Baby, I Will Be Your Everything

"Did you get enough clothes?" I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest while the lady behind the register went to get the manager for the third time.

"It's not my fault the girl keeps messing up as she rings the items." Lauren defended, rolling her eyes at my attitude.

I huffed to myself, cocking my hip as I stood in my place. I frowned, the weight of the three shopping bags from PacSun pressing into my arm uncomfortably while I waited. Biting my lip, I glanced down at the bags nervously. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten new jeans when the ones I've been wearing are already getting a little snug. I gulped, staring over at the back of Mom's head while she dug rummaged through her large purse. Maybe I should've told her before I went to my favorite store.

"Wow, you're going to have four giant bags and Jack has three little ones." Maddison observed. "You literally must've went on a spending spree."

"My stuff was all on sale." Lauren corrected, twirling her hair boredly. "Mom, I'm hungry."

I pressed my lips together, feeling my own stomach rumble at the mention of food. It's been three hours since we've been walking around this stupid store. Three full hours spent picking out leggings that all look the same and flowy blouse type shirts to wear with each pair. Standing on my feet after being in one place for so long is actually starting to kill me. I only escaped this madness for the thirty minutes it took me in PacSun.

"I'm sure we all are." Mom laughed lightly, swiping her credit card when the woman finally finished bagging the shitload of clothes Lauren just had to have for school. "We can go out to an early dinner on the way home."

My lips rolled together harder while my stomach sank lower at the thought of waiting another hour to see Alex. Every hour that goes by just makes me more anxious to actually see him. I don't know what made him text me and tell me he's just going to wait at home, but it didn't make me feel as relieved as I first thought knowing I'd be able to put it off for a while. Now all I want to do is get it over with and find out if he's going to stay with me. I know he loves me and I love him to death, but the way he was talking about not being a dad last night really got me thinking about him dipping out and I really don't want that.

"Can we get fast food?" Lauren asked excitedly. "Like Burger King?"

I bit my cheek, feeling my ears perk up at the suggestion while Mom loaded the bags on to Lauren and Maddison's skinny arms. I chuckled at their struggles with their big bags, wincing at the light pain in my right arm. I pouted, rubbing at the red lines covering my forearm before adjusting the bags to my left forearm.

"Is Burger King good for everyone?" Mom questioned, looking between the three of us.

"Yeah." I agreed, shrugging my shoulders when Lauren glanced at me.

"Sounds good to me." Maddison added.

"Then it's settled." Mom smiled, pulling her keys from her purse. "Jack, why don't you call your dad and see what he wants? Alex too, if he's home."

I nodded, reaching behind me and pulling my phone from my back pocket easily. I unlocked it, biting my lip when I saw no new messages from Alex. Swallowing thickly, I clicked the little phone icon and hit Dad's number.

"Let's start walking out." Mom instructed as I pressed the phone to my ear.

I walked beside her, listening to the phone ring a few more times before it stopped.

"Hey, Jacko." He greeted. "What do you need, kiddo?"

"We're getting BK for dinner." I noted, adjusting the bags on my arm as I walked out of the exit behind Mom. "What do you want from there?"

"Ooo, Burger King?" He cooed, making me laugh. "I most definitely want a double whopper and a large fry. I don't care what your mother thinks. I want it."

"Okay." I giggled, smiling over at Mom while we walked through the parking lot. "You want a drink?"

"I'm serious, kid. You make her get that for me, no substitutions. I don't want a regualr whopper and medium fry coming home with you." He ordered playfully. "That woman is trying to cut out my intake of meat and salt and everything else that's not hearty vegetables. I'm a damn man."

"Okay, Dad." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "I got it. Do you want a drink?"

"Coke, please." He answered. "Not the diet kind either."

"I know!" I exclaimed, feeeling laughter bubble up my throat at his ridiculousness. "Can you see what Alex wants?"

"Alex!"

I jumped, not expecting him to scream into my ear. I held the phone away while he yelled for Alex repeatedly, using a different tone of voice each time. I glanced back with wide eyes when Lauren cackled from behind me, smiling a little at the sound of Dad continuing his shouting.

"Can you hear him screaming?" She asked Maddison, still giggling.

"How can anyone not?" Mom cut in, making the car beep as she unlocked it.

I chuckled, putting the phone back to my ear when it went weirdly quiet. I pressed it harder into my face, pulling the front fdoor open and hopping inside. I dropped my bags by my feet, letting out a sigh in relief while I pulled the door shut.

"Jack?" Dad called quietly, making me press the phone more into my ear.

"Yeah?" I asked, awkwardly buckling my seatbelt while I held the phone to my head.

"He's knocked out." He noted, talking normally again. "I'm not sure if he'll be up when you get back or not, but I'd just get him what he likes. You should know what he'd get anyway."

"Yeah, okay." I nodded to myself. "I will."

"Okay, see you in a bit." He responded.

"Yep. Bye Dad." I smiled, hangning up once he said bye back to me. "Dad wants a double whopper, large fry, and a coke. No exceptions. Alex will eat a whopper."

"Of course your dad would go extra." Mom muttered, pulling out of the parking lot. "That man can't go a day without eating one of those things and you wonder why I usually make him eat so much greens during dinner."

"Dad eats Burger Kind every day?" Lauren gasped dramatically.

"For his lunch." Mom confrimed with a short laugh. "He loves it."

"I wish I could have it every day." Lauren whined.

"No you don't." Maddison disagreed. "Then you'd get fat."

I rolled my eyes, pulling the end of the aux cord from under my bags and shoving it into the end of my phone. The quiet pop in the speaker let me know it was connected and I immediately clicked on shuffle, sighing in content when Flyleaf flowed through the speakers.

"Ah! I love this song!" Lauren cheered, shooting her torso over the center council and flipping the knob up loudly.

"Lauren Amira Barakat!" Mom scolded, slapping her wrist away and turning the radio to a more reasonable volume. "Dont you do that again."

I raised my eyebrows, glancing back at Lauren's own wide eyes while she plopped back in her seat. I bit my lip, trying to stiffle my snicker from her shocked face. Mom rarely shows her strict Lebanese side, but the accent slipping from her lips just a second ago let us know that she truely got pissed off.

"You know how I feel about the radio blowing out our ears." Mom added more calmly, placing both of her hands back on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, Lauren." I teased, unable to hold in the satisfaction of seeing her get in trouble for something.

"Jack." Mom warned, raising her eyebrows at me. "Don't get more on my bad side.

"More?" I exclaimed, dropping my mouth open. "How am I on your bad side?"

"You know why." She said, pointing her finger at me accusingly.

"No." I pushed, shaking my head as I continued to stare at her.

"You're being secretive and I don't like it." She pointed out, making my palms sweat. "You won't talk to me about it, but I know something's going on that I don't know about."

"Ooo." Maddison gushed from behind me. "Something juicy?"

"It's um." I stammered nervously, slowly sinking back into my seat. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Really?" She asked in surprise.

"I have to." I mumbled, biting my lip when she furrowed her eyebrws in thought.

I cringed at the hint I dropped, hoping it wasn't too obvious or anything. I was pretty vague, so it's likely she won't know what I'm talking about until later. Biting my lip again, I clicked the home button on my phone and started the song over since it is one of Lauren's favorites and we just talked through it.

"Your middle name is what?" Maddison asked, breaking the comfortable silence that fell over us.

"Amira." Lauren repeated quietly.

"I never heard that before." Maddison hummed in response, making me roll my eyes.

"It's arabic." I called over the music, turning my head to peek back at her curious face. "It means Princess and that explains why she is the way she is."

"Does your name actually mean Princess?" Maddison wondered, looking to Lauren.

"Yes." She blushed lightly, covering her cheeks. "It's so embarassing."

"It's not embarassing." Mom corrected, saking her head. "It's beautiful and your father knew you were his Princess when you were born."

"Wow." Maddison smiled, looking back to me. "What's your middle name?"

"Jack's named after our Papa." Lauren chirped, grinning at me. "His name means one who smiles."

"Jack is named after Papa because he was smiling ever since he came out of the womb." Mom explained, smiling over at me. "He was a good baby and rarely cried. Lauren on the other hand, had to be held at all times."

I smiled, feeling my nerves ease a bit as I continued to listen to Mom tell stories of our childhood that I couldn't remember. Most of it was about when we were babies though, so it makes sense that I wouldn't remember.

"Okay, enough talking about the past. It's making me feel really old." Mom announced, pulling into the Burger Kind drive-through. "What is everyone getting?"
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I shivered, shutting the cold water off and grabbing the dish towel from the counter. Drying my hands quickly, I tucked my cold fingers into my pockets and felt my body shudder again.

"Jesus, how cold is the air set to?" I asked Dad as he tossed his trash in the garbage.

"I don't know, but I like it cold." He chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "I'm gonna go get a fire started. Why don't you see if that boyfriend of your's is up? It'd be nice for us all to sit around the fire for a bit. Maybe make some s'mores for desert?"

I licked my lips, feeling my heart swell in my chest at his suggestion. We haven't really had a lot of family time lately. I nodded my head, giving him a big smile when he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I'll be outside, kiddo." He told, walking out towards the family room.

I grinned to myself, brushing my tank top off as I walked back through the foyer. I bit my cheek, my smile dropping as I grew closer towards the stairs. Nerves grew in the pit of my stomach like a fire and I sighed, holding my breath as I jogged up the steps. I squinted in the dark hallway, the dull sunlight shining through my window not helping me much at all as I stepped into my bedroom. I let out a shaky breath, stomach twisting as I walked closer to my bed. I tucked my bangs back into my beanie as I leaned over the bed, noticing Alex spread out across his stomach once my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

"Alex." I whispered, glancing at the clock on the nightstand to see it read after seven at night. "Alex, baby."

I ran my cold over his bare back, moaning in relief at the warmth his body gave off. Without much thought, I pressed my other hand into his lower back and hummed, lightly kneeling on the free spot of the mattress next to him.

"Mm." He grumbled, flexing his muscles under my touch.

"Alex..." I whispered anxiously, pulling my hands away when he rolled on to his right side.

My heart jumped when my eyes met his and I slowly moved to slip back off of the bed.

"C'mere." He muttered, gripping my wrists.

I gasped as he pulled my foreward, forcing my body almost on top of his. I bit my lip, moving to lay on my left side so I could face him.

"Cold?" He mumbled, pushing his right arm under my neck and grabbing my right arm in his left.

I nodded, allowing him to pull me into his hot chest easily. I breathed in, humming at the smell of axe bodywash coating his neck while I draped my arm over his side.

"I love you." I started, biting my lip as I listened to his steady heart.

"M'sorry for getting so drunk." He whispered, kissing the top of my head. "I didn't mean to."

I sighed, relaxing more into his body while thoughts clouded my mind.

"You wouldn't have grabbed the rum if you didn't mean to get that drunk." I noted quietly, pressing my face more into his neck.

"Right, but my mind wasn't in the right place." He continued. "To be honest, it still isn't. I have no idea how to fucking feel about this, Jay. I'm sorry for how I acted though."

"I understand your shock and everything. I mean, I felt the same and I didn't even want to know about having a mutation." I frowned. "I should've told you after I found out, but I was scared and now it's not something I can ignore."

"You could-"

"No." I interrupted knowingly, shaking my head against him.

"Did you even think about it?" He asked tensely.

"I'm keeping my baby, Alex." I whispered shakily. "I just. I just need to know if you're going to be here with me."

I bit my tongue, trying to swallow down the thickness beginning to clog in my throat when he remained silent. I sucked in a sharp breath, closing my eyes tightly as they began to sting while his body tensed underneath me.

"Okay." He muttered, running his hand up my side soothingly. "Don't cry, baby. I uh. I don't know what to think or do, but uh. We can figure it out, right? I mean, whatever you want to do. I'll uh. I'll do my best to like, support it. Because I love you."

I bit back my smile, the warmth filling my gut mixed with the fluttering in my heart almost overwhelming. I sniffled, feeling my eyes leak as I clung on to him tightly.

"You don't know how much that means to me after the things you said last night." I chuckled shakily, trying to ignore the water filling my eyes.

"I'm an insensitive prick." He claimed, running his hand over my back. "I dunno how you put up with me. I just. Fuck. I dunno. I said some fucked up shit and I'm sorry. I'm just...it didn't feel real. It still doesn't."

"I know." I agreed quietly, blinking slowly. "I forgive you. I love you so much and I need you here with me if I'm going to do this. If we're going to do this."

"What're we gonna do?" He mumbled uneasily. "How are we..."

"We'll figure everything out after we tell my parents." I decided, kissing his neck softly. "Speaking of my parents, my dad wants us to have a bon fire with him. Are you gonna get up?"

He froze against me, making a small smile cross my face before I leaned up to push my nose into his.

"We can tell them tomorrow or something. Okay?" I whispered, a thick tear slipping from the corner of my eye as my lips grazed his.

I sniffled lightly, smiling bigger when his hands lifted to my face. He swiped his thumbs under my eyes before pulling my lips down to his in a sweet kiss. I pulled away, unable to contain the grin covering my face after I felt the strong meaning behind that simple kiss.

"Okay." He mumbled back.

I mentally cheered, all of the shitty feelings from last night and this morning disappearing completely as I slid off of him and back on to the floor. I sniffed, wiping my nose on the back of my hand. I grimaced, swiping my palm over my pants while I slowly edged back towards the light switch. I flicked it on, giggling at the light groan from Alex as he sat up from his spot on the bed.

"I got you a burger from BK." I told, watching him slowly stand from the bed.

Licking my lips, my eyes trailed over his lightly toned body before my eyes fell to the grey hoodie by his feet. I walked back over to him, scooping it up while he slipped black basketball shorts up his long legs. I smiled, pulling the hoodie over my head only to choke from the strong fumes filling my nostrils.

"Ugh." I grimaced, shaking my head as another wave of stale smoke filled my senses.

"Sorry." He mumbed, pulling his black hoodie over his head effortlessly.

"S'fine." I coughed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

I smiled, feeling his fingers slip between mine before he pressed our foreheads together. I hummed, puckering my lips in time for him to press his against me softly. I pecked him a few more times, finally pulling away when I remembered the other reason I came up here for.

"Let's go make some s'mores." I grinned, tugging him behind me.

Notes

So this is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written! I'm sorry! This is just a short filler about the aftermath of when Jack told Alex. I wanted to show a calmer side of Alex in this short chapter of him maybe coming around a bit. There will be more Alex and his feelings in the next chapter! Part of me was going to put it all together, but I definitely wanted to separate Jack and Alex's little talk from the talk that's going to happen with Jack's parents.


I hope everyone's still enjoying and excited for more!