Trouble in Paradise.

27. Plaid.

Chapter 27: Plaid.

"Good morning." I say as I roll over to the other side of the bed.

"Zachary?" I call out when I don't see him.

He's not in here.

I smell fresh coffee and I relax in the bed. Zachary is making coffee. I was scared he left me here alone. He doesn't have practice today, but he has a big game tomorrow.

As for Sabrina, her funeral was held yesterday. Zachary was in attendance, even though her family didn't want him to be there. He said he had to pay his last respects. Stephanie is in jail. She got twenty five years in prison.

And for the first time in a long time, I actually feel like nothing can go wrong. I know this feeling is tricky because as soon as you get comfortable life always shows you why you should always be on your toes.

But the thing is, I've been "on my toes" since High School. Being scared of who I was. Obsessed with being this golden child and failed to realize that whether I was a golden child or not, I'd be loved regardless because I was the only child. There was no one to compare me to.

Wondering if I would ever find love. And when I did find love, it didn't stay. So, I went out searching again and I still didn't find it. In college I realized that the greatest person you can love is yourself. Putting yourself first in every aspect of your life will give you peace of mind.

Or so I thought.

Now, as I am about to bring a baby into this world, I've realized that love isn't about you. It's about how you treat the people around you. It is selfless. And I feel like I finally understand it. When my baby kicks me, I feel it in my soul.

That love.

That unconditional love that we all yearn for is inside of us. Sometimes you physically create it in the form of another human being. Other times you find it when you're not looking for it. But it's there.

Life is pointless if you don't get to go out there and love somebody. Love something. Your futile efforts to do it all alone will fail you when you wake up one day and realize that you spent all your life trying to impress a bunch of fucktards...that you forgot to feel.

"Babe, are you awake?" Zachary asks and I yawn.

"Yeah." I tell him.

"Would you like breakfast in bed or on the table?" He asks me.

"The former." I reply and he nods before he walks out of the room.

This man is everything.

I know you're fed up with my incessant talking, but you have to understand that I have never seen this side of him before.

"Yes, you have." My subconscious quips.

This time it's different.

He's different.

I'm telling you.

"Here you go." Zachary says, placing a tray on my lap.

"Babe." I whine.

"You better finish it." He says and I smile at him.

"Thank you." I tell him and he smiles at me.

I cut into the waffles with my fork and I dip it into the melted white chocolate by the side.

"It's like heaven in my mouth, Zach." I tell him.

"That's what she said." He says, cockily.

"Just shut the fuck up." I tell him and he laughs.