you’re having twins.”
The word hung in the air.
Twins.
Spring’s whole world tilted – not violently, not painfully – but completely. Like everything she thought she knew just reorganized itself around this one truth.
Rae gripped the side of her chair. “I’m sorry, did you say twins?”
“I said it’s early,” the doctor replied carefully, “but yes. It’s a strong possibility.”
Spring pressed a hand to her stomach.
She waited for the fear, but it didn’t come. What came instead is certainty.
She’s always wanted this. Kids, a family. Not abstractly – viscerally. And as her brain scrambled to catch up, her heart was already settled.
With Preston.
That part didn’t even require thought. She just wasn’t sure how to process it all.
After the appointment, they sat in the car for a long moment without turning the engine on.
Rae finally broke the silence. “Girl, you okay?”
Spring nodded. Then laughed. Then nodded again. “I’m more than okay.”
Rae studied her. “You’re… excited.”
“Actually… yeah… hell, I’m beyond,” Spring said. “I mean, this is wild. Twins is wild . But I’m not scared. ”
Rae tilted her head. “I just want to point out, I knew you were doing a lot of fucking.”
Spring chuckled, fingers resting unconsciously over her stomach.
“I know it’s a lot, all of it. But my heart hasn’t left Preston since the eleventh grade.
We’re not moving fast. We’re more than overdue.
” She looked over at Rae. “I feel like we’re dance partners, finally catching the rhythm of the song we’ve been dancing to our whole lives. ”
Rae smiled, soft and knowing. “That tracks… see what I did there? Cause you said song and I said tra?—”
Spring exhaled, ignoring her friend. “I gotta tell him.”
Rae started the car. “Then let’s go ruin his life.”
They drove in comfortable silence, the future suddenly loud in Spring’s chest. She thought about the album, the tour, the documentary – the world pulling at them from every direction.
And still, this feels right.
Pulling up to the house, Spring unbuckled slowly, grounding herself.
“Ready?” Rae asked.
Spring smiled, eyes bright. “I’ve never been more ready.” She opened the door.
Spring barely got out of the car before the energy around her shifted.
Her dad had just driven up beside them.