Where You Belong

"Has she always eaten this much?"

I was broken from my train of thoughts as I heard Lacey’s worried tone, and looked in her direction to see what she was talking about. When I looked up, I noticed Val and Michelle's amused expressions, and Lacey’s worried one. Leana simply smiled at me, biting her lip to keep from laughing at me. I frowned as they all watched me eat, putting my barbeque burger back down on my plate.

"What?" I half whined with a pout before fixing them with a glare, "I'm hungry."

"That much is obvious," Michelle muttered under her breath. I rolled my eyes at that.

"Yeah, she's always eaten that much," Val confirmed with a smile, though still looking at me with a somewhat odd expression on her face, "Though, you did just order three burgers, two shakes, and a jumbo side of fries That's a new record, even for you." she added softly with a giggle of her own.

"Don't forget the hot wings and mozzarella sticks she ordered for an appetizer," Michelle snorted from across the table, squealing when I chucked a fry at her head. "It's a fucking feast fit for a king!"

"So? I didn't eat today," I lied, looking to Leana for help. She jumped right in, thankfully.

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed, feigning a gasp in order to divert their attention elsewhere, "You went apartment hunting this morning, didn't you?"

As soon as she said that, the other three girls gasped too and looked at me expectant grins. And it was true; I had been looking for apartments in town with hopes of moving out of my parents' house. It'd been nice staying with them for free, but I didn't want to be one of those daughters who moved in with kids and caused them stress. In my eyes, they were too old to have that much worry, so I took it upon myself to find a place of my own.

I'd been back home for nearly two months now, and was lucky enough to have my former boss refer me to another BMW dealership just outside of Huntington, where I could work as a sales representative there. I loved my job and the exclusive offers that employees received from the company. I'd started working there just two weeks ago, having had to wait for a bit on the paperwork for my transfer to be processed. Because the cars I sold were luxury cars, the commission I made on each sale went mostly towards my savings account so that I could eventually move. While I wasn't completely ready to move yet, I knew that in a few weeks, I would be.

"Yeah, I did," I smiled at my friends, glad to see that they were so supportive with the decisions I'd made. Today was the first day of looking for an apartment, and I was scheduled to look at some more next weekend, since I worked every day during the week at the dealership.

"And...?" Val prodded, leaning forward with her elbows on the table, as if I were about share a big, juicy gossip story. I chuckled at her curiosity and shrugged.

"We looked at three different places for today," I said, reaching back down and picking my burger up before taking a hefty bite out of it. I moaned at the taste, causing Leana to giggle quietly, and quickly finished off the rest of it. I chased it down with a few gulps of Sprite before I continued, "The first one was okay. It was one bedroom, one bath. The living room was really big, but I didn't like the fact that the bathroom was so tiny." I frowned, thinking back to the first apartment.

Lacey nodded her head in understanding, "I don't blame you. I feel like my whole day is ruined if I have a cramped bathroom that doesn't meet my needs," Michelle eyed her with one eyebrow raised, and Lacey threw her hands up in defense, "What! Don't tell me you of all people don't understand where I'm coming from."

Michelle looked elsewhere with a grumble, causing Val to burst into laughter, "Yeah, Chelle. I think Lace called you out on that one."

It was true. I loved Michelle dearly, but she was as vain as they came. She was never rude about her and others' appearances, but she made it one of her top priorities to look good everywhere she went. Of course, I was just as guilty in that department a lot of times, but I think Michelle took the cake. I'd visited her and Brian's house the other day, and not only did her makeup and hair products take up the majority of her and Brian's bathroom, but she also had one of their guest rooms turned into a second 'closet' of sorts--as if her and Brian's actual closet and the guest room weren't huge to begin with.

"She definitely did, babe," Leana grinned. I'd learned quickly that like Michelle and I, Leana was an impulsive shopper. While Michelle hoarded makeup and hair products, Leana and I had a shoe fetish. Leana also liked a lot of jewelry, while I had a lingerie collection. Just things we couldn't keep ourselves from buying.

"Oh, fuck you guys!" Michelle finally laughed, taking a sip of the coke sitting in front of her, causing the rest of us to laugh at her. She knew she had absolutely no room to speak in that department. If one thing in her bathroom was ever misplaced, she'd freak out. She'd been like that for as long as I could remember, though I wasn't much better than she was about that pet peeve either.

"Anyway," I cut in with a playful roll of my eyes, "I told the lady that I wasn't interested, so we moved to the next place and it was way better. It was a two bedroom with a full bath. The living room was medium sized, which was good enough for me, and the kitchen was pretty spacious too."

"Great!" Val beamed, clearly holding back from emitting a squeal of excitement, "So, are you gonna get that one?" she asked eagerly.

I shook my head, causing her to frown, "I honestly considered asking about a payment plan, and I told her how much I loved bathroom and kitchen, but that I was slightly disappointed with the appliances for the amount of money they were asking for."

"What was wrong with them?" Lacey asked curiously, as she and Leana both tilted their heads to the side. I shrugged before glancing at them with a serious expression.
"Well, to say that they were outdated would be a huge understatement," I explained pointedly, as they all nodded with looks of understanding, Lacey visibly cringing.
"Ohhhhh," they chorused in disgust, causing me to giggle Michelle and Val looked at each other, then the table.

"KNOCK ON WOOD!" they exclaimed in unison, receiving many strange glances from the rest of the people in the diner.

"Um, sweeties," Leana began slowly, looking at them pointedly, "The table's made of stainless steel," she continued slowly, as if the twins were special.

I couldn't contain my laughter as I threw my head back and giggled loudly. Lacey shook her head in amusement, stifling a laugh herself. Leana smirked as Val looked around sheepishly. Michelle looked thoroughly annoyed, which made me laugh even hard. Lacey joined in, too.

Michelle scoffed, "Well, you know what we meant!" she answered defensively, crossing her arms across her chest with a pout. I couldn't help but to smile.

Oh, the people I surrounded myself with.

***
"I scheduled you another appointment with the chiropractors," My mother yawned, walking into my room later that night.

After having lunch with the girls, I'd gone home and lounged around for a while before I looked into more types of apartments that were available around the area. However, it had quickly become uninteresting to me, seeing as I'd fallen asleep at the computer more than once during my search. I'd decided that it was time for me to go to bed, even if it was still somewhat early in the evening.

Naturally, that didn't last long.

I'd been asleep for a mere three or four hours before the morning sickness started up. I'd never been so thankful for an en suite bathroom in my life. On several occasion throughout the remainder of the night, I was huddled in front of the toilet. Since my father slept like the fucking dead, my mother stayed with me. I felt bad that she was losing so much sleep by staying up and watching me, but she'd insisted on doing so, claiming that I had more bouts of morning sickness than any person she'd ever known.

By one in the morning, I was exhausted, but I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Once again, the back pains I often had were starting up, and it was nearly impossible to lay down and go back to sleep. So I simply stayed up, keeping myself busy with baking and listening to music.

It was nearing two-thirty in the morning, when I looked over and saw the glowing screen of my cell phone on the counter. I'd been dancing around to Lady Gaga and had just finished icing three dozen strawberry cupcakes. Setting my butter knife down, I paused the music, and picked up my phone to answer it, seeing Zack's name on the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Britt," Zack's voice flooded my ears in a shaky tone, causing me to frown, "Do you mind coming over?"

I sighed at his request. It wasn't that I didn't want to go over to Zack's, it was the fact that if he'd asked me to come visit this late at night, then it meant that he hadn't been able to sleep. It upset me to know the my best friend's feelings had been hurt so badly, that he could never get more than a couple of hours of sleep at night. He usually got around thirteen or fourteen hours of sleep on average each week.

"Of course I don't, baby," I smiled softly, knowing that he was going through a rough time and didn't need to be left alone, "Do you need me to bring you anything?"

"No, I'm okay," he answered quietly with a sigh, "Thanks for doing this for me, Britt. I'm sorry if I woke you up--"

"No, no," I cut in, with a flap of my hand, even though he couldn't see it, "I myself couldn't sleep; I've been up for a good couple of hours, so I don't mind. I'll be there in about ten minutes, okay?"

With that, he thanked me and we said our goodbyes before hanging up. Setting my phone down, I eyed the now messy kitchen. I knew I would have to work fast to clean everything so that Zack wouldn't have to wait on me for long. Tossing all the used bake ware and utensils into the dishwasher, I hurried and got that started up before I wrapped the newly baked cupcakes and set them on the far counter. After that, I grabbed a rag and wiped down the counters, before I made my way upstairs to my parents' room.

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm going to Zack's," I announced quietly, knowing that only my mother would've heard me. She made a noise of acknowledgement and waved her hand, and I smiled before closing their door and heading back downstairs.

Grabbing my phone and my keys, I darted outside to my car. The roads were dark and a little slick, and there were only a handful of cars on the road at that time. I allowed the radio to play softly and sang along to the songs I happened to know. It wasn't long before I'd reached Zack's neighborhood and turned into his driveway, where he was already standing and waiting for me with a smile on his face.

"Hey, kiddo," he smiled tiredly as I stepped out of the car, locking it up behind me and walking toward him. I frowned as I looked at the bags present beneath his eyes and sighed, getting his attention. He smiled halfheartedly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and bringing me into his chest for a hug, "I'm fine, I promise."

I made a noise of disapproval before leaning up to kiss his face, though naturally, I was too short and ended up kissing the underside of his jaw. He chuckled, bringing me into his side before leading me into the house. Once inside, I set my keys and phone down on the table near the front door, before looking around.

"What've you been up to tonight?" I asked curiously, seeing that the majority of the lights and the TV were still on. Zack's dog, Ichabod, a tiny ball of black fur, came running towards my feet, and I scooped him up into my arms, kissing his head, "Hi, Icky baby."

I turned my attention back to Zack as he shrugged, "I watched some TV, played guitar..."
"Have you eaten anything?" I asked, sensing his lack of energy as he trudged around the house. He shrugged his shoulders in response, which I took as a negative answer. Placing Icky back down on the ground, I then pushed Zack over to the bar he had in the kitchen, "Go have a seat, and I'll make you something. If you can't sleep then you have to have something to eat to at least give you a little extra energy."

Zack didn't complain as he took a seat on a barstool, leaning his arms on the bar and watching me with a sad smile. I busied myself with pulling out all the ingredients I would need for spaghetti, which I knew was one of Zack's favorite foods to eat. I filled a pot with water and brought it to a boil before opening a box of spaghetti noodles and adding them to the mix.

Next, I took a package of ground beef out of the freezer and stuck it in the microwave to defrost for a few minutes before I began looking for a couple of different sauces to use. When I was sure the beef had thawed out enough, I unwrapped the package and tossed the beef into a skillet on medium heat.

"Zack, where do you keep your spatula?" I asked, rooting through each drawer for the utensil I needed. Zack hopped off the barstool and walked over to where I was reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out just what I needed. I grinned at him, taking the spatula from his hands, "Thank you, love."

From there, I used the spatula to separate the large chunk of meat as it began to brown in the skillet. I then turned back to the noodles and sprinkled a little salt into the pot, having forgotten to do it before.

"What's that do?" Zack asked, referring to the salt I'd just used.

I smiled at his curiosity, "Keeps the noodles from sticking together."

Once I'd thoroughly browned the meat and had it all chopped up, I then proceeded to drain it, using several paper towels to get up any grease that was left in the skillet. I then began combining two different sauces together with the meat, one flavored "traditional", and the other flavored "tomato and basil". I grabbed half a cup of sugar and tossed it in the mix before grabbing a large spoon and stirring it as I turned the heat up a little. Covering the meat and sauce with aluminum foil, I cut off the noodles and poured them in a colander do drain them of the water they'd been boiled in. When that was finished, I set the colander back on top of the pot and cut that burner off.

"What are you making?" Zack's breath ghosted against the back of my neck as he appeared behind me, gently placing his large hands on my hips. I smiled, knowing the aroma from the food was making him hungry and impatient.

"Spaghetti," I answered simply, leaning back into his chest as his arms snaked around my middle. I could almost feel the grin that I was sure had just spread across his face.
"My favorite," he commented happily, turning me around so that I could see the genuine smile planted on his face. "Is it ready yet?" he asked cutely, causing me to giggle.
I shook my head, "No, honey, you gotta wait for a few more minutes so that the sauce can heat up and the flavors can mix together."

With that, I reached up and ruffled his hair with a smile before breaking loose from his grasp and heading upstairs to his room. I heard his chuckle from behind me as I climbed the stairs, reaching his dark themed bedroom. It was a gorgeous room and very spacious, complete with the nicest bathroom I'd ever seen in my life. There was a walk-in shower and a tub with jets. I longed to get a chance to take a bath in there.

With a giggle to myself, I snatched a couple of pillows off his bed and headed back downstairs, only to see Zack snooping around the kitchen, sticking his finger in the sauce and tasting it. He emitted a groan of approval, causing me to raise my eyebrows. I cleared my throat in order to make my presence known, causing him to whip around to face me with wide eyes.

"I-I, I uh..." he stuttered, looking at me with a sheepish smile. I chuckled and simply left the kitchen, walking towards the living room.

I placed the pillows on the couch, hoping to recreate a version of the body pillow that I kept at home, cursing myself for not having thought to bring it. Once I'd fluffed the pillows to my liking, I plopped down on top of them, Zack's unique cologne immediately filling my nostrils. His scent had always had some strange calming effect, and despite the pain in my back, I could slowly feel myself relaxing enough to the point where sleep could find me.

Zack came in a few minutes later, this time only dressed in a pair of sweatpants. The pants hung low on his hips and his shirt had apparently been discarded. I smiled as I saw all of the tattoos that colored his arms and chest. Zack had never been super muscular, however he'd always been in good shape and was stronger than most people gave him credit for. He'd had a knack for playing baseball for the longest time, and I remembered him kicking some serious ass at it back in high school.

He flashed me a small smile as he walked towards me and I opened my arms to him for a hug. With a chuckle he leaned down and scooped me off the couch, bringing me into his arms for a hug as he took my spot on the couch and forced me to sit sideways on his lap. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out, to which he simply smiled. I leaned forward to rest my head on his shoulder, unconsciously placing a hand on my stomach as I twisted my body at a strange angle.

"Feeling better?" I asked, though my question came out in a mumble since my face was buried in his neck. I felt him nod, however, and smiled at that.

"I am," he answered truthfully, his voice ever so quiet, "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you sometimes. Thanks again for coming over."

"You don't have to thank me," I protested as I sat up, looking him straight in the eyes as I felt him coil his arms back around my waist, one hand running up and down my side. I slowly felt my train of thought derail at the feel of his finger tips rubbing small circles into my skin. As my pregnancy continued, I could feel more changes taking place in my body. The most noticeable change, however, was my sensitivity to touch.

"I want to," he mumbled, tracing his fingers across the small amount of exposed skin on my back from where my shirt had ridden up, sending goosebumps rippling across my skin. "I can't even begin to tell you just how much your presence alone has done for me. I'm glad you're here." he murmured into my neck, placing a soft kiss there.

I couldn't help but to smile at his words, "I'm glad to be here."