[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter 8:

Lauren sat on the couch wearily, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. She flipped on the tv and took a sip of her coffee, hoping to wake herself up. Howie and Nastasia had said they would be dropping Alexandria off at 6:45 am, for they had to catch their flight at 8:15, it was now 6:40. She had woken up ten minutes before, hoping to give herself enough time to actually wake up before they arrived. A.J and Chase were still dead asleep, and Lauren was a bit grateful for that, because she knew when Chase woke up, it wouldn't be very quiet in the house.

She found herself aimlessly channel surfing, nothing seemed to be on. There was never anything interesting on tv this early in the morning. She felt herself begin to doze off again when she heard a sudden knocking on the door. She jumped up from the couch, nearly spilling her coffee on herself and walked over to the front door.

" Morning Laurie, hope we didn't wake you, " Nastasia greeted cheerfully, as she hoisted Alexandria's baby bag farther onto her shoulder.

" No, you didn't wake me. I was already awake, " Lauren replied, offering them all a smile. She smiled again as she noticed a sleeping Alexandria in Howie's arms.

" Is J and the kid still sleeping? " Howie asked.

" Yep, thank God Chase is, and there's no way A.J would be up this early unless he absolutely had to. "

" Are you sure you and JJ don't mind watching Alexia for us while we're gone? " Nastasia asked, not wanting to leave Alexandria behind.

" Staz, listen to me! " Lauren said as she placed both hands on Nastasia's shoulders. " You are going to go on your honeymoon and you are going to have the best time of your life, and not once do I want to hear about you worrying about Lexie, alright? She is going to be fine, Alex and I don't mind watching her one bit. She's a doll. So go and have fun while you can and don't worry about Lexie. "

" Alright, alright, " Nastasia laughed as she handed Lauren the baby bag. " I'll try to have fun. " Lauren glared at her. " Alright! I WILL have fun! "

" That's much better, " Lauren laughed as she turned to Howie. " And you have fun too, you got it? "

" Yes mother, " Howie grinned. He was getting more excited by the minute, anticipating the fun they would have in the Carribbeans. He knew Nastasia was gonna love it. " Alexia fell back asleep on the way over here, so she should be out for a while, " he explained as he handed Alexandria over to Lauren. As soon as she had left his arms, her tiny eyes parted and she began to cry. " Or not... " Howie frowned sadly as his daughter stretched her arms out to him, her cries ringing in his ears.

Lauren hugged Alexandria close to her, trying to calm the crying child the best she could. " Shhh...it's ok...Lexie... "

Howie leaned in and placed a kiss on Alexandria's forehead and brushed his hand along her now flushed cheek. From the gleam in his eyes, it was obvious, the two of them had an everlasting special bond. " Shhh sweetie, it's ok. Mommy and Daddy are only gonna be gone for a week. We'll see you real soon. "

" Everythings in the baby bag...clothes, diapers, bottles, formula... " Nastasia explained. " You do remember how to change a diaper, right? " she asked absentmindedly.

Lauren looked at her friend blankly and then laughed. " Remember Staz, I did become a mother first. And uh, who taught you how to change a diaper? "

Nastasia laughed sheepishly, her face turning red. " Sorry, I'm just being really blond right now... "

" That's a given. "

" We'll see you real soon, baby, " Nastasia cooed as she leaned in and kissed Alexandria's cheek. " Mommy and Daddy love you lots. "

" Bye Lauren, thanks again! " Howie called out as they began walking back to his car.

" No problem! You two have fun! " Lauren yelled, rocking Alexandria in her arms, still trying to stop her crying hysterics.

*****

" Ok, give me a little clue as to where in the Carribbean we're going, " Nastasia tried again as they settled into their seats on the plane.

Howie grinned. " No, I'm not gonna tell you. It's a surprise, so you're just going to have to wait until we get there. "

" You know that's not fair, right? "

" Yeah, and that makes it all the better, " Howie said and kissed her. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began dialing a number.

" Who you calling? "

" My mother... "

" You just called her a minute ago. "

" Alright, I'm calling Lauren. "

" Why? "

" To make sure Alexia's alright... "

Nastasia grabbed the phone from his hand and turned the power off, slipping it into her carry on bag. " No, you're not. You're acting as bad as me now, " she laughed. " We'll call her when we get there. "

*****

" Oh God Lauren, this place is beautiful, " Nastasia said into the phone in a hushed voice as she sat on the end of the bed.

It was truely amazing. Howie had rented a beautiful condo on the beach that they would be staying at for the whole week. It was a one bedroom condo, that had a good-sized living-room, a big bathroom, and the bedroom itself was amazing in appearance. There were double glass doors in the bedroom that led out to the patio, and out there was where the jacuzzi was.

" I knew you would love it, " Lauren replied, smiling to herself as she watched A.J play with Alexandria. " Howie told us all about it, I can just imagine how beautiful it must be there. "

" I really needed this vacation, it's gonna be great, " Nastasia sighed. " How's Alexia? "

Lauren laughed. " I knew that question was coming. She's doing fine. Alex is entertaining her at the moment. Chase has been having a blast hanging out with his baby cousin. The two of them are a real sight, you know? "

" Yeah, well, I just thought I would call to see what was up and - "

" And to make sure Lexie isn't killing Alex. "

" Ok, yeah, that too, " Nastasia laughed. " Call ya tomorrow? "

" If you want to. "

" Alright, bye Laurie. "

" Bye. "

Nastasia hung up the phone and tossed it down on the bed. She stood up and stretched, then made her way over to the doors. She looked out, watching as Howie sat on the patio steps, looking out over the ocean, being very deep in thought. She opened the doors quietly and walked over to him. " Hey... "

" Hey baby, " Howie greeted, smiling up at her as she sat next to him. " Well, what do you think of this place? " he asked as she moved down in front of him and he began to rub her shoulders.

" It's absolutely beautiful, absolutely beautiful... "

" I was hoping you would love it. "

" Of course I do, to think you would do all of this, just for me... "

" Only the best and nothing less for the love of my life. "

Nastasia smiled brightly as a warm feeling filled her heart. Words like that was what she really needed to hear.

Howie rubbed his hands over Nastasia's soft skin, ever so often leaning forward and kissing her neck. His eyes happened to travel down as he was doing so and he stopped when he saw the scar on her back. He had never noticed it before as he now gently touched it. " Stazzie? "

" Hmmm? "

" How did this happen? "

" How did what happen? "

" This scar... "

Nastasia closed her eyes as the pain filled her heart, a tidal wave of memories cascading through her mind. It was bad enough she had to live with the scar the rest of her life, she just wished she could forget about it. " W-what scar? " she hesitated.

" The one on your back... "

" Oh, uh...i-it's from a childhood accident, " she lied, hating that she did. " I-I fell off my bike when I was little and scratched against something sharp. "

Howie's eyes clouded over with worry as he listened to her lie to his face. She was lying and he knew it, only making him worry more. " Stazzie, what happened? "

" I told you, it was a childhood accident. "

" Stazzie... "

" Why are you calling me a liar? "

" I'm not Stazzie... "

" I got it from a childhood accident and that's that, " Nastasia snapped as she stood up, the hate she felt towards her father at the moment, pouring out of her. She gave Howie a sorrowful look and went into the condo.

Howie sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, wondering why Nastasia had reacted the way she had. What was so bad about it, that she acted like she didn't want to talk about it?