All Again For You
True Love Comes From More Than Just The Heart
I fixed my gaze to Austin, lightly shaking my head. "I don't hate you, Austin. That's something I could never do. But, I'm not going to let you sit here and walk all over me."
His expression fell, glaring at me, shocked at my response. "So, that's it? You're gonna let your boyfriend come between us?" He tried to hurt me, but I had nothing left. I was done being under everyone's boot.
I smiled weakly, scoffing at him. There he goes, already trying to diss Mike. "He never came between us. You just put him there. You haven't been there for me in like almost a year, Austin. It's just not fair. You dated stupid bimbos and I never, ever let them affect our friendship no matter how much I didn't like them. I kept that to myself as respect for you. If you can't do one thing for me, one thing, and that's to accept the fact that I'm happy with someone, then leave. I'm done taking shit from everyone at this point." His glanced over to me and chewed on his lip then stared at a small framed photo of Mike and I from a couple of months ago.
I stayed looking at him for a reaction, a response; but I got nothing. I sighed, rolling my eyes. All of this wasn't my fault, it wasn't. He slowly stood up and walked to my front door, I followed him. Before he stepped out of the house, he said softly, "I'm sorry that I ruined this friendship." He walked to his car and got in, starting it up, and backing out of my driveway, leaving. I shut the door, locking it, and went back to what I was doing; house hunting and interviewees.
"I feel like I only have like three friends." I whined to Tal as he lounged on the couch as I spoke from the kitchen.
"Who? Me, Brandon, and Mike?" He laughed, looking over to me as I brought him a beer.
I glared at him jokingly, handing him his beer, "You're a dumbass. But, basically."
"Yeah, Austin called me after he left here. He seemed, I don't know, okay with it."
"Good. Now he can leave me alone and let me live my life."
Tal smirked over at me not saying anything else on the matter but giving me a small nod. It'd been a few hours since Austin left my house. I was exhausted with this weekend. It was on another level of drama that I had not seen in a while. "Why does drama come into my life once Mike leaves?"
Tal chuckled, "I was just going to say that! Did you tell him Austin came by?"
I shook my head, "Not yet. We video chat every night and that's usually when I tell him my woes of the day." I giggled softly. "Did I tell you that Mike and I are starting to look at houses? Like actual houses for us."
His eyes went wide as a grin grew on his lips. "No way? Lucy, that's great!"
"Yeah. We just need more space around here and it doesn't hurt to look."
"That's so serious. That's great, though! I'm happy that you've finally met your match."
"You think so?" I couldn't help but smile. Talking about a potential future with Mike got me excited. It's something I couldn't wait for.
He nodded, "I know so."
Emails were becoming growing more and more as the days went on. I was at work answering a slew of them when my phone rang. As soon as I saw Mike’s name and face, I lit up, quickly answering it. “Hello, my darling.” I said in a British accent causing him to laugh.
“Hey, baby. Sorry we didn’t get to video chat last night.” I could already imagine his facial expression; his brown eyes wide and his bottom lip sticking out.
“It’s okay. I fell asleep early, anyhow. Yesterday was another long day.”
“How so? Oh wait, before you answer, how come Vic told me that Austin tweeted, ‘I lost my best friend, today. But life goes on.’ yesterday?” It seemed like he had the tweet right in front of him, and it was a shock to me. I no longer follow Austin on Twitter anymore, so I don’t follow up on his life.
“He came by the house yesterday apologizing for everything. But honestly Mike, it felt so fake to me. It really did. For example, he was saying, ‘Oh, I just feel like he took my best friend from me’ and all this stupid shit. Like, get the fuck over yourself, dude. My world does not revolve around you and it never did. You know what I mean?”
“I get that but maybe he needed you.”
“Austin doesn’t need anybody; he wants someone for the moment. I’ve known him long enough to know that’s how he is. I’m tired of him walking all over me and thinking that he can be fucked up, then just say a small, sweet apology and everything will be peachy. I’m just trying to rid the drama from my life, can you tell?” I let out a small laugh and he joined along.
“Oh baby, all the drama starts when I leave.”
“I was saying the same thing. No one fucks with me when my dude is here.” I said in a dramatic, thug voice.
He laughed loudly, “Das right, girl. That’s right.”
“That just means that I need to keep you around.”
“Well shit, I would hope so. I don’t mean to quote my own band’s song lyrics, but you can’t just throw me away!”
I laughed louder than I thought I did because Katelynne popped her head in and gave me a strange look. I mouthed that I was speaking to Mike and she smiled, nodding then walked away. It was moments like this that made me sane. Mike Fuentes made me sane, can you believe that?
It still boggled my mind that one person could mean so much to me. Of course, I’ve had my share of faulty relationships, but this one was really different. It wasn’t about me; it never felt about me. It felt about us. And, I’ve never been in that position before. Mike and I were having a future together. The house, the kids, the dog; it all felt right with him.
If you look at my ex-boyfriend, Andy, he wanted all of those things. I did too, but never with him. It didn’t feel right with him. I never saw a future with him in the almost three years we were together. Yet, Mike and I have been together for almost a year, and I see all of this so clearly with him. It was thoughts like that one that made me get the same butterflies I felt when I first met him. Maybe the butterflies were trying to tell me something back then? It’s almost that they were whispering to me the moment we locked eyes, “This is the one.” Of course, I wouldn’t have believed them at 20 years old, but now at almost-28, I understood their message.
Two days later, I woke up feeling optimistic about a lot of things going on in my life. The next thing on my list of wants and needs was a brand new house. I had spoken to Mike that we should start going to see houses when he got back from tour, but he insisted that Brandon or his mom go with me to start the process of looking, so I can get ideas in my head. I threw on something comfy as I made myself coffee and decided on an outfit for house hunting today with Brandon.
I picked something quickly, and then went on with showering and getting myself ready. Brandon was here within the next couple of hours and we drove to meet mine and Mike’s real estate agent, Miguel. He was this super cool guy that I had met at the agency and I told Mike all about him. Miguel seemed really into finding a house that was fit for both Mike and I, and that’s all I wanted. We pulled up to the first house that Miguel told us to meet at. I got out, looking at the outside of it as Miguel stood in front of the garage wearing a grey suit, with a white collared shirt underneath it. He wore a red tie, showing that he meant business. “Hey Miss Garcia, this is your best friend, right?” He asked reassuringly.
I nodded with a smile, “Miguel this is my best friend, Brandon, Brandon this is Miguel.”
Brandon shook Miguel’s hand and greeted him with a small smile. “Okay, let me show you this house.” He said, leading us to the wooden door that lead into the house. As soon as you walked in you could feel how spacious it was. The ceilings weren't as high as I had wanted, but it was still so beautiful. Miguel lead us into the kitchen and dining room which was located on the left side from where the front door was. "As you can see, the countertops are a gorgeous cream colored granite."
Brandon raised his eyebrows at me as I admired the countertops. I had always, and I mean always wanted grantie tabletops because it looked so amazing. I smiled at Miguel and he proceeded to show us the kitchen which had stainless steel appliance furnishings such as the wide sink, the oven, fridge, and the stove was a flat top. My hand grazed over the countertops and I noticed it had a balcony; that was what I wanted more than anything to be honest.
"Ah, I see you noticed the balcony." Miguel gave me a smug smirk and we walked over to it. The view was pretty, but I saw more of the back of buildings than the city.
We continued viewing the house; Brandon shooting me looks of things he liked and didn't like as we walked it, and by the end of it, the house didn't feel like Mike and I. Plus, the closet wasn't even that much bigger than mine now and that was a core issue for us two.
"I have more houses that I want to show you, do you two have time for one more for today?" Miguel asked as we exited the house, not too far from mine right now.
We both nodded in response, "Yeah, definitely!"
"House hunting makes me tired." I groaned once Brandon and I reached my place later on that day.
"You're telling me. I liked those houses, especially the second one, but it didn't feel right."
I nodded, "Yeah, it was gorgeous don't get me wrong, but it felt more like Beverly Hills Housewife than Mike and I."
"When does he get home?" Brandon asked as he took off his shoes and plopped his feet on the recliner.
"In a month. I haven't seen him in two weeks, I am so sad." I frowned, petting Ludo as he made little groans in satisfaction.
"I don't know how you do it, Luce. That would annoy me. Do you ever wonder if he like...
He didn't want to say the word "cheat", but I knew what he meant the second he looked at me.
I shook my head, "No. It's weird, I just trust him no matter what. I've never had that issue with Mike actually. Which is weird seeing as how previous boyfriend's have cheated on me, but like, I don't know. We are literally always texting, or FaceTiming, or iChatting, or something. We're in constant communication. Plus, I have four members who exclusively tell me every detail of the day." I grinned slyly referring to Vic, Jaime, Tony, and Casey. Vic told me that if Mike even thought about fucking things up between us, than he would fuck him up. "And, every band that they've toured with in the past two years, I am super cool with."
"I don't think he'd ever cheat on you, to be honest. He's like, different around you. You know, I'd always heard things about him through the grapevine in SD when you were here, and I was concerned at first when you two started talking again. But then, when you ran into him the third time at Double's, I don't know, the way he looked at you and lit up when he talked about you and everything, I was like, 'He could never do that to Lucy. Ever.' I really believe that he met his match when it came to you."
I smiled softly as I was looking at my lock screen photo of Mike and I from the LA show. We were low-eyed and high and we did not care. Vic took the picture of me sitting on his lap, my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek and the biggest grin on his face. It made me happy that I could look at this one picture; this one moment, and feel a wave of happiness hit me, every time. Now, that's something.
"Well, I think I met mine." I responded to his little speech he made just seconds ago, my eyes not leaving the screen of my phone until the screen light shut itself off.
I drove down to San Diego three days later, seeking my grandma's house. My brother and Brittany had gone down there to visit, since it's been a while. I was really happy to see them because I hadn't since I turned down the offer to work at Rolling Stone. I drove up, seeing their car and smiling to myself as I got out of my car, and walked up the steps to the yellow house and opened it, inviting myself in.
After shutting the door, I walked in further and saw Matt, Britt, Celina, Abby, and my grandma all sitting around talking. "Hey, guys." I smiled as I hugged each and every one of them.
"Hey, little Luce!" My brother shouted, hugging me tightly and rubbing my head so my hair would mess up. I grabbed myself a chair and sat with them, placing my bag on the back of the chair.
"What are we talking about?"
"Well, you showed up just in time because we have some news!" Matt shouted.
I had a feeling of what it was, but I had to hear the words come from his mouth first. "What?"
"Britt is pregnant. We're gonna have a baby, guys!" His arms flew up and I've never seen him so happy in his life. He was finally getting what he always wanted; a child.
My eyes instantly welled up. Even though I had a gut feeling he was going to announce this, this was still such a happy shock for me. "You mean that I'm gonna be an aunt?" I smiled as I tried to control my emotions.
Brittany nodded, glowing already it seemed. "Yes Lucy, you're finally gonna be an aunt!" My grandma got up and hugged them both, along with Celina.
"I'm so happy! Look at me, being a great-grandma again. I can't believe this." She started crying and I wanted to join her.
Matt wrapped his big, muscular arm around my neck and announced to us in the room, "You get to be an aunt Luce, and Mike gets to be an uncle. How great is this?" As soon as he said that, the happy tears that I held in my eyes had fallen at the mention of my boyfriend's name. The fact that Matt including Mike into the family like that, into his and his child's life, caused my heart to beat so quickly that it felt I was going to die of happiness in that second.
I hugged him tightly and stood up and hugged my sister-in-law, the sister I never had and felt how excited she was. They really did deserve this. They've been together for a million years and are a couple that I aspired to be like because they were so close and so happy. I stood back and watched them look at one another in the same way that I noticed when they got married. Those two are in love. And, I loved that so much about them.
We had decided to iChat Mike after about an hour of hugging and crying. He answered rather quickly and his face lit up when he saw me, and everyone in the house trying to fit themselves into the camera. "Hey guys! Oh my god, Matt you're in SD! How's everyone doing?"
I stayed quiet as Matt, Britt, Celina, and my grandma answered speaking over one another. I just looked at him as he took it all in. "Guess what, dude?" Matt said, getting Mike's attention instantly.
"What's up?"
"Well, let's just say that you're gonna be an uncle to baby Garcia." Matt answered rather slyly, and I'd never seen a smile quite like the one Mike had showed everyone in that moment, come from him.
"What? No fucking way?! I'm gonna be- oh my god, congrats guys! That's amazing!" He grinned widely and I don't know what came over me in the second but my eyes welled up with tears again, and I couldn't stop them. It could've been the happy energy in the room, or the fact that I missed Mike so fucking much; it could've been that our one year anniversary was coming up and we wouldn't be able to spend it together, or it could have been his reaction to not only my big brother calling him an uncle and considering him a part of the family, but the fact that he got so happy at the idea of a baby being in our lives, even though it wasn't ours.
I smiled softly as I looked at Mike as he and Matt continued talking before I got up and went to the restroom to calm myself down. I heard Mike ask them, "Is Lucy okay?" and Matt mumbled something and Celina did too. There was a knock on the restroom door and I opened it to Brittany, shooting me a sympathetic look. "Are you okay, Luce? What's wrong?" She walked in and shut the door behind her.
As soon as I locked eyes with her, I began to cry. She brought me into a tight hug and rubbed my back gently. After a couple of sobs escaped my mouth, I moved from her and wiped my eyes as I looked in the mirror. "I've never seen him so excited. Like, that makes me so happy, so incredibly happy so see him that excited. And, I also really fucking miss him and our anniversary is coming up in the two weeks and I won't be able to spend it with him. I miss him so much, Britt." I frowned and she hugged me again, letting me cry some more on her shoulder.
"Aw, babe. It's going to be fine. Are you working on your anniversary?" I nodded, once again fixing myself in the mirror before me. "I think that even though you two will be apart, you can still make it very special. When you're in love, no distance can make things unordinary. Are you also crying because you're thinking about your own future with Mike, baby-wise?"
"Yeah, kinda. I mean, like I've told everyone, him and I aren't ready for all of that right now. We're looking for a house for us two right now and everyone is just trying to put this marriage and baby pressure on us, but we're just doing our own thing; kind of like how you and my brother did. We're extremely comfortable where we're at, but seeing his face when you guys told him made me happy. It kind of like seals the deal that he really wants kids one day, but one day, you know what I mean?" I wiped my eyes, never having such a deep and personal conversation with Brittany before. Not about my life at least.
"I get it. You know, when I told Matt that I was pregnant, because I found out at my doctor's appointment after a urine sample I left, he was on the verge of an anxiety attack, Lucy. It was like, 'Wow, are you ready for this because it's happening, dude.' And, we honestly talked about everything, all of it, that night. He expressed his feelings and I told him mine, and we were both on the same page that we were scared as fuck. I mean, we're both in our thirties, like what the hell are we doing, but it was easier for us to get into it when we were ready for it. Like, really ready. And, I know that you and Mike do your own thing, that's what I love about your relationship with him because you're both on the same page. Being on the same page and not willing to listen to everyone's bullshit, made our love so strong and sealed it." She gave me a smile, and I knew that she was on my side.
I fixed myself up and went back to the living room, knowing that everyone except Britt would be looking at me strangely, but I just gave them a small smile that things were okay. Small breakdowns happen every now and then, no biggie; I'm human, just like everyone else. I sat back down in front of the computer and Mike smiled at me, "Are you okay, baby?"
I nodded giving him back a simper grin, "Yeah, I just really, really miss you."
His expression fell, glaring at me, shocked at my response. "So, that's it? You're gonna let your boyfriend come between us?" He tried to hurt me, but I had nothing left. I was done being under everyone's boot.
I smiled weakly, scoffing at him. There he goes, already trying to diss Mike. "He never came between us. You just put him there. You haven't been there for me in like almost a year, Austin. It's just not fair. You dated stupid bimbos and I never, ever let them affect our friendship no matter how much I didn't like them. I kept that to myself as respect for you. If you can't do one thing for me, one thing, and that's to accept the fact that I'm happy with someone, then leave. I'm done taking shit from everyone at this point." His glanced over to me and chewed on his lip then stared at a small framed photo of Mike and I from a couple of months ago.
I stayed looking at him for a reaction, a response; but I got nothing. I sighed, rolling my eyes. All of this wasn't my fault, it wasn't. He slowly stood up and walked to my front door, I followed him. Before he stepped out of the house, he said softly, "I'm sorry that I ruined this friendship." He walked to his car and got in, starting it up, and backing out of my driveway, leaving. I shut the door, locking it, and went back to what I was doing; house hunting and interviewees.
"I feel like I only have like three friends." I whined to Tal as he lounged on the couch as I spoke from the kitchen.
"Who? Me, Brandon, and Mike?" He laughed, looking over to me as I brought him a beer.
I glared at him jokingly, handing him his beer, "You're a dumbass. But, basically."
"Yeah, Austin called me after he left here. He seemed, I don't know, okay with it."
"Good. Now he can leave me alone and let me live my life."
Tal smirked over at me not saying anything else on the matter but giving me a small nod. It'd been a few hours since Austin left my house. I was exhausted with this weekend. It was on another level of drama that I had not seen in a while. "Why does drama come into my life once Mike leaves?"
Tal chuckled, "I was just going to say that! Did you tell him Austin came by?"
I shook my head, "Not yet. We video chat every night and that's usually when I tell him my woes of the day." I giggled softly. "Did I tell you that Mike and I are starting to look at houses? Like actual houses for us."
His eyes went wide as a grin grew on his lips. "No way? Lucy, that's great!"
"Yeah. We just need more space around here and it doesn't hurt to look."
"That's so serious. That's great, though! I'm happy that you've finally met your match."
"You think so?" I couldn't help but smile. Talking about a potential future with Mike got me excited. It's something I couldn't wait for.
He nodded, "I know so."
Emails were becoming growing more and more as the days went on. I was at work answering a slew of them when my phone rang. As soon as I saw Mike’s name and face, I lit up, quickly answering it. “Hello, my darling.” I said in a British accent causing him to laugh.
“Hey, baby. Sorry we didn’t get to video chat last night.” I could already imagine his facial expression; his brown eyes wide and his bottom lip sticking out.
“It’s okay. I fell asleep early, anyhow. Yesterday was another long day.”
“How so? Oh wait, before you answer, how come Vic told me that Austin tweeted, ‘I lost my best friend, today. But life goes on.’ yesterday?” It seemed like he had the tweet right in front of him, and it was a shock to me. I no longer follow Austin on Twitter anymore, so I don’t follow up on his life.
“He came by the house yesterday apologizing for everything. But honestly Mike, it felt so fake to me. It really did. For example, he was saying, ‘Oh, I just feel like he took my best friend from me’ and all this stupid shit. Like, get the fuck over yourself, dude. My world does not revolve around you and it never did. You know what I mean?”
“I get that but maybe he needed you.”
“Austin doesn’t need anybody; he wants someone for the moment. I’ve known him long enough to know that’s how he is. I’m tired of him walking all over me and thinking that he can be fucked up, then just say a small, sweet apology and everything will be peachy. I’m just trying to rid the drama from my life, can you tell?” I let out a small laugh and he joined along.
“Oh baby, all the drama starts when I leave.”
“I was saying the same thing. No one fucks with me when my dude is here.” I said in a dramatic, thug voice.
He laughed loudly, “Das right, girl. That’s right.”
“That just means that I need to keep you around.”
“Well shit, I would hope so. I don’t mean to quote my own band’s song lyrics, but you can’t just throw me away!”
I laughed louder than I thought I did because Katelynne popped her head in and gave me a strange look. I mouthed that I was speaking to Mike and she smiled, nodding then walked away. It was moments like this that made me sane. Mike Fuentes made me sane, can you believe that?
It still boggled my mind that one person could mean so much to me. Of course, I’ve had my share of faulty relationships, but this one was really different. It wasn’t about me; it never felt about me. It felt about us. And, I’ve never been in that position before. Mike and I were having a future together. The house, the kids, the dog; it all felt right with him.
If you look at my ex-boyfriend, Andy, he wanted all of those things. I did too, but never with him. It didn’t feel right with him. I never saw a future with him in the almost three years we were together. Yet, Mike and I have been together for almost a year, and I see all of this so clearly with him. It was thoughts like that one that made me get the same butterflies I felt when I first met him. Maybe the butterflies were trying to tell me something back then? It’s almost that they were whispering to me the moment we locked eyes, “This is the one.” Of course, I wouldn’t have believed them at 20 years old, but now at almost-28, I understood their message.
Two days later, I woke up feeling optimistic about a lot of things going on in my life. The next thing on my list of wants and needs was a brand new house. I had spoken to Mike that we should start going to see houses when he got back from tour, but he insisted that Brandon or his mom go with me to start the process of looking, so I can get ideas in my head. I threw on something comfy as I made myself coffee and decided on an outfit for house hunting today with Brandon.
I picked something quickly, and then went on with showering and getting myself ready. Brandon was here within the next couple of hours and we drove to meet mine and Mike’s real estate agent, Miguel. He was this super cool guy that I had met at the agency and I told Mike all about him. Miguel seemed really into finding a house that was fit for both Mike and I, and that’s all I wanted. We pulled up to the first house that Miguel told us to meet at. I got out, looking at the outside of it as Miguel stood in front of the garage wearing a grey suit, with a white collared shirt underneath it. He wore a red tie, showing that he meant business. “Hey Miss Garcia, this is your best friend, right?” He asked reassuringly.
I nodded with a smile, “Miguel this is my best friend, Brandon, Brandon this is Miguel.”
Brandon shook Miguel’s hand and greeted him with a small smile. “Okay, let me show you this house.” He said, leading us to the wooden door that lead into the house. As soon as you walked in you could feel how spacious it was. The ceilings weren't as high as I had wanted, but it was still so beautiful. Miguel lead us into the kitchen and dining room which was located on the left side from where the front door was. "As you can see, the countertops are a gorgeous cream colored granite."
Brandon raised his eyebrows at me as I admired the countertops. I had always, and I mean always wanted grantie tabletops because it looked so amazing. I smiled at Miguel and he proceeded to show us the kitchen which had stainless steel appliance furnishings such as the wide sink, the oven, fridge, and the stove was a flat top. My hand grazed over the countertops and I noticed it had a balcony; that was what I wanted more than anything to be honest.
"Ah, I see you noticed the balcony." Miguel gave me a smug smirk and we walked over to it. The view was pretty, but I saw more of the back of buildings than the city.
We continued viewing the house; Brandon shooting me looks of things he liked and didn't like as we walked it, and by the end of it, the house didn't feel like Mike and I. Plus, the closet wasn't even that much bigger than mine now and that was a core issue for us two.
"I have more houses that I want to show you, do you two have time for one more for today?" Miguel asked as we exited the house, not too far from mine right now.
We both nodded in response, "Yeah, definitely!"
"House hunting makes me tired." I groaned once Brandon and I reached my place later on that day.
"You're telling me. I liked those houses, especially the second one, but it didn't feel right."
I nodded, "Yeah, it was gorgeous don't get me wrong, but it felt more like Beverly Hills Housewife than Mike and I."
"When does he get home?" Brandon asked as he took off his shoes and plopped his feet on the recliner.
"In a month. I haven't seen him in two weeks, I am so sad." I frowned, petting Ludo as he made little groans in satisfaction.
"I don't know how you do it, Luce. That would annoy me. Do you ever wonder if he like...
He didn't want to say the word "cheat", but I knew what he meant the second he looked at me.
I shook my head, "No. It's weird, I just trust him no matter what. I've never had that issue with Mike actually. Which is weird seeing as how previous boyfriend's have cheated on me, but like, I don't know. We are literally always texting, or FaceTiming, or iChatting, or something. We're in constant communication. Plus, I have four members who exclusively tell me every detail of the day." I grinned slyly referring to Vic, Jaime, Tony, and Casey. Vic told me that if Mike even thought about fucking things up between us, than he would fuck him up. "And, every band that they've toured with in the past two years, I am super cool with."
"I don't think he'd ever cheat on you, to be honest. He's like, different around you. You know, I'd always heard things about him through the grapevine in SD when you were here, and I was concerned at first when you two started talking again. But then, when you ran into him the third time at Double's, I don't know, the way he looked at you and lit up when he talked about you and everything, I was like, 'He could never do that to Lucy. Ever.' I really believe that he met his match when it came to you."
I smiled softly as I was looking at my lock screen photo of Mike and I from the LA show. We were low-eyed and high and we did not care. Vic took the picture of me sitting on his lap, my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek and the biggest grin on his face. It made me happy that I could look at this one picture; this one moment, and feel a wave of happiness hit me, every time. Now, that's something.
"Well, I think I met mine." I responded to his little speech he made just seconds ago, my eyes not leaving the screen of my phone until the screen light shut itself off.
I drove down to San Diego three days later, seeking my grandma's house. My brother and Brittany had gone down there to visit, since it's been a while. I was really happy to see them because I hadn't since I turned down the offer to work at Rolling Stone. I drove up, seeing their car and smiling to myself as I got out of my car, and walked up the steps to the yellow house and opened it, inviting myself in.
After shutting the door, I walked in further and saw Matt, Britt, Celina, Abby, and my grandma all sitting around talking. "Hey, guys." I smiled as I hugged each and every one of them.
"Hey, little Luce!" My brother shouted, hugging me tightly and rubbing my head so my hair would mess up. I grabbed myself a chair and sat with them, placing my bag on the back of the chair.
"What are we talking about?"
"Well, you showed up just in time because we have some news!" Matt shouted.
I had a feeling of what it was, but I had to hear the words come from his mouth first. "What?"
"Britt is pregnant. We're gonna have a baby, guys!" His arms flew up and I've never seen him so happy in his life. He was finally getting what he always wanted; a child.
My eyes instantly welled up. Even though I had a gut feeling he was going to announce this, this was still such a happy shock for me. "You mean that I'm gonna be an aunt?" I smiled as I tried to control my emotions.
Brittany nodded, glowing already it seemed. "Yes Lucy, you're finally gonna be an aunt!" My grandma got up and hugged them both, along with Celina.
"I'm so happy! Look at me, being a great-grandma again. I can't believe this." She started crying and I wanted to join her.
Matt wrapped his big, muscular arm around my neck and announced to us in the room, "You get to be an aunt Luce, and Mike gets to be an uncle. How great is this?" As soon as he said that, the happy tears that I held in my eyes had fallen at the mention of my boyfriend's name. The fact that Matt including Mike into the family like that, into his and his child's life, caused my heart to beat so quickly that it felt I was going to die of happiness in that second.
I hugged him tightly and stood up and hugged my sister-in-law, the sister I never had and felt how excited she was. They really did deserve this. They've been together for a million years and are a couple that I aspired to be like because they were so close and so happy. I stood back and watched them look at one another in the same way that I noticed when they got married. Those two are in love. And, I loved that so much about them.
We had decided to iChat Mike after about an hour of hugging and crying. He answered rather quickly and his face lit up when he saw me, and everyone in the house trying to fit themselves into the camera. "Hey guys! Oh my god, Matt you're in SD! How's everyone doing?"
I stayed quiet as Matt, Britt, Celina, and my grandma answered speaking over one another. I just looked at him as he took it all in. "Guess what, dude?" Matt said, getting Mike's attention instantly.
"What's up?"
"Well, let's just say that you're gonna be an uncle to baby Garcia." Matt answered rather slyly, and I'd never seen a smile quite like the one Mike had showed everyone in that moment, come from him.
"What? No fucking way?! I'm gonna be- oh my god, congrats guys! That's amazing!" He grinned widely and I don't know what came over me in the second but my eyes welled up with tears again, and I couldn't stop them. It could've been the happy energy in the room, or the fact that I missed Mike so fucking much; it could've been that our one year anniversary was coming up and we wouldn't be able to spend it together, or it could have been his reaction to not only my big brother calling him an uncle and considering him a part of the family, but the fact that he got so happy at the idea of a baby being in our lives, even though it wasn't ours.
I smiled softly as I looked at Mike as he and Matt continued talking before I got up and went to the restroom to calm myself down. I heard Mike ask them, "Is Lucy okay?" and Matt mumbled something and Celina did too. There was a knock on the restroom door and I opened it to Brittany, shooting me a sympathetic look. "Are you okay, Luce? What's wrong?" She walked in and shut the door behind her.
As soon as I locked eyes with her, I began to cry. She brought me into a tight hug and rubbed my back gently. After a couple of sobs escaped my mouth, I moved from her and wiped my eyes as I looked in the mirror. "I've never seen him so excited. Like, that makes me so happy, so incredibly happy so see him that excited. And, I also really fucking miss him and our anniversary is coming up in the two weeks and I won't be able to spend it with him. I miss him so much, Britt." I frowned and she hugged me again, letting me cry some more on her shoulder.
"Aw, babe. It's going to be fine. Are you working on your anniversary?" I nodded, once again fixing myself in the mirror before me. "I think that even though you two will be apart, you can still make it very special. When you're in love, no distance can make things unordinary. Are you also crying because you're thinking about your own future with Mike, baby-wise?"
"Yeah, kinda. I mean, like I've told everyone, him and I aren't ready for all of that right now. We're looking for a house for us two right now and everyone is just trying to put this marriage and baby pressure on us, but we're just doing our own thing; kind of like how you and my brother did. We're extremely comfortable where we're at, but seeing his face when you guys told him made me happy. It kind of like seals the deal that he really wants kids one day, but one day, you know what I mean?" I wiped my eyes, never having such a deep and personal conversation with Brittany before. Not about my life at least.
"I get it. You know, when I told Matt that I was pregnant, because I found out at my doctor's appointment after a urine sample I left, he was on the verge of an anxiety attack, Lucy. It was like, 'Wow, are you ready for this because it's happening, dude.' And, we honestly talked about everything, all of it, that night. He expressed his feelings and I told him mine, and we were both on the same page that we were scared as fuck. I mean, we're both in our thirties, like what the hell are we doing, but it was easier for us to get into it when we were ready for it. Like, really ready. And, I know that you and Mike do your own thing, that's what I love about your relationship with him because you're both on the same page. Being on the same page and not willing to listen to everyone's bullshit, made our love so strong and sealed it." She gave me a smile, and I knew that she was on my side.
I fixed myself up and went back to the living room, knowing that everyone except Britt would be looking at me strangely, but I just gave them a small smile that things were okay. Small breakdowns happen every now and then, no biggie; I'm human, just like everyone else. I sat back down in front of the computer and Mike smiled at me, "Are you okay, baby?"
I nodded giving him back a simper grin, "Yeah, I just really, really miss you."
Notes
Well, well, well. Another chapter with more and more being involved. Let's start from the beginning, shall we? What are your thoughts on her and Austin? Do you think that the friendship is actually over?I feel like her and Mike are becoming more and more serious as the seconds pass, and we get a little insight to how Lucy's been feeling about her relationship in this chapter. Do you think that she's ready for a forever so-to-speak, with Mike? Vice versa? She is house hunting and that is a pretty big deal for her. And what about her little breakdown at the end, there?
And now, her big brother is having a baby and she is finally getting to be an aunt. What are your thoughts about Matt including Mike in on the celebration and the family by calling him an uncle?
I'd loooooooove to know your thoughts and questions as we get further into the story and eventually, wind down. So as always, feel free to let me know what you think. I love hearing guesses and seeing who is right and / or wrong ;) A lot of you responded so well with the last chapter when it came to the Shannon-Lucy argument. I will be mentioning a lot of that in the next chapter, so your questions and theories will be answered.
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for making this story, including the first one, Kissing In Cars, my biggest stories. I have a lot of fun writing them for you guys :)
I love you all forever,
Amber.
P.S. If you haven't already, check out my new Jaime story called Stay For A Lifetime and let me know what you think far. And of course, stay tuned on my Tony story.
THANKS AGAIN GUYS!
@kelseyyy_lee: You're welcome! Thank you for reading xx
12/5/14