Rebel

Chapter 30: Death of a Bachelor

"Open mine first!" Jamie shouted nearly bouncing out of her seat. Mom had gone above and beyond for my baby shower, even though I insisted that we make it small enough to have right in our apartment. The living room was neatly decorated with pink balloons and streamers with all of the large furniture moved out of the way to make room for the small amount of guests and by small I meant immediate family and my friends. A month after Flora was born, Rachel had her all wrapped up in her arms, fighting off my mom.

"Mom, chill. I only have a month left!" I said, scalding her. "I know, but I can't wait that long!" she whined. Mom was ready to be promoted to grandma. Some days it drove me crazy. She did everything to try and get my dilation to start. We walked mile after mile together and she even made me get on the treadmill a time or two. Not to mention she tried feeding me almost every spicy food known to man that either ended up becoming gas or heartburn.

The gas got so horrible one night that Danny had no choice but to open up the windows in the apartment.

"But what if somebody tries to break in?!" I asked, freaking out. "Babe, we live on the fifth floor. If somebody climbs through that damn window just to break into the apartment, they've earned it. They can have whatever the hell the want," he said covering his nose when he heard my belly rumble.

Mom moved back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, trying to stay busy so she didn't have to fight the urge to steal the baby. I loved how anxious she was to become a grandmother. Danny and Dad wandered around the apartment, putting away random gifts as I opened them. For some reason, Danny hovered over me protectively whenever he got the chance and when Mom didn't have him moving the bigger gifts into the nursery. Whenever he got close, I could feel the anxiety radiate off of him, but I didn't get the chance to pull him to the side and ask what was wrong.

I sat in my seat as my stomach tightened and cramps radiated through the front of my stomach, making me feel uncomfortable. I kept it hidden though, trying to keep from showing it on my face. I would wiggle around and alternate which butt cheek I sat on to try and get comfortable again. Everyone was already taking bets on when I was going to go into labor since Fauna already started to drop. That was the most uncomfortable part of it all. I couldn't walk two feet without it feeling like someone had hung a hundred pound weight on my cervix. I know I had to pee at least fifty times more than I usually did and I wished that it would only happen at night.

After what would have been my last day of school when I got completely dressed and Fauna took a hard left and landed on my bladder, making me pee all over myself, I decided to stay home. I already had all of my credits and Mom was begging me to have a graduation party. That was out of the question. We had way too much going on to even consider a graduation party.

"Are you contracting?" Mom asked, taking me by surprise when she stuck her mouth right by my ear to whisper. She scared the shit out of me and it didn't make things any better. Another painful cramp stabbed me in the stomach and I clenched my teeth together to keep from showing any signs of pain. "No Mom," I said calmly, exhaling as another pain passed. "Okay. Don't lie to me. As soon as you do, we're going straight to the hospital." If I had a nickel for every time I heard that bullshit as a threat.

"What if after you go through labor and everything, you get the news that the doctor made a mistake and Fauna is really a boy," Melanie said jokingly. "Oh God! I'd die!" I shouted. This was the happiest that I had seen everyone in months. After the incident with Dean I could have sworn that every single one of my friends was ready to form a posse and kill his ass. As much as I would have enjoyed that, he wasn't worth the time and the energy. I usually tried my best to not think about it. The past was the past and now we had to look forward to the future for the baby's sake.