Whiskey Sunrises

3- I'll Be Watching

Getting out of my bed was harder than usual.

My body ached. My face hurt. It was already 3pm- meaning I slept way longer than I had planned. Would Lia really mind me taking the day off? I jumped up after realizing what the consequences could be, nearly sprinting to my closet. I grabbed some army-green sweatpants and a white tank top that would still cover the damn bruises on my side. Finishing the look with some white sneakers, I headed to the bathroom. My hair was naturally wavy, so I let my ponytail down and shook it out a bit. I wet it slightly with my fingers and applied some mousse, brushing my teeth after. My lip stung a bit, but luckily did not start bleeding again. Hopefully I wouldn't need any bright lipstick to cover it. My lipstick choice usually depended on my mood, and I was not feeling a red right now.

Moving myself to the vanity, I took out everything I would need. Trying to keep it as light as possible but still covering the bruises, I finished with a brown smokey eye and a nude lip. A weight was lifted from my shoulders when I realized that the swelling had gone down considerably as I slept, and a light contour made the rest of it invisible to most people. It almost made me forget about all of the horrid bruises until I tried to jog down the stairs, which had my ribs protesting quite loudly. Spotting Maya and her baby bump made me forget about it though, and I rushed to give her as much of a bear hug as I could.

"It's good to see you too, Layla" she said with a chuckle. "How are you feeling? Jax said you were pretty roughed up." her smile faded and a look of concern clouded her face.

"Jax is over reacting, as always" I said with a wink. "I'm fine May. Always am. How are you? Still getting the PB and banana cravings?"

"Nope, we're at pickles and sour-cream now. I'm really good- though I'm sure that'll change as soon as I get bigger. You still coming next Friday?"

"Damn, I enjoyed using you as an excuse to have those in the house. You're absolutely gorgeous and will continue to be so until the end of your lifespan, and I'm definitely coming. What time?" Maya had the stereotypical pregnancy glow a lot of women wish they had. Her olive skin looked like she used a magic potion as moisturizer and drank from the fountain of everlasting life. Her green eyes sparkled whenever she rubbed her belly and she didn't even look pregnant from the back. I could only hope I had the same luck someday.

"The appointment is 08:30, so be there before that. Remember, you can't tell us the gender" She added with a serious look. What, I'd just forget and blab?

"I know, I know! I won't tell either of you, I promise. I can't wait, though. I'd like to make some adjustments to the furniture once I do know. Some of the patterns, maybe. You'll love it." I said with a wink before grabbing my bag and heading to the door.

"You guys coming? I really need to get to work and make sure Lia's okay"

"You think he'd show up there?" Maya asked with a confused look.

"If he's been drinking after he left, definitely. He knows what Boutique de Meubles means to me, and that's how to hit me where it really hurts." I spoke in a soft voice. I still didn't really want to believe that he'd want to hurt me any more than he already had, but I knew that I couldn't trust him with anything.

"Let's hit the road, then. I don't want you driving with those ribs." Jax added to the conversation for the first time, giving me a once over as he spoke. Always the over-protective brother.

Grabbing my new keys and replacing the old ones on my key chain, I threw my car keys to my brother. No way was I riding in the back of his truck. Thank the Lord Maya had a sedan for traveling with the baby, or I would have forced him to get rid of the damn thing ages ago.. Walking towards my 2016 Jeep wrangler, I took in it's beauty. It was my baby, my last birthday gift to myself. I'd been saving since high school and was overjoyed when I finally had enough to pay cash for it. It was my second greatest accomplishment, after the boutique. Maya got in the back- I'd learned to stop nagging her to sit shotgun after less than a year of knowing her. She had a 'Your car, your seat' policy that she applied whenever I wasn't driving that I found ridiculous, but I wasn't about to argue with a pregnant lady.