I know it's late, again. And I'm sorry, again. But here's a long chapter so don't hate me guys! :P
I've been stuck in the middle of this for nearly a month until I finally got inspired two days ago. I hope you like it!
And no, I don't have any idea when the next chapter will be out BUT I know what it's going to be about, so it should be done fast. :)
Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! :D
~TheCreativePenguinLover

Waking up in my sister's bed wasn't a surprise… Well, it was at first. Then I remembered I "chickened out" and came over to her room in the middle of the night. I sat up on the bed and looked around. The room was really messy and to be honest I didn't expect it to be any different than it was. Besides the room being disorganized, it was also missing my sister. I looked at the clock and saw it was 11:30am. I was so tired last night that I slept almost until noon. I yawned, crawled out of the bed and walked downstairs. I walked into the kitchen and saw my sister sitting at the table, eating her breakfast.

'Hey' I greeted and sat in front of her. She smiled.

'Finally. I had to go in there once in a while and check your pulse. For a moment I thought you were dead.'

'Why didn't you just wake me up instead?' I asked. She finished her cereal and put the spoon down.

'I figured you were really tired so I decided to let you sleep. Besides, it's summer. You can sleep all you want, you don't have to wake up for work or anything.'

I yawned. 'True. Anyways, why are you still here? Why aren't you at work?'

'Oh, I took a day off. I have a doctor's appointment at 2pm. We're going to see how everything is in there' she said and smiled while rubbing her round tummy. I smiled at her.

'How long do I still have to wait to become an aunt?' I asked.

'I don't know… last time the doctor said it's been 21 weeks already… Which is around 5 months.'

'Wow, has it really been that long?'

'Yeah… I mean, I found out in May which doesn't mean I wasn't pregnant before… Oh and today I get to find out my baby's gender!'

I gasped. 'Seriously? That's awesome! I've been dying to know' I said and we both squealed. My sister laughed and looked down at her tummy.

'Me too…'

'What would you rather have, a boy or a girl?' I asked. A second later I realized it was a childish question, but I couldn't help my curiosity. Destiny laughed.

'I have no idea. Based on mine and Jerome's personality, whatever it is, it's gonna be hard to tame… And I really don't wanna predict anything! That's why I didn't even start thinking of names, because what if I really really liked a boy's name and got a girl? You know what I mean? It sounds stupid, but I don't want that to happen. So I decided that until I find out, I'll just call it Baby.'

'I get it. And I'm really excited we're gonna have a baby around here!' I admitted. 'You know, even though it will be tough… But I still can't wait!'

'Yeah' Destiny scoffed. 'Easy for you to say! You won't have to give birth to it! You won't have to raise it to be a good person! You won't have to send it to preschool or school… You won't have to spend all your life working just to send it to college!'

I laughed. 'Slow down, sis. Have the baby first and then you can start worrying.'

Destiny sighed. 'You're right… Gosh, I remembered how terrified I was when I found out… I'm still scared, but you know… I really want to have the baby. I really want to pick it up and hug it. I want to face this challenge and be a mom.'

I smiled. 'You're gonna be an awesome mom, you know that, right?'

'Oh please' Des groaned. 'I couldn't even keep you away from that Chad kid. I was supposed to keep an eye on you and you were hanging out with him behind my back, getting together and doing… whatever the hell you were doing. How am I supposed to take care of a little human?'

'Don't worry. That's different. You know I'm big and I can take care of myself. Besides, I'd much rather have a mom who stays out of my business than one who's always on my back.'

'Seriously?' she asked. I nodded my head.

'Yeah. Like Mom for example! She respects our privacy and she stays out of our business. She knows we will make mistakes, but she lets us make them and learn from them. That's what I think parents should do… You know, in adequate situations.'

'Hm, true… Okay, you're right. I'll just ask Mom for advice… like every day. Maybe one day I'll learn how to be a good mother…'

I laughed and got up from the table. 'Yeah, you should do that.'

'I can't wait to finally find out and tell Jerome' Destiny said somewhat melancholically. That caught my attention.

'Wait, isn't he going with you?' I asked and took a fruit salad out of the refrigerator. Destiny shook her head and looked down.

'Nope, he can't make it… He said he had a job interview or something.'

'Well, at least he's looking for a job' I said and leaned against the counter. Destiny smiled weakly.

'Yeah… Who knows, maybe we'll make some money and rent an apartment...'

I was about to ask her about the odds of that actually happening, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. She was going through a rough time and me pointing that out would just make things worse. I was happy, because she could still see some bright sides of her future. My role was to support her, no matter how unrealistic her ideas seemed to me.

'I don't want you to move out' I said. She looked up at me. 'I really don't.'

She giggled. 'I know, I don't want to move out either… But you know, growing up sucks. And you have to do unpleasant things.'

I sighed. 'I get it.'

'Good' she said and got up. 'Now, make sure you clean up a little before Mom and Dad come back today. They said their plane lands at about 1:30pm, so when they get here, I'll be at the doctors. I don't want them to come in, see mess and scream, okay?'

'Yeah, I'll do that.'

'Thanks.' She smiled. 'Now, excuse me. I'm gonna go upstairs and get some sleep. The baby was kicking all night, so I'm really tired.'

'Wait, what? Kicking? Why didn't you wake me up?'

'Because you were sound asleep. Plus, it started some time ago… But it was just once or twice a day. Last night it gave a real show. And I'm still getting used to it, so it was weird.'

'Aww, you never said anything!' I whined. 'I wanna feel it!'

Destiny laughed and patted my shoulder. 'No you don't, trust me. But sure, when it kicks, I'll call you. I promise.'

'Awesome!'

'Great. Now, do whatever you want, just be quiet. And lock the doors when you leave the house, I don't want anyone breaking in here… and I don't want to wake up on a ship to China, okay?'

I laughed and nodded my head. 'Of course.'

I took my fruit salad upstairs to my room, ate it and got dressed. I remembered about my sister's request, so I decided to read a book which was the most quiet activity I could think of. I only had a few chapters left, which I was happy about, because I'd be finishing the book simultaneously with summer's end.

At around 1pm the doorbell rang. I walked out of my room and on the way downstairs, I closed the door to my sister's room. She still had some time to sleep left and I didn't want her to waste it.

The doorbell rang again as I walked down the stairs. I jumped off the third step and ran towards the door to open it. It was Chad.

'Hey-' I managed to say before he lightly pushed me inside. I gave him a funny look. 'What's up?'

'You alone?' he asked and looked around the hall.

'No, Destiny is upstairs… She's sleeping, why?'

'Just asking.'

'Why did you just do all that…?' I asked and pointed at the door. He laughed.

'Oh, that… My dad's near our garage and I didn't want him to see what I'm about to do.'

'Meaning?'

And then he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to him. He also flashed me a sly smile before kissing me. Now that's how you say good morning.

'Smooth' I said after pulling away. We both laughed.

'Thanks' he said. 'So, you ready to go?'

'Ready to go where?'

'Next door' Chad explained and pointed in the direction of his house. 'You know, a little someone just woke up…'

I smiled. I was seriously flattered by how much he wanted me to finally meet his little brother.

'One sec, let me get my keys.'

He took his arms away from me, I put my sneakers on and grabbed my keys off the shelf. He held the door open for me and we walked outside.

'Hopefully Destiny won't forget to wake up on time' I said while locking the door. Chad walked down the steps and looked at me.

'Where she goin'?' he asked. I checked if the door was locked and walked up to him.

'She has an appointment today… She's finding out her baby's gender' I explained. We walked up to the gate between our yards and Chad opened it for me.

'That's exciting' he said once we were in his yard. 'Did she say what she'd want it to be?'

'Nope, she didn't tell me… She said she doesn't want to predict anything. She just wants to find out.'

'That seems like a good idea.'

We walked up the steps to the Danforths' front door and Chad opened that one for me as well. We walked into the hall quietly.

'Hey mom, I brought Taylor' Chad said and closed the door behind us. Ms. Rossi walked into the hall and smiled at me. Her long, shiny, brown hair was pulled into a pony tail. She was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, which was weird to me, because whenever I saw her, she would always wear elegant clothes.

'Hi, Taylor. How are you, dear?' she asked. I smiled back at her.

'Hello. I'm fine, thank you.'

'Oh come on Chad, don't just stand there. Get Taylor something to drink. You thirsty?'

'No, no I'm fine. Thank you, really.'

'You sure?' Chad asked. I nodded my head.

'Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine.'

'Okay then' Chad's mother said. 'Come on in, don't stand in the hall. Come on, come here.'

She motioned for us to follow her and we did. She lead us to the dining room and rapidly gathered all the papers that were on the table. She put them into one pile and rested them on the side of the table.

'We also have some cookies. Chad's grandmother baked them. Don't be afraid to try them, Taylor' she said with a smile.

'Yeah, they're really good!' Chad assured and reached for the plate. His mother slapped his hand. 'Hey, what was that for?'

'You had enough already' she said. 'Leave some for our guest.'

'Right, sorry' Chad said and looked down. I giggled and Ms. Rossi smiled.

'Have some, Taylor. And make yourself at home' she said to me, rubbed my arm and disappeared in the kitchen.

See, now Ms. Rossi was a funny person. Funny in a sense of how she behaved. Chad always complained about her being really demanding and mostly really serious, which was true. However, I've known her long enough to realize why she was like that. She was one of those people who have everything on their shoulders and need to take care of everything. She basically raised Chad all by herself, she had a house to take care of and a job to keep. And she managed to do all that. Whenever anyone came to visit, the house was always clean as if it was brand new. She herself was always well-groomed, always looked elegant. I always admired her for keeping up the class, even though she had to deal with a child like Chad… and later with a child like Charlie. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

'Can I have your cookie?' Chad whispered to me. I grabbed one off the plate and looked at him.

'Are you kidding me? No way' I said and put the cookie in my mouth. Chad made a sad face.

'Wow, thanks, Tay.'

I giggled at him. He looked around and smiled.

'Hey look, there he is' he said and pointed at a baby carrier sitting on the couch. We quietly walked up to it and saw a little baby sitting there.

'Taylor, meet Charlie. Charlie, this is Taylor' Chad introduced us. I giggled at his silliness and we both kneeled in front of the carrier.

Charlie was the smallest baby I've seen up to that point in my life. He had tiny fingers, toes, feet, nose and everything. He was dressed in a blue onesie, which was a little bit too big for him. His eyes were still just tiny, brown chinks, but it was obvious he looked at us when we walked up to him.

'He's so adorable' I said.

'Isn't he?' Ms. Rossi asked and walked up to us. 'But believe me, he's only that cute when he's full and his diaper is clean.'

I giggled and stroked Charlie's hand with my finger. He moved his little fingers and grabbed mine. Chad smiled.

'Look, he likes you' he said. His mother smiled at us, picked up some of Charlie's clothes from the couch, sat down and started folding them.

'So Taylor, tell me, do you think your sister would find some time for Charlie?' she asked.

'I guess so… From what I noticed she has very flexible working hours, so I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you out and take care of him' I replied.

'That's good. You see, I was just going to ask her about that… I could really use some help once or twice this week. Mr. Danforth and I have something to take care of and I don't think leaving Charlie with Chad would be a good idea.'

'Good' Chad said and stroked Charlie's round belly. 'No way I'm staying all alone with him.'

Ms. Rossi giggled. 'I know. Besides, it's a big responsibility. Destiny has some experience with children. Plus, she used to babysit you and I trust her. Oh, and Taylor, tell her not to worry. I'm not gonna need her long term. I think she suffered enough while watching after Chad.'

I laughed and Chad rolled his eyes.

'Actually, I think Destiny's available most of the time' I said. 'Until her baby comes, of course.'

'Oh, that's right!' Ms. Rossi said and put Charlie's T-shirt on her lap. 'I completely forgot she's expecting a baby. Well, in this case, I won't bother her. She should get all the rest she can before she has to take care of a child full time.'

'Don't worry, Ms. Rossi. I'm sure she could help you out this week' I assured. Chad's mother smiled at me.

'Thank you, dear. I'll talk to her when I get a chance.'

I looked back at Charlie, who was still holding my finger. He was looking at Chad, who was making funny faces at him.

'Mom, is he ever gonna smile?' Chad asked. Ms. Rossi put the little T-shirt on top of the pile and grabbed another one.

'Not if you continue scaring him. Give him time, Chad. He'll start smiling soon, he's still too small.'

Chad gave up on trying to make Charlie smile and gently stroked his curly head. I smiled.

'He probably likes that more.'

'I know, that's why I'm doing it' he said. 'If it's the only way to suck up to him, I'll do it.'

Ms. Rossi and I laughed at him.

Suddenly, we heard the back door open and Mr. Danforth walked into the living room.

'Oh, look. We have a guest!' he said and smiled at me. 'How you doin', Taylor?'

'I'm fine, thank you.'

'What brings you here?' he asked and walked up to us. Chad looked up at him.

'I brought her here so she could see Charlie' he explained. Mr. Danforth smiled.

'Ah, look at that. He's only 3 weeks old and the ladies already love him' he joked. Chad and I laughed.

'Michael' Ms. Rossi said seriously. Mr. Danforth chuckled.

'Hey, I'm just kidding.'

Ms. Rossi shook her head, picked up the pile of clothes and carried it to the other room. Mr. Danforth sat down next to the carrier.

'She's just mad, because she doesn't any girls around her boys' he explained and tickled Charlie's belly. 'You're lucky, son. Now that she has this one to worry about 24/7, she might ease up on you.'

Chad raised an eyebrow. 'You think so?'

'Yeah. Just behave. I'm not saying miracles will happen, but she might let you go out more often and stuff.'

'Awesome' Chad said and smiled.

'Michael, can you give me a hand?' Ms. Rossi called from another room.

'Coming!' Mr. Danforth said and ran to the other room. Chad looked at me.

'Looks like I'm finally getting a break.'

'From what? You mom lets you do a lot of stuff.'

'Yeah, I know…' Chad said and stroked Charlie's hand. 'But you know… Maybe she'll relax and stop worrying so much about me.'

Suddenly, we heard a loud bang coming from another room. Chad and I both got scared, not to even mention little Charlie. He instantly started crying. We both looked at him.

'Shhhh bro, it's okay' Chad tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't stop. Quite opposite actually, he started screaming even louder.

'Mooom!' Chad called. We were helpless; neither of us knew what to do. Fortunately, Mr. Danforth walked into the room.

'It's okay, nothing happened' he said. Chad looked up at him.

'Dad, make him stop! Did I do something?'

'No, don't worry' he assured and picked Charlie up and hugged him. 'I forgot to close the back door, there was a draft and the door just slammed.'

'Oh, okay…'

'Michael, did you forget to close the door again?' Ms. Rossi said when she came into the room.

'Yeah, sorry' he apologized and started rocking Charlie. 'Shhhh son, it's okay. Daddy forgot to close the door because he's old and Mommy doesn't understand that. She thinks Daddy did it on purpose, but we both know his memory is not as good as Mommy's.'

Chad and I laughed, while Ms. Rossi just smiled and shook her head. She picked up Charlie's pacifier and put it carefully into his mouth. He stopped crying right away.

'Taylor, one more thing I have to ask you' Ms. Rossi said. 'When are your parents coming back?'

'Today. Their plane lands at around 1:30pm I believe' I answered. Mr. Danforth looked at his watch.

'It's 2 now, so they're probably gonna be home any minute' he said.

'I'm asking because Mr. Danforth is leaving for New York next week and we thought it would be a good idea to get together and have a dinner here, at our home' Ms. Rossi explained. 'Do you think they'd find some time for us?'

'Yes, probably' I said. 'My mom's working shifts now and Dad's at home all day, until the school year starts.'

'Great' Mr. Danforth said. 'Tell them I'll stop by today.'

'I will.'

'Now, excuse me. I think I'll go put this little gentleman into his crib. All that crying made him tired' he said and kissed Charlie's head.

'Okay and check his diaper' Ms. Rossi told him. He nodded and headed up the stairs.

'Ummm… Taylor and I are going to go to my room…' Chad announced. His mother looked at us and nodded her head.

'Alright. Just don't make noise, let Charlie sleep for at least an hour?'

'You got it, Mom' Chad said, got up and helped me up too. Ms. Rossi smiled at us and we slowly walked upstairs.

"Upstairs" was the part of the Danforths' house I've visited only a few times. The rooms there where Charlie's room , bathroom, a guest bedroom, Chad's room and his parents' bedroom, which, of course, I've never seen. We walked down the corridor in silence and stopped in front of Chad's room. He opened the door for me and we walked inside.

I looked around and slowly remembered what his room used to look like and how much it changed over the years. First of all, his room was huge. It was at least twice the size of my room. He had a king sized bed, which was an unusual addition to a teenager's room. His desk was quite large; there was enough place for a laptop and books. He had a big bean bag in front of a 20'' TV. There were basketball posters hanging on the walls and a small basket. Also, he had a shelf where most of his medals and trophies were displayed.

'Ummm… Sorry for the mess?' Chad said, not really sure why I was looking around his room in silence.

'No, it's not that. It's just… It's been awhile since I've been here.'

He smiled. 'Oh. Okay then. Well, have a seat or… you know, whatever.'

I smiled at him and sat down on his bed. He grabbed some clothes from the bed and from the floor and threw them into the closet. He casually sat down on the bean bag and looked at me.

'So, what do you wanna do?' he asked. I shrugged.

'I don't know, what can we do?'

'Well, the Xbox is downstairs, but I have a PS3 here… Wait, no! I wanted to show you something first!' he said and jumped up. He started looking through drawers, then he moved on to his pockets. But he couldn't find it.

'What are you looking for?' I asked. He looked around.

'Currently? My wallet' he explained and reopened the drawer. I looked around the bed and picked up a pair of shorts. I checked the pockets and took a leather wallet out.

'I think I found it!'

Chad turned to me and smiled. 'Yup, that's it! Thanks.'

I put the shorts back where I found them and he took the wallet from me. He opened it and took something out. That caught my attention.

'What you got there?' I asked. He grabbed the chair from his desk and dragged it to the edge of the bed, right in front of me. He sat down and handed me a labeled card.

'Check it out.'

I took it from him, looked at it and gasped. 'No way, a driver's license?'

'Yeah. I passed the test a while ago, but they mailed it last week.'

'Chad, that's awesome!' I said and looked up at him. 'Does that mean I'll get to be driven around?'

'Well, yeah… I mean, I can only drive with one passenger and I can't be driving from midnight to 5am… So yeah, seems like you're the one.'

'This is great! Too bad you didn't tell me before, I could help you study and stuff…'

'No, I had to do this myself. My dad helped me with the practical part, but I studied the laws all by myself. And I passed, so I think I did good' he said and smiled.

'I'm really proud of you' I said handing him the license. 'Really.'

'Well, you haven't seen anything yet' he said. He put the license back into his wallet and threw it on the bed. I raised my eyebrow.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

He smirked. 'I thought you'd never ask.'

He got up from the chair and walked up to his desk. He picked up a piece of paper, walked back to the bed and sat next to me. He handed me the paper and laid back on the bed.

'What's this?'

'Just read it.'

I looked at the paper and read it carefully. Chad Bryan Danforth grade blah blah blah English blah blah Sciences blah blah Mathematics blah blah.

'What am I supposed to see here?' I asked and looked at him. He folded his arms under his head and smiled.

'Mathematics part.'

I looked back at the paper and there it was. A B-.

'B-, huh? Impressive' I admitted.

'B- is still a B, right?'

'Technically, yeah, it is.'

'Then, according to our agreement' he said and sat up. 'I was promised a kiss if I received a B from Math. I've received a B, but I haven't gotten a kiss yet.'

I giggled. 'Wow, that was years ago. I completely forgot about that.'

'So did I. But I found this in the morning and I thought I'd let you know you haven't kept your promise' he said and smiled.

'Oh yeah? And what if I don't keep it?' I asked jokingly.

'Look, I don't want to get lawyers involved or anything. I thought we could solve this ourselves' he replied.

'And what if we don't?'

'Well, then I'll see you in court' he joked. I laughed and looked down at the paper.

'You really want that kiss, don't you?'

'Yes, I do. Especially because I deserve it. And because you owe it to me.'

'Okay then' I said and looked at him. 'Come here.'

He grinned, leaned in and I kissed him as passionately as my kissing skills let me. However, with a guy as experienced as Chad, I had nothing to worry about. He shifted a little closer to me and rested his hand on my knee. And then he surprised me, because his lips parted and I felt his tongue against my own lips. I was about to open mine, when suddenly the door opened and Mr. Danforth peaked in. We pulled away and looked at him.

'Oh, oh… I'm sorry' he said and looked away from us. Chad moved away from me and I looked down. Chad cleared his throat.

'No, it's okay Dad… What's up?' he asked. It was obvious Mr. Danforth knew he interrupted us, but we all decided to pretend nothing ever happened. Chad's father looked at us again.

'Nothing really, just that… Taylor, your parents are home. They just arrived and they asked me to tell you they want to see you now.'

'Okay, thank you, Mr. Danforth. Could you maybe tell them I'll be right there?' I asked. Mr. Danforth nodded his head and smiled.

'Of course, no problem. I'll do that. Oh, and once again, I'm sorry' he said to Chad and closed the door. Chad sighed and we looked at each other. It was really hard to hold back laughter and we couldn't help it.

'Well, that was awkward' Chad said and rubbed the back of his head. I giggled.

'Hasn't he ever walked in on you like that?'

'He has… But it's different with you. Plus, I always tell him when I have a girlfriend… He keeps that in mind and he tries not to do that… He's probably really surprised now.'

'Probably…' I said and giggled again. Chad sighed and smiled.

'I just hope he doesn't tell my mom… He shouldn't, but you never know.'

'Do you think he's gonna ask you about it?' I asked and got up from his bed. I walked up to his trophy shelf to take a better look at them.

'He might.'

'What are you gonna tell him?'

'That you're now my girlfriend and that's why we were kissing.'

'And what is he going to say?' I asked and turned to him. Chad smiled and got up.

'He's going to be proud. Like really proud' he replied and walked up to me. I giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

'Hopefully. Now let's go downstairs, I wanna say hi to my parents.'

We walked downstairs and walked out of Chad's house. I saw my parents standing in front of the house with their luggage. I ran up to them, leaving Chad standing by his door.

'Hey Mom! Hey Dad!' I said and ran into my mother's open arms. She hugged me.

'Hey Tay! Where have you been? And where is your sister?' she asked. I pulled away and looked at her.

'Well, if she's not home, she's at the doctor's… She had an appointment today.'

'Oh, that's right. I completely forgot. Okay, give your father the keys, because he once again forgot his at home before we left' she said and looked at Dad. I giggled, while my dad just shook his head.

'Don't make it sound like it happens all the time, Deb' he said and looked at me. 'Give the keys to your mother, I don't wanna lose them!'

'I missed you too, Daddy' I said and handed my mom the keys. She laughed at us and went into the house, leaving the suitcases outside. My father looked down at them.

'And who the heck is supposed to carry this in, huh?' he called after Mom. Mr. Danforth laughed and walked up to the fence.

'Hello, neighbor' he greeted. Dad walked up to the fence and shook his hand.

'How you doin', Mike?'

'Great. This place is heaven compared to New York; it's so calm and quiet. Perfect place for a short break before going back to work. And what's up with you, coach?'

'Ah, you know… same old stuff. Except now I got a pregnant daughter and a son in college… Now I just need to get rid of this one' my dad said jokingly and pointed at me. I shook my head and Mr. Danforth chuckled.

'Oh come on, Taylor is an angel. I wonder what's that like. You should try having a rebellious teenage son and a screaming baby.'

'All I have now is a the calm Taylor and a rebellious pregnant daughter, who's about to have a screaming baby. I think I win… or lose. Can't tell' my dad said and dramatically looked down. Mr. Danforth and I laughed.

'Tell you what' Chad's father said and patted my dad on the shoulder. 'Carla and I would love to have you guys over for a dinner this week. You know, I'm leaving next Monday and that's the only chance to catch up.'

'Hmmm… Sure, why not. We don't have anything planned. I'll talk to Debra and she'll let you guys know.'

Mr. Danforth smiled. 'Great.'

I looked at Chad, who put his hands into his pockets and slowly walked up to the fence. My father smiled at him.

'So, Chad… Did you get some rest? Are you ready to kick some butt this season?' he asked. Chad chuckled and leaned against the fence.

'You know it, coach. The championship is ours.'

'Now, that's the spirit!' my father said and looked at me. 'Come on Tay, let's go home. Let's give those guys a break.'

He shook Mr. Danforth's hand once again and walked up to the suitcases. I took one last look at Chad before going into the house. My dad followed me in, dropped the suitcases on the floor and closed the door.

'Taylor, have you eaten any lunch?' my mom asked and walked into the hall. I shook my head.

'No, not yet…'

'Oh dear! You must be starving! I'll fix something for you right now!' she said and headed towards the kitchen. My dad scoffed.

'I've been on a plane for four and a half hours, I had no breakfast and all I ate on the plane was a bagel and she still doesn't ask if I'm hungry' he complained. I laughed.

'It's okay Daddy, knowing Mom, she'll make enough food for the whole street, so I'll share with you.'

'Thanks, baby' he said and kissed my forehead. We both made our way to the kitchen and sat at the table.

'So, how was everything around here while we were gone?' Mom asked as she searched through the refrigerator. I shrugged.

'Normal, I guess. Nothing really happened.'

'Did you keep an eye on Destiny?' my father asked. 'Did you make sure she doesn't bring that "excuse-for-a-man" boyfriend here?'

'James' my mom said seriously and gave him a look. Dad just shrugged.

'I don't care. As long as she lives under my roof, I don't want to see her around him.'

'What are you going to do when the baby comes?' Mom asked. 'Will you forbid a man to see his child?'

'I really doubt he'll even want to see it in the first place.'

I looked down at the table. My dad was serious when he said all that. He didn't like the way Jerome treated Destiny when she told him she was pregnant… He didn't like Jerome at all. And to be honest, none of us did. However, my father was the only one who couldn't pretend to like him just for the sake of Destiny's happiness.

My father and I didn't have a lot of things in common, but we were really alike. We both spoke our minds, we both hated people who hurt our loved ones and we both were more critical about things than others were. Back then I was still a child it wasn't that evident, but now it scares me to realize how much I resemble him. It has both good and bad sides, of course.

'What did you do those two weeks?' Dad asked. I looked at him.

'Nothing unusual… We went to the movies, we hung out on the beach, at the park…'

'We, meaning who?' he asked and put a grape in his mouth.

'Me, Gaby… Troy and Chad' I explained. My father raised his eyebrows.

'Danforth, really? Since when are you guys friends?'

'James, they were always friends' Mom said. Dad nodded his head.

'Yeah, but… Didn't you dislike him or something?'

'I did' I admitted. 'But that was when we were kids and he was childish. Now he's more serious.'

'Yeah, yeah. That's what you think. He might be 17 or whatever, but he's still a kid. Teenage boys are the most dangerous. They seem grown up, but in reality they're still kids. And they only want one thing' he warned me. 'Just ask your mother.'

I looked over at Mom, who rolled her eyes and smiled at me. You see, my parents had Destiny when they were about my age. They never hid the fact that it was really hard for them and my father used any occasion to bring that up and warn us about the dangers of what he called "irresponsible fooling around".

'Are you telling her to stay away from guys like you?' Mom asked jokingly. Dad put another grape in his mouth and nodded his head.

'Yup. I was a dumb kid. And I did stupid things. I had to suffer the consequences and grow up a little faster than most of my friends' he told me. 'While most of them were out partying, I was home changing diapers and studying at the same time. '

'Poor thing' Mom teased. 'It must have been really hard for you.'

I giggled and Dad looked at her. 'Hey! I did stuff too! I finished college, got a job, we had our own apartment. I worked really hard for all that. I wanted you guys to live good.'

'I know, honey. Don't worry' Mom said and kissed him on the cheek. I smiled at them.

'Hey, so it wasn't so bad?' I pointed out. Dad shook his head.

'No, it didn't turn out so bad. But it wasn't easy, okay? There was a lot of struggle before you were born. Just ask your sister how she liked going to class with your mother. We didn't have money for a baby sitter, grandma was working. Don't think it's easy, because it's not.'

'Okay daddy, I'll keep that in mind' I told him.

'Yes. And you should also remember how it should be. First of all, you finish high school. Then you go to college. Then you finish college. Then you get a job, okay? Forget guys, job's a priority. Then, when you get a respectable job, you get a place to live. Once you do that, you can think of getting married. Then, once you're married, you have kids, okay? Do you understand? Not the other way around. Don't try to shuffle those things.'

I smiled. 'Okay, I get it.'

'Good' my dad nodded and looked at Mom. 'Are we ever gonna eat? I'm starving.'

'Calm down, the meat needs to defreeze first. In the meantime, you can peel the potatoes' Mom said and put a knife and four potatoes in front of him. Dad sighed and did as she told him.

'By the way, the Danforths are inviting us for dinner this week. I said we'd come, but you should better call Carla to confirm it' my father said. Mom leaned against the counter.

'Okay, I'll do that later. She's probably busy; they're probably eating lunch now.'

'Yeah' Dad mumbled. 'Some people get to eat on time.'

Mom laughed and gently slapped the back of his head, which made me laugh.

We heard the front door open and shut.

'Hey guys, guys, guys!' Destiny called and ran into the kitchen. She was really excited.

'Hey honey!' Mom greeted her and hugged her. Dad looked up.

'I hope you're this happy because you found some free food on your way here' he said jokingly. Des rolled her eyes and showed him a piece of paper.

'Chill Pops and take a look at your grandson!' she squealed. Dad's eyes widened.

'Excuse me?'

'It's a boy, guys! I'm gonna have a son!' she squealed. Mom and I gasped.

'Sweetheart, that's great!' Mom said and hugged her once again. I got up and joined their hug. My father took a look at the sonogram picture and stared at it in silence. Mom and I let Destiny go. She put her arms around Dad's neck and peeked over his shoulder.

'What's wrong?' she asked. He shook his head.

'Nothing. I just hope you know what you're doing. You've gone so far and you can't screw it up, okay?'

'I know, Daddy. I won't. I'll try my best' she assured. Dad pulled her head closer and kissed her forehead.

'I'm proud of you… As proud as a father of a girl who's about to have a child with an ex-convict can be. But I am proud and really happy for you.'

Destiny smiled and hugged him. 'Look, that's his head. And those are his arms and legs' she explained pointing at the picture. I took it away from Dad and Mom and I took a closer look at it.

'That's so cool' I said in amazement. Destiny gave Dad a kiss on the cheek and let him go.

'I know, right? This is awesome but I can't wait to finally hold him!' she said and smiled dreamily. Mom laughed and pulled her into another hug.

I walked out of the bathroom quietly and headed to my room. However, I stopped at Destiny's room, because her door was opened. She was making her bed. I knocked on the door frame and she turned to me.

'What, can't sleep again? Still seeing monsters?' she asked jokingly. I rolled my eyes.

'I wasn't, but thanks to you, now I will. I just came to say goodnight.'

'Why?'

'I don't know… Just to do so' I said and shrugged. My sister giggled and got back to making her bed.

'You wanna talk about something?' she asked.

'No, not really… I don't know why, but I just wanted to say… Look, Destiny. I'm here for you.'

She put her pillow down and looked at me. 'Huh?'

'I mean… I know it's hard for you, especially because Dad is giving you such a hard time about Jerome and stuff… And I know it's going to be hard for you raising a baby…. But I wanted to let you know that I'm here. If you need anything.'

She smiled. 'That's nice.'

'I know that I'm just a teenager and I'll probably be useless, but if you need me to babysit your baby or something… You know, you'll tell me what to do and when I learn, I'm sure I could help you somehow-'

Destiny cut me off by walking up to me and hugging me.

'It's okay, Taylor' she said. 'Don't worry, everything will be fine. I will be okay. And thanks so much.'

'No problem' I said and hugged her back.

'Oh, and I could definitely use some help in the future' she said after pulling away. 'So remember about your promise.'

'Come on, I'll always find some time for my nephew!' I assured. Destiny laughed and walked back to her bed.

'Yeah, that's what you think. But you have a boyfriend and your own life… You won't always feel like staying in with a crying child.'

'Hey, family's always first, right?' I asked. Destiny looked at me and smiled. 'Goodnight, Des.'

'Night, Taylor.'

I spun on my heel and I was about to leave, when Destiny stopped me.

'Taylor, wait!' she said. I turned to her. 'Come here!'

I walked up to her, she grabbed my hand and put it on her tummy. I gave her a confused look.

'What is going o-'

'Shhhh' she shushed me down. 'Just be quiet.'

I looked down at my hand and felt something moving gently underneath it. I looked at Destiny's face.

'Is he…?'

'Yup!' she said and smiled. I gasped and looked back at my hand. I felt a light kick.

'This is so weird' I said and felt my eyes tear up. Destiny giggled.

'I know, right?'

I laughed and wiped my tears away. That was my first ever contact with my nephew and I have loved him ever since.

Taylor M.