Hey.
Sorry, for being really late. I've just written a bit and forgotten to post it =( Well, here it is. I hope you like it, please review! =)
Love, Liz xx
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
GOOD NEWS
“Finally!” Katie grabbed Amanda’s arm as soon as she had walked over the threshold, and started pulling her in to the living room. Amanda turned to David as she followed Katie and he mirrored Amanda’s feelings; Confusion, and a slight wonder if Katie had gone crazy.
“Won’t you let me get in first?” Amanda asked with a little smile on her lips.
Katie faced Amanda and David. “Alright,” she sighed, “but hurry up would you?” she added impatiently, as she grinned back.
“What is the rush anyways, Katie?” David asked her as he pulled off his blue rain coat.
Katie smiled so widely that Amanda wondered for a second if she had started taking “happy-pills”.
Amanda hung her coat over David’s at the end of the stair-railing, as Katie grabbed both Amanda’s and David’s hands and dragged them in to the living room.
The Twins sat in the big sofa and looked every bit as puzzled as Amanda and David. Clearly they had just been told to sit down and wait for Amanda and David. Lucas on the other hand looked just as smiley as his girlfriend did, and stood up when they entered. As Amanda and David sat down he walked over to Katie, gave her a little kiss and took her hand as they faced the other four.
“So are you ever gonna tell us, or…?” Matt broke the exciting silence.
Katie and Lucas looked at each other and both of them smiled broadly. Amanda looked at Katie’s left hand – no ring.
So she wasn’t engaged…
“Well, um…” Katie began and her eyes went from Lucas to Amanda, as she stroked her belly gently.
Amanda instantly knew what the big news was and slapped a hand over her mouth as she realized it. Katie beamed at her as she saw her best friend figuring it out.
“No, you’re not??!” Amanda asked as a broad smile turned up on her face.
Katie nodded silently. Amanda got up and almost jumped on Katie as she gave Katie and Lucas a big hug each. “Congratulations!!” she said as she turned back to Katie and put her hand on her stomach, and sure enough, there was a little bump that she hadn’t noticed before.
“Thanks,” she answered silently.
The boys sat just as puzzled watching them in the sofa. “So, what is it you are all smiley-miley, screamy-weamy for?” Matt asked.
Amanda let go of Katie’s stomach and gestured towards it instead.
“Yeah,” Matt said, “so, she’s got a new cool type of tummy-bug?” he asked hesitantly.
Amanda and Katie rolled their eyes at them. You could put Matt in the middle of the ocean and he still wouldn’t see it! Marcus on the other hand looked a little more enlightened.
“How did I get such a doofus as a brother?” he asked as he smacked his brother’s head and headed to hug Katie. Everyone smiled at the question apart from Matt, who looked just as blank as he had done a minute before. Amanda noticed that David looked like he had a suspicion. He caught Amanda’s eye and she nodded while she smiled at him, hiding the fact that her stomach had made a double summersault as he had caught her eyes.
He got up as well. “You’re pregnant?”
Katie nodded proudly.
“Yes, she is!” Lucas looked like he was about to explode with joy.
“Oh,” Matt said as it hit him and everybody turned to face him. “But she can’t be pregnant…”
“Why’s that?” Katie asked.
“Well, you’re not fat!”
Marcus rolled her eyes at him. “Matt, you do know that it’s the baby growing inside…”
Matt stuck his tongue out at him. “You know what I mean!”
Katie beamed at him. “I know, Matt. There’s not much of a bump yet, you’re right about that, but thank you for saying I’m not fat.”
Matt looked triumphantly at his brother as he too got up and hugged the parents to be.
-
“I still can’t believe you have a baby in there.” Amanda almost squeaked as she held her hand on Katie’s stomach for the zillionth time.
The boys had decided to take Lucas out for a drink or two to celebrate the baby-news and had left Amanda and Katie in the kitchen sipping on a cup of hot chocolate each. They both knew it would be a long time until they saw the boys again and when they did show up they would be stumbling, drunk and failing to not wake the girls up at 3 am in the morning.
“I know.” Katie smiled proudly as she put her feet up on an empty chair. “I’m actually gonna be a mum.”
Amanda grabbed her cup and smiled at Katie. “I need to find a man as well and get going myself now; I always thought I’d get a baby first.”
“Ah, honey, you still have a while though. I am a couple of years older than you, you know, so technically you can still have a baby before me.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” Amanda laughed, and then she sighed and smiled up at Katie again. “So, aren’t you gonna ask me something?”
Katie looked puzzled. “Am I?”
“’Cause he’s more than welcome to!!” Amanda said excitedly.
“Who is, honey?” She took a sip from her cup. “What are you talking about?”
“Lucas of course!” Amanda answered. “With the baby and all there’s no reason for you not to move in together. And then we’ll be five in here,” she said excitedly, “with a baby on the way.”
Katie’s face fell a little.
“What?” Amanda asked before she understood what Katie got so sad about. “You’re not moving in here are you?”
Katie opened her mouth and then closed it. Amanda tried to hold down the lump that was rising in her throat.
Katie opened her mouth again. “No, Mandy, we’re not…”
Amanda looked down. She felt her eyes stinging with the tears that pressed. Katie was moving out, then the Twins were sure to follow and she’d be left alone.
“Honey,” Katie took Amanda’s hand and stroked it, “you didn’t think I’d live here forever?”
Amanda looked up and a few tears ran down her cheeks. She shrugged. “I dunno…” she said hopelessly. “ I guess I just assumed that it would be easier for Luc to move in here than for you guys to get a house of your own…”
“Awh, you poor thing! You know, maybe we would, if we weren’t expecting a baby. But we want to settle down. I’m not moving out because I don’t want to live with you anymore!”
Amanda nodded. “Good, because I’m really gonna miss you!”
Katie dried away Amanda’s tears and hugged her. “I’m gonna miss you too!”
As they broke apart Amanda could see that Katie was crying too. Katie laughed as she dried her own tears. “Ah, this is stupid. It’s not like I’m moving tomorrow.”
Amanda laughed as well. “Well, at least you can blame it on the hormones!”
“Oh, yeah, I can! Brilliant.” Katie giggled.
Amanda’s giggle faded away and Katie saw her face look all sad again. “Honey, what is it?”
“I dunno…” Amanda sobbed. “Everyone’s leaving me…”
“What do you mean everyone’s leaving you? Are the Twins moving out?”
Amanda sighed. “Not that I know of, but I don’t doubt that they will. First David then you…”
“Awh,” Katie stroked Amanda’s arm, “this isn’t really about me, is it? It’s about David right?”
Amanda looked up at her best friend, realizing that what she just said was true. Of course she was sad about Katie leaving, but she never expected her to live here forever. She knew how serious Katie and Lucas was, and was surprised it had taken them this long to decide to move in together.
Amanda threw her arms up into nothing. “You may be right. I’m gonna miss you loads, but…” Amanda burst into tears and hid her face in her hands.
Katie quickly hugged her tight and rocketed her back and forth. “Honey, I know. But he moved out years ago, why is this coming now?”
Amanda sobbed an answer that wasn’t audible. Katie held her at arms length. “Honey, I can’t make out what you are saying when you are sobbing into my shoulder.”
Amanda dried her tears and cleared her throat. “I said, I don’t know. I’m just so confused and messed up inside!”
She burst out in tears again, and Katie held her tight in her arms.
“It’s gonna be alright, baby girl. Come on lets snuggle up in the sofa, ‘ey? And you tell me what’s up with you.”
Amanda shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t be ruining your happy day. I’m so sorry for that!”
“Honey,” Katie said, stroking her hair, “I’m your best friend and I care about you oh-so-much, and when you are sad it makes me sad. So, do as I say, OK?”
Amanda moved out of Katie’s arms and nodded with a little smile on her lips. “OK, boss…”
Amanda sat with her feet under her chin, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. In the sofa beside her Katie mirrored her, with one hand over her stomach.
“Go on. What’s up with you and David? You guys are so close…”
Amanda’s chest rose and she breathed heavily before she answered. “I think that just might be it. We’re too close, or not close enough.” Amanda tried to shake off a few tears that were threatening to erupt. They won and rolled down her cheeks. “I just don’t get him! One minute he’s all ‘We’ll be together forever’ and ‘I’ll never leave you’ the next he’s moving out and now he’s engaged but…”
“…sleeping with you?” Katie finished.
“Yeah…?” Amanda looked at her questionably.
“He told the Twins who told me, when he stormed out the house looking for you.” She answered. “I’m sorry honey. He was way outta line…”
Amanda cut her off. “Well, I let him! Stupid little me let him. I knew he wouldn’t leave Evelyn. Still some part of me, probably the alcohol part thought I had ‘won’ for some reason. I’m so stupid!”
“No you are not!” Katie said defending her. “You…” she began. “You love him don’t you?”
Amanda shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Awh, come on! I can see it for miles.”
“Katie, of course I do! I always have, I just don’t see why he needed to get engaged before I understood it! I just…” she hesitated. “I just never thought he’d move out and leave me here. I thought he loved me like he always says he does.”
“Honey, I know he loves you! You know that too, maybe not in the way you want him to, but he still loves you!”
Amanda looked at her in disbelief and grunted.
“Honey, how is he supposed to know that when you haven’t told him?”
Amanda looked down at her hands that were twined together. “I just thought he knew. We’ve been best friends since forever! And somehow I guess I thought we were in this lame chick flick where we’d magically end up together somehow!”
Amanda was mad at herself for making herself believe that David loved her too. In that way at least. She shook her head.
“Should I tell him?” she asked Katie quietly.
“No, honey. I really don’t think you shall…”
Amanda sat up straight, putting her feet on the floor and slapping her thighs. “But he should know. Then maybe…”
Katie cut her off. “Maybe what? He’ll leave Evelyn and move back in with you?” She snapped. “Honey,” she added in a calmer voice as she saw tears building up in Amanda’s eyes, “I don’t think it’ll make a difference. I’m sorry, but haven’t you seen how happy he is with her?”
“Yes.” Amanda admitted. “But still… He’s gotta have some feelings for me, he cares!”
“Of course he does, like you said, you’ve been best friends forever! But if he had seen you as anything else don’t you think he would’ve made a move already?”
Amanda thought about this for a brief second. “He may not have realized it.”
“Yeah,” Katie agreed. “But I wouldn’t bet on it...”
Amanda sat back, calmer now. “Yeah, I guess you are right. But I still think he should know. He deserves to know…”
“OK, look; I’ll give you this: He might be head over heels in love with you too and he’ll dump Evelyn and move in with us again. But there’s such a bigger chance of him getting weird and don’t want to see you or Evelyn finding out and don’t want him to see you! You see that right? I would never have let Lucas meet with someone who said she was in love with him, not even if it was his best friend!”
Amanda smirked at her, a smile finally appearing on her face.
“That would be weird considering his best friend is the Twins’ older brother… But, hey…” she put her hands up defensively, “…you’ll never know who’ll surprise ya.”
Katie rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Amanda. “You know what I mean! You wouldn’t allow it either.”
Amanda sighed again, calming herself. “I guess.” She put her hands over her face as she tilted it backwards. “I’m so stupid! Why can’t I just get over him?!”
Katie got up and moved next to her putting one hand around her. “Amanda, you are not stupid! Don’t ever say that. And besides you’ve never let yourself get over him. How long have you had these feelings? Since you were three? Just give yourself time and try to see your relationship from another perspective, maybe you just think you love him-love him.”
Amanda looked up at her best girl friend. “Yeah,” she answered, “maybe…”
“Look, you just try to keep away from any wedding stuff regarding David and Evelyn. And instead you can focus on being the best god mum there ever was!”
Amanda’s face lit up. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Katie beamed at her. “Yes, would you like to be my baby’s god mum?”
Amanda dried her tears before giving Katie a bear hug, which she returned. “Of course, I will!! Thank you!”
