PRETTYMUCH a Lie [n.m]

Sixty

Nick

"Stop playing with me, you know I won't hesitate to take you right here on this counter."

I focused my vision to stare deep into her eyes awaiting her next witty response. She was teasing me and doing a hell of a good job at it. She just stared at me, speechless as she scanned my face practically begging me with her eyes. Or she was calling my bluff. Either or.

I continued to stare into her deep brown orbs that were covered with long eyelashes. She didn't even need makeup. She looked the prettiest in the mornings, when her face was bare.

A sizzling sound coming from the stovetop broke my train of thought. We both snap our heads toward the stove.

"Oh shit, the noodles!"

Amelia quickly jumped off of the counter and headed toward the noodles that were bubbling over. She snapped the heat off and removed the pan from the burner, while instantly turning her face toward me with a surprised expression barley containing her giggles.

"The noodles are done," she smiled sheepishly at me with red cheeks.

I admired her as she drained the noodles and mixed in all of our vegetables and the chicken. She finished the pasta with some milk and Parmesan cheese and mixed it in big circles.

"Get some bowls, would you? It's finished," she said and smiled at me.

I grabbed two bowls out of the pantry and sat them down on the counter.

"You fix us the bowls and I'll get something for us to drink," I stated as I scanned through the fridge for a non-alcoholic beverage.

That's when I realized it. We drank a lot. There was a ton of Mike's Hard Lemonade, Bud Light, Fireball, and Wine in the fridge and freezer. Not to mention everything we kept on top of the fridge. We didn't even have any milk. Which was shocking because Zion can kill some cereal. Especially late at night.

"Why don't we have some water?" I chuckled while taking water bottles from the bottom drawer of the fridge.

"That's fine," she stated as she walked into the dining room and sat down our bowls.

I followed her lead and sat in the chair next to her.

"Damn, this shit looks good," I exhaled deeply as the steam arose from my plate filling my nostrils with the most delicious smell.

"I used to make this all the time when I was in high school when my mother would stay out late," Amelia explained while twisting a long noodle around her fork.

For everything her mother put her through, she truly was something else.

"You're amazing," I replied.

Once we were finished with dinner, I had to ask Amelia what was on her mind. She was mainly silent while I dug into my pasta and barely touched her food. I got a few sentences out of her about her day and how the brunch with her dad went while we were eating but nothing more.

She informed me that he had a fiancé and she had a bratty daughter, and also that she would be visiting in a few weeks. I was so relieved to hear that. I was stressing about when the next time I would be able to see her would be.

"You feeling okay?" I asked concerned.

"The nausea comes and goes. I try to eat slow but that doesn't seem to help," she explained.

I couldn't imagine how hard it must be to feel sick twenty-four seven. I get the stomach bug for two days and I already feel like the world is ending. That just showed me how strong she really was. 

"Do you think we should go ahead and announce the baby? I mean, some of your fans have already figured it out, although, I don't know how. The ones that don't believe them are just calling me fat," she explained with a frown.

"Amelia, you aren't fat, I promise. Even when your stomach gets a little bigger, you still won't be fat. The majority of our fans are too young to know any better. Don't let them get to you," I tried to encourage.

I knew all too well how words could hurt though. Amelia couldn't be fat even if she tried. She was perfect.

"As for the baby announcement, whenever you're ready, I'll be right there with you. It's up to you," I smiled while taking her hand in mine. "Everything is going to be okay." I added again looking into her eyes.

They started to gloss over signaling to me that she had tears brimming.

"Don't cry," I leaned over and rubbed the pad of my thumb across the bottom of her eye, drying it.

"I'm not, I'm just tired," she explained letting a tear fall.

I knew this would be tough on her.

"Why don't we both make a video and announce it together? We can post it whenever you're ready, but we can go ahead and make one just in case you are already in Florida when you get ready."

"I actually think that would be nice," she smiled up at me.

"Okay, let's clean up the kitchen a bit and film it," I said as I stood up from the table.

I collected the dishes and headed to the sink. I had cleaned the bulk of the pans earlier, so we mainly had our dishes and the big pan of pasta to clean. I washed as Amelia dried the dishes and set them neatly back into the cabinets. We finished in a record time of six minutes.

"That pasta was amazing. Did you put the leftovers in the fridge?" I asked hoping she did so I could eat them tomorrow.

"Of course," she smiled.

"Don't let me forget to put a sticky note on it so none of these other monsters eat my food," I laughed.

"You want to go change first?" I asked her while she dried her hands.

"I actually think you look adorable, I think you should wear that," she wrapped one arm around my waist walking beside me into the living room.

I nodded at her and led her into our recording studio.

"Let me get the ultrasound picture," she mumbled before leaving the room for a split second.

She hadn't put that thing down since they gave it to her after her wreck. It's kind of cute seeing her so attached to one picture. But I would be lying if I said that that picture didn't have an effect on me every time I looked at it also.

Once she walked back in and sat down beside me, I pulled out my phone and sat it up on top of Brandon's piano.

"You know, why don't we just go live really quick," she suggested looking over at me and scanning my face for a quick answer.

I raised my eyebrows in shock. She really wanted to tell the world right now. Right this minute.

"Are you sure?" I asked as my stomach churned with nervousness.

"Yes. Let just get it over with," she said and took in a deep breath.

I did the same while pulling up my Instagram and pressing the 'live' button.

Do you think it's a good idea for them to go live and announce the news?

We will see.

-Tay