Miley's POV
"Sel, sit down. You look so pale," I said worriedly, gently leading Selena to the bed in the guest bedroom. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. I sat next to her, with Taylor and Demi on her other side.
"I was so mean to him." Her voice was flat, bleak. I didn't know what to say, since it wasn't exactly untrue. "You didn't mean it," replied Demi gently, rubbing her best friend's shoulder.
"At the moment, I did. And he must think I did, too," the tears in her eyes refused to fall, making it even more painful for us to watch. I sighed, "We told you. Sometimes the pregnancy period is even harder than raising the actual child."
"You have to understand. It's tougher on first-time fathers than mothers. He's just so worried about you; that's why he's so overprotective. He wants you and the baby to be safe and healthy," said Taylor.
"I know, I know. I just got so unreasonably irritated, you know? Like I'm so stupid he has to watch my every move," she said softly. Demi answered, "Of course you're not stupid, and I do agree that it's not right for him to be too overprotective. But he's only doing it because he loves you so much."
"Don't you remember the advice we gave you during Madlyn's birthday party? We told you that you have to be understanding. Talk things out instead of blowing up at him," Taylor said gently.
"I know. I just lost it for a split second and now it's turned into this." She gestured her hands in front of her, as if to indicate their fight. "I just need some time to think alone," she continued. "So, do you mind?"
"Of course not. You can stay up here for as long as you like and clear your mind," I assured her. She smiled thinly, "Thanks." We nodded in silence and trooped out of the room. She lay on her side, facing the wall.
We pretended not to notice, but we saw her shoulders shaking violently with her racking sobs.
Nick's POV
"Alright, guys, we're here," announced my brother as he pulled into a parking lot outside an almost empty, sleepy-looking diner by the highway. I gave him a look.
"What?"
"How did you come about to finding this place? It's so seedy!"
"Actually, I was the one who introduced it to him," admitted Zac sheepishly. "Whenever I was stressed, I came up here. It's almost always empty, so there're barely any paparazzi or crazed fans around. Joe here took my advice and came here all the time when he was stressed out about Taylor."
We walked in and sat at one of the booths, steering clear of the bar. I was sitting beside Joe, with Zac and Taylor across from us. Drinking before a New Year's party isn't exactly a pleasant thing to do, believe me. "So, do you guys actually wanna eat anything?" I asked. The three guys shook their heads.
"Right. So make that four Diet Cokes, please," I informed the waitress who lazily nodded and shuffled her way—slowly—to the counter. "Okay. Let's talk." Zac announced with authority.
"What's there to talk about?" mumbled Taylor, staring out the window; his eyebrows joined together in a tense frown. "How about the fact that you had a fight with your pregnant wife at my house and at my New Year party?" I demanded.
He sighed, running his hand down his face. "I wasn't going to say anything, but she just, she just—I was so mad!" he exclaimed, burying his face in his hands. Zac answered, "I know she got on your nerves, but you were pretty rough with her back there, man."
"I didn't mean to do that to her. I swear! God, I love Selena more than my own life; I'd never deliberately set out to hurt her."
"Dude, we know that," Joe cut him off before he could ramble on too much, "it's just that you have to be patient. What Selena's doing is much more than what you are doing. It's tough on her. Her whole body aches and the extra weight of the baby takes a toll on her back; everything irritates her."
"Of course, what Sel did was wrong, too. She shouldn't have accused you like that. We know you were just trying to make sure she was safe. That's very important, and she should've understood better. But you guys need to talk, not fight." I said quietly.
"I know she's so, so mad at me and probably hates my guts right now, but I just, I love her so much. It would kill me to see her hurt, more than anything else," murmured Taylor, staring down into his palms.
Zac replied, "Of course. When Vanessa was pregnant, I was terrified if anything happened to her. We had some real problems at first, but we worked things out; we talked things through. I learned to give her some down time, and she learned to understand my feelings."
"Maybe you should try talking to her," I suggested gently, not wanting to dig in too deep. Taylor nodded slowly, "Maybe I should."
Taylor's POV
"Hey, Tay," said Miley warmly, giving me a hug. I mumbled, "Hi." By the time we returned from the diner, the party has already started; most of the guests had arrived. "Sel's in the kitchen. Stealing food off the trays, I bet," she continued, keeping the tone light.
I nodded, before asking, "Um, how was she?" Miley gave me a sympathetic smile. "We talked to her a bit, you know, trying to get some sense in her head. Honestly, I don't know. I think she's better now. She would be if you'd go check on her." I nodded again before slowly making my way to the kitchen.
Thankfully, the large, gourmet-restaurant-style kitchen was empty; since everybody was out in the living room mingling. I could see the back of my long pinstriped shirt that my wife had personalized into maternity wear. She was raiding the fridge impatiently. Despite myself, I laughed. She turned; her face froze as she saw me.
"Oh. It's you." Selena stated awkwardly, closing the fridge. She stood against the kitchen cabinets, her hand cradling her belly; her other hand tracing the pattern on the tabletop.
Attempting to keep the atmosphere light, I said jokingly, "I see that you're giving in to your cravings." Although her smile was tiny, it was a start. "Yeah." I inched slowly towards her.
"Tay, I—"
"Sel, I'm—"
We both stopped and stared at each other. Without permission, yet without restrain, I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "I'm sorry," her voice came out muffled, and I could tell that she was starting to cry.
"No, sshh, it's okay, it's okay, it's not your fault," I soothed, although I knew it was both our faults; but I figured it wouldn't exactly be wise to point that out at this very moment.
"I should've understood that you're just trying to keep me safe," she murmured, her sobs gradually lessening as I slowly led her to the kitchen table. I answered gently, "I know, I hoped you'd understand that. I'm not trying to be controlling; I just need you to be safe and healthy."
"I do now," my wife assured me, rubbing my arm. I sighed, "And now I know that I should learn to let you be independent. Being pregnant is not something that should stop you from living a normal life." She nodded; her way of letting me know she understood.
"I'm really, really sorry. You know I love you more than my own life," I whispered, kissing her forehead. Selena smiled, "I know. You can never guess how much I love you. And our beautiful baby boy." She gently laid her hands on top of mine that were on her stomach.
"Of course it's a boy." I rolled my eyes. She smirked.
Miley's POV
"You put chor right handin, you put chor right handout, you shake it all around and you do the Hockey Pokey and that's it's all about!" My daughter triumphantly finished her little 'song', bowing clumsily.
"Wow, Madlyn, that was awesome!" I opened my arms and she ran into them, beaming up at me proudly. "Did you like it, Mommy?"
"Like it? I love it, baby girl!"
"Daddy?"
"I love it, too. You're fantastic." My husband grinned at our daughter; whose blue eyes are shining so brightly you would've thought we told her she can live in a toy store for the rest of her life.
"Wow, who sang that wonderful song we heard?" Taylor pretended to be surprised as he walked into the living room, his arm around his wife. I looked at Selena and raised my eyebrow. She nodded discreetly and smiled. I grinned.
"I did! I did, Uncle Taylor!" Maddie shrieked, demanding to be carried. Taylor obliged, lifting her up easily into his arms. "Well, it's pretty awesome," teased Sel, ruffling her hair.
"What does Baby think?" Madlyn had taken to calling Taylor and Selena's child 'Baby', since he or she (although I myself am pretty sure it's a 'he') has not a name yet. "Baby thinks it's pretty good, too. He's giving me high-kicks; dancing to your pretty little song," my friend smiled.
Nick's POV
"I cannot believe we're just five minutes away from 2018," I murmured wistfully, standing by the window with my wife by my side, a sleeping Laurel in her arms. Miley smiled, "I know. Not to mention we're 25 years old. I feel like some old soccer mom." I couldn't help but laugh.
"You are far from old, and our girls don't even like soccer. They're all for baseball," I grinned teasingly, ruffling Laurel's brown hair. My wife joked, "Alright, young baseball mom, then." I smirked. Suddenly she sighed.
"What?"
"This is all too good. It can't be true," she murmured. I felt anger flare in my chest.
"What do you mean? You deserve every single good thing that's happened to you in your life. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you."
Her blue eyes burned. "You can't lie to me, Nick. You never could! Eight years have gone, but I'm still labeled a slut! A whore!" She couldn't control herself. Tears were spurting out of her eyes. Laurel had woken up and was whimpering softly.
"Demi, can you come here, please?" she called out, not as loud as she normally would; she was trying to disguise the tears in her voice. Demi was just in the living room and appeared seconds later. She took in the situation with a single glance and reached for Laurel.
"Come on, Laurie, let's ring in the New Year with your Aunt Demi," she crooned, kissing the top of the one-year-old's head. She darted a worried look to the both of us before she left. I shook my head and smiled slightly.
"You are not a slut or a whore. Don't you ever let me hear you describe yourself that way ever again," I warned, practically trembling with anger. Miley rolled her eyes, "Oh, who are you trying to kid, Nick? I knew it myself. I had run off the road by the time I was with Liam." The mention of her ex-boyfriend made my throat tighten.
"Okay, I admit it. I was disappointed by who you had become. Does that little confession make you happy?" I demanded, my tears threatening to make their escape. My wife exclaimed, "You know it doesn't, Nick! But it's true! I am a horrible person!"
"If you are such a horrible person, I would have absolutely no intentions of making you my partner for life and the mother of my children. And yet you are both of those things," I answered, choking on my words. Miley looked at me ruefully.
"I'm not a good mother, Nick. The other day, Laurel nearly choked on her oatmeal because of me! We got her to the ER just in time. What if we'd been ten seconds late? She would have died!" She was beginning to sound hysterical.
"But nothing happened to her, Miles. Laurel pulled through, and she's fine. Our baby girls are fine. The incident could've happened to anybody in this world."
"But it happened to me. It's like God is trying to show me that I'm not fit to be a good mother to my kids!"
"Everybody makes mistakes, Miley. It's God's way of showing us that we have to better ourselves," the anger was slowly leaving me, allowing me to sit on the armchair by the window with my wife on my lap. She was sobbing softly into my chest.
"Sometimes I just feel so worthless. People judge me as a slut and an unfit mother. I wish they knew just how much I love our daughters, Nick. I would go to hell and back for them. Anything, I would do anything for them."
"I know you would. Miley, I see you everyday with those girls. I see how it breaks your heart whenever you had to be away from them, even if it's only for one day. I see the terror in your eyes when they fall sick. I see the pride in your smile whenever they do something. You are a great mother, and they love you."
Miley nodded slowly, a little frown on her face. "I know, but sometimes I couldn't help but feel unconvinced. I mean, in your life you'd never been dissed as badly as I had. You're just so talented and sweet and sensible. People love you."
I chuckled lightly, "People also thought that I was cold and emotionless, but that's a story for another time. The main point is, sure, you were a bit wild back in the days. But you were a teenager, Miley. We were teenagers, and it was the time to make mistakes and learn from them. And that's exactly what you did."
She was silent for a moment before she began speaking.
"It was so extraordinary when I met you. You were my first boyfriend and it was hard to believe that I felt so deeply about you. My parents wondered how I can give my heart and soul into loving you, even though we were both just thirteen years old. Not to mention we started dating on the first day we met." We both cracked a smile.
"After I lost you, my world was so empty. That's why I had all those boyfriends. Thomas was first. I remember taking all those pictures"—she winced—"and believe me, I regret every bit about that. But he was…he was just a—a toy to me. I felt bad about using him that way, but I had to have a substitute after you found Jordan and then Sel."
"I and Jordan never really had anything, you know that."
"Of course I do, but it hurt to see you move on. That's why I did all those things with Tom. Then came Justin and things got serious. His mind was more mature than mine, and it wasn't the same like it was with you. He had more….advanced things in mind for us to do together. That's why it didn't work. You would've never forced me to do anything that would make me unhappy."
"Did you….?"
My wife's eyes flew wide open in horror. "Oh, God, no! No, Nick, I didn't have sex with him. You know that. We never got past making out. The same went for all my other boyfriends. You're my first and will be my last. You already know that."
I nodded, "I know, I know, and I'm sorry for asking. But during our time apart, the worst time in my life had to be when you were with Liam. You actually had a fight with your parents because they won't let him stay in your house, and that was like a slap on the face for me. To think that he means that much to you."
Miley shook her head. "Nicky, you know that nobody could mean as much to me as you do. Liam was a great guy and all, but I was just being rebellious and defiant on purpose. To see if my parents could tell that I was just acting that way because I miss you."
I smiled, but it wavered as another memory cruelly made its way into my mind. "Then, it was all over the tabloids that you two were en-engaged," I didn't realize that tears were beginning to sting my eyes; echoing my pain.
"Nick, Nick, don't, please. I would never marry somebody other than you. It was all a plan, to see if you would fight for me. And you did. You did," my wife assured me, rubbing my back. Before we could continue our little emotion-fest any further, our crowd of friends started to chant.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!"
"We'd better go join them," suggested Miley softly, taking me by the hand. I smiled and nodded, "We should. Oh, and Miles?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For coming back to me."
"You're welcome. I didn't come back to you, though. I came back for you."
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