Yeah, I Hate You Too, Sweetheart.

Epilogue

EPILOGUE -  Justin

                               FIVE YEARS, FIVE MONTHS LATER....

      "Ugh! Stupid damn, mother-......"

    I'm walking back up the flight of stairs to mine and Laila's apartment after dropping my suitcase in the trunk of Laila's economical Honda. And now I'm hearing a string of profanities that sounds ever familiar.

 "Laila?" I call out slowly as I swing the apartment door shut behind me.  

 I get no answer. Just another loud shout of a word I don't think I've ever said in public before. I lengthen my strides down the hallway, to the bedroom, and cautiously peer inside, wondering what on Earth I'm going to be met with.

  Laila's furiously yanking at the zipper of her suitcase, trying to zip it closed, but it's not budging and she's very pissed off about that.

  "Laila?" I repeat, trying hard not to start laughing.

 That would probably only earn me a slap upside the head.

 Laila gives up on trying to zip the suitcase shut and gives a disgusted sigh, throwing her hands in the air.

 "This is so stupid!" she grumbles, crossing her arms over her chest.

 She turns to me with an aggravated look on her face, thoroughly put out.

  "Some help here, please?" she asks, annoyed.

 I can't help it. Seeing Laila so mad about this, getting worked up about practically nothing, is just too funny for words.

  It's just so...so Laila.

I burst out laughing. I'm still shaking with laughter while I zip the suitcase shut with an easy tug.

  Laila sighs again, plopping herself down on the bed and crossing her arms and legs with an annoyed look on her face.

 "This is so stupid," she mutters under her breath, glaring up at the ceiling. 

 "Don't worry, sweetheart," I tell her. "You could've gotten it. I have complete faith in you."

  "Well, that's all about as much as you people will let me do these days!" Laila huffs, scowling.  

  "Laila, look," I say, bending down on one knee to her level. "You're carrying twins right now, and Dr. Carson already explained that automatically moves you to a high-risk pregnancy. You've got to take it easy and not over work yourself."

 Laila crosses her arms over her chest again.

 "That doesn't mean I have to like it," she finally sighs.

  

 "Me, either," I answer automatically, grinning.  

 And in all honesty, if I didn't love Laila and our twins like no other, her stupid pregnancy hormones would be driving me absolutely insane.

 "These kids are worth it, though," Laila adds as an afterthought.

 I fall silent, my eyes cast downward, and then gently place a hand on Laila's stomach. I can't help but smile widely as the two babies inside of her instantly start stretching out, kicking her contentedly in the side.

  

 "I think they like me," I say happily, albeit a bit smugly.   

 Then I frown in question. 

 "Tell me again why we can't know their genders?"

 "Because!" Laila exclaims with a ridiculously pretty smile. "It'll be more fun if we don't know until they're born."

 I pout, my lower lip protruding, knowing that always manages to sway Laila on one thing or another. But damn it, because it doesn't work this time.

 "Could you imagine having two girls?" I suddenly ask her, awe-struck.

 And in all honesty, I certainly have thought about it before. When Laila first asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl, I'd instantly responded with a girl. It took me a while to finally figure out why I'd answered that. Being able to say that I had a daughter would be one of the greatest feelings in the world. Needless to say, she'd definitely be a total daddy's girl.

 "What if we have two boys?" Laila fires back.

 "What if we have a boy and a girl?" I say quickly in response.

 Laila falls silent, lost in thought. My thoughts start drifting towards the twins, too. Twice the expenses, twice the amount of shitty diapers, and double everything. I sure hope Laila and I have enough sanity to get through this.

  "I have no idea," Laila answers honestly after a moment.

 We both sigh in unison. I don't blame her.  

 I pull myself up to my feet and offer her a hand, helping her upright.

 "Come on," I say, wrapping an arm around her waist. "We've got to get on the road now, or we'll get to Seattle by midnight."

  "That wouldn't be so bad," Laila says thoughtfully as I grab her suitcase, hoisting it up off the bed.

 "See?" I say casually as we leave the bedroom. "This suitcase likes me, too."

 "Yeah, well, my foot's going to like your ass unless you get moving."

  "Don't tempt me, sweetheart."  

   

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  And that's it!!! I have a couple of ideas in store for a sequel, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to go through with it. A lot of it depends on what you guys think! :D

  Thank you so much for all of the love and support through out this entire endeavor, and I'm so glad so much of you liked my humble little story!

   Till next time! Pip pip! (: