Overboard: Somebody to Love #4

11

Madelyn’s POV

            As the weeks wore on, I got more and more tired. Paige and Pattie started coming over in the afternoons just to give me an hour to nap since I was so tired. I remembered my first pregnancy with Aniston. I had been so young and so energetic, it had seemed like so much fun. But now, with three little kids consuming all of my energy, it didn’t seem nearly as glamourous.

But Justin started acting funny again. Instead of truly believing I was tired, he saw me as depressed. I could feel him watching me all time. I felt like a child. It annoyed me to no end.

            “Mads, are you eating enough?” He asked me at dinner one night.

            “What?” I asked coldly. I hated when he tried to control me.

            “You have barely eaten anything in the last couple of days.”

            “Maybe it’s because I have a baby compressing my stomach so it’s only half the size it normally is.” I grouched at him and picked up my plate.

            “Where are you going?” He yelled as I disappeared into the kitchen.

            “I’m done.” I yelled back, sticking my plate in the dishwasher before going upstairs. I was crying before I left the kitchen. I hated how emotional pregnancy made me.

            “You’re crying.” Justin was almost laughing as he tried to hug me.

            “Stop.” I resisted his touch and pushed him away.

Justin’s POV

            Madelyn was only ten weeks away from her due date when she started to get depressed and angry again. I knew it was probably hormonal, but it still bothered me.

            In efforts to try to cheer her up, I invited Nick, Selena and Asher over for a barbeque and swim. Even though it was only March, the Los Angeles weather had been really warm; warm enough for us to open our pool.

            “Holy cow Selena, are you sure you have two more months?” I joked when I saw her. She looked like she was about to pop.

            “Didn’t your wife teach you how to talk to a pregnant woman?” She playfully slapped me.

            “I got the best steaks in Los Angeles.” Nick held up a bag full of uncooked steaks.

            “Perfect! Let’s go put them on the grill!” I took him out back as all of the kids got their swimsuits on. We put the steaks on to cook and then got into the pool with them.

Madelyn’s POV         

I could barely keep my eyes open through dinner. Justin interpreted my exhaustion as me being morbidly depressed again, so he barely let me out of his sight the entire time.

            “Are you okay, Maddie?” Selena yelled from the pool as I got up from a chair.

            “Yeah, my knee is just really bothering me today.” I sighed. It had been three months since surgery, and normally it was fine, but then I had really bad days with it. The extra weight I had put on wasn’t helping anything.

            “Can I get you anything?”

            “No, I think I’m going to go soak it in the tub for a little while though, that normally helps.” I sighed, walking into the house. I just wanted to be alone for a little while. Having Justin constantly watching over me was exhausting and taking a toll on me. I ran hot bath water and put my towel in the warmer as I undressed. I made sure the bathroom door was locked since we had company downstairs.

            Getting into the tub with my bum of knee proved to be more challenging than I thought, but eventually I was in. I laid my head against the edge and closed my eyes for a moment. I was so exhausted, I probably could’ve fallen asleep right then, but I didn’t.

            I soaked in the tub for fifteen minutes before the pain finally subsided. I put my hands on the edge of the tub to get out of the tub. I cringed, pulling my knee under me so I could stand up and get out, but right as I went to stand up, my knee gave out. I felt myself falling backwards and a rush of pain to the back of my head. And then I was consumed by complete darkness.

Justin’s POV

            “Should you go check on Madelyn?” Selena asked. I looked at my watched. She had been gone for almost thirty minutes. I didn’t want to upset her, since she had been so sensitive lately, but I decided it was probably best if I checked on her.

            The door to our bedroom was closed, but unlocked. I walked in and towards the bathroom, but that door was closed too. I reached for the door knob, but it was locked.

            “Madelyn?” I knocked on the door with no response. “Can you at least give me some sort of sign that you are okay?” Still, no response. I knew I was probably being ridiculous, but a certain sense of urgency overwhelmed me. I had to get into there.

            I rammed the door with my shoulder a couple of times before it came tumbling down. The first thing I saw as I entered was Madelyn’s body, completely submerged underwater.