JUSTIN POV
"You're being too rough," I shouted as Katy Nana's nimble fingers tried to pull the needle through the cut above my eyebrow. She had already done all the gashes over the rest of my body and just a few more remained. I was over the attention and medical services.
"Justin, you need to sit still. I can't help you if you keep moving," Jaxon said, dabbing my knee with medicated cloth.
"God... That fucking stings. Stop it," I grunted.
"You're such a baby." Keegan crossed his arms. "For a man who just got blown up, you'd think you'd be a little more subdued."
"I just want to see Maddie. Can that be arranged?"
"No, you need to be checked out by a doctor, and she's still sleeping."
"She's been sleeping for three hours. Wake her up. I need to make sure she's all right."
"Trust me, she's okay. You, on the other hand, need to slow down," Keegan scolded. "Pattie is going to flip her shit when she finds out what's been going on here."
"I'm fine," I said for the fiftieth time.
"How exactly did you get out?" Finn asked. "I was the track star in high school. You were the lanky, awkward one. Since when did you get running legs?"
"I ran like hell and obviously, didn't do a good job, did I?"
I looked down at myself. Burns covered most of my body, and I been through hell. I had bruises from top to bottom and scars that probably wouldn't ever heal. There was a dull ringing in my ears, along with a strong smell of fire that was stuck up my nose. My back hurt, my sides ached, and my legs felt like jelly.
I tried to pretend like nothing was wrong, but I was in pain. So much pain. I really only wanted to see Maddie, though.
"This is no good. I can only do so much. Where is that doctor?" Katy Nana was about to cry, her hands covered in my blood.
"He's on his way."
"This is why you don't touch bombs!" Keegan ranted. "We've learned it since day one. Now you're whole house is blown up, and you look like complete shit. Maddie is worried sick, probably caused stress to the babies, and we have another person after us."
I threw a lamp at his head; he ducked, and it shattered against the wall.
"I'm moving us out of this fucking city," I said. "At least until after the babies are born. I can't take this anymore. I have to look over my shoulder every fiveseconds, and this was the last straw."
"And where do you plan on moving to?" Jaxon asked.
"The lake house."
"The lake house? We haven't been there in... years," Finn said. "I don't like that place. It's haunted."
"It's safe and it's secluded. I'm moving." I hopped off of the desk and grunted in pain as I landed on my feet. "Shit!"
"You're not going anywhere. You probably need some kind of surgery and the lake house is hours from here." Katy Nana pushed me back down. "I won't allow you and Mrs. Maddie so far away, especially with her being so close to her due date."
"You have no choice in the matter. We have no house at the moment, so it doesn't really matter, anyway. We have to move."
"Then go to the city," Keegan suggested. "You have three penthouses. Hell, live with us."
"This city is toxic. I don't even know why we fucking moved back."
"Because you had family obligations, like you do now. You can't run away."
"I'm not running away. I'm making sure my wife and children are safe! You can all fuck yourselves." I limped as fast as I could out of Keegan's office and down the hall.
Jaxon ran behind me. "Justin, are you really leaving?"
"For the next couple of months, yes. I can't live here anymore."
"That's ridiculous. How are you going to work?"
Damn. I hadn't thought about that.
"I can work from home and come in when I need to."
"Maddie's not going to like this."
"She doesn't have a choice. Our lives are too dangerous right now. My house just got blown up. I'm not sticking around for the next bomb to be delivered to my doorstep."
I opened the door to the guest bedroom and found Maddie sprawled out in the large bed. She was softly snoring, without a care in the world. I breathed a sigh of relief. Just seeing her safe was enough.
"Justin, you can't just uproot your life..."
"Until the babies are born," I repeated myself. I climbed into the bed with Maddie, not caring that I was still bloodied and bruised. "Call me when the doctor gets here."
"Justin, you're being irrational. The lake house is on the other side of the state. You can't function over there."
"I'm more worried about my wife's health right now than anything else. Just leave."
He wanted to say more, but didn't. Jaxon closed the door and I heard his feet retreat in the hall.
The lake house had been a Bieber family staple since I could remember. We used to go every single summer and had a blast. Jeremy basically bought the whole town along Lake Shellbyville and could probably be considered somewhat of an unofficial mayor. It was about five hours away-on a day with no traffic, but since there is never a day without Chicago hustle, the trip usually turned into a seven hour one. Perfect. Far enough away from all the drama.
Years ago, I would have scoffed at the thought of me running away from the city. Now, things were different. I had a family to protect. I couldn't keep them in this hostile environment with guns and bombs and whatever the hell else was about to drop from the sky.
It wasn't like I had options right now. The city wasn't a possibility. My house was destroyed. I had to get out, and the only place close enough was the lakehouse. It would do for the next few months while our house was being fucking rebuilt.
I ran a hand through my hair just thinking about the damage.
Everything was gone, disintegrated. That thing had more power than I thought. My whole house was basically a hole in the ground. I got out of there fast enough, so I didn't have to deal with the authorities, but I'm sure they would be asking questions soon enough. By now, the fire department had deduced that it wasn't a gas fire, which was the only fabricated lie I could think about right now. They knew it was a bomb.
I didn't care who sent it, but I was sure Jaxon already knew. He was a bomb expert. He could figure out in no time. I didn't want to know, and I didn't want a big deal made out of it. I didn't have the strength. I just needed to get Maddie out of here as soon as possible.
I didn't even realize I was asleep until dreams started running through my head.
_____________________________________________________________________________
I heard Maddie's voice. "You have to go slower than that. He'll wake up."
I felt the tug of another needle through a cut on my cheek. I decided to stay asleep so that I wouldn't be such a bitch about the whole thing.
Small fingers tangled into my hair, trying to sooth me.
"He could have died." Maddie kissed my forehead. "What would I have done without him, Bridget?"
"I don't know, but you can't think like that. He made it out."
"Have you been to the house? What does it look like?"
"Maddie... there's nothing left. Everything's gone. I'm so sorry."
"Everything?"
"Yeah."
"It's okay. It's just stuff. We can replace it all." Maddie's hands were now shaking in my hair. "How's his health, doctor?"
"His lungs don't sound too good. Probably some inhalation problems. I need to get him to an x-ray machine. I don't like the look of his ankle, either. And, of course the obvious surface blemishes."
"Is he in pain?"
Yes!
"He probably is. I just need to make sure he can breathe. That's the main thing right now."
I felt a wet tongue on my face and prayed to God that it wasn't Maddie. That would be too creepy. Thankfully, I smelled the horrible breath of my dog.
"Francis, no," Maddie said. "Leave him alone."
Francis whined and huffed. I still felt him close.
"Mrs. Bieber, I think we should check you out as well," the doctor said.
"No, I'm fine. Just make sure he's okay."
"Maddie, stop being so stubborn," I croaked. For the first time, I heard just how horrible my voice sounded, a symptom of the smoke that I had to crawl out of.
"Oh, thank God. He's alive!" Tight arms wrapped around my neck. "I was so worried. Don't you ever do that again."
Francis went crazy, jumping over the bed, yelping in joy, and being a big baby.
"Maddie, let go of me." I pried her arms away. "Please don't make this a big thing. I'm fine. Francis, stop it."
He sat down, wagging his tail frantically, but staying calm.
"What about you?" I asked.
"I can make it a big thing if I want."
I opened my eyes and saw that she was mad. No, she was pissed. Her face said so.
"What made you think you could outrun a bomb?" She hit my sore shoulder. I didn't bother hiding the painful noise that came from my mouth.
"I did what I had to do."
"No. We could have thought of something else. We could have saved you all this pain."
"And what would have happened to you?"
"I don't know but we both could have made it out of there."
"You're being stupid." I tried to sit up. Bridget and the doctor were there to help me. "Leave," I told them.
"Mr. Bieber, I need to check..."
"Leave," I demanded.
They both took their sweet time walking out of the room, and once the door was closed, I exhaled deeply. Francis snuggled up to my side.
"Justin, you could have died. I could be planning a funeral right now."
"That's the least of our worries."
"Our children could have grown up without a fucking father! You're so stupid."
"I saved your life."
"Thank you for that, by the way. You're always so selfless when it comes to me."
"Are you and the babies alright? That's all I care about right now."
"We're fine, Justin." She cupped my cheek. "Look at your face. You look so beat up."
"I'm okay."
"I was so worried, and then Amun with his fucking needle thing."
"I told him to do that if you ever got out of control."
"I was not out of control. I almost threw up three different times when I saw the bomb go off. We have so much to talk about. I just got a wakeup call today."
"So much to talk about?"
"Yes. What if you're gone tomorrow? What if you die? There's so much unfinished business we haven't even discussed."
"Okay..."
"This might sound stupid, but I just kept thinking about you not being here, and we haven't even come up with names for the babies." She was sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't know what to do.
"Maddie, calm down. You're going to stress yourself out."
"We're so fucked, Justin. I don't even know what you want to name them."
"Well, we can do that now. Just please stop crying."
She nodded and blew her nose on the edge of the sheet. I cringed. She held Francis close to her chest.
"Now do you see why I was telling you all that stuff about my will?" I asked. "My life could be gone tomorrow, and I have so much to take care of. We can't take anything for granted."
"I thought you were just talking hypothetically."
"Well, I was until someone delivered a bomb to my house. It probably will only get worse. I try to lay off on the security because I know you don't like it, but I need to keep you safe."
"Do whatever you need to do. I'll live in full lockdown if you want. I swear I won't complain." She hugged me tightly.
"You have no idea what your life is about to become. First of all, we're moving."
"Moving?" She pulled away. "Back to Brazil?"
"No, and it's not permanent, but I have a house about five hours from here. Until the babies arrive, I want you to stay there. It's secluded and barely anyone will know."
"But... my doctor is here. Our family is here."
"We can get doctors and family can visit."
"What about your job?"
"I'll... have to work during the week here in the city, and then drive out there for the weekends. That's probably the only way to do this, but I can't have you living here right now. It's too dangerous."
It looked like she needed more convincing.
"We currently don't have a house, anyway."
Maddie groaned, "All of our stuff is gone."
"I know." I sighed. "Everything."
We stayed silent for a couple of minutes, taking it all in.
"We'll have to rebuild," she said. "Do we have enough money for that?"
I looked at her with disapproving eyes.
"I was just asking." She shrugged.
"Okay, we can talk about that later. Baby names. Tell me what you've been thinking."
She immediately pepped up. "You first."
"I haven't really thought a lot about it. They have to have strong names, though. They'll need something to grow into."
"That's doable. How about you pick for the boy, and I'll pick the girl. That way we can both have input."
"Alright. What would you like to name our daughter?"
"Well, excluding middle names. I haven't thought about that yet, but... I like Sophia."
"Sophia." I let it roll off of my tongue.
"Yeah, it's certainly Italian, and it was my grandmother's name."
"Your Grandma Fell that you're always talking about?"
She nodded. "I loved her so much."
"Sophia is a wonderful name."
"Really? You like it?" Maddie became enthusiastic. "I'm not stuck on it if you want to change it or something."
"No, no. I really like it," I assured her.
"Good." She smiled. "Okay, your turn."
"I have a few. My top would have to be Bartholomew. Hands down."
Maddie looked at me with the blankest stare I had ever seen. Even Francis twisted his face in uncertainty.
"What? You don't like it?" I asked.
"Justin, we can't name our son Bartholomew."
"Why not? That's a strong name. It was Nicola's middle name. I think it's perfect."
"Um, sweetheart, I think it's just very... unique. A little too unique." Maddie bit her lip, trying to hold back.
"What? Tell me."
"I don't like it."
"Really? I'm quite fond of it." How could anyone not like that name. It was perfect.
"Justin, try something else."
"No. I wanted it to be old word and strong."
"It's old world, that's for sure."
"Exactly."
"Give me some other ones, Justin."
"No, I don't think I will." I crawled out of bed. "I have to go back to the drawing board now that you've dashed my good name."
"I didn't mean to. I just don't really like it. Maybe it will grow on me."
I stretched and felt the pain all over my body. "No. I'm keeping my thoughts to myself until your due date."
_____________________________________________________________________________
As I was going through the wreckage that used to be my house, I found small trinkets that survived the fire. A wedding picture. One of Francis' chew toys. An antique clock. Constriction crews were still hauling off debris.
It hurt to witness my things in tatters. I didn't let Maddie see anything for at least a week. I had to talk with the police and fire department first. They had cleaning up to do, and I didn't want her to break down again. She had been doing that a lot lately. I think all of this was too much for her, especially in her current condition.
When Maddie finally did make it over to the house, I couldn't console her. She spent the whole night crying on my shoulder. Nothing I said would make her stop. I had to get her out of here as fast as possible.
I sent a bunch of people up to the lake house to get it fixed up. They stocked the pantry, got all the beds prepared, and made sure Maddie didn't have to do anything when we got there. Like I predicted, I couldn't just stop living my life here in Chicago. I would have to commute every weekend to see her. That was the only way.
Olivia, Katy Nana, and Jaxon would be staying with her. It was hard for Maddie to grasp that we would probably be separated for a little while. Rebecca was also coming up and staying for a while, at least until the babies got here.
Construction on the new house had already begun, in a far more secretive part of town. It was further away from the family, but much safer. It would take a long time to complete, but we should be able to move in right after the New Year.
"Justin, phone call." Keegan suddenly appeared next to me with a cellphone.
I took it. "Hello."
"It's been done, sir," the ominous voice on the other line said.
"Both of them?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'll inspect the bodies when I get back." I hung up and handed the phone back to Keegan. "They're both dead."
"That was fast."
"It's easy to disguise murder in prison. Victor and Victoria knew it was coming. They should have prepared for it."
"We're ready to go." He clapped my shoulder.
"Alright, I'm coming." We carefully walked across the dirty lawn. Well, I limped badly. Rubble still scarred the scorched grass, and holes littered the ground.
Thankfully, no one else in the neighborhood had to deal with the explosion. It was contained to my property only. The only casualty from the bomb was poor Valentino the python. He didn't survive the fire and his shriveled body was carted away in a wheelbarrow by Animal Control.
The cars... all of my cars, were destroyed. I had to use rentals until I had time to actually go restock.
The caravan of black SUVs were lined up in a row, waiting for me. The whole family was going to the lake house for the weekend. We all needed to get away. But along with us was what looked like the secret service. I couldn't take any chances anymore.
"We'll be in Shellbyville shortly, Mr. Bieber." Amun held the door open for me. "The ride should be a smooth one."
"Thank you." I climbed in next to Maddie. She was dressed comfortably in sweats, eating a donut. Francis was begging for a taste.
"So what is this lake house like?" she asked me.
"Well, I can't really remember. I haven't been there since high school," I admitted. "It's a pretty big property, though."
"And I'll be there all alone," she said with regret in her voice.
"Not all alone. You'll have security plus Katy Nana, Jaxon, and Olivia."
"And my mother." Maddie rolled her eyes. "Why did you have to invite her?"
"She kind of demanded that she be there for the birth of her grandchildren. She won't be here until next week anyway."
"Yeah, and you know she wants to stay until well after the babies are born. I can't handle her that long."
"You'll survive."
Maddie took my hand in hers, running her fingers along the veins of my palm and wrist. She liked my hands. She found them fascinating.
"Your pulse is racing," she commented.
"It's always racing these days, either from you or from some shit I'm dealing with."
She trailed her digits up my long fingers up to the tips. She felt them for a few seconds, and then stopped. "You're smooth."
"Um, thank you?"
"No, you don't have fingerprints." She lifted up my hand to examine.
"I never have."
"What? Since when? I've never noticed that before."
"Jeremy scalded them off with battery acid when I was thirteen."
"Oh, my God. That must have hurt."
"Not really?" I lied. "It had to be done. Why are we talking about this? It has to be the most random subject ever."
"I realized that I don't know enough about you. What if you die tonight? I won't ever have known what you favorite number is or what your high school experience was like. We never talked about your past. We skipped over it."
"For good reason." I cleared my throat, taken a little off guard.
"Why did Jeremy burn you?" She kissed each of my fingertips on my left hand.
The whole process took over a year of painful scaring. I still remember how my body shook after each time Jeremy completed the procedure. He had no sympathy for me, though. It was all business.
"It's standard." I answered, "They can't track you down if you don't leave prints."
She could tell how this conversation as affecting me so she changed the subject, "While I'm at some abandoned lake house, you'll be in the city?" Maddie asked.
"For the most part, yes. Believe me, I wish I could stay with you."
"Justin, I have a question." Maddie sat up.
"William, can you slow the fuck down?" I shouted up front. "This isn't a race."
"Oh, sorry, sir."
"Okay, continue, Maddie. What is your question?"
"Um, do Jeremy and Pattie realize that I'm pregnant?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think so. They would've come back by now if they had."
"Would they?"
"Maybe. Probably. Maddie, I don't know. Why does it matter?"
"Because they're going to be grandparents. They should know sooner, rather than later."
"Well, then they shouldn't have left. That's their problem."
Maddie finished her donut and started on another.
In an attempt to change the subject, I decided to question her about them. "What exactly is that you're eating?"
"These are the best donuts in Chicago. They're deep fried and coated in cinnamon sugar. You've never had these? Keegan got them for me and said they were basically their own food group. You have to try one." She pushed it towards my mouth.
"No, I can't eat that. I'm on a diet."
"A diet?"
"I've gained ten pounds of muscle and lost two inches off my waist. My workouts are working."
"You sound like a woman."
"I don't care. I look good and you know it." I smirked. "You're just jealous."
"I can't wait until I get these babies out of me."
"I think you look beautiful." I rubbed her stomach. "Baby Sophia and Baby Bartholomew agree with me."
"Justin, for the last time, we are not naming him Bartholomew."
"Oh, yes we are. You got to pick your name, and I get to pick mine."
"William," Maddie scooted up in her seat, "would you ever let your daughter date a guy named Bartholomew."
He looked at me in the rearview mirror. I glared at him.
"I think it's a fine name," he answered.
"You're lying," Maddie accused. "Justin, just give me another name. Please, I beg you."
"No. I'm sticking with it." At this point, I just liked making her mad about it. If she didn't really like the name, I didn't mind. Watching her get aggravated was funny, though.
"You're just doing this to make me mad." Maddie went back to eating.
I laughed. Francis, sensing her anger, sat next to Maddie. I petted him behind the ears as we settled in for the long drive.
Turns out, Maddie slept the whole way there. After her fourth sweet treat, she couldn't keep her eyes opened any longer. I pulled out a book and read. I was so involved in Machiavelli's The Prince, that I didn't hear the sloppy noises of Francis chowing down until it was too late. He had eaten the whole box of donuts
"What is wrong with you?" I held him up to my face so he could see just how mad I was. "You're going to get sick and die from eating all that."
He didn't care.
"This is why you're so damn fat. Female dogs won't even look at you. Have you noticed that? You're fat and lazy."
He licked my face.
I didn't know what it was about this dog, but he got under my skin. He agitated me to no end, but I couldn't help caring for him in some small form. Now I could see why people had pets. They were happy to see you no matter what you said or how shitty a person you were. Just give them some food, treat them right, and they were set. It was a simple life that I envied immensely. I never thought I would think of a dog as part of my family, but he was a good animal. I somewhat liked him.
"You, sir, will be punished. No dog treats for at least a week. If I have to go on a diet then so do you." I sat him back down on the seat. He went right to sleep. "Fat ass dog."
My phone rang. Noting the number as Mario's, I picked up. "What are you calling me for on a Saturday?"
"I'm just making sure I have your size right for your suits. I'm at the Armani store now. They have you down for one in every color."
"And shoes. If you forget my shoes, you're fired."
"Yes, boss. I got it."
"What kind of shirts do they have?"
"Um, a variety of shirts."
"Who's there? Who are you dealing with?"
"A woman named Liz."
"No. Get away from her. She's useless and completely unattractive. Ask for Ivan. He knows what I like."
"Liz is the only one here."
"She's lying. He's in the back.'
"Okay, boss. You'll get your stuff. I promise."
"Don't call me again." I hung up.
"That boy does more work for your company than you do," Maddie said sleepily, her eyes still closed.
"He's still in training."
"Are we there yet?" She leaned against my shoulder.
"Almost. Do you have to use the bathroom?"
"Surprisingly, no. Maybe in another hour."
"We'll be there by then."
We pulled into the small town of Shellbyville earlier than I expected. It was one of those places left untouched by modernity. There wasn't one restaurant, grocery store, or business that wasn't locally owned. They didn't even have a McDonalds. It looked the same as it always had. This was more of a vacation spot for wealthy families than a permanent residence kind of place. Fall was quickly approaching, so people were out in full force, trying to soak up the last bit of holiday they had left.
"This place looks really cute," Maddie said, leaning out of the window. "Which one is your house?"
"It's actually Jeremy's house, but it's across the lake." I pointed in the distance.
"That's a whole community over there. It's like ten different cottages."
"You know him, never does anything halfway."
"So how are we supposed to get over there?"
"Well, there's a small bridge, but it's closed every night at seven, for protection reasons. So we have to take boats across the water."
"We have far too much stuff for a couple of speedboats."
"Maddie, I think of everything. Don't worry."
The cars stopped and I helped Maddie out gently. She made sure to grab Francis' leash. I did a quick headcount on the docks, making sure that everyone was here. There were eight of us, including myself. Plus bodyguards. Katy Nana ordered security to get the bags and not drop anything. She was fiercely determined to take all of the burden off of Maddie and not let her worry about a thing. I liked that idea.
Francis took the lead with his nose, sniffing his way onto the large boat that could fit us and the luggage, and still had enough room to spare. This was one of Jeremy's many pieces of aquatic machinery that he never used.
"I can't convince you to stay during the week?" Maddie sat next to me. "Look at that view."
"Yeah, it's beautiful," I sighed. "I can't leave work right now. Here I know you'll be safe. I can stay during the weekends until you get closer to your due date. Then I'll take off."
Maddie launched into a well-rehearsed speech about how I needed to be staying with her instead of going back to the city. I just sat and listened. She still wasn't done by the time we reached the opposite shore. The lake compound was large and consisted of several different houses that were all connected.
"This is... huge," Maddie commented, looking around when I opened the door. It was all cleaned up and ready for our arrival.
"This will be home for the next couple of months."
"I just have one and half more to go. Then where are we going to live?"
"I have that covered."
The house was styled as a hunting cabin. Fake animal heads dotted the walls, a stone fireplace looked like it could heat five houses, and the walls were covered in thick pine. I wasn't too outdoorsy, so all of this made me feel slightly awkward.
Francis took it upon himself to explore. Maddie walked around, checking out the accommodations. Jane and Jaxon would be staying with us as well. Jane was coming back to work with me, but Jaxon had to stay here. He protested like there was no tomorrow, but he didn't have a choice. I needed someone here to watch over her, and I trusted him to do a good job. Plus he had a break from school. It was perfect.
"I think I might like it here," Maddie said, sitting down on the comfortable couch, "It makes a nice prison."
"I'm not imprisoning you." I sat next to her.
"If you stayed with me..."
"Maddie, no. I'm leaving tomorrow, and then it'll just be five days until I'm back."
It took me the rest of the weekend to convince her that I wasn't abandoning her in the forest. Maddie understood that I was just trying to protect what I cared for, but that didn't stop her from trying to persuade me otherwise.
This was a time for family. None of us had been to the lake house in about a decade, but it was nice to be back. A lot of our time was spent in the lake. It was cool and relaxing, but I made sure it was clean first. Once I deemed it safe, we didn't want to get out. The weather report said it was supposed to rain all weekend, but the gods blessed us with sun and clear skies. It was actually... fun.
"Justin, let's go over there," Maddie said. She was currently in the large inner tube. I wouldn't let her actually swim since the lake was too deep. She was fine with me pushing her around.
"Alright, I'm going." I kicked my feet, propelling us to where Keegan was fastening a tire swing to a large tree. Each movement of my body hurt a bitch from that fucking bomb. My back and legs, especially. I didn't say anything, but there was something seriously wrong inside of my body. I needed to see a doctor as soon as possible once I got back to the city.
"Before you even ask, you're not getting on that thing." I said.
"I wasn't going to ask. I just want to see what everyone's doing."
Bridget floated by us on her own blowup thing. She was in the smallest bikini known to man, sipping some kind of fruity cocktail. "We need to come back here more often."
"I second that." Finn jumped from the dock, splashing water everywhere then resurfacing. "Dad always tried to get us to come during the summer, but we never did."
"Because we were too busy working." Keegan added. "He would probably shit his pants if he saw us now."
"Maddie, when the babies are born, we can teach them how to swim." Jaxon joined me in pushing her on the tube.
"What if they drown?" she asked worriedly. "I don't think I want them near any water."
I had a whole list of things I didn't want them near. Every time I had a thought about the babies and how I planned on raising them, I wrote it down. I had a journal full of ramblings and lists of things for me to do before they got here. Time was ticking and we needed to move fast. Maddie and I had just gone shopping for their things, and now, it was all gone. We would have to start over. Maybe I could enlist Olivia for that. I couldn't see myself enduring the torture of picking out a crib for the second time.
That night, we roasted marshmallows for s'mores. Maddie had five, out-eating Keegan. Jaxon took the crown, though. He tackled seven. It was rather impressive. We were all exhausted from a day in the sun and climbed into bed around midnight.
"Justin, are you nervous about when the babies get here?" Maddie asked me, lying on my chest.
"No, not really," I lied.
"I am."
"I'm trying to just take it one minute at a time."
"Well, we've studied the books. That's all we can do, right?"
"I'm not sure. We can change diapers, and we know how to feed them, but I feel like all the research in the world won't help. We need experience."
"Trial and error isn't really an option in raising children."
"At least we have two so if we mess one up, we'll know what to do with the other," I joked. Maddie didn't find it funny.
"We're really unprepared for all of this."
"Yeah," I sighed in agreement.
There wasn't any more baby talk that night. We just stayed wrapped up in each other.
The next day was spent, once again, in the lake. Maddie and I tried not to think about the fact that we would be separated shortly, but the thought was looming over us. We had to leave right after lunch, but I really didn't want to.
"Okay, so you have all her vitamins?" I asked Katy Nana as I continued to pack my small bag.
"Yes, sir. Everything will be fine."
"I'll call every couple of hours and make sure everything is okay. Do you have all the phone numbers?"
"Yes, sir." She was getting tired of my questions, but they needed to be asked.
"Everything should run smoothly up here. You have security and when she's closer to her due date, I'll have her doctor come up here so we can have the birth at the local hospital. He should be up within the next two weeks just for a checkup."
"Mr. Justin, I know the schedule. She will be fine. I assure you."
"I'm just making sure." I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Jaxon, Olivia, and Bridget will be able to help you with anything you need."
She wrapped her arms around me securely. I shuddered slightly, just as a learned reaction. "I remember a time when you used to let me actually hug you."
"When I was five?" I chuckled.
"Now you're about to be a father. God, I'm so old."
"Thank you for coming back. We really needed you."
"I know. That's why I'm here." She pulled away from me. "You go home and don't worry about anything here. We'll be fine."
I nodded and then walked out of the room.
Everyone was outside saying goodbye.
"Goodness, we'll be back in a week. Calm your lady tits," Finn said to Olivia.
"You're so vulgar. I love it." She kissed him heatedly.
"Here," I pulled out my wallet and handed Maddie one of my credit cards, "just in case you need to go somewhere."
"I have my own credit cards, Justin."
"I'd rather you use mine."
"Okay," she said. "Thanks. You'll be safe, right?"
"I always am."
She brought her hand up to my face, tracing the still stapled scar over my eyebrow. "And you'll call?"
"Every minute if you want."
"I'm really scared you're going to get in some kind of trouble."
"I'll be fine, Maddie. I'm more worried about you."
"The babies and I are going to chill."
"Little Sophia and Bartholomew have just a little more growing to do before we get to see them." I rested my hand on her rather large stomach.
"Our son will be mocked for the rest of his life if we name him that."
"Then he'll become president, and no one will care."
"Maybe." She kissed my chin. "You'll be missed."
"I will be back before you can even blink your eyes."
We prolonged our departure, but when I finally climbed onto the boat, I was a second away from just quitting work. I was the boss, after all. I could do whatever the fuck I wanted. It was only a few days; I had been telling Maddie that, but it felt like a whole lot more. This had the potential to be the longest week in history. My mind started to create different scenarios of what might happen in my absence. I had covered all the bases, but there was still the question of 'what if'.
Maddie didn't cry once. I knew once I left, she would break down, but she didn't say a word.
"Don't look so sad, Justin." Finn revved the boat's engine.
"It's just five days," I said to myself.
We went further across the lake, and I tried not to turn around, but couldn't help it. Maddie was standing there, just watching. I waved. She blew me a kiss and that was that.
Just five days...