Sandra

Since Andrew has started working for his father a couple months ago, I had nothing but time when he wasn't home. While it was fun to have the whole place to myself four out of seven days of the week, it started to get old.

When I brought this to Andy's attention, he thought giving me a credit card would solve my problem. Ever since he started working, more money had been streaming in for the both of us. I had no idea what he did while he was at work, because he claimed he didn't want to talk about it.

Everyday he'd leave around seven in the morning and wouldn't return home until five in the afternoon. At first I thought it would be great that he'd be out all day, but it got boring fast. Not to mention whenever he arrived home, a sour mood always followed him. From the beginning, Andrew seemed to me like a grumpy person, but for some reason being around his dad a lot was causing him to have quite the attitude.

"I'm fine, Mama." I switch the home phone to my other ear. The laundry basket rest against my hip as I make my way to the laundry room.

"Are you sure, darlin'?" My mother asks, her southern drawl seems fainter over the phone. "You've been all sorts of peculiar lately."

"I'm sure," I assure her. "When you coming back up to New York? I haven't seen you since the wedding."

"You know your daddy and I want nothing more than to come over and visit you, but there's so much going on over here." There is another one of her famous excuses. I love my mom more than anyone, but her fear of the big city drives me crazy. She changes the subject. "Have you seen your Auntie Tania since you moved out?"

While I throw some dirty t-shirts in the washer, I reply, "Not much. I try to visit her and Uncle Todd every once in a while. Auntie Tania and I became close after you sent me up here."

That's what happens when you spend two years living with someone else's parents - they become yours almost more than your own. At first it was supposed to be just for a few months, but my grades were so much better over here that it became a permanent arrangement.

"My sister is indeed the older version of you, so that doesn't surprise me one bit!"

"I miss you, Mama." I close the lid of the washing machine and lean my weight against it. A tear escapes me and my left hand rubs my tummy. I sigh. My emotions have been up and down lately, and the hormones of pregnancy have decided to attack again.

"Awe, I miss you too, Sugar Plum!" A door slams in the background and then I hear Mama giggle. "Listen sweetheart, I gotta run. You say hello to that husband of yours for me. Toodles!"

Right once I hang up the phone, I hear the front door open - signaling my husband's return from another day of work. I make my way to the main room, Andrew's already pouring himself a scotch. The drink always seemed like something people in their later years would enjoy, but sometimes he acted older than he really is.

He downs the liquor in one go. As he lowers his glass, a dangerous spark ignites in his dark eyes. Next thing I know, the glass flies from his hand and falls to pieces against the wall only feet away from me.

My whole body tenses up, and I'm unable to move. A sharp breath is caught in the back of my throat. It takes him a few seconds to realize I'm standing there, but when he does, his eyes widen. The hard expression he is wearing softens a little, but the irritation doesn't go away.

"Sorry." Andrew clears his throat, and runs his hand through his hair. The ends stick up in all directions, creating the illusion of a bedhead. "I didn't see you."

I let out the air I was holding in. "What the hell is going on?"

Andrew drops down onto the couch and leans his head against the backrest cushion. I carefully maneuver my way around the broken shards that are sprawled all over the floor and hesitate before taking a seat next to him. He sends me a glance out of the corner of his eye, but doesn't move.

"My father is the biggest dick on the planet," Andrew grumbles. Since he rarely expresses his emotions, I'm not sure what to do, so I just sit there. "He thinks I'm incapable of doing anything." Suddenly, he's sitting up straight, looking me dead in the eyes. "It's not only Matthias who can do things, I can do things, too!"

Reaching out in front of me, I grab his hands in mine. Ever since that day in the hospital, holding his hands seems to be one of the only things that calms him down. I still had no idea where his mind went to while we were there, but there was a vulnerability to him that I'd never seen before. A huge part of me never wants to see that vulnerable side again.

He looks down at our hands and it almost looks like he's smiling, but he hides it well.

"I used to think that if I was well-behaved, and followed my father's rules, that I would be accepted by him." Andrew's thumb moves gently across the back of my hand. The touch sends a strange feeling through me, which I try to ignore. "But it seems like whatever I do - no matter how hard I try - I'm never good enough."

The eyes that were so focused on our hands a second ago, are now gazing deeply into mine. His usual chocolate brown eyes are darker than usual, meaning the anger of what happened in the office today is still there.

"There must be something you can do to make him think differently," I say, trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah," he huffs. "If I were to miraculously turn into Matthias overnight, sure."

"You know what you need?" I let go of his hands, and his eyes immediately darken when I stand up.

"A plastic surgeon?" He replies, sarcastically.

I can't help but laugh out loud. He scowls at me, but I ignore the intense look. "You need a good ole' helping of my Mama's famous waffles!"

"Waffles? What am I, five?" He calls behind me as he starts to follow me towards the kitchen. The both of us try to avoid the glass covering the floor on the way.

When I turn, Andrew is right in front of me. For a second, I'm startled, but I regain my bearings quickly. "Since when did waffles have an age limit?"

He cocks his head to the side and examines me before scowling again. "How are waffles going to make me feel better?"

"You seriously have grown up too fast, haven't you?"

He doesn't reply so I just grab a small dusting pan along with a small sweep and gesture for him to take the items from me. For a second, he does nothing but raise an eyebrow at me, but soon he sighs and grabs the cleaning supplies from my hands.

While I gather the ingredients I need to make dinner, Andrew cleans up the shattered glass on the living room. Half an hour later, the both of us are drowning my creations in a pool of syrup.

"This is so unhealthy," Andrew grumbles under his breath, but I can tell he likes them. "Mother never let Matthias or me indulge in such fatty foods."

"You think really highly of your mother, don't you?" I ask before filling my mouth with a chunk of waffle.

Andrew nods, poking a pattern into the food in front of him with his fork. "You could say I'm a little bit of a Momma's Boy." He smiles down at his plate as he says this before peeking up at me through his lashes. "How about you?"

I don't know what he's asking for a second, but catch on quickly. "Oh, Daddy's Girl. Definitely."

"Figured as much." He grins and lifts a fork full of waffle to his parted lips.

Even after months of knowing Andrew, I still haven't figured him out yet. His illusive personality kept me just out of reach of understanding the kind of person he is. Every time I think I'm close, he surprises me with yet another side. This fact alone made me that much more wary of him.

If I'm not careful, he could be throwing that glass at me next time instead of the wall.

"It's a boy!" I show off the most recent ultrasound picture to my friends.

Cassidy squeals and grabs the copy from my hands while Beth and Kate look over her shoulders to get a better look.

"Oh my goodness gracious!" Cassidy yells from excitement. "Ain't he just darlin'?!"

Like me, Cassidy moved to New York from the South. Finding out there was someone in my new high school that shared the same values was more than refreshing, and we bonded right off the bat. Unlike me, she has the same drawl as my Mama. At first it annoyed me, but now it's a welcome reminder of home.

Beth pulls me into a hug, while avoiding collision with my belly. "Congratulations! Have you and Andy talked about baby names yet?"

"Not yet, but we still have a few months to decide."

"That's plenty of time," Kate supplies. "You don't want to rush things this important."

"Yeah," Beth agrees. "This kid will only be stuck with this name his whole entire life."

"No pressure, or anything," I mumble sarcastically.

The picture returns to its rightful place in my hands and I stare thoughtfully at the little boy who was currently calling my stomach 'home'. I trace the outline of my baby's body and my lips stretch a little at the edges. At first when I found out about this baby, I was ashamed of it. I thought that he'd be a constant reminder of a mistake, but I was starting to see this child in a better light.

No doubt in my mind clouded the idea that this baby would be my entire world.

"Can't wait to hold the handsome lil' fella in my arms!" Cassidy says, hugging herself with excitement in her eyes. "He'll be quite the looker with you as his mama."

"If he's as adorable as Cassidy predicts, could I use him as a little model?" Kate asks, hopeful for another subject. For the past couple years she's already been going to an art college, and majoring in photography. She is the oldest out of the four of us.

I nod in approval, and she claps her hands in excitement.

Just recently, we celebrated her twenty-first birthday. I was able to stay for the dinner part of our outing, but a little after we made it to the bar I got a call from Andrew. After demanding he know where I was so late at night, he didn't waste any time in coming to pick me up.

The whole ride home he was yelling at me about how irresponsible and stupid it was for me to go to a bar while pregnant. Even after calmly explaining to him that I wasn't partaking in any of the alcoholic beverages that were going around at our table, he wouldn't believe me.

So far, that was the angriest I had ever seen him, and it scared me. I wanted so much to blame it on a bad work day, but he didn't even have work that day.

'Bipolar' is a good word to describe Andrew Griffin. His attitude just a few days ago - when he threw the glass against the wall - was just one of the many examples of a night his emotions were a constant rollercoaster I struggled to keep up with. The many twists, turns, and loopedy-loops, made it that much more difficult.

My thoughts are shaken when I hear the front door open. Two pairs of feet are heard through the hall, and the duo is revealed when they walk into the main room.

Andrew shrugs off his leather jacket as Bobby - his best friend - trails in behind him. They both notice the company I have and exchange hellos before they head to the mini bar to pour themselves both a drink.

While they do so, Kate is ogling Bobby. She is maybe a year or two younger than he is. At one point I thought that Andrew said that Bobby was closer to Matthias' age than his own.  He does always get along better with people a bit older than him. This is just an assumption, of course, but it would explain the superior attitude he'd always had towards me.

Kate blushes when Bobby sits next to her on the couch, and discretely puts his hand around her shoulder. We all notice, but it's become an unspoken rule to let them think they were fooling us.

The feeling of a coarse beard brushes against my cheek as Andrew kisses it. Ever since a few days ago he started growing one, and I'm still uncertain of what I think about it.

He proceeds to sit next to me after taking a sip of his Scotch. No doubt Bobby buys all the alcohol for him since Andrew still can't buy it himself. It would be a little over a year before he could.

A thought occurs to me that it isn't that long until my husband's twentieth birthday. I wouldn't have known that it was coming up if Bobby hadn't talked to me about a surprise party he was thinking of throwing him.

What would I get him? Does he even expect me to get him something?

My thinking process gets disrupted, yet again, when I realize that everyone besides Andrew and I are leaving for the door. I get up from my spot on the couch and hug my three best friends tightly, telling them we have to see each other again soon. Andy says his goodbyes to my friends and Bobby as they all leave through the front door.

"Lemme' see it," Andrew orders as he turns towards me. He stretches out his hand, and doesn't have to make it any clearer as to what he's waiting for.

I place the picture of our baby in the palm of his hand and he eyes it carefully. "Hospital says it's a boy. We're having a boy!"

For a second, when he doesn't wear my excitement, I tense up.

After a few more seconds of silence pass my worries are tossed away as a heartwarming smile stretches across his lips. "We're . . . we're having a boy?"

I nod enthusiastically, and I can't shake the feeling that things will finally be okay from here on out.

***

Not the most exciting chapter, but hopefully it was okay! Please leave a comment to tell me what you think (both it's positive, and constructive criticism), and maybe even a vote if the chapter is deserving!