Growing Up Might Bring Us Down

I pushed open that same wooden red door that led to Brian’s basement open with a loud squeak from the old hinges, and all three heads turned towards me simultaneously.

Josh was the first to greet me, in his Jobe-ish way, “Well well well, look who it is.”

“Natalie Marie Classon.” Brian stated as he came closer towards me.

“Brian Logan Dales.” I mocked, entering into his open arms for a hug.

“How are you?” he asked in my ear. “We missed you like crazy.” Brian then confessed as we pulled away from our brief hug.

“I’m okay,” I replied with a meek smile, “and I missed all of you assholes too.” I joked, looking over at Jobe.

His blue eyes caught mine. “Come over here woman!” he called for me, opening his arms wide.

I obliged by running over to him and wrapping my arms around his firm torso. He then wrapped his arms around me and spun us around in a small circle. When he set me back down on my feet I was giggling and I looked up at him, since he was a good three inches taller than me.

He had one of those sly knowing smirks playing on his lips. My giggling was washed away a I looked up at him with wide, scared brown eyes, “What?” I questioned quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear if he was referring to what I was thinking about. If he knew before I actually told any of them, I’m going to kill whoever spilled the beans.

His smile grew even wider as he said just as quietly as I did, “I heard about your little thing with my baby brother.”

Relief washed over me, and my smiled came back. “Oh my god. Shut up.” I yelled, as I hit his chest, “Just drop it!”

“Someone’s a little defensive.” He laughed while throwing his arms up, surrendering.

“Screw you,” I sweetly replied, and then changed the subject, “Where’s John?”

“He’s with Kendall.” Stephen answered first as he sat on an amp and fiddled with his bass.

“They’re still together?” I rhetorically asked. “Aw that’s so cute.” I had a mixture of feelings running through me; happiness because John deserved his happy ending with the girl he was totally head over heels for, sadness because I haven’t seen or talked to him in a long while, and nervousness because I was afraid to tell my extended family about the baby.

“Or extremely sickening, depending on your standpoint.” Jobe added in.

“Enough chit chat,” Jess busted through the door with a bag of chips in her hand, “What do you have to tell us?” She made her way over to Stephen, pushing his bass off to the side and taking the place on his lap. He kissed her cheek while she shoved more potato chips into her mouth. The sight was cute and sickening all in the same.

“Please don’t get mad or do anything rash.”

“No promises; now spill,” said Jess wanting me to finally get straight to the point.

“You guys are going to hate me.”

“Did you kill someone?” Brian asked seriously, but in his strange joking manner.

“Did you murder Jawny Ohhh?” Jobe followed up.

“No, but I should have.”

Brian turned to Josh, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Murder is pretty dirty.”

“Indeed it is.” Josh agreed with a nod of his head, and then he turned back to look at me, “I’m glad you didn’t kill anyone. You look like the type that would look guilty just thinking about murdering someone.”

“Jobe, shut up!” Jess scolded loudly, “Stop getting her off track!”

“Yeah, Nat, just spill it.” Stephen then added, both of us knowing that the sooner I spill the beans, the sooner this knot in my stomach would loosen.

I swallowed loudly, well loud to myself in this awkward tension anyway, and then finally let it all out in one breath, “I’m having a baby.”

“It better not be my brother’s. I’ll kill that bitch.” Leave it to Jobe to break the tension.

“It’s not,” I reassured him, “It’s- its John’s.”

“Mother. Fucker.” Were the only two words to fall out of Jess’s mouth.

“How long have you known?” asked Brian.

“A couple of weeks,” I responded, “I’m eight weeks along.”

Josh got up and walked over to me, circling around me and eyeing me up. “Now that you mention it I see you’ve got a little muffin top going on.” He had one had resting on my lower back while the other one caressed my baby bump. “That’s hot.”

“So you’re keeping it?” Brian asked next.

“Yeah.” I nodded, wiggling out of Jobe’s hold.

“Okay, wait.” Jess made a dramatic stop in the conversation, “Why are you staying at his parent’s house then?”

I knew this question was coming at some point, “She’s the grandma and a nurse, so I feel safer there.” I told them simply, and then added, “And I didn’t want to go right home ‘cause I don’t know what Aunt Ilene would’ve done, if she didn’t have another heart attack.”

Jess nodded her head in agreement as she took a drink of Stephen’s Dr. Pepper, “This is true.”

“So you’re going to stay around for a while?” Brian asked his third question of the afternoon.
“Yeah. I got nowhere else to go.”

“Good. My Natalie’s back.” Jobe came up behind me once again and engulfed me in a big bear hug.

When the sound of harsh squeaking rang throughout the room, all five of us turned towards the doorway where there stood the one-and-only Justin Godsey.

“Hey,” he greeted all of us at once with one of those manly head nod things that they seem to do.

We all replied with a mock, “Hey.”

“Yo, Godsex, didya hear?” Jobe yelled across the room at him, “You’re little Natalie’s preggers!”

He turned his head to look at me with a questionable look for show, since he already knew before any of them did, “Oh she is, is she?”

“Yeah.” Brian answered for Jobe and I, “And it ain’t yours!”

“Is that good or bad?” I heard Josh whisper to Brian.

And Brian responded with another whispered, “I don’t know.”

Justin walked over to me, gave me one of his hugs that could always make me melt inside, and another “Congrats.”

“Thanks.” I said into his broad and hard chest.

“I think this calls for a celebration!” Brian called out.

“Party tomorrow night, Justin’s apartment. Invite everyone!” Jobe pitched in, now standing on an amp.

Justin rolled his eyes, “Thanks Jobe…”

“No alcohol though, or smokes,” Jess added in, “Nattie can’t be around them.”

“I can’t be around cigs, but you guys can drink and I just can’t have any.” I finally spoke up, “Don’t let me and my belly spoil your fun.” I said, grabbing my bump in both of my small hands.

“Okay so it’s settled!” Jobe cheered.

After a few hours later, John came back and the band sat together to work on a new song, which they’re temporarily calling Everything’s Fine. This left Justin and I with nothing else to do but sit on the couch in the back and talk.

“So you’re stalking me now?”

“Stephen texted me telling me to come over,” He confessed.

I countered playfully, asking, “Oh did he now?”

“Yeah, but he’s with his girlfriend, and I don’t wanna be the whole jealous other woman type right now.”

“So you’re settling for the pregnant and lonely one.” I said with a roll of my eyes, “Classic.”

“I like me the damaged and pudgy chicks,” he said as he put his left arm around me, pulling me in closer to his body.

I smacked his chest, “You’re an asshole.”

This was something that I loved about Justin, we were able to joke around and act like complete kids, and he always has the ability to make me happy and forget my worries. He’s caring, like a big brother. Except – he’s becoming more than just another one of my “big brother’s”.

“You love me.” he retorted with a big-ass cocky smile upon his soft pink lips.

“Yup.” I said, popping the “p”.
__________________________________________________________________________

“So I’ll see you tomorrow night?” Justin asked me as we were all getting packed up and ready to leave, and go to our respectful homes.

“Duh, you can’t have a ‘Congrats on the baby’ party without the mother and unborn child.”

“Touché,” he said with narrow eyes, meaning that I won this battle. “I’ll pick you up,” he said hopefully, with those big chocolate eyes boring into my own.

“That’s just stupid,” I said to him, “I have my car now.”

“Fine. Be that way,” he said with faux hurt, “Just ignore my gentlemanly offers.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and turned his back on my.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

He turned back around to face me, with an unbelieving look gracing his face, “You’re such a little bitch.”

“You love me,” I replied, flashing him a wide grin, and then turning to Stephen behind me. “Stephen can I have my keys.”

“Yeah, sure.” He dug into his deep jean pocket for my keys. It amazes me how the pockets on boys’ skinny jeans are so much deeper than girls. It isn’t fair, really.

Just as I was going to take the keys from Stephen, Jess snatched them up, “Nah ah ah, you don’t get this privilege.”

I was in complete disbelief when she said that. I had no choice but to rebuttal with, “It’s my car.”

“You’re not driving anywhere.” She said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting all of her weight to her left leg, giving me one of Aunt Ilene’s infamous “looks”.

“Why..?” I asked dumbfounded.

“Because you’re pregnant.”

“Driving doesn’t affect my uterus, you know.”

“Ugh gross, you said uterus!” Leave it to Jobe to be the immature one.

“But getting in a car crash could kill the both of you,” Jessica continued.

“Why are you being so controlling?” I questioned her with an attitude.

“Because my baby cousin is pregnant all thanks to a total prick,” she informed me what I already knew, and then she followed up with, “Sorry for looking out for you. If you listened to me in the first place you wouldn’t be in this situation!”

“What!? You said that if I loved him I should go for it.”

“Well he obviously didn’t love you enough if he dumped you after the first time.”

“Okay…” Stephen butted in, coming up behind Jess and rubbing her forearms soothingly. “Jess let’s go and start the car. You need some sleep; it’s been a long week.” He said as he handed her off to Jobe who led her towards the door. Jobe then turned around and sent me an apology, “Sorry, Nat.”

“I guess what she was getting at is that, as long as any of us are around you can call us for a ride.” Brian started to interpret the rationale behind my cousin’s outburst. “When we’re on tour or at a show or something then you can have free reign of your car. We just want to keep an eye on you and such.”

“Thanks.” I said in an attempt to be thankful, but I really just didn’t understand why I couldn’t have independence now, when in a few months I’ll be too fat to get myself around anyway. None of this really did make sense to me.

“Come on, Jobe’s taking crazy home. So I can drive you back there.” Stephen offered to me since he was the one that brought me here in the first place.

“It’s okay man, I got her.” Justin told him, taking his place by my side. “Go take care of Jessica.”

Stephen’s brow furrowed, “Since when does anyone actually call her Jessica?”

“Since you chose her over me,” Justin retorted quickly.

“I’m sorry man, I – I needed a change.” One on Stephen’s hands were on Justin’s broad shoulder, as he sincerely broke his intimate relationship with Justin, “Maybe one day life with bring us back together.”

“Don’t count on it,” Justin jokingly spat back at him. “I found myself a new love.” And of course he draped his arm across my shoulders, and pulled me close. I’d be lying if I said I was up for objection.
__________________________________________________________________________

“Bye, Godsey, thanks for the ride.” I thanked him as I got out of his truck.

He flashed me one of his killer smiles, “Bye, Natalie, see you next evening.”

I was just about to close the door and turn my back on him and make my way up the O’Callaghan pathway, when I remembered the phone call from this morning.

“How much do you love me?” I asked him seriously.

“Why?”

“’Cause I have this really big favor to ask you.”

“Favor?” he asked for confirmation. I simply nodded as a response. “Then no. I hate your fucking guts.”

“Justin, seriously.” I whined wanting him to be serious for one freaking second.

“Okay, what’s so important, that it needs my awesomely skilled assistance?”

“Come to my mother’s wedding with me?” I asked, bracing myself for the rejection.

“Seriously?”

I nodded again in confirmation. “It’s in Miami in two weeks. I know its short notice, but I only just found out this morning. So I totally understand if you say no, I’ll just beg Ross or someone else to go with me,” I rambled out in one long breath.

“Natalie,” he said my name and stopped me from ranting on further.

I was staring at the passenger seat like it was the most interesting thing ever at this point, “Yeah?” I said almost inaudibly, looking up shyly.

“Yes I will be your wedding date.” He said with a wide smile.

“Really? You sure?” I questioned, just to make sure he was positive about what he was getting himself into, “You’re going to be subjected to my insane family. And you’re going to have to room with me for at least three days.”

“Nat, shut up,” He yelled at me. “I think I can handle it. I’m in and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind.”

I couldn’t help but let the giant smile grace over all my features. “I love you so much,” I was so happy that I didn’t even think before I let those words fall off my tongue.

“I love you too,” he said back with a beautiful grin, “Go inside and go to sleep, you ole’ pregnant fool.” He then ordered me. “Call me in the morning with the details.”

“Will do.” I nodded in agreement. “Thank you so much.” I then leaned across the seat to place a quick peck on his stubbly cheek. “Ooh you’re gonna haveta shave soon, Mr. Stubble.” I teased him.

“Night, Nat.”

“Night, J.”

And with that I shut the car door, and made my way up the pathway with a bright grin ever-so present upon my facial features.