FicWad

I pushed Jeremy into the room first, catching him by surprise. Kay squealed in delight at the sight of her brother while he just glowered at me. I shot him a sickly sweet smile and sat down at the edge of the hospital bed.

“Hey sis!” Jeremy said as he gave her a hug and then moved on to fist bump Seth who was sitting foot-to-face with Kay on the bed. “How’s the baby? Did you pick out a name yet? Oh, well I guess you kind of have to now huh?” He rambled.

Surprisingly, Kay shot me a sheepish look when he mentioned the baby’s name which was odd since she and Seth had supposedly picked names out months ago, she just refused to tell me. As Seth handed the nameless baby over to Jeremy I decided to speak up. “Yeah Kay. You never mentioned the name when I was in here before.”

“Well….umm… Seth and I really want to name him Michael Joseph Sawyer.”

My jaw dropped at the look she gave me after. She was naming her first born after me. You see, Sophie is my middle name. Michael is my first. No, not Michelle, Michael. My mom was still heavily drugged when she gave the nurse my name and ended up saying Michael. No one knows why. When I was eight I asked her why it was Michael. She told me she wasn’t sure since she was planning on naming me Matthew Ray Carter had I been a boy. Luckily she had the sense enough to call me Sophie no matter how “unique” Michael was.

Joseph was Seth’s fathers’ name. He passed away several years ago from a “heartattack” but Kay and I are convinced that Merna was the real cause and has his body buried in the backyard. Seriously, it’s not that far off. The woman is pure evil.

“Oh my God Kay really?” I asked incredulously. She beamed and nodded. “Aww thanks you guys. That means a lot, really. Now move Jeremy. I want to hold him.”

Jeremy looked hesitant but handing him over anyways. I looked down at him in awe. He had a few wispy blonde hairs and sparkling green eyes like Kay. I bent my head towards him to get a better look when he began sneezing… right in my face. Lovely.

“Oh Kay your kid is allergic to his own godmother! That’s great!” Jeremy choked between fits of laughter. I stuck my tongue out until what he said fully sunk in, nearly making me drop the baby…er…Michael.

“Wait, godmother?!” I asked wide eyed as Kay slapped Jeremy’s arm. He rubbed while mumbling an apology.

“Well, you don’t have to be of course but we wouldn’t want anyone else to be his godmother. Jeremy has agreed to be the godfather.” Kay told me as I stood motionless. Why were they doing this? I mean, yeah, I was a fairly decent human being but I was nothing special.

“Are you sure Kay? I mean I would love to and it would be a huge honor but I’m sure there has to be-“ My rambles were cut off by a scream that came from the bundle in my arms.

“Yes, Soph. We are positive. You are my best friend and if anything were to ever happen to Seth or I, we would want Joey in your care. And Jeremy’s of course.” She said as I quickly handed the child over.

I noted how she called him Joey and not Michael. I actually liked it. A little less awkward for me. It would be less awkward for the child later on as well. What self respecting male wants to be named after his mother’s best friend?

After another few minutes of mindless jabber I yawned tiredly and noticed Jeremy doing the same. “Jer, where are you staying while you’re in town?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll find a hotel when I leave… which I think I’ll do pretty soon.”

“Why don’t you just come stay with me? I have room and that way you don’t have to pay for a hotel.” I offered. He smiled gratefully and nodded.

After Jeremy held Joey once more and a round of hugs, we exited the room but not before Seth called to me.

“Sophie! Wait! Do you know where my mom is?” He asked. I just laughed. “I have no idea Seth. Last I saw she was headed for the cafeteria. Sorry.” I said and excused Jeremy and myself. Neither of us wanted to even look at Merna again tonight and I had a feeling Kay wouldn’t either but I was too tired to stay any longer. I had now been in this hell hole for seventeen hours.

Jeremy and I walked silently to the parking garage, swinging our hands that were intertwined. It looked like we were a couple but we weren’t, we had always acted like this, even before we started dating. Since we officially broke up years ago there had been the occasional hook up but we both knew that a relationship just wouldn’t work.

I fished my keys out of my purse as we neared my canary yellow VW Jetta.

Jeremy laughed. “Wow you sill have this thing?” I nodded as he climbed in, glancing at the backseat. “You know, I think we had more sex in the backseat of this car than we ever did in a real bed.” He said, smirking. I busted up laughing.

“Thanks for the reminder. I totally forgot about all of that…” I trailed off thinking about the memories from High School.

We drove in silence for the rest of the way to my apartment, thinking about how things used to be. Well I was at least. I missed the days when Kay, Seth, Jeremy, and I would all hang out without much care. They distracted me from thinking about my mother. Jeremy was looking out of the window at the bright lights of my favorite city.

I pulled up to a parking space in front of my building. I wasn’t necessarily poor, but I was by no means wealthy either. I had a modest one bedroom apartment in Midtown Manhattan. As we entered the elevator, Jeremy began speaking to me again.

“Do you still have Miri?” He asked referring to my silky black and white English Springer Spaniel that I’d had for five years; since I was nineteen. I had bought her at eight weeks but it took me a week or two to come up with a name. Finally, I came up with Miri which means “of the sea”. It was fitting since she loved the water. To this day she will lay in the clawfoot tub that sits in my bathroom, waiting for me to run the water so she can play. During the summer, I take her to the beach most days but has to settle for the bathtub in the winter.

“Of course I do. Poor thing has been here all day. I usually take her to work with me but the hospital wouldn’t allow her inside.” I responded. He smiled and began to walk faster; he had always liked Miri.

When we found my door, a note was taped to it. Apparently Miri had been barking nonstop today and was driving my bitter neighbor crazy. Jeremy read the note over my shoulder and laughed as I crumpled it up and tossed it at the door opposite mine.

As we entered, a streak of black and white came sprinting out of the bathroom (I told you) and leapt onto me, whimpering and nuzzling my neck.

“Aww you poor poor baby.” I cooed as I set her down, patting her head affectionately. Jeremy squatted down to her level and rubbed her belly.

“Let’s take her for a quick walk Jer, then we can go to bed.” I said as I motioned for Miri to exit the apartment. He nodded and followed quietly, rubbing his eyes.

Miri stayed at my side as she always did; a leash was never necessary. Jeremyand I shared a bit more small talk as she ran around in the grassy area behind my building. I learned that he was going to be Best Man in his friend, Adam’s wedding and he had bought a motorcycle, which was interesting because he had always made fun of jocks on bikes when we were in High School. He has also picked up smoking cigarettes. I guess things change.

We made it back into my apartment and I led him into the living area, carrying his duffel bag.

“Here’s the futon. The bathroom is the first door on the left down that hallway, and the fridge is in the kitchen over there.” I said pointing out the rooms for him. He thanked me and I bid him goodnight, thoroughly exhausted.

I changed into bed clothes, which for me was a pair of black boy shorts and an old tank top, and pulled out my cell phone which had been turned off all day. I checked my messages, replied to those that I deemed necessary, and headed for my bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow I fell straight to sleep. Unfortunately, the normal nightmares woke me up several times, each time sending me straight to the bathroom to empty my stomach until ugly yellow bile was the only thing I had left. With only two and a half hours of sleep in me, my alarm rang, indicating 7 am had arrived.

I groaned but still got out of bed. After using the bathroom and brushing my teeth, I set food out for Miri and headed to the living area. As expected, Jeremy was passed out on the couch so I decided to make him breakfast.

Ten minutes later I had eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns cooking on the stove when I felt a presence in the kitchen. Without turning around I said good morning to Jeremy.

“Hey Sexy.” He said before slapping my ass lightly. I turned to him a bit confused before looking down at my attire, realizing I still had my bed clothes on. I blushed at his smirk, making him chuckle and turned to finish his food.

“Here, I made you some food.” I said while sliding the plate towards him. “I have to go to work though. If you want to tag along you can.”

“Thanks Sophie Girl.” He said as he dug into his breakfast. I stood at the counter looking at him expectantly. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh! I’d love to come with. I’m here for the week and I don’t really have anything else to do. When does Kay get discharged from the hospital?”

“Seth is taking her home tonight but her parents are staying with her all day today.” I replied, leaving the kitchen. “Be ready to go by eight!” I called down the hall before going into my room. I collapsed onto my bed and sighed, remembering last night’s activities. Today was going to suck.


Author Note Second Installment! Please leave me some feedback! Thanks! Much love -Avery