"BABY"
Christina and I grab our gifts for Shauna and climb into her new car, picking Marlene up on the way. It's a short drive to Shauna's parents, and today they're throwing her a baby shower. She's still got a month to go, and watching her waddle around —while totally adorable— puts me in no rush to have kids of my own.
Zeke is out with Tobias, Uriah and Will, having a 'guys bachelor shower' according to Zeke. Basically, they're going out and doing stupid stuff with Zeke one last time as a non-father. It's kinda cute, actually. I believe they said something about going to Gameworks and having drinks and greasy ass food at a bar. Whatever. It's 'guy stuff' as they put it, and I'm glad they'll be having fun.
We are introduced to all of Shauna's family when we get there, and I'm happy to see Lynn came in from Arizona. She and Marlene share an awkward smile, and I wonder if something happened or if some feelings were shared before she left.
We make small talk with some of the family members but mostly keep close to one another while we wait for the shower to start. We're each handed a clothes pin and told if we cross our legs we lose the pin, and if we catch someone with their legs crossed, we get all their pins. Whoever has the most pins at the end, wins. Christina and I raise an eyebrow at one another, and Marlene whispers "Oh no." Game on.
We taste test baby food first when everything gets underway —some of it is awful— and try to guess which flavor it is. We also smell diapers full of 'baby poop' and try to guess what melted candy bar it is. So far, neither of us has won a game, or snagged anyone crossing their legs.
Next, we each take some toilet paper and try to guess how big Shauna's belly is. She stares on, a look or horror on her face, as we pull— and pull, and pull on the roll to make a long enough piece. Lynn makes hers purposely longer than anyone else's; it goes around Shauna twice, earning her a hard smack on the arm.
"Legs!" I hear Christina yell, and turn to see her pointing to a woman who has her legs crossed. Damn. The woman hands over her pin, and Christina proudly pins it on her shirt, sticking her tongue out at me.
"Hey!" I yell, nudging her with my shoulder.
Christina and I each catch two people crossing their legs while we break for a light lunch, but she's still one ahead of me. After we socialize for a bit, we gather around to watch Shauna open her gifts. Tobias and I went in together and bought the stroller/car seat combo they registered for. We had a hell of a time getting it in Christina's car —and back out while keeping the wrapping paper intact— but Shauna just smiles as she tears into the paper, already knowing what it is. What else could be in this big of a box?
"Thank you, Tris. Tell Four thank you too."
"I will. And you're welcome."
"So, when are we all gonna be able to call him by his real name," Christina whispers as we watch. I look over at her, unsure if she's being serious or not.
"I don't know. I mentioned it once, but that was when we first got together." The truth is, I've been wondering this myself. I know change is hard and being linked to Marcus is even harder, but he's got to do it at some point. These are his best friends. All of them deserve know.
Afterwards, we mill around and receive our prizes for playing the games. After all of that, I managed to guess the closest to how many pacifiers were in a jar, and Christina won the pin game. We each pick a plainly wrapped box, and open them to reveal our prizes. Christina got an eyeshadow trio and a gift card to Sephora, and I got hot pink lip gloss and the same gift card. Perfect.
"Damn," Christina says. "These are some fab gifts! Thanks, Shauna!"
"Thank my mom!" she calls back as she tries to thank everyone and be social. Truth is, she looks like all she wants a nap. I don't blame her.
"Come on," I say. "Shauna looks exhausted. Let's try to get her out of here."
We squeeze our way in and each lock an arm while slowly walking Shauna away from her relatives.
"Thank you," she whispers.
"Let's get you to a room. We can help your mom clean up while you lay down for a few," Christina says.
"Okay. This room should be goo—" She stops dead in her tracks, and I look up to see a very flushed looking Marlene and an equally embarrassed Lynn.
"Okaay. New room!" Christina shouts while pulling the door closed. Shauna just stares at the closed door, her mouth open. Christina looks at me, and I give Shauna a nudge, breaking her out of her stare.
"Were they…?" Shauna asks.
"Doesn't matter. It's not our business," Christina says. "Let's go."
"Okay, but were they kissing though?" Christina says after we get Shauna situated.
"I don't know. But it is none of our business. If they want to talk about it, they will."
We spend some time helping Shauna's mom pick up, Lynn and Marlene joining us after a few moments. They keep their distance from each other, and their heads down and mouths shut. With nothing left to do, we decide to go. We thank Shauna's mom again, say goodbye to an indifferent Lynn, and head home.
I can tell it's killing Christina to not say anything, and I keep shooting her looks to keep quiet.
"Fuck it," she eventually says. "What the hell was that, Mar?"
"What?"
"You know what. Just tell us." Marlene is quiet for a while before she finally lets out a loud sigh.
"I'm…before Uriah, Lynn and I…" I look in the mirror on the visor and see her blushing.
"Mar," I say, "It's really okay. I don't care. Do you?"
"No," Christina says.
"We had…hooked up a couple of times. Okay, a lot of times. But then I met Uriah, and Lynn and I weren't like, dating exclusively or anything, so I started seeing him. She was cool with it at first. But then as time went on, well, you know how Lynn is. She just became even more moody. Anyways, she was telling me that she sort of decided to move because it was hard for her to see me with him, you know, happy. And then she kissed me. Asked me to tell her that I didn't feel anything for her."
"Do you?" Christina asks.
"Of course I do. I mean, I'll always have some sort of feelings for her. Lynn is important to me. She was my first…she made me not afraid to be who I am. I mean, sometimes it's hard to just say it out loud, you know, because you never know how other people are going to react."
"Say it," Christina says. "Scream it. You're bi-sexual, and you're proud!"
"I'm bi-sexual and I'm proud!" she yells from the back seat. Christina lets out a loud whoop while we laugh.
"Thank you," Marlene says, blushing again. I turn around to tell her that I'm proud of her too, but the smile fades too fast from her face, and I know there's something else she wants to say. Our eyes meet for a second.
"What Lynn doesn't understand," she says, "Is that my feelings for Uriah are more. I…I love him. I think I might be in love with him."
"Oh, Mar," I say. I reach my hand out and she takes it, squeezing it hard. "I think you're underestimating her. She will understand."
"Yeah. But you need to tell Uriah," Christina adds. "I don't think he's gonna be upset or anything, just don't keep it from him."
"I know."
Every time I would catch Lynn starting at Marlene, I had always assumed it was just the way that she felt. I had no idea that those feelings were ever reciprocated. I understand Lynn's side, and can't help but feel a little sorry for her. If anything were to happen to Tobias and I, I don't think I could ever fully stop loving him. I don't know that I could hang around him while he dated someone else, either. Lynn is a better person that I ever gave her credit for.
Love is crazy.
I'm snuggled around Tobias, pulled from a deep sleep when I hear both his phone, and mine, ring.
"What the hell time is it?" he asks groggily as he squints at the clock. "Shit. It's two in the morning and both our phones are ringing. That can't be good." I flip over quickly and check the clock for myself.
We walk into the kitchen and grab our phones.
"It was Zeke," he says, putting the phone to his ear.
"Shauna," I say pointing to mine, and smile. He looks at me, eyes wide. "Baby?"
"Baby."
"It's about time! She was almost a week past her due date and ready to remove the baby herself."
We pick up a tiny bouquet of pink balloons before we head to the hospital. Zeke had told us to just wait until the baby was here, since we'd all have to hang around the waiting room anyways. He texted us a photo of a very tiny baby just before dinner, and told us to get our asses over there before visiting hours were over.
"I'm so excited!" I say as we head to the hospital. "Our very own baby."
"Yeah, well, it's not ours," Tobias says. He's seemed a little off ever since the phone call this morning. Nerves maybe. Things are gonna change now, no matter what. Zeke isn't just going to be a best friend, he's going to be a dad too. I reach over and place my hand on his thigh, and give it a squeeze.
"Don't be nervous." He gives me a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
Uriah and Marlene are already here, and Uriah can't stop gushing.
"I'm an uncle!" he says as he wraps his arms around me. "I am gonna be the best damn uncle who ever uncled. We're gonna have so much fun. Just call me funcle! Here, have one." He shoves a pink bubble gum cigar into my hand and I laugh at his excitement.
"Thanks," I say, making my way over to Marlene.
"He hasn't shut up about it since two this morning," she says, cracking a smile. "It's sort of cute. What's with Four?" I look over to see him talking to Uriah, but he's wringing his hands, and he keeps looking everywhere but Uriah.
"I don't know."
I walk over and place a hand on his back, rubbing gently. He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"Sorry," he says. "It's just…"
"It's okay," I say. "Just relax." He gives me a small smile and kisses me on the forehead.
"Uncle Four!" I hear Zeke say from behind us, and I turn around. "And Auntie Tris! Care you meet your niece?"
"I would love to," I say. There's no way I can fight the smile that's plastered on my face.
"Okay. Nurses say I can only take one at a time, though."
"Go," Tobias says, motioning to the door Zeke just came through.
I walk in with the balloons, and set them down in the corner of the room quietly. Shauna looks like she's sleeping, the baby on her chest.
"Hey," she says quietly, cracking an eye.
"Hi. How are you feeling?"
"Great, actually. Tired, but great. Want to hold her?"
"Oh. I don't want to wake her."
"Don't worry about it," she says, picking the baby up. I take her carefully, and snuggle her up in my arms as I sit in the chair next to the bed.
"What's her name?" I ask.
"You didn't even tell her?" Shauna asks Zeke.
"What? Sorry. I've had a lot on my mind."
"Tris, this is Annaleigh Pedrad," Shauna says. "Anna for short."
"Hi Anna," I whisper. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've known your mommy and your daddy for a while now, and they're gonna love you to pieces." I nuzzle her tiny nose with mine, and swear I feel my heart melt when she makes a cooing noise. I stare on in wonder of this tiny little human, so innocent and beautiful. She has no idea what family she's been born into, nor how much love she's going to receive from all of us. I can't help but tear up.
"It's a good look," Zeke says with a smile. "You and that baby."
"Thanks," I say, smiling. "That's still a ways off though."
"Ha! Yeah. Tell that to my uterus," Shauna says, and Zeke lets out a loud laugh, startling the baby.
"Oh no! No, no, no Anna. Don't cry." I stand up and bounce around, rocking and trying to calm her. I shoot Zeke a look as Shauna holds her hands out, and I reluctantly give up the baby.
"Come on. Let's go see who else is here," Zeke says as he slides his arm around me.
As we're coming out of the double doors into the waiting room, I can see there's a commotion by the elevators. I also see Christina who is waving me over like a mad woman.
"It's Four," she says. I have no idea what the hell is going on, so I shove my way through the small crowd that's gathered. My mouth nearly hits the floor when I see that Tobias has Al pinned up against the wall, his forearm crushing his neck.
"Four!" I shout, trying to get his attention. Al sees me now, and motions for me to do something. His face is getting redder by the second. "Four!" I shout again, but still nothing. "Tobias!" I scream with everything I have this time, and I see him loosen his hold, Al taking in a much needed breath.
"What the hell is going on?" I ask. I hear jingling and heavy boots behind us, signaling that security has showed up. I turn around and hold my hands up, begging for a minute.
"Tell me. Now," I bark out.
"What do you think, Tris? He's here! Why don't you tell me why he's here!"
"I'm not here for her. I told you that," Al says, his voice a little strained from the pressure it was under.
"Right. First the flowers, now more flowers and a pink balloon for a baby you don't even know." Al's eyes shift to me and back away so fast, it's a dead giveaway. I knew it.
I look over at the guards to start pleading, but their attention is elsewhere. I follow their eyes up, and shake my head.
"Four," I say, "Did you even look at the balloon? Or ask Al what he's doing here?" Tobias' eyes flit up, and I see him pale instantly. He lets go of Al completely now.
"My little sister broke her leg this morning at soccer practice. I was bringing her flowers and a get well balloon, but I got off on the wrong floor" Al says. "Honestly, I had no idea you were here."
"It's fine, Al," I say. "Four, let's go."
"Actually," one of the guards interrupts. "He has to come with us."
"Oh. It's fine. It was just a misunderstanding. I'm not going to press charges or anything," Al says.
"That's nice of you, but he still has to come with us. The police have already been called. This is a zero tolerance hospital. Come on." He motions to Tobias, who is standing still, looking at me.
"Go," I say, nodding to the guards.
"Tris," he says quietly.
"No. I don't want to hear it. Go." His eyes are locked onto mine. I can tell he's sorry, but I'm not going to forgive him this easily. He would have killed Al over nothing.
"Hey, man. No worries. We'll get you out of there ASAP," Zeke says, motioning for Tobias to go. Everyone sort of stands still until I look away. Tobias finally moves, walking towards the guards, who place him in handcuffs. We watch until he is escorted into the stairwell.
"I'm sorry, Tris," Al says.
"What did I tell you?" I say, turning to face him."Didn't I tell you it was going to be worse if you lied to me? I cannot believe you, Al." His eyes flit to the people gathered around before taking a step forward.
"Tris—"
"No, Al! Just go!" He nods and hurries to the elevator, pushing the number for one floor higher. The other visitors go back to what they were doing before, leaving us standing around in a group, everyone looking at me awkwardly.
"So… Tobias, eh?"
"Jesus, Christina. Not now," I say, pushing my way through them to head towards the stairwell.
A/N:
Song - FUN Carry On
One year, 3 months
Have you guys seen the World Premiere pictures yet?! Oh my GOD Shailene's dress is to die for. They are so beautiful I can't even.