Booze, Boys, and Buses

“There’s your baby.” The doctor said pointing to an ultra-sound screen.

I smiled and looked at the picture carefully. The baby looked so tiny; all I could see was the tip of its nose.

“Matt look at our baby.” I said, pointing to the monitor.

Matt looked at the screen and grinned. “It’s beautiful.”

I smiled and looked from him and then back to the screen. “Now you’ve been taking folic acid like I instructed correct?”

“Yes.” I confirmed by nodding.

“Alright good, and you’ve been staying away from alcohol, drugs, and smoking…” The doctor trailed off.

“Yes, I don’t do any of those things.” I lied about the alcohol thing, but who had to know right? At least I wasn’t doing it while I was pregnant.

“Okay good. Well, it looks like you’re good to go. Just give this to Sandy, our receptionist and set up an appointment for about one month from now.” Doctor Rosenburge said, handing me a piece of paper with his chicken scratch handwriting all over it.

“Thank you.” I said, smiling and getting up from the bed I was in.

I handed the paper to Matt and went to the bathroom. After rinsing off all of the jelly on my stomach, I went back out to the reception area and saw Matt saying thank you and goodbye to the secretary. He grabbed my hand and we walked out to the car.

“You don’t look very pregnant yet.” Matt commented as we both sat down and put on our seatbelts.

“Well it’s only been two months. I’m not going to pop up with a belly just out of nowhere.” I said rolling my eyes.

“Well I know. By the way, I think that I may have something coming up.” Matt said, chewing at his lip ring.

I sighed and put my hand on my head. “What is it now?”

“Why do you say it like that?” He asked in a snippy tone.

“Because I know it’s not good, so out with it.” I ordered, glaring at him.

“We have a photo shoot to do in England and our manager thinks that we should do some touring up there since we’ll be there anyway.” Matt said, still playing with his lip ring.

”What the fuck Matt.” I said quietly, staring out the window.

“I’m sorry, it’s not my fault. You can come too if you want.” Matt explained, knowing exactly how I felt about this whole thing.

“How long is this thing going to last?” I asked, burning a hole through him with my eyes.

“About two months.” He said, biting his lip again.

“Two months! Matt! We have a son at home and a baby on the way! I need you!” I shouted, gripping the dashboard.

“Is this what’s going to happen when we have the baby! Am I never going to be allowed to go on tour again? Cass this is my job.” He pointed out, beginning to speed up in the car.

“I know.” I really did understand, but I didn’t want him to leave. “Slow down, we don’t need to get pulled over.”

He didn’t speak to me the rest of the way home. When we pulled into the driveway I got out of the car and walked inside. Max waddled over to me and embraced me.

“Mama.” He said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Hi baby.” I said, patting him on the back.

I felt horrible about Max calling me mama, but I was the closest he had to one. It beat me telling him that his mama was dead, that’s for sure.

“Matt.” He said when Matt walked in through the door.

I handed Max over to Matt and then smiled at Kacie. “Was he good?”

“He was an angel. How did your thing go?” Kacie asked, crossing her arms casually.

“It went good. Our baby looks so beautiful.” I said, smiling from ear to ear.

“That’s so great!” Kacie exclaimed, hugging me.

“By the way, Zacky has something to tell you when you get home.” I said, as she walked away from me to grab her keys.

“Like what?” She asked, scrunching her brow.

“Like, you’ll find out when you get there, but hurry up and go, Matt and I need to get the house ready for when his parents get here.” I started pushing her toward the door. “I love you!”

“Love you too!” She shouted as she was getting into her car.

“Alright, I’ll go put Max down for a nap, and you can get started on the dishes.” I said, taking Max from Matt’s arms.

“What?” Matt asked as if astonished.

“There aren’t that many! Besides, you have a dishwasher.”

I ignored the rest of Matt’s mumbles and grumbles as I walked upstairs and into the nursery Matt had shown me a month ago. It was so adorable still. The only thing wrong was the pile of the books in the corner that weren’t in their basket.

“Night sweetie.” I said, placing Max in his crib and kissing him on the head.

“No!” He shouted, beginning to cry.

“Yes.” I protested calmly, walking over to the books on the floor.

While ignoring Max’s screams, I put his books in their basket and then left the room. Eventually he would stop and fall asleep. I walked right into me and Matt’s room and saw laundry strewn everywhere. I was going to have to get my lingerie from last night cleaned up off the floor. When I picked up a pair of Matt’s pants, a piece of paper fell out of his pocket. I picked it up and read it. Don’t forget to call Val tomorrow. I chewed the inside of my cheek in frustration.

“Matt!” I shouted, tapping my foot on the ground impatiently.

“Coming!” He shouted, trudging up the stairs.

“What is this?” I asked when he showed up in the doorway.

“What is what?” He asked, taking the paper from me. After looking at it for a moment, his mouth shot open. “Shit I forgot to call her.”

He ran from the room and down the stairs. I then glared over at the phone sitting next to our bed. He was going to be talking about something that he didn’t want me to hear. I rolled my eyes in frustration and began to gather all the rest of the laundry. In a minute, Matt was back upstairs. He pecked my cheek and ran over to his closet. He pulled out a coat. Meanwhile, I’m standing there with an armful of clothes just glaring at him.

“I love you, I have to go.” Matt said, kissing me on the cheek and running out the door.

“Where are you going? How long are you going to be gone? What about your parents? Why were you talking to Val on the phone? Matt! I have questions and I want them answered!” I shouted, following him down the stairs.

I tossed the laundry in the chute right next to the television and then put my hands on my hips while he stood in the doorway.

“I’ll explain it all later okay?” Matt said, leaving the room.

“Matthew Charles Sanders!” I shouted, stomping my foot. “I want some fucking answers!”

“Cassandra Marie Howard! You’re not getting any right now!” He said, leaving the house.

He slammed the door behind himself and I was left in a tizzy. If he didn’t die in some freak accident, I was going to kill him when he got home. My feet dragged me over to the phone in the kitchen and I picked it up. I pressed star 69 on the phone and waited for an answer.

“Hello?” said Val.

“Give me some explanation right now. My boyfriend just left my house in a hurry after he called you. I want to know why and what time he’s getting home.” I ordered, roughly tapping my fingers on the counter.

“I can’t talk to you right now.” She hung up the phone causing me to drop my mouth in awe.

I dialed Kacie’s number and waited for a pickup. No one answered. I grumbled and slammed the phone down.

Matt’s POV

I pulled into the parking lot at Val’s house. I honked the horn and waited for her to come out. Even though we’d all had a big sprawl a couple months ago, we all were getting along pretty well now. Well, at least Val didn’t have a problem with Cass. I don’t think the feeling was mutual. Val took a seat next to me and I pulled out of the driveway.

“Where do you think we should go?” I asked, looking at Val for a split second.

“Well relax first off, it’s not like it’s an engagement. You’re just buying her some earrings and filling the house with roses. I already have Kacie on getting Cass out of the house business.” Val explained, lighting a cigarette.

“Oh man, you know I’m not much of a smoker, but I could really use one of those right now.” I said, holding out a hand.

“What is with you? You’re not shopping for anything huge.” Val repeated.

“I’m afraid of Cass when I get home.”

Cassandra’s POV

Kacie showed up in my doorway. She didn’t even knock when she came inside.

“I forgot my purse in the kitchen.” She said, walking into the kitchen area.

“Matt just up and left me here! I found a piece of paper in his pocket telling him to call Val and he freaked out, called her, and then left me!” I shouted, beginning to crack my knuckles due to my nerves.

“Alright, why don’t you and I go shopping then, just to get you out of the house? We can bring Max over to Michelle and Brian’s house, and then be on our way. How does it sound?”

“I feel bad though, we left him home all morning. Now all afternoon?” I asked, biting my lip.

“Cassie, he’s going to be fine. It’s not like you’re abandoning him, you’re just getting out of the house for a little bit.” Kacie insisted, running upstairs. “I’ll get him, you get the car seat and put it in my car.”

“Okay!” I called up after her.

I walked outside and then walked over to my car. I took the car seat out of the car and put it into her Mustang Zack had bought for her. She brought Max outside and placed him into the car seat. He smiled at me.

“Oh crap, I need to get all of his stuff.” I said, beginning to go inside.

“Relax mother hen, I’ve got it.” Kacie said, holding up the small red backpack that belonged to Max.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now let’s go!” Kacie shouted, getting in the front seat.

I sat down next to her. “I can’t even believe him.”

“What? Oh you mean Matt? Just relax, he’s a guy. Like I’ve told you before, they’re stupid.” She laughed and pulled out of the driveway.

Matt’s POV

I pulled into the parking lot of Petco. Val looked at me and sighed.

“What?” I asked, glaring at her.

“I thought you said that you were getting her earrings.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, last time I got her jewelry, she choked on it. I really think a dog may be safer.” I laughed as I thought back to the promise ring I’d concealed in her beer.

Valary laughed at me and then got out of the SUV. I followed her inside and then began looking around. I thought it would be good to get a puppy to grow up with our kids.

“Do you want to get a golden lab?” Val asked, walking over to them.

“Nah, I already got them to get the dog for me. It’s a Siberian Husky.” A smile spread over my face as I walked to the counter.

“But Matt! Do you have any idea how hard those things are to take care of? Never mind if you’re pregnant!” Val exclaimed, glaring at me.

“Kacie already agreed to take care of it. Besides, Cass has been wanting one since she was a little girl.”

“How would you know that?” Stupid question.

“Kacie told me. Believe it or not, I do know her Val. Cassie isn’t just a rebound. I love her.” I said, becoming really aggravated with her trying to get me back.

Val gritted her teeth as we stood there at the front desk for a couple more minutes waiting for assistance. I began tapping my hand on the counter. A woman was standing behind us who shared the same annoyance. Finally, someone came to the desk and stared at me. After a moment the young woman jumped like she’d been hit in the face.

“Oh my god! You’re Matt and Valary Sanders!” She shouted, her eyes began watering.

“Actually it’s Matt Sanders and Valary Di…”

Val slapped my chest. “Hi.”

I was going to have to talk to her about that later. That was a little uncalled for. She needed to understand that I was with Cassandra now.

“Did you get my Husky in?” I asked, biting at my lip ring.

“We sure did! Hold on I’ll get that for you right now!” The clerk exclaimed, running off.

She came back a couple minutes later with a kennel with a small barking dog in it. I stared into its pale blue eyes. He looked upset being cooped up in that little kennel. His fur hadn’t quite turned black yet, it still rested at a golden color. The cashier asked me for the money, and I handed it to her happily.

“So do you guys have any tour plans I should be looking out for?” She asked, smiling at me.

“Unless you’re from another country then no. Sorry.” I said, shrugging.

I really meant it too. I hated to see a disappointed fan.

“That stinks. Oh well, do you need anything else to go with this?” She asked, staring at me.

“Uh, no we have everything already arranged, but thank you.”

Cassandra’s POV

Kacie and I were looking together at maternity clothes. She picked up some lacy red lingerie making me laugh.

“You know, I really haven’t been that into doing stuff with him these days. I just feel really blah. It’s not that I’m not turned on to him, it’s just that…” I laughed.

“Yeah I understand how you might feel. I know sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything with Zack and he’s all ‘babe! Come on!’” She laughed. “It’s ridiculous.”

Maybe that’s where Matt went, to get his fix. I hadn’t had sex with him in quite a long time. Val would give it to him. My stomach grew achy due to my thoughts.

“Bathroom.” I muttered, looking around hopelessly.

Kacie shoved me toward a bathroom and I made it just in time to throw up. This had to be almost over. I was so sick of being sick, and don’t even get me started on the fatigue. I always felt tired. I don’t even know what I thought I was doing going shopping.

“He’s cheating on me isn’t he?” I said, as Kacie and I exited the bathroom.

“What?” Kacie asked, taking an involuntary step backward. “He would never cheat on you. I trust in him.”

“We haven’t had sex in a while and he could be with Val…” I began, but stopped myself.

“Would he do something like that to you? Honestly, you’re his pregnant girlfriend, he wouldn’t fucking hurt you and I know he wouldn’t. So shut the hell up and let’s have some fun.”

“Okay.”