I Do It For Avory

Chapter Eleven: Ethan's Family

If I wanted to back out, it was already too late. We were already sitting at Ethan's nice (and expensive) aparment, waiting for his parents and sister. I held on to Avory because he seemed like a stress relief to me but Ethan was just walking around, making sure his apartment was neat. Okay, honetly, who cared about whether your house is clean or not when your girlfriend is having a minor heart attack. I was so nervous that I felt like I was going to burst into tears the moment his parents came into the room.

I kept asking Ethan if they knew I was here and he kept giving me that same answer: yes. So, in my mind, they wouldn't be coming if they really didn't like me. Or, they could be like those people who go to your parties only to hate on you. Oh god, I thought. Don't let them hate on me. I dressed nice for the occasion and so did Avory! I made sure everything was perfect. I made sure Avory would behave (I was still unsure about that) and gave him a pep-talk. I kept telling him that these people are family that he's never seen before. He wasn't listening.

Avory was squirming, trying to get down, but I wouldn't let him. I didn't want him to go around getting messy and all that. The last thing I need is someone telling me that I didn't take care of my baby... which isn't true! Avory is the most stylish, healthy, and energetic baby I've ever met. People would comment on how I took good care of him. "Let him go, would you," Ethan looked at me, motioning towards Avory. It took a while, but I let him go. He only went and sat by the door, staring off into space. Maybe he was listnening to me... "Calm down."

"I'm calm," I smiled... nercously. "I'm calm. Maybe you're the one who's not calm. I'm. Calm." He gave me a look of skepticism. Even I didn't believe myself. I was a nervous wreck right now and anything could send me on a rampage. But Ethan took a spot next to me and took my hand in his. "Nothing bad is going to happen," he whispered in my ear then kissed me on the cheek.

"But I-"

"You were doing what you thought would protect Avory and my parents agreed with you." I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. I probably looked like a mess... I felt like one. "Look, I can handle out here. Go to the bathroom, calm down, do whatever you need to do okay?" He gave me a small smile that, even though I didn't feel like I needed to, made me get up and find the bathroom.

I just looked at myself in the mirror, asking myself over and over again: what will they think when they see me? Will they go, "Oh, this is the girl who kept us from our grandson" or will they go, "Oh, this is the girl who raised a baby by herself." Will there be hate, sympathy... love? I didn't know and this is what kept sending me for a loop. Are they going to come in and instantly give me hugs and what not or will they ignore my entire existance. And then it hit me, I didn't care whether they liked me or not, I just didn't want them to hate Avory.

Avory didn't do anythng, okay, so there was no reason to hate Avory. They can hate me all they want but they better not hate their own grandson. And, if they do, what will Ethan do? Ethan cares a lot about his parents but will he speak against them for Avory? Me? Again, I didn't know and because I didn't, I wanted to stay in this bathroom until they came and went.

But Avory was still out there. I don't want to seem like a coward to my own son. I'm supposed to be the mom, the woman who never backs down. I'm supposed to put up a brave front even though, on the inside, I'm crying. But, I've never done that before. I always ran away from my problems, I never confronted them. Like with Ethan, I wouldn't let him see Avory when I could've just gave him a schedule to see Avory. Isn't that what the grown-ups do? I'm sorry, I'm still eighteen here.

And then I heard Ethan, "Hey mom, dad." There was a slight pause. "Amanda." Oh god, Ethan's little sister was here. Avory's out there! So, I did the unthinkable, I flushed the toilet and turned on the faucet, acting like I just used the bathroom. Then, I waited a few seconds and left the bathroom.

I felt really awkward but I hadn't seen them yet. When I turned the corner back into the kitchen, I heard a "Sophia!" And I was in a choke hold. At first, I though Amanda was choking me or something but then, I realized that they all (Ethan's parents and Amanda) came over and was hugging me. I didn't know what to do at first so I was all, "Wow." I wasn't prepared for this. So I just hugged them back, acting like we were friends since the daiper days.

"Oh Sophia," Ethan's mom was crying when they all pulled away. "You've gotten so pretty." She was about to say something else when I heard some rummaging behind me. I mentally groaned as I said, "Hold on" as I ran to go find Avory. I was pleading with myself, hoping he didn't break anything. I turned into the T.V. room, finding Avory climbing onto a shelf, trying to get the remote. What's up with him and remotes, I asked myself as I dove to stop him. "Hey, stop that!"

Ethan's parents and Amanda followed me out of curiosity. "Oh. My. Goodness!" Amanda was smiling her little face off when she saw Avory. "He look just like you! Can I hold him?"

I smiled, "Sure." I handed Avory over to her as Ethan's mom and dad came over and hugged me once more.

"It's great to see you again." Ethan's mom smiled at me. It made me wonder what I was afriad of to begin with.

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Ethan's mom, apparently, had given Ethan a shopping list so she could make dinner over at his place. I thought that it was about time that I left but they all gave me a look that screamed, "Why? Don't go!" So, instead, I had Avory sit on my lap and fed him and myself. Ms. Mcallehy kept commenting on how pretty I was and, in turn, Avory turned out handsome. All I could do was give a shy thank you and hope that I wasn't blushing.

Amanda wasn't as rude as she was backb when I first met her. She kept telling me that I had to go back to Arizona sometime so we could shop and all that. She even said she'd spend tim down here. I was surprised, you know, so I only gave short answers. But I began to lighten up and actually have full-blown converstations with her. Once, we even go on the subject of how Ethan and I were doing now that we were back together.

And then there was Mr. Mcallehy. Everything was going fine, smiling and laughing, until he asked me, "Have you met Brian?" Ms. Mcallehy, who was in a converstation with Amanda, stopped mid-sentence and looked at me. Amanda did too but Ethan wasn't even paying attention. I think he was, though, because I could tell he was tense... very tense.

"Yeah," I smiled. "He's nice."

Ms. Mcallehy gave a soft 'Oh no' as Mr. Mcallehy turned his body to face me. He was an old man, gray in his beard and hair but you could tell that this man had something on his mind. And this something wasn't going to be a happy subject. I could just tell. But he just shook his head and turned back to his food which made me want to know; what's wrong with Brian. Again, I turned to Ethan but he wasn't even paying attention. When Ms. Mcallehy noticed that her husband was going to remain silent, she spoke up, "It's best if you and Avory stay away from him."

I wanted to ask why because I didn't really find Brian as threat but something told me to trust these guys. Probably because their my boyfriends family or maybe Avory's grandparents. Probably because, now, they were my family. "Brian," Amanda was messing around with her fork. "Brian is our cousin, we know how he is and what he wants."

"What does he want," I practically whispered. If I had to watch out for Brian, then I wanted to know why. I wanted to know who I let touch Avory and who I had thought was a reliable guy.

Amanda shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal when it was. It was a major deal. "You."

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ooooooohhhhhh! I wonder what's going to happen now. Post your thoughts here or on my profile on what you think will happen. Here's a question for you guys. Ethan did warn Sohpia of Brian before but why didn't he speak up? Was he ashamed of his cousin or was he defending him?