There Will Be Freedom

15. Palm Sunday

Maddie's POV

I sat on the bathroom floor and panted, sweat dripping from my brow, as my stomach calmed down. Why the hell did they call it morning sickness if it wasn't confined to the morning? Who the hell did I need to talk to about that?

It was currently Saturday night, and Justin had spent the whole day at home, which was unusual. That gave me the whole day to tell him. We sat on the couch and watched TV. We took Francis for a walk, we cleaned and reorganized the cabinets; yet I didn't say a word.

Justin, I'm pregnant.

That was all I needed to say, but I was terrified to. I couldn't even think about how Justin would react or what he might say. I thought I had grown so much in all of these years to be someone how could stand up to him. I could in almost any situation, but not this.

I was definitely pregnant, though, and everything was so much more intense than the last time. My vomiting was actually painful, my nose could pick up smells from miles away, and I was exhausted, even after a full night's sleep. I could barely move in the mornings. To top it all off, I woke up and saw the first sign of a bump in my lower abdomen. You could only see it if you knew what you were looking for, but it was there.

I convinced Justin that we shouldn't go out anywhere today so that I didn't actually have to wear anything acceptable. Tomorrow was going to be an issue, though. It was Easter, so that meant church. In fact, it would be the first time Justin and I would step into a church since being back. Plus, I had to make dinner... for everyone. Pattie and Jeremy weren't here, leaving the burden of family meals to Justin and me. We would be hosting about one hundred screaming, hungry, enthusiastic, Italian family members.

Of course, this brought on tears, and I sat on the floor in the bathroom, trying to stop my pathetic, uncontrollable, sobbing.

"Maddie, are you alright?" Justin knocked on the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had to pee," I lied. Well, not technically lied since I did have to pee really badly. "I'm done now."

"Okay, well, my brothers and the girls are here. They brought food."

"Thank God," I said to myself.

Tonight, it was going to be just us for dinner, and I, thankfully, didn't have to make a thing.

I pulled myself up from the floor and straightened out my clothes. I opened the door and went to the sink to wash my mouth out. Justin was standing there, looking suspicious.

"Maddie, what's going on?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"I ate something bad yesterday," I lied, once again.

"Do you need some medicine or something? I don't like seeing you like this." His face twisted in pain.

"No, I'm fine. It's done." I kissed his cheek. "Don't worry about it."

I took his hand and led him downstairs.

"Finally, I'm fucking starving." Keegan lifted me up in a hug. "You two take so long."

"We were having a private conversation," Justin argued.

Everyone was in the kitchen, standing around boxes of pizza, chicken wings, and beer. It was close to Jaxon's birthday, so we let him chose dinner. The greasy, wonderful smells were making my mouth water. Justin fixed me a fairly unhealthy plate, which I took gladly before sitting down at the table.

Everyone gathered around in our normal seats to eat. A new chair was added, right next to Jaxon, for Jane, and they looked fairly happy with their giggling and flirty nonsense. Light conversation began between Olivia and me as we talked about the opera.