Take Care of Her

Aunt Please

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jan asks quietly, " We have half an hour to get to her house, and I honestly would rather do anything but talk about it.

"Did you find out the gender?" I ask in return, looking anywhere but at her.

"No, we decided to wait until the birth." I smile softly at her.

"How is Audrey taking it?" I ask, thinking about my niece and her need to know everything.

"Pretty good actually, I told her we won't know the gender, so we won't know the name. I told her that instead of a name, we could call the baby Bean. Because she absolutely needed a name to call it." She laughs and rolls her eyes. Her daughter is only four years old and absolutely the best thing to happen to this family.

"I like Bean, even after the birth, it might just be their nickname for life," I nudge her a little, and she laughs at me.

We sit in silence for the rest of the ride, which I was grateful for. I just needed to think. To think and to plan.

I'm going to have to find an apartment or house for myself, and I'm going to need to start to call and canceling our wedding plans.

When we pulled into the driveway of her house, I couldn't help but feel excited to see Addie and stay with her for a couple of days. I went to the trunk and grabbed my bags, bringing them in with me.

"We're home!" Jan shouts into the house, and in the next minute, Audrey is running full speed at me.

"Auntie!" She screams, and I lean down and catch her in my arms.

"Hey, Lady! I missed you!" Addie giggles in my arms, hugging me tight. Tyler walks around the corner and stops. He takes in his pregnant wife, his sister-in-law, and the bags by the door. Then he looks between me and the bags one more time before stopping on me and narrowing his eyes.

He doesn't say anything, just marches right up to me and grabs my chin, turning my face so he can see it better. Completely ignoring Addie in my arms.

Now, Tyler is a scary man; he's tall and mean. His muscles themselves would probably kill a man just looking at them. But he fits with Jan so well; he melts with her. He loves her so much that he would absolutely lay down his life for her. I love it so much, and I'm also hella jealous.

"He did this?" He asks lowly, glancing over at Jan. Jan nods, biting her lower lip. She was nervous; she knew not to make Tyler angry. "Does Justin know?" Jan freezes, staring at me with wide eyes. I slap away his hand and step back.

"He doesn't, and he doesn't need to," Tyler glares at me, and I look to the ground, "at least not yet," I whisper out.

Quickly leaning forward, he kisses Addie on the head and then scoops his wife into his arms, kissing her like he hasn't seen her in five months.

"I'll be back," He says before he walks around us and out the front door. I sigh, but bring Addie into the kitchen.

"Alright, little lady, I'm starving, and your mom has to be starving. What are we cooking?" I set her down next to me, opening the fridge.

"Mac and cheese!" She screams, running for the pantry. Jan comes and sits at the island.

"Shouldn't we eat something more than just mac and cheese?" She hollers at Addie. Addie ignores her and brings me boxes of mac and cheese.

"Mac and cheese it is!" I yell, holding up the boxes in victory. Jan smiles at me softly, and Addie giggles like crazy. I start some water to boil and pull out the milk and butter. I know Jan's house almost as well as I know my own.

"Justin might go to jail when he finds out," Jan whispers, putting her head in her hand, her elbow on the counter.

"I think it'll be fine," She gives me a look, and I laugh, "Really, it was only the once, and he's lucky I didn't beat him right back."

Jan and I were always together. When we were younger, she was shy and scared of everything. I took it upon myself to take care of her. I stood up for her and beat anybody who dared to look at her funny. I was the mean "always getting in trouble" twin, and she was the sweet, shy one. I didn't mind, I've always had this need to protect her.

"I'm surprised you didn't," She mentions casually. I wince and turn to pour the noodles into the now boiling water.

"I couldn't afford to." Is all I say, stirring the noodles. Jan, thankfully, dropped the topic and allowed me to finish making mac and cheese. Three bowls later, we were all eating, well, I think Addie was mostly playing with it.

"Audrey, stop playing with your food and just eat. It's getting late." Jan scolds, giving her daughter a disapproving look. We finish eating quickly, and little Addie is running around the table. "Addie, stop, you have to go to bed."

"Don't have to!" She yells, continuing to run. I stand and face her down. Squinting my eyes, I look at her for a minute.

"Do have to!" I yell and run right at her. She squeals and runs in the opposite direction. I catch her with ease and stomp off to her room. Addie laughed the entire time.

I help her pick out our PJs and put them on, then she runs around the room showing me all the new stuff she got. I smile at her softly.

"Alright, lady, want me to read you a story? Oh man, your bed looks super comfy. I'm gonna sleep in it tonight, you can have the couch." I say, grab a book and plop on her bed, spreading out.

"No! You giant, that's my bed!" She runs at me and starts pushing on my arm, trying to make me move.

"But it's so comfy," I protest. She continues to push on me until I sit up and grab her. I bring her into the bed with me and lie so we can both see the book, "I guess I can at least share until I'm done with the story." I sigh, pretending to be upset about it. She just gives me a big smile and gets comfy in my arms.

_______

I listen for Jenn and Audrey, but don't hear anything for a while. I sigh softly, putting the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher. Jenn can get Audrey to sleep in no time, but it takes us hours to get her to finally sleep.

I look at the clock on the stove and wring my hands in worry. It's been a couple of hours, and I haven't heard anything from Tyler. I know Tyler sees Jenn as his own sister, and he cares a lot for her. I just hope he didn't do anything too rash.

I hear the door click and jump, waddling over to it as quickly as possible. I sigh with relief when I see Tyler. He walks right up to me and hugs me. I embrace him, smelling his familiar scent and feeling at ease. I pull back to look at him, and I frown when I notice he has a split lip. I reach up to touch it softly, and he smiles at me.

"Trust me, you should see the other guy." He whispers lowly, and I shake my head at him. "How's she doing?" I sigh heavily, turning and walking back to the kitchen.

"The same as always, pretending that nothing happened and she's fine. I wish she'd open up and just feel." Tyler comes up behind me and wraps me in his arms, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Giving how you guys grew up, it's understandable. Just be patient and gentle. We know she's hurting, even if she's not willing to show it." I nod softly. Tyler is right. He's always right. I turn in his arms and give him a quick kiss.

"Let's check on Addie and go to bed. It's late, and I'm tired." He smiles softly at me, his green eyes sparkling.

"Yes, you need your rest," He agrees, taking my hand and leading me down to Addie's room. We push open the door, and I smile at the scene in front of me. Jenn and Addie are asleep in each other's arms with a book in her lap.

I close the door and allow Tyler to lead me to our room, ready for sleep to take over.