Chapter Ten... Week Thirty
"I feel... so tired! It's amazing how much Lucy likes to kick me through the night!"
I lazed about in the living room of our apartment. I had just under ten weeks until Lucy would be here, and Kent, Sam and I were all free for the night. I'd had to start my maternity leave from work early because I couldn't reach across the bar or bend down anymore. I'd grown so big to accommodate for my little princess.
School was getting hard, too. But everyone had developed an annoying habit of patting my stomach when they walked past.
"Just wait until ten weeks' time when we're all awake at 3am because Lucy's hungry," Kent chuckled. "Then we're all gonna be tired."
"You guys will hopefully sleep through it after a couple of weeks," I sighed. "Unless you're babysitting when I'm visiting my parents at Christmas time," I added quickly.
"Uh... what?" Kent frowned.
"Well uh... Lucy's due four weeks before I'm due to fly out to visit my parents," I began. "And I uh... I need you guys to look after her."
"You're kidding aren't you?" Sam said sharply.
"No, I'm not," I replied. "Look, I can't just turn up there with her, Sam! I'm thirty weeks' pregnant! I can't tell them now. They don't need to know she exists. They don't need to know..."
"That is your fault!" Sam snapped.
"Well, you could do this as a favour to me!" I shouted.
"No! You kept your pregnancy a secret from them! That's your fault!" Sam retaliated. "We are not your in-house babysitters, Paige! We're no relation to that baby of yours!"
"Sam!" Kent snapped. "Stop it! Now we both agreed. We'd help Paige with Lucy when she needed it. And she needs us to look after Lucy when she goes to Minnesota."
"The baby isn't even here yet..." Sam moaned. "Yet we're talking about where she's gonna spend her first Christmas. And that should be with her mother."
"Yes," Kent agreed. "It should. But she can't just... show up with Lucy. They would freak out."
"She could say it's a friends' baby..." Sam stated.
"What if Lucy looks just like Paige?" Kent pointed out. "She can't lie about it then!"
"Why are you taking her side, Kent?" Sam spat. "Huh? You too much of a pansy to go up against a girl?"
"Paige is my best friend, Sam!" Kent snapped.
"And I am your boyfriend!" Sam scoffed. "You're supposed to take my side on these things, not hers. You're supposed to defend me, not her!"
"Guys!" I shouted. "Knock it off!"
"You started this, Paige!" Sam hissed.
"Sam, don't yell at her!" Kent snapped.
"What is wrong with you, Kent?!" Sam growled. "Screw both of you! I'm going to bed!"
Kent and I both watched as Sam stormed off into the bedroom and slammed the door. I wasn't quite sure what about the whole situation made him so angry...
"What's his problem with me?" I asked softly.
"It's not you he's got a problem with," Kent sighed. "It's me."
"You?" I frowned. "But... but what do you have to do with this?"
"We're not quite as perfect as you think we are, Paige," Kent admitted. "We've been fighting. A lot. And it's getting hard to be in the same room as him."
"So he's pissed off at you and taking it out on me and Lucy?" I asked.
"Pretty much. He can't understand how I can be so close with you compared to him."
"Well, it's not like we're sleeping together behind his back or anything even remotely close to that. We are just best friends."
"Yeah, and the other day he asked me if I was Lucy's father..."
"What?! He does know that you're gay, right? And that we've never had sex!"
"Think he's just insecure at the moment. Got PMS or something, considering he's a man."
"Male PMS."
"Yes... that probably about sums it up."
"I can't believe he asked you if you were Lucy's father! What the hell?!"
"He's always thought something happened between us, and that's why we're so close. We fight over it occasionally. And me taking your side? That kind of made things worse."
"Oh, I'm totally ruining your relationship with this baby!"
"No, you're not Paige. He's ruining it by throwing around accusations. He's pushing me away, but when he wants sex he comes crawling back. Always."
"Oh, it's been so long since I had sex..."
"Sorry. I uh... I didn't mean to make you upset by that."
"No. It's fine. I guess when you get pregnant, you have to give up a lot of things. I'm borderline on giving up on school, too. But I'm so close to the end of college..."
"You only have ten weeks left until she's here, Paigey. It's good. And well, I'll at least look after Lucy when you go to Minnesota for Christmas."
I took a deep breath.
"Thanks," I smiled weakly.
"Hey, I am your best friend," Kent chuckled. "Contrary to my boyfriend thinking we're sleeping together..."
"Well, I could say 'I wish' but that might push Sam over the edge," I giggled.
"Oh, I think the thought of having a baby in the house has already done that," Kent sighed. "But anyway. He's hard to reason with sometimes."
"Has he ever accused you of cheating before?" I asked.
"Once," Kent admitted. "When I first met you."
"Oh, so it's me after all?!"
"Well, kind of. Look, he knows that if I were to ever break up with him, I'd go for you if you were single. And it's unnerving him at the moment because he's pushing me away."
"Kent! Why would you tell him that?! That's just making him nervous!"
"I know! I was drunk and it slipped out. But he already suspected it, and if it makes you feel better we both bonded extremely well that night, if you know what I mean."
"Okay, okay!"
"Paige. Nothing will ever happen between us. You know that... I know it... and Sam does too, deep down. If he stops pushing me away, anyway."
"I guess."
"I know Ramone leaving you must have been hard, especially since you're pregnant with his child. But you just... you have to move on. And not with me."
"I never said I was going to move on with you."
"Good to know."
"You brought me and you together up, Kent. Not me."
"I know. Me and my big mouth."
"Yes. But now you're gonna get up and get me some ice cream."
"Haha! No... no more ice cream."
"Yes!"
"Paige, it's almost winter!"
"And?"
"Eat soup."
"I don't eat soup."
"Well, how about a roast chicken tomorrow night?"
"Hope you're cooking the damn thing."
"Yes, of course."
Kent gave in and got me my ice cream. I ate half a tub before I couldn't eat anymore. Kent went to bed early, and I knew that he went to apologise to Sam. I watched movies half the night before falling asleep on the lounge, feeling my little girl kick and roll in my stomach the whole time.
It was the most amazing feeling in the world.