Life As We Know It

Chapter 14

~~ Sabrina POV ~~

I wake up and rush down the hall just in time to puke my guts out in the toilet. I hear Kyler run up behind me and grab my hair into a ponytail in his hand. Once I finish puking, he helps me off the floor and hands me a toothbrush with some toothpaste on. I take it, grateful that he is always thinking about me. I brush my teeth and finish my morning routine when I feel this intense need to eat some strawberry cheesecake stuffed French toast. Kyler and I head downstairs and start making the stuffed French toast and some bacon, sausage, and eggs. By the time we finish cooking, Kyler’s brothers and their girlfriends have wandered their way down to the kitchen. We all eat breakfast and enjoy each other’s company before I check the time. I rush to get ready and hear Kyler rushing around behind me, getting dressed as well. Thirty minutes later, we pull into the parking lot of my OB/GYN’s office before heading in for my appointment. Once I have signed in, I see Trey and Troy rushing in breathless with a woman in tow.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. I had some things to do and lost track of time.” Trey says as he takes a seat with the woman sandwiched between him and Troy.

“You’re fine. We just got here, and the appointment isn’t for another 10 minutes.” I say, grabbing Kyler’s hand and squeezing it.

“Omg, where are my manners. Hi, I’m Kat; these two douches are my bosses, and I told them I’d come with them to this appointment. You were probably wondering who this strange woman was that your baby daddy had brought with him.” Kat says, stretching her hand in my direction.

“Hi, I’m Sabrina, and this is my boyfriend, Kyler,” I respond, leaning forward slightly so that I could shake her hand.

“How far along are you, Sabrina?” Kat asks, indicating my slightly bloated stomach.

“According to my pregnancy tracker app, I’m approaching the 20-week milestone, and my baby is the size of a bell pepper,” I say excitedly.

“Wow, that’s great. Congratulations.” Kat says before she gets a phone call and steps away.

After about 5 minutes, the nurse calls me back to the exam room so she can check my vitals before having me undress and lay on the table. Kyler sits down on the side of the bed, rubbing my hand before the doctor comes in. Once Dr. Olverson does my vitals and everything, she takes out the ultrasound wand, squirts some lube gel on my stomach, and starts moving the wand around, trying to find my baby. After a few moments of searching, she points at the screen showing us our baby. I look over at Trey and see he has tears in his eyes. I reach over and grab his hand, giving him a small squeeze as a thank you.

“Looks like everything is advancing pretty well. I am a little concerned about your weight, but I feel that some small changes to your diet can be fixed. I’ll have Cassidy bring you some printouts and a cd of this ultrasound. I’ll email you the changes I want you to make to your diet before the end of the week, and I’ll see you back in 4 weeks, ok?” Dr. Olverson says

“Ok, thank you, Dr. Olverson,” I say as I wipe the gel off my stomach.

“So, we need to make a few decisions about things regarding the baby,” I say as Trey, and I walk out of the building with everyone following behind us.

“Uh, yea. Can you come over later, around 6? You can stay for dinner.” He asks me as we stand in front of our cars.

“Are you sure that Kyler and I should be around Tiffany?” I ask.

“Tiff will be fine. Just be at this address at 6, ok?” He says, texting me an address.

“Ok, we’ll be there at about 6:30. See you then, Trey.” I say as I get into the passenger seat of Kyler’s car.

“Bye, Sabrina. See y’all later.” He says, closing my door.

~~ Kat POV ~~

I sit in the passenger while Troy and I wait for Trey and Sabrina to finish talking. Trey opens my door and lifts me out of the car, causing me to shriek in surprise as he sits back down, this time with me in his lap. I try to struggle out of his vice grip when he smacks my hip, causing me to gasp.

“Settle down, Kat. This is illegal.” Trey says as Troy pulls into the intersection.

“So, what were you and Sabrina talking about?” I ask once I get comfortable.

“She wanted to set a time to talk about the baby. So, I invited her and Kyler over tonight for dinner.” He says, looking down at my phone.

“Are you sure they should be around Tiffany right now with everything that’s going on?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Tiffany will have to deal with them eventually, considering Sabrina’s having my baby. She’ll just have to deal with it.” He says, looking out the window.

“What did you mean by everything that’s going on, Kat?” Troy asks, looking over at me when we stop at a red light.

“Just she has a lot going on, and I don’t think y’all should add to it with the stress of having to interact with her ex-best friend who cheated with her ex-boyfriend. But it’s whatever you guys want to do.” I say, looking back down at my phone.

We spend the rest of the day running different errands before finally returning to the house around 4:30. We walk into the house and hear yelling coming from the kitchen/ dining room area. I walk into the kitchen with the guys trailing behind to see ReBekah and Tiffany screaming at each other on either side of the island.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” I ask, walking between them.

“So, I asked Hannah to gather the trash out of all the bedrooms and bathrooms so I could take the trash out. While doing this, she came across a pregnancy test, so I asked her where she got it from, and she said it was from Tiffany’s room. So, when Tiffany got home, I asked her about it, and she got defensive and accused me of snooping through her room, and that is why we were yelling when you guys walked in.” Rebekah explains to me while the guys turn to look at Tiffany questioningly.

“Tiff, why do you have a pregnancy test in your room?” Troy asks, looking at her with his fists clenched at his sides.

“It’s none of your business, Troy. Why should it matter what I have in my room?!” She screams before running to her room.

“I’ll handle this,” I say to Troy as he goes to follow her down the hallway.

As I walk down the hallway approaching Tiffany’s room, I hear Adele’s 25 album blasting. I knock on the door loud enough for her to hear without my banging on the door. I hear her yell ‘go away’ before turning the music up louder.

“Tiffany, babes, it's Kat. Can I come in?” I say loud enough to be heard over the music.

I hear her turn the music down before she unlocks the door and says, ‘come in.’ I walk into the room to see her sitting in the middle of the room crying with a bag lying on the floor in front of her. As I get closer, I see that the bag's contents are sitting around her on the floor. Once I sit in front of her, I see that it’s about six pregnancy tests scattered around her. I pick one up and wrap my arms around her once I see the results. I let her cry in my arms in the middle of the floor until she stops crying. I wait for her to talk letting her find the words she needs.

“It’s Kyler’s baby.” She whispers as she leans against my shoulder.

“I figured. How long have you known?” I ask rubbing comforting circles in the small of her back.

“Since the day after you took me to get the tests. I was gonna tell you today, but you and my brothers were gone all day.” She says with a deep sigh.

“Sorry about that whole situation with ReBekah. She looks at you as a little sister and she wants to protect you in her way.” I say pulling away to wipe her eyes.

“No, it’s not her fault I was having a bad day after Sabrina posted a picture of her sonogram on i********:. So, when ReBekah asked about the pregnancy test box I panicked and lashed out on her. I think of her and all your siblings as my own as well. I’ll apologize to her later if that is okay.” She says, starting to stand.

“I guess I should let you know that your brother invited Sabrina and Kyler to dinner so they could talk about the baby,” I tell her as I stay seated on the floor.

“HE WHAT!!! Why would he do something so insanely stupid? Is he trying to get her killed? Does he want me to go to jail for murdering three people? What is f*****g wrong with him?” She rants as she paces the room.

“He wants them to talk about how they will be engaged in the baby’s life. I told him this probably wouldn’t be the best time, but he didn’t want to listen to me. But the only thing you need to do is tell your brothers and Kyler about the baby. Tonight.” I say, getting off the floor, kissing her forehead, and walking out the room.

I walk back into the kitchen, and everyone turns to look at me expectantly. I walk to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. After I drink half the bottle, I turn back to everyone and ask all the younger kids to excuse themselves while talking to the adults.

“So, what happened? What did she say?” Troy asks impatiently.

“Well, she was having a bad day and when Bekah asked about the pregnancy test box, she lashed out on her and she said she would apologize to you later Bekah, ok?” I say ignoring his unasked question.

“KAT!! WHY DID SHE HAVE A f*****g PREGNANCY TEST BOX IN HER ROOM AND HOW DID SHE GET IT?!” Troy yells from his spot at the island.

“First of all, Troy. Watch your muthafucking tone when you speak to me, is that understand? Second, I took her to the store and bought the pregnancy test for her last week. Lastly, why she has them is for her to tell you, not me. And if you yell her, I will personally make it where you can never have kids, capisci?” I say in a deadly calm tone as I glare at him.

“Yes, we’re clear.” He says as both he and Trey nod their heads.

“Good, now why don’t you two goes do something while my sisters and I cook dinner?” I say as I start washing the potatoes.

While Bekah, Harper, and I make dinner Tiffany comes out and apologizes to Bekah and helps us finish preparing dinner. We finally get everything finished and, in the oven, to warm around 5 o’clock. We all go our separate to get cleaned up and dressed for dinner while also getting everyone else ready. I finally finish getting ready by 5:45 so I go check on the lasagna, garlic bread, chicken fettucine and spaghetti in the oven. I look into the fridge to make sure the beer, sparkling apple cider and wine is getting cold. I look into the freezer to make sure the gelato is freezing right. Once I am satisfied that everything is cooking and chilling as it should I go sit on the couch and watch Paw Patrol with Lilliana and Stephany. Around 6:15 the doorbell rings and Trey yells out that he’s got it. I tell the little kids it’s time for dinner and to go wash their hands. I head towards the kitchen where Tiffany, Bekah, and Harper are getting food out of the oven and fridge. I grab plates and silverware and head off to set the table. While I’m setting the table Harper comes out with the pan of lasagna. Behind her Bekah brings out the pots of spaghetti and fettucine. Tiffany comes in with cups and places them in front of each set of plates and silverware. We walk into the living room to see Troy, Trey and Kyler sitting on the couch and loveseat.

“Where is Sabrina?” I ask looking around.

“She ran to the bathroom.” Trey says as she comes back into the room.

“Hi, Kat. Hi, Tiffany.” She says shyly.

“Hi, Sabrina. How are you feeling?” I ask politely.

“I’m doing well. Starving because of the amazing smell coming from the kitchen.” She says as she rubs her stomach.

“So, you’re ok with Italian?” I ask.

“Oh, all I’ve eaten since I found out I was pregnant is Italian food and burgers.” She exclaims with a giggle.

“Might wanna lay off it, you’re getting a little big around the stomach and thighs.” Tiffany says rudely.

“Tiffany, that’s enough!” Trey says sharply.

“Fine, Trey.” Tiffany says in a bored tone.

“Well, dinners ready so let’s eat.” I say changing the subject.

We all head into the dining room and I sit Stephany in her highchair. Once everyone has gotten their food, we all sit around and eat and tell childhood stories and laugh. Once everyone finishes eating Harper takes the younger kids upstairs to take showers and get ready for bed. Tiffany runs to hide in her room, Bekah, the twins, and I start taking dirty dishes into the kitchen to wash. Kyler and Sabrina head into the living room and take a seat on the couch.

“Don’t you need to go in there and talk to them?” I whisper at Trey as I keep an eye on Sabrina and Kyler.

“I don’t wanna be in there with them alone. I’m waiting for y’all and Tiffany.” He whispers back as Harper walks into the kitchen.

“Why are we hiding in the kitchen?” Harper whispers once she gets close to us.

“Because my brother is scared to be alone with his baby mama and her boyfriend.” Tiffany says in a hushed tone scaring the s**t out of all of us.

“I’m not scared, just nervous.” Trey says as we finish cleaning and putting up the dishes.

“Well let’s do this so they can leave as soon as possible.” Tiffany says in annoyance.

“Tiff be nice, please?” Trey asks before walking into the living room.

“No promises.” She whispers as she walks past him to sit in the recliner with me.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Sabrina?” I ask to break the tension.

“Well, we need to talk about custody arrangements, birth plans, baby shower planning and so much more.” She states nervously.

“Ok good you know what needs to be discussed. So why don’t you start with birth plans?” I say wrapping a blanket around me and Tiffany when she starts shivering.

“Well, my parents won’t be a part of this pregnancy as they have disowned me. So, it will just be me and Kyler in the delivery room, unless Trey wants to be there. I also don’t want a lot of people to be at the hospital after I give birth just family.” Sabrina says assertively.

“Ok, Trey what are your thoughts on what Sabrina said.” I ask looking over in his direction.

“I agree that not a lot of people should be at the hospital waiting after she gives birth. And I do want to be there in the room with her to help her get through this.” He says lowly.

“Ok then. We have that settled. Now why don’t we talk about baby shower preparations?” I say tightening my grip on Tiffany’s shoulder as she tenses.

“I was actually just telling Kyler that I wanted my baby shower theme to be honeybees. Since I call this little nugget, Honeybee.” Sabrina says becoming lively.

We talk about baby shower prep for about 30 minutes before Troy asks the question that both Tiffany and I were dreading.

“Tiff, you never answered my question from earlier, ‘Why did you have an empty pregnancy test box in your room?’” He asks looking directly at Tiffany

“I umm, I needed it. For me, because I was late.” She says stuttering slightly.

“And the results were…?” He says getting impatient.

“I’m pregnant, and it’s Kyler’s.” She says looking dead at Kyler.

“YOU’RE WHAT?!? TIFFANY HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE?” Troy yells as he jumps out of his seat.

"She was thinking that she had a loyal boyfriend who she could trust and that she’s a hormonal 16-year-old girl. Now sit your ass down, listen to your sister, and be supportive before you have to deal with me.” I say jumping up and placing myself between them.

He sits down and I give Tiffany a nudge telling her go on with what she had to say. We sit and listen to her explain what happened between her and Kyler for about an hour. By the time she is finished everyone is in different states of shock. Finally, Kyler gets up and says he’ll be here in any way possible for Tiffany throughout this pregnancy. After that proclamation Kyler and Sabrina head home with the promise to call both Trey and Tiffany the next day. After they leave Tiffany heads to her room to get some rest after such an eventful day. Eventually Bekah, Harper, the twins and I are the only ones left in this living room.

“Wow.” Trey says after we sit in silence for about 5 minutes.

“Tinkerbell is pregnant. I never expected that.” Troy says in response.

“I don’t know how you didn’t expect this. You’re telling me you two had no idea that your 16-year-old sister was having sex.” I say with a blank look on my face.

“No, we had no idea. We don’t really like to think about the fact that our sister is growing up and that she would even be thinking about having …that.” Troy says vehemently.

“Wow, you really are dense. I had done far worse than have s*x by the time I was 16 and I had twins.” I say shaking my head at them.

“Well, we thought we had time before we had to have ‘the talk’ with Tiff.” Trey says softly.

“Whatever time you thought you had been long gone so you should get with the program and be happy and support you sister. And that is all I have to say on the topic, I’m going to bed I have an early day tomorrow.” I say getting up and kissing them both on their foreheads before kissing my sisters on their cheeks.

“Goodnight.”

“Night.”

“Nighty-night.”

Goodnight, Kitten.”

After I get to my room I change into a sports bra and a pair of sleeping shorts before climbing into my bed and falling into a dreamless sleep. I wake the next morning feeling more refreshed than I have in a very long time.

~~ Troy POV ~~

After Kat goes to bed, I head to my room to take a shower and try to clear my head. After my shower I lay in my bed in a pair of sweatpants and think about the fact that both my little sister and my brother are having kids, while here I am single and childless. I sigh heavily reminding myself to apologize to Tiffany tomorrow morning before she leaves for school. I turn on the TV to a random channel and listen to the actor’s drone on before I feel myself fall prey to a fitful rest. I wake up the next morning around 3 am and decide to go for a run. I get up and leave the house around 3:45 and head for the park about a mile away from Kat’s house. I run the 6-mile trial before running back to Kat’s house hoping I made it back in time to catch Tiffany. As I’m walking back into the house I run into Harper, who’s coming into the kitchen, startling her.

“Whoa, you good Harper?” I ask as she leans against the counter clutching her chest.

“I’m fine. What are you doing up this time of morning?” She asks as she grabs two bottles of water from the fridge.

“I couldn’t sleep so I went for a run at the park. Thanks.” I say taking a big gulp of water.

“Oh, well if you’re hoping to catch Tiffany, she’s in her room getting ready for school. So, I would hurry.” She says with a sly smile.

“Thanks, Harper. I’ll talk to you later.” I yell over my shoulder walking down the hall to Tiffany’s room.

I get to her room and just as I’m about to knock on the door it opens and there stands my little sister. The same little Tinkerbell who would ask me to be her Peter Pan. Only difference now is she finally grew up despite me never wanting her to. I fold her into my arms and mumble ‘I’m sorry” over and over into her hair. When I finally pull away, she has tears streaming down her face. I wipe them with my thumb and tell her that everything is gonna be ok. I give her one last hug before letting her grab her things so she can go to school. I head to my room and take a much needed how shower. I stand under the spray of the water letting it relax my muscles and clearing my mind. After I get out of the shower I get dressed and head to the kitchen to grab something quick before I head to the tattoo parlor. As I’m walking out of the kitchen, I bump into Harper again. As I catch her to keep her from falling it feels like the world slows for this second, she is in my arms. We pull away from each other when we hear someone clear their throat. We look up guiltily to find Trey staring at us with a confused expression. I take a step back after making sure she is steady on my feet and tell Trey that I’ll be waiting in the car for him and Kat. As I’m sitting in the car, Trey hops in the front seat.

“What the f**k was that, Troy? You and Harper.” Trey says looking at me.

“It wasn’t anything, Trey. I just bumped into her and caught her before she fell, that’s it.” I say with an edge of anger to my voice.

“Whatever you say, bro.” He says as Kat opens the door and jumps in his lap.

“Ok, I’m ready sorry I’m late. Harper was having a moment.” She says with a giggle.

“Nah, you’re good, Kitten.” Trey says.

We start the 45-minute drive to the tattoo parlor only making a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up some snacks, since none of us really ate breakfast. When we get to the tattoo parlor Marcus is leaning against his truck holding Kelly in his arms.

“OMG, I f*****g knew they were dating!!” Kat squeals as we pull up next to them.

“Inside voice, Kat.” I say as I rub my ear trying to stop the ringing.

“Sorry, Troy.” She says as she jumps out the car running over to Kelly.

“… tell me. I would’ve been supportive, Kelly.” I hear the tail end of Kat saying to Kelly.

“I know we just wanted to keep it private for a bit. Kinda like what you’re doing with Trey and Troy.” Kelly says looking between the three of us.

“What?! We are not dating. They’re just helping me through some tough times. Besides Trey has a kid on the way and Troy has a crush on someone.” Kat says flippantly.

“Oh, I just thought with the way you guys act around each other.” Kelly says pointing between us.

“That’s just the way we are around each other. But we have to get together soon for a girl’s night. You can meet my triplets.” Kat says excitedly.

“Definitely have to set that up soon.” Kelly says as we walk in through the backdoor.

I spend the day cooped in the office until about 4:30. When I come out, I hear noise coming from the breakroom, so I head there. What I see is Trey and Kat running around the table before Trey catches Kat throwing her on the couch. I watch as he pounces on her starting to tickle her until she screams for mercy.

“You like her.” Kelly breathes in my ear causing me to jump a foot in the air.

“W-what no I don’t.” I say stuttering.

“Yea and I didn’t f**k Marcus last night. We’re both lying now.” She says deadpan.

“I don’t know how I feel about her right now.” I say pulling her into my office.

“What do you mean?” She asks me curiously.

“Well had you asked me how I felt about Kat 2 weeks ago I would’ve said I liked her more than any other woman. But now I don’t know how I feel. This morning I went for a run and when I got back, I had a moment with her sister Harper. I don’t know how I feel right now, and I don’t wanna end up hurting anyone.” I say as I slump down in my chair.

“Oh, ok. Well, that’s stupid because what you’re doing is transferring your feelings because you see Kat giving Trey majority of her attention since he’s having a kid he never planned for. So, when you had that moment with her sister this morning it felt like the world slowed down didn’t it?” She asked picking at her nails.

“Yea.” I say slowly.

“Well, you need to talk to Kat and Trey and figure out y’all feelings. I’m not saying you have to figure everything out now, but you need to do it soon.” She says as she gets up to leave.

I sit in my office and finish balancing the books for the rest of the day until Kat knocks on the door. She comes in carrying a bag with a plate and the smell coming off tells me it’s BBQ.

“You’ve been cooped in here all day, and I know for a fact that you haven’t eaten today. So, I brought you some ribs, links, beans, and toast.” She says with a giggle.

“Thanks, Kitten.” I say taking the plate from her hands.

“Are you mad at me, Troy?” She asks taking a seat on the couch along the wall.

“No, why do you ask?” I ask as I start eating.

“You just seem distant and short with me today.” She says quietly.

“It’s not you Kitten. I’ve just been in my head today about a lot of things. But I’m not mad at you.” I say giving her a hug.

“Ok. Well Trey and I are gonna close up the shop and then we can head home if you’re ready.” She says as she walks out the office.

“Ok, I’ll be ready in about 15 minutes.” I say as I pull my computer in front of me.

20 minutes later the three of us are piling into my Jeep and starting the drive home.