Life After You | ✓

24

 L I F E

A F T E R      Y O U

 ____________________

"I can't believe you made me circle the parking lot twice." Riley sighed as he wheeled me next to his seat and then sat down beside me.

"I just... don't know what Dr. J is going to say. I'm nervous." I began fidgeting with my fingers as I sat beside Riley.

"You don't need to worry; the hospital said you and the baby showed a lot of progress." Riley reassured as he placed his arm around my shoulders. "Plus your ankle is almost healed so you can be done with this wheel chair soon."

"I know, but still. It's normal for me to be on edge Rie, this is my first child." I defended.

"You're right. Let's just hold off on the spiraling until we hear what Dr. J says."

I gave Riley a slight nod and then looked out of the window beside me. Flocks of birds swooped through the grey sky, probably heading north due to the storm brewing. I hated being out in this weather, but I could not reschedule my doctor's appointment – nor did I want to.

"You'll get used to it." Riley suddenly said.

"Used to what?"

"The rain. Happens here a lot actually. Good ol' Florida huh?" He smirked as he peered out of the same window I did.

"Maybe we should have considered this before we moved here?" I teased, raising my eyebrows.

"Nah, I like it here. It's different. Plus, it's way hotter in Nevada."

"I can agree there." I replied, leaning back against my seat and staring up at the ceiling.

"Plus the beaches here are great. The ladies love the Riley in his speedo." Riley smirked, casting me a goofy grin.

"Yuck, please don't make me vomit right now. I did enough of that this morning." I sighed, scrunching my nose up in disgust while giving my brother a flat look.

"Don't hate sis, appreciate!" He smiled proudly while flexing his left arm.

"Can't hate when there's nothing there." I teased, lifting my arm and flexing my own small muscle.

Riley glared at me for a second and then let out a laugh.

"Screw you."

"Thankfully, that's Tori's job." I chuckled, readjusting my cardigan around my stomach.

"Speaking of Tori, why isn't she here with us?" Riley asked, pulling out his phone.

"She's at school Rie. She had some classes today, and she agreed to go to my classes and grab all of my work that I can do from home. I love that my teachers are so understanding, because if not, I would have definitely flunked out by now." I smiled happily.

I managed to buy a laptop and do majority of my classes online, but some classes cannot be done online so I have arrangements worked out with my teachers for each class that I have to attend. It's only until after the baby is born, and then I need to figure out child care.

Maybe I can store my baby in my bag and take him to class with me? Maybe the teachers won't notice the crying and the breast feeding. One can dream, right?

"Well, if anyone can juggle all of this, it's you Liv. Even growing up, you never let a hectic schedule keep you down. You buckled down and got through it all, no matter what it took." Riley smiled, taking a sip of his iced Latte.