Sebastian wasn't around for another month. He had gotten a week of out of school suspension, then a week of in school suspension. Personally, I feel like the punishment was too harsh, especially for everything Cody had already done. Or maybe I'm just being extremely biased.

These other two weeks, well, I have no idea where Sebastian has been. Each time I've gone to his house, nobody has answered the door. I'm worried that something more has happened with his father. There's no way I'd be able to live if Sebastian were seriously hurt right now.

"Still no word?" Micah says as she walks into my room. It was currently Saturday. Micah and I had decided to hang out.

This was actually going to be the first time we're hanging out after making up. It seems we could never find the right time. Predominantly, all these situations kept popping up causing us to be sidetracked by what's happening. At least we had set this day aside to actually go out together. Our plan was to drive to the mall which was located out of Elderwood and even out of Crystalwood, our sister town. It was about an hour drive away.

I shake my head and throw my phone onto my bed. "Nah. It's been silent for this whole month. I'm starting to get worried."

Micah gives me a sympathetic smile and comes over to where I;m stood in front of my closet. "Don't be so worried. Sebastian is a big boy and he can most definitely take care of himself."

I give Micah an appreciative smile. "Thank you. I appreciate you and I appreciate this little outing we're going to have. I really needed it."

Micah nods and motions towards my closet. "I know, now get dressed. It's actually nice outside."

Winter had come and passed now. The snow that covered Elderwood had melted about two weeks ago and now we've stepped into spring. April was actually right around the corner, along with the end of the school year. Though it was still a little chilly outside, the sun still shines brightly through the clouds and the sky is actually blue. Flowers had also started to bloom again, causing a smile to alight on my face each time I saw a gorgeous tree filled with pink, white, and green.

"I'm gonna go talk to your heavily pregnant aunt." Micah notified, pointing her thumb at the door. "I'll be down there when you're ready."

I roll my eyes as Micah heads out of my room, closing the door behind her. Despite us not hanging out too much, Micah still managed to come over a few times. Usually it was for an hour or two, but it was enough time for her to actually bond with Shelly. Said aunt is actually in her ninth month of pregnancy and if it's possible, her stomach has grown even bigger. She was meant to be on bed rest, but she constantly finds a reason to be out of bed. Her due date was actually last week, but it seems the baby isn't ready to leave his nest.

I quickly get dressed, throwing on some jeans and a long sleeved shirt. We probably wouldn't even buy anything at the mall today, most likely just going to window shop. I grab some sneakers, happy I don't have to wear boots anymore. Once I'm fully dressed, I head downstairs. Micah and Shelly were currently sat on the couch, Micah's hand on my aunts stomach.

"The little guy doesn't move anymore?" Micah asks, looking over at Shelly.

Shelly only shrugs. "He's probably sleeping. Babies develop a sleep pattern when you move along in your pregnancy. He'll be up and kicking soon."

"Huh," Micah mutters, taking her hand back. "Interesting."

I step off of the last step and head towards the couches in the living room. "Okay," I say, letting them know of my presence. "I'm ready to go. Maybe we should catch a movie while we're there?"

Micah looks over at me and stands to her feet. She flicks her hair off of her shoulder before reaching down to grab her bag. "Good idea. Actually, yeah. I hate just walking around the mall."

"Cool. Let's go. Bye Shelly."

The drive to the mall is a lot shorter than anticipated. It only takes us about forty-five minutes to get there, but it's long enough. When we arrive, it's also easy to find a parking space. We had gotten lucky because someone was pulling out of a close space when we arrived so we were able to swipe the space up.

One thing I'll say, though, is that the mall is bustling. That's typically normal for a Saturday, that I know. It was crowded, but Micah and I still weaved through the people. Our first stop was the ticket booth so that we could see what's playing.

"Definitely that one." Micah points, and I agree. It was a new horror film despite the awkward time for horror movies to come out. The advertisement looked good enough so hopefully it'll be good. "Let's get our tickets now so we can skip it when the time comes."

We did just that. Once our tickets were purchased. Micah and I begin walking around the mall. Occasionally my eyes would trail to other teenagers who are out and about. They all seem so carefree, like they're having the time of their lives. Though I'm content right now, I wish I could constantly be carefree like they seem.

"Hey, how's Miguel?" Micah asks when we settle down on some couches. It's been about twenty minutes of walking and we had decided to take a break from looking at the same stores over and over again.

I blow out a breath at her question. Miguel is currently a touchy subject. He had been avoiding me at every turn and I couldn't figure out why. After the fight with Sebastian and Cody, it was like something changed between Miguel and I, only nothing happened between us for a change to occur. My calls and texts had repeatedly gone unanswered and I was starting to think this is his way of telling me I can't sit with him. Or his way of telling me we aren't friends anymore if the Mean Girls reference wasn't enough.

"I don't know." I shrug, put on a nonchalant facade. "We haven't really talked for the past month."

Micah furrows her eyebrows, letting me know she's going to pry. "That's weird. The other day we actually had a conversation..."

"Then why did you ask how he was if you talked to him?" I raise an eyebrow, not understanding this logic.

"Well," Micah starts. "You know him better than I do. We have only one class together and he's been looking kind of...down in the dumps. I thought you would know what's going on."

I do, but I don't tell her that. Instead, I shrug my shoulders. "No, we haven't talked so I don't know. Hopefully everything is okay." I know they're not.

"That's a shame," Micah mutters and it makes me confused. Why does she care so much?

* * *

"Ugh, that movie was so stupid that it was actually somewhat good." Micah laughs, snorting in disbelief as we walk out of the theater.

I nod in agreement, throwing away my half empty bag of popcorn and empty cup. The film was just bad and I can understand why it was shown in March instead of around Halloween time, the normal time for horror movies to be released. This film was so bad and low budget that I'm having a hard time believing that it was actually able to get in theaters and I just saw it. It had been filled with fake blood and bad acting.

"Jesus, I can't believe they actually had the girl fall in the woods. I can't believe they had her run to the woods in the first place." I giggle, covering my mouth to hide the sound.

Micah doesn't care as she throws her head back and cackles. "Emie, I died when she started crawling when he was like fifty feet away. What is logic?"

We carry on laughing and walking, recounting the movie we had just seen. Despite the fact that both of us are ripping on it, I think that I'd see it again. It was that bad. Shaking my head, I pull out my phone to check the time, flipping it off of airplane mode. I had done so to not get disturbed, rather than turning the sound down, I can save battery and not get a notification. When I finally turn them back on, my phone begins exploding with missed texts and calls.

"Shoot," I mumbled as I start reading through the texts.

"What's up?" Micah asks. She glances over at me as she finishes off her coke. Once the sound of a drop of liquid trying to go through the straw starts, she dumps the cup into the trash.

"Something has happened," I answer as I dial my dad, the last person to call me. He answers almost immediately. "Dad?"

"Emie, where are you? Why do you never answer your damn phone?" He sighs into the receiver, revealing how tired he is.

"Micah and I saw a movie. What's wrong?"

"Shelly's in labor." My dad tells me. My eyes widen in disbelief, I had started to think the baby would never come.

Remembering to answer, I yell into the phone. "We'll be right there!" I accidentally hang up and choose not to call him back.

Micah looks over at me with raised eyebrows. I'm sure I'm a sight for sore eyes with a wide, creepy grin on my face. I grab her hand and begin running, dodging the many parents with strollers and teenagers on the way.

"What?" Micah asks loudly, the word shaking as out feet stomp against the ground,

"Shelly, labor." I clumsily throw together as an answer. "Can you drive me to the hospital?"

I glances behind me in time to see Micah with wide eyes. Her mouth is popped open in an 'o' shape. She nods hastily, then she's the one pulling me forward. When we get to her car, she quickly unlocks it and we're both climbing in. Micah starts the car before ripping out of the parking space and finding her way out of the mall parking lot.

"Which hospital?" She asks me, glancing over at me.

"The nearest one to Elderwood." I answer. Micah nods and soon we're rounding into the parking lot of the hospital. It had taken us a good thirty minutes, but that's only because of the traffic. With how fast Micah drove, it would've taken less time in the roads were cleared.

My seat belt is thrown away from my body without another thought. I shove the car door open and step out, not waiting for Micah as I run towards the hospital. I know I had kind of talked a lot of trash about Shelly before, but I feel like with the approach of her due date, she had changed almost. She didn't act as entitled as she did before and I think it's because she's been thinking about this new baby that's finally coming. Things had been different from Thanksgiving and Shelly was almost someone I could confide in.

I feel a presence next to me. Looking over, I see Micah huffing and puffing, reminding me that I did just run a good distance from the car to the hospital doors. At the realization, my adrenaline is gone and I'm leaning against the front desk. The lady looks at the two of us, her eyebrows raised and a confused smile on her face.

After giving Shelly's name, the lady tells us she's in the maternity ward, currently delivering. Micah and I share a look before we both begin running towards the elevators. The maternity ward is located on the second floor so we'd need to head there then go to the waiting room. We pile into the elevator with two doctors and a small handful of civilians. It's a bit awkward, but luckily we're the first ones off since the second floor is the next floor.

My mom is the first person I see. She's sat in the waiting area, a coffee in her hands and one leg crossed over the other. My dad is seen next, a magazine in his hands, one of those men ones. Micah and I make our way over to them, stopping in front of the couple. Mom looks up first, her face perking up.

"Oh good," She says, standing up to hug me.

"Shelly's in labor...wait, the lady said she was delivering?" I spew out rapidly, my words stumbling over each other.

Mom rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She sits back door, getting comfortable again. "No, she's not delivering yet. Her contractions aren't too far anymore, but she's not quite ready."

I give my parents a confused look. "Then why are you guys out here and not in there with Shelly?" I ask, my arms crossing almost as if I'm scolding them.

"Shelly kicked us out," My dad informs, shutting the magazine and setting it onto the tiny, white table that's next to his chair. "Said our faces were annoying her. Didn't wanna be in the room anyways, you know hospitals freak me out."

I let out a breath, happy we didn't miss the birth of the baby. If we had, I'd have been too upset. Turning sideways, I look to see how Micah is doing, she's already sitting in the chairs that are sitting right across from my parents. With a sigh, I go over and settle down next to her.

"You can go home, Micah," I say, figuring she wouldn't want to sit here and wait.

Micah shakes her head, giving me a look as if I've just uttered the dumbest thing ever. "Are you kidding me? I'm an only child, I've never seen any babies get born. I'm staying for this."

A small laugh leaves me and I nod my head, choosing not to argue. "Right, let's go see Shelly."

We stand and tell my parents that we're going to check on the lady in labor. Making it to her room, we're surprised by a loud grunt coming out of Shelly's mouth. If this were any other situation, I'd think she wasn't happy to see us, though now, I can't tell what she's feeling. Pain is a definite yes, but any other emotion or feeling, I'm not sure.

Shelly's hospital room is pretty basic. The walls are white along with the flooring. Her hospital bed has a plain white sheet and thin blanket, a white pillow to match. Everything is white, basically, save for the beige food tray that's connected to the bed. There's also a beige side table on the side that doesn't have her heart monitor. There are cute little pictures hanging up on the wall, things that represent childbirth. It's a cute edition to let people know this is the maternity ward.

"Oh, good." Shelly shifts, one hand placed on the bed and the other on the rail as she lifts her body slightly. "I'm in so much pain. Can someone come over and hold my hand?"

"No can do, baby mama." Micah gives her an apologetic smile. "But I've seen what a pregnant lady's grip can do when in labor."

Shelly rolls her eyes and turns her gaze to me. I shake my head, muttering something along the lines of 'no thank you.' She relents and we all fall silent, giving Shelly the time and space she needs.

* * *

Jackson Spencer was born at approximately five in the morning. Somehow, my parents and I had stayed in the hospital and settled our exhausted bodies in the uncomfortable hospital chairs. When Shelly had gone into labor, they had allowed my mother to be in the room, despite visiting hours being very much over. I actually think with my mom there, it helped Shelly relax while giving birth.

Jackson weight eight pounds and eleven ounces, he's a big boy. And he was currently laid in my arms, his tiny face calm as he slept. His eyes were closed along with his mouth and I was happy to see that he was able to breathe from his nose. Jackson's tiny hand held a strong grip on my finger. He was just s small, I can't help being scared that I'll break him.

And as I stared down at him, I couldn't help but feel a sense of protectiveness form. My small cousin is just so innocent right now and I don't want him to experience the pain this world can bring. As I look down at him, I know that he doesn't even know what's happening. All he knows is that he's here and that he has this life.

Life. The one thing people debate constantly about. Keep it and fight through the troubles, or take it away and be put out of what little misery someone has. As I stare down at this new life, I feel like I can get through anything. I feel like anyone can get through anything. Birth is a beautiful thing and while some people are dealt worse cards than others, it'll only make them stronger in the end.

Life is meant to be lived with no regrets and no doubts.

*Hiiiii. Another chapter done! I told you guys Shelly would mean something more...well she served as a stepping stone in Emie's moral ground, thought process, thing. At least Jackson did. How do you guys feel about life? Do you guys think it's meant to be lived to the fullest or with caution? Let me know with a comment and please don't forget to vote. Thanks so much for reading.*