To Believe In Promises (Tumbling Down trilogy - DM fanfic)

Showered (Ch.39)

*Mackenzie's POV*

Me: No! I told you guys already, I don't want one.
Maddie: Come on! It's your first kid! You have to have one! It's like...law!
Chloe: Please?! We'll do all the planning and stuff. Just tell us who you want invited and we'll make it happen. No one more, no one less.

I appreciate the thought, more than anything. All I have for this baby are some clothes and what the old furniture. But I don't want all of my family and friends coming over and judging me for my actions. I'm going to be a very young mom. And the father isn't here right now. Nor would he be for this baby shower. But Maddie and Chloe really want to do this. Maybe I should let them.

I let out a sigh.

Me: Okay. Fine. But no games or anything like that. Just a get-together.
Chloe: Fine. Done. How's the baby doing, anyways?
Me: It likes to sit directly on my bladder. And they're making walking difficult.
Maddie: The baby's moving around, though. Right?
Me: More and more everyday.

We fall silent for a bit and I begin thinking about the baby shower. A wave of sadness rushes over me due to the fact that the one person I want at the top of the invite list won't be able to come.

Chloe and Maddie waste no time with the planning. They have me write out my list as soon as possible. I don't want many people coming. I invite some extended family, my dad, Mindy, the Strantons, the old dance team and their families, Abby, and Gianna. They already have cute little invitations and have written out all the addresses by the time me and Maddie leave Chloe's house.

Me: You could just call everyone-
Maddie: No! I want to make it awesome, okay? I know it's frivolous or whatever to you but I really want it to be cute. My niece or nephew will have nothing but the best.

I roll my eyes. But I let her do what she wants.

~•~

This shower isn't the worst thing that could have happened. Maddie knew I was kind of scared about being front and center, so she sits with me during the whole thing. Not everyone is even around when I'm opening gifts. Most people watch me open theirs and go on to talk to others during the shower.

The moms from the team give me things such as diapers, clothes, wipes, and basically anything you need a whole lot of for having a baby. From rash cream to bibs to things I would've never thought of like booties and teething rings and spit up rags. Any extended family gives me mostly toys. Some clothes and things, but mainly brightly colored play things. With the massive stack I have, this baby will never be bored.

The dance team came together to give me the sweetest - and probably the most expensive - gift there could be. It consists of three baskets, one full of toys and stuffed animals, another filled with decorations for the nursery, and a third full of so many articles of clothing I can't even keep track of how many. What catches my eye is the bundled set of onesies at the bottom. Each one is a different pastel color, each having nearly the same thing written on it: I love Auntie ___". Apparently Chloe, Clara, Brooke, Paige, Nia, Kendall, and Maddie are all aunts now.

Me: You guys...
Chloe: We all told you we would help you.
Kendall: We weren't joking.
Nia: We know things are really hard right now. And this isn't much but-
Me: Isn't much? Are you guys insane?!

I feel Maddie touch my face, and before I can swipe her hands away, I realize she's wiping my tears. Tears I didn't know I had shed.

Maddie: It's nothing Kenzie. We just want to show you we love you.
Me: I already knew that! You guys didn't have to-
Maddie: We wanted to.
Paige: And it's already done so...

That gets me to laugh. We share a big group hug. This hasn't been done since the last performance we all had together. It feels like so long ago.

The shower is over pretty fast. I plan on having the team move all of my stuff, but then I remember what living situation I'm in.

I planned on living with my dad, but he's always at work. Which is why I was so happy to stay with the Strantons. But I don't want to inconvenience them by bringing a baby into the house. I could never. I have my apartment too, which is where the baby stuff and nursery is, but I wasn't planning on moving in there until Tyler came home.

What am I going to do when the baby gets here?

~•~

We move my stuff to the Strantons for now. It sits in the living room in the corner. Surprisingly, it doesn't take up a lot of space. Once the shower is over, I claim I'm exhausted and go to take a nap. I end up falling asleep, actually. I wake up to my laptop ringing, and I know I've been asleep for awhile.

I accept the Skype call and see Tyler. I knew it was him, but that doesn't make me any less happy.

Tyler: Baby shower took that much out of you?

I don't recall telling him about the baby shower.

Me: How did you know?
Tyler: You emailed me about it yesterday.
Me: Oh. I forgot.

I forget everything now.

Tyler: So how did it go?
Me: Good. It was kind of weird but Maddie stayed with me the whole time.
Tyler: You two are good now?
Me: Yeah, completely. She's been helping me a lot.
Tyler: That's good. Anything happening with your mom?
Me: Absolutely not. I haven't talked to her in months.

He didn't mean anything by it, I know, but his question makes me feel sad and confused all over again. It also brings up my confusion as to where I'll live once the baby comes.

I fall silent.

Tyler: Hey, what's going on?
Me: What do you mean?
Tyler: You're hiding something.
Me: No I'm not!
Tyler: Don't get defensive.
Me: I'm not-

This argument shoots me back in time a few weeks. I had this fight with Tori. I take a moment to regain my thoughts.

Me: I'm not defensive. I'm just...stressed.
Tyler: Don't be. My mom is taking care of you, right?
Me: Yeah, but...
Tyler: What's the matter?
Me: What am I going to do when the baby comes?

That question is something he obviously hasn't thought about.

Tyler: What do you mean? You're gonna go have the baby then wait for me to come home while you raise it.
Me: But where am I gonna stay? I don't know if I can just live in the apartment by myself.
Tyler: My house...?

He says that as if it's obvious.

Me: I can't just bring a baby into the house! There's so many other-
Tyler: My mom doesn't care! She wants you and the baby to be safe.
Me: But it doesn't-
Tyler: Kenz, it's okay. My mom doesn't care, which means my siblings have no say in the matter. Jessie moved out, Tori will love the baby no matter what and will be exciting to see it everyday. And Mark...well he has to live with it, which I feel like he deserves for being an asshole.

I'm still not convinced but pretend I am.

Me: Okay.
Tyler: If you want, when I talk to my mom, I'll talk to her about what's going on and then she can talk to you.
Me: What if she gets mad that-
Tyler: She won't. I'll make sure. I promise.

I nod at him, hoping this doesn't erupt into something awful.