Somewhere on Autumn Woods Drive

By Rikku Minouke

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH

Chapter twenty-two

I never did a real good job at exercising. All the doctors said it would be a great idea for my body to have a regular exercise routine, but it would help with my sore muscle. Even during the first trimester when I was exhausted, they said it'd give me more energy. That seemed crazy. Also, they said if I was feeling depressed, supposedly exercising would help boost up my mood. I probably should have listened to them, but I didn't.

"First trimester is OVER!" I laughed as Keiko yelled next to me on my bed. "Oh my, we should have a party! Oh, wait. Can we have it here?"

"Keiko," I giggled. "Please, let's hold off on the party until we know the gender of the baby."

She stopped in her million an hour rambling about party supplies. "You're right. We should wait until then…then have a PARTY!"

"Keiko!" I tried to calm her down.

"Sorry, Botan," Keiko laughed. "I'm just so excited for you."

"Have you told Yusuke and Kuwabara?" I asked her and she sat up straighter.

Shaking her head, she said, "No, but if you don't soon, you'll have some serious issues on your hands. It's really hard hiding this from him. This is big, Botan, and I haven't said a single thing to him within this last month about you and the baby. Jeeze, I didn't notice it before, but that guy is a curious little devil."

Laughing, I asked, "Little devil?"

"Yes!" Her hands started doing wild gestures. "He asks about you and Kurama, then he asks about how you're adapting to being back home, then he'll ask if you've seen your parents, and then he'll ask when we are going to go on a double date. It's hard trying to tell half-truths to the man I plan to marry and currently live with."

Taking in a deep breath through my nose, I looked out the window at the January sky. Clouds were covering up anything blue. I don't think I'll ever understand the 'winter wonderland' people talk about. All I see is gloomy grey ice that's tricking my car into a ditch or me to slip on the sidewalk. "I'll invite him over or go visit him soon. I'll tell Yusuke within the next week. Is that ok? Can you continue this ruse until then?"

"Do I have much of a choice?" my eyes left the window to look at the friendly smile on her face. I replied with a side smile of my own. "Yeah, I didn't think so. But it's best if it comes from you. Just be gentle with him. He's sensitive."

I laughed at that, a full belly laugh that I don't get too often. "As sensitive as a lion. I remember middle school very clearly. Pretty sure he didn't fight all the time because those guys made fun of him. It was generally the other way around."

"Which reminds me," Keiko said looking around my room. "You used to have so much stuff from high school. Now your room looks pretty bare. I see you kept some pictures. You don't have the blue monkey stuffed animal from Valley Fair or the umbrella from the Festival of Nations or even the crown from the Hamlet play in high school. Where is everything?"

I was silent for a moment. My smile dropped away from my face. It hurt to give her the answer she was looking for. "I threw it away."

"Why?" Keiko asked and I couldn't tell if that was concern or hurt in her voice.

"When I lived in St Cloud," I paused shaking my head, closing my eyes. "I don't know, he just got under my skin. Somehow I let him convince me that keeping all of that stuff was dragging me down. That the memories were what was making me depressed. I missed all of you so much that I would sit on the floor and cry. He'd come home and find me, get mad, and demand I get rid of my stuff because I was living in the past. He'd say the right things that any rational person would to comfort their girlfriend, but I should have known better. I should have known that he just wanted me for himself. He wanted me to cut everyone out so all I had was him. That I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to so I couldn't leave him."

"I will always be here for you, Botan," Keiko whispered and I knew that her voice was a tad deeper than normal.

Just thinking about him made me want to cry. He was so good at finding ways to torture me. There had been so many tricks up his sleeves. Mentally, I laughed darkly at myself. Even now, he was still tormenting me, making me cry. I was letting him win when the game was already over. "Most of my stuff was thrown out when I lived with him."

"It just means that we'll make new, better memories," Keiko reached out and grabbed my hand. Squeezing lightly until I looked up at her misty brown eyes, she smiled reassuringly. "We've been friends since we were kids. One evil boyfriend won't separate us. Seven might prove to be more of a challenge but I think I could do it."

"Don't worry," I gave her a little chuckle in between sniffles. "I don't have seven evil exes."

"Good," she laughed, letting go of my hand. "I don't want to pull a Scott Pilgrim."

Smiling at my friend, we agreed to go make a pizza and watch a movie. It was my night off and Kurama had to work, so we had the apartment to ourselves. I was so thankful to have her back in my life.