Spark in the Dark

Chapter 169

After opening the gifts, Fawn and Lyla helped Shawn set up the rest of the nursery. The crib was made up with the bedding Lyla had bought as a gift along with the matching curtains hung. The dresser was filled with clothing as well as diapers, wipes, creams, and lotions. Tara had gotten a changing pad for on top of the dresser as well as a small first aid kit Shawn put in the bathroom. Shawn assumed Gemma let herself into Jax's place to retrieve the gift herself.

Fawn moved the large box containing the jogging stroller Gemma gifted Shawn to the side of the room for Juice to put together later. In her card, Gemma wrote a note saying Shawn was only allowed to use the stroller if she ate. A year earlier, Shawn probably would have been annoyed by the note. Now, she was sort of touched. Shawn knew Gemma was just looking out for her. Plus, on top of the stroller, Gemma had given her a ridiculous amount of baby clothes. Lyla had joked that Gemma must be sick of buying little boy clothing and Shawn figured she was right.

Lyla hung the larger sized clothing the baby would have to grow into in the closet. When she was done, she stepped back and whistled, getting Shawn and Fawn's attention.

"Your daughter is going to be a total clothes horse," Lyla said.

"Like she has any choice," Fawn laughed.

"Yeah, the Diosa girls sure do like to shop," Shawn agreed. "Can you imagine if Luanne were still here?"

"Do they make baby size thigh high boots?" Lyla asked and they laughed.

Lyla had to leave to make sure the kids ate dinner, but Fawn stayed to hang out. They were sitting on the couch, talking and laughing together when the backdoor opened.

"Babe?" Juice called.

"In here with Fawn," she called back. Juice didn't answer, but she heard the sound of the fridge door open.

"Well, I'll take off. It's getting late and I'm sure you want to show off the nursery to your hubby," Fawn said.

"Okay. Thanks for coming. And thank you for that diaper bag. It's adorable."

"I know, right? I'm going to have to knocked up just so I can get one."

The sisters hugged and Fawn left out the front door. After locking the door, Shawn went into the kitchen to find Juice. She saw him leaning against one of the counters with a beer in his hand. He was staring off into space and didn't even notice her come into the room.

"Juice?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "Hey."

He pushed away from the counter and walked towards her. Juice laid a brief kiss to her cheek before going upstairs. Shawn could tell something was wrong. She followed him up the stairs.

"Is everything-" Juice closed the bathroom door before she could finish. She told herself that he might have not heard her, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case. She lightly knocked on the door. "Juice? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute."

Shawn stepped away from the door and went into their bedroom to change for bed. Juice came in as she pulled a shirt over her head and set down the now empty beer bottle on the dresser. He began taking off his rings, but it was almost like even the simplest task was too much for him. He became frustrated and angrily dropped the rings on top of the table. Juice grabbed the empty bottle and looked at Shawn.

"I'm going to get another one of these. You need anything?"

"I'm alright," she said. He could hear how concerned she was, but went to walk out of the room, anyways. "Did you see Ally's room? We got everything put away."