"Shane! Cut it out!" I yelled, noticing him hit his sister, Annie. He glared at me and did it again sending her into tears. I went over to her and hugged her tight. "You're in trouble!" I growled at him. "Go to your room!" I yelled.
"That's not my room!" He yelled back. Shane was not my biggest fan. It was the week of Christmas and we had them until Christmas Day. Since Taylor and Allison's divorce, he had been nothing but a terror towards me. Annie and Alex were angels but he just hated me. He was darling for Taylor and Allison but the moment we were alone he would turn into a little monster. I tried to understand. I knew it had to be such a major adjustment to what he had been used to. Taylor is his hero and, to him, I was the horrible witch who stole him away.
"It IS your room now GO!" I yelled while stroking Annie's hair to get her to calm down. He stomped upstairs and slammed his door. "Are you alright, baby?" I whispered to Annie. She nodded. "What can I make you and Alex for breakfast, huh? Anything you want." I cooed.
"Chocolate chip pancakes?" She said with a sly smile. I laughed.
"You know your mommy doesn't let you eat stuff like that..." I said tickling her tummy. "How about BLUEBERRY pancakes?!" I asked enthusiastically. She nodded in agreement and I took her hand into the kitchen. "Alex, sweetie? Come help Annie and I make pancakes!" I called out and she toddled over from the cartoon playing on the TV. I got out the gluten-free pancake mix (which I despised) and all of the other ingredients and went to work. The girls mostly just watched but I let them take turns stirring the batter. Before I knew it, I saw Shane's head peek around the corner. "Are you going to be nice?" I asked ladling out the first two onto the pan. He nodded yes and came into the kitchen and sat at the counter. When I was finished I plated some for all of them and sat and watched them eat.
"Why aren't you eating, Abby?" Annie asked shoving a large piece into her mouth. I giggled.
"Smaller bites, sweetie!" I replied. My severe morning sickness hadn't subsided. I was starting to really worry so I made an appointment with Dr. Hastings who told me she wanted to put me on frequent IV treatments so that I and the baby wouldn't be affected. I heard the garage door go up and knew T was home from his ride with Nate and Dave.
"Well, hello everyone!" Taylor called out to his brood and kissed me quickly. I grabbed him and pulled him back to me. He laughed. "I'm all sweaty, baby..." He smiled. I winked at him.
"I don't care. I like you sweaty..." I grinned kissing him again.
"EWWWWW!!!" Everyone, including Nate and Dave, yelled, sending both of us into hysterics.
"Get a ROOM!" Dave joked, downing a bottle of water and stealing food from Shane's plate. Shane smiled and smacked at his hand. Dave stuck his tongue out at him.
"Alright guys... I gotta get a shower and get her to the doctor." He said ushering Dave and Nate out of the kitchen.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Dave asked with concern. Taylor nodded to them to move out of earshot of the kids.
"She can't fuckin' eat, man. She can barely hold down water some days so her doctor wants to put her on IV treatments." He whispered. Dave pursed his lips and nodded.
"Shit... I knew something was wrong. She would just shrug it off but now look!" Dave said. Nate patted Taylor on the back.
"She'll be OK. She's tough." He consoled a visibly upset Taylor.
"She's fuckin' tougher than me, that's foresure..." Taylor mumbled then walked them out. I put everything in the dishwasher and settled the kids back on the couch to continue watching their cartoons.
