“Yeah.”
Luke goes to my dad’s alarm clock and changes the time. He’ll wake up an hour late tomorrow. I can’t help but giggle. “That’s a good one.” Excitedly, I throw my hand in the air. “I know one.”
Liv and Luke chuckle.
“My dad only uses the big towels when he showers. Let’s put something sticky on one of them.”
Liv’s eyes light up. “Does your mom have any corn syrup for baking?”
“Probably.”
“It’s sticky but clear. He won’t figure that one out.”
“Let’s do it,” I say, grinning. “But that’s enough, or he’ll become suspicious.”
“I’m thinking of more, and we’ll do one about once a week,” Luke adds. He’s a sweetheart, but I’m not surprised he wants revenge on my dad.
“Oh, and I’m stealing at least one belt.” He’s off to my parents room again, and when he comes back holding it, my eyes fill with tears. I don’t know what I’d do without my best friends. Luke comes over and hugs me. “I’m sorry, Kenz. I’ll find a way to stop him.”
***
“McKenzie, what are you thinking about?” Mom asks.
“Oh, I was watching that little boy.”
“I’m sorry you’re getting maternity clothes for your eighteenth birthday,” she says as she puts an arm around my shoulder.
“It’s fine, Mom. It’s not your fault.” We walk into another department store and find the maternity section.
“If I had the extra money, I’d do more, but with the balance insurance isn’t paying on your doctor bills, I can’t afford it.”
“Mom, I’ll get a part-time job.”
“You’re carrying twins and trying to get through your senior year. You’re not working. But ...”
I glance up when my mother doesn’t finish her sentence. She’s staring at me and biting on her nail.
“What?”
“If you and Luke would go ahead and find a couple to adopt, they would likely cover your medical expenses.”
I blow out a deep breath. She’s right. The doctor said I could have the babies a little early, too. I mean, we’re almost halfway there.
“Luke and I will start looking.” My mood takes a nosedive, so I hang a shirt back on the rack. “I have enough clothes for now. Can we go?”
My mom pads over and hugs me.
“I’m truly sorry you have to go through this.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
After tucking hair behind my ears, she cups my cheeks, which are getting fuller.
“Come on. Let’s get ice cream,” she says.
It cheers me up a little, but I’m still sad as we ride home. We pull in the drive, and I see a ton of cars over at Luke’s.
“I guess David and Lisa are hosting their Christmas party tonight. They usually have it a little closer to the actual holiday, and I’m normally invited.
“They probably don’t want me around, and I’m sure Luke didn’t have the heart to tell me. It looks like our friends are there, too.”
Luke
I drop the blind I’m peeking through.
“Here she comes.” Our friends stay back away from the door. It’s Kenzie’s eighteenth birthday, and she deserves a special one after all she’s going through. After coming through the door, she turns toward us.
“Surprise!” Everyone yells simultaneously. Kenzie literally jumps and holds her hand to her chest. Oh, man. I hope scaring her isn’t hard on the babies.
She grins, and Charlotte is standing behind her with a smile on her face, too. About fifteen of our closest friends are here, and they smother Kenz with hugs.
She takes a glimpse at me while her arms wrap around Liv, and I know what she’s saying from across the room. Similar to the connection I have with my sister, I’m usually aware of what Kenzie is thinking.
I’ve always gotten an uncomfortable feeling when something was wrong with her, finding my way to the treehouse at the times we needed each other the most.
She’s always been the same, heading over to our house when she had a feeling something wasn’t right with either Liv or me.
***
Age 10:
“Stop, Samuel!” Liv yells as I’m falling to the ground. The bully down the street has pushed me, knocking me off my feet. He’s twelve, and for some reason, he likes to pick on me. I lift my palms from the pavement, which are stinging from the pebbles imbedded in them.
“Get up you big chicken. Your sister is here taking up for you like usual, but where’s that little girlfriend of yours? It’s sad you need girls to take up for you.”
His buddies start laughing, and I’d give anything for him to be smaller than me for even one day. I no sooner stand up before he’s pushing me down again.
“You get off of him, you big bully!” Kenzie yells. Crap. Now, they’ll really make fun of me. I turn and see her sprinting across the yard toward us.
Along with Samuel, the guys start laughing. She reaches us and grabs my arm to help me up.
“Get off of me, Kenzie,” I snap. She snatches her hand away, looking startled and hurt.
“Go home, Samuel,” Liv says as she glares at him.
“What are you going to do if I don’t?”
“I’ll get my dad, that’s what.”
“Ooohh, I’m so scared,” he says mockingly before he glances to his friends. “Come on guys. Luke has his little girls to protect him. I wouldn’t want them to hurt us.” He and his friends burst into laughter again, before they walk away. After getting up, I dust off my hands.
“Kenzie, where are you going?” Liv asks, yelling. I look up and see Kenz running into her backyard.
“Way to go, Luke. You hurt her feelings. She was only trying to help.”
“Yeah, and I don’t need girls protecting me. Next time, stay out of it.”
“You’re a brat,” Liv says before she bolts away.
“It takes one to know one,” I call out. I’m not as mad about them helping me as I am over hurting Kenzie’s feelings.
After cleaning the little bit of blood off my hands, I watch out my bedroom window until I see Liv coming home. When I hear her shut her bedroom door, I head over to Kenzie’s.
Climbing into the treehouse, I find her getting out her drawing paper and colored pencils from the plastic container she keeps them in. She often draws me pictures of my favorite cars, and they’re really neat.
“Go home, Luke.” She doesn’t look up at me as she digs through the different colors.
“No.”
“Whatever.”
I sit down in front of her with my legs crossed.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you. I didn’t want them making fun of me because you came to help.”
Kenzie finally looks up at me for a few seconds before she goes back to drawing.
“Samuel is a fat turd,” she says before smiling. I chuckle. Kenzie has hardly come around since we shared our first kiss last week, when Liv wanted to kiss Jared in the treehouse, so I like that she’s smiling at me.
I’ve wanted to kiss her again ever since, and I wonder if she thinks about it. I scoot across and sit next to her. Kenzie smells like flowers.
“What are you drawing?”
“I’ve been working on a treehouse. People live in them, and I plan to when I grow up. Here is what I have so far,” she says before she holds it in front of me.
“That’s cool. I like the roof.” She pulls the sketch pad back, smiling. “So, are you not mad at me?” Kenzie looks at me, and our faces are really close.
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Um,” I rub my hands on my shorts, “do you want to kiss again?”
Her face is red in an instant before she turns her head away. “I don’t know. Liv said it was weird kissing Jared. You know ... with her tongue. She said it was kinda gross.”
“Eww, I don’t want to hear about it.” I scowl and shake my head. This makes Kenzie snicker.
“I thought the way we did it was
cool,” I say. She looks at me, and her blue eyes are pretty.
“OK,” she whispers. We both wet our lips before we’re kissing. Our lips meet like four times, and as gross as it sounds, I really want to put my tongue in her mouth, but I don’t try since she didn’t seem to want to.
***
“I hope you’re not mad about the party,” I say before I give Kenzie a hug.
“How could I be mad? It’s sweet.”
Up close, I can see that she’s tired. Her eyes are dark underneath, and I worry the twins are taking everything from her little body.
“Did shopping wear you out?”
“Yeah. I’m sleepy all the time these days.” She lets me go and turns her body away. Taking hold of her wrist, I bring her back around.
“Something is wrong. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Later, maybe. We have company.” She smiles, but I believe it’s forced.
“OK. Can I give you my gift after everyone leaves?”
“Sure. I’d like that.”
Kenzie seems to perk up as she hangs out with her friends. Her cake is covered in purple icing, and she happily eats a piece ... or two. Tired or not, her smile lights up her eyes, and I can tell she’s enjoying time to act her age.
All of our friends are aware she’s pregnant, but neither of us has told anyone we’re expecting twins, not even Liv. I need to tell my parents, but I haven’t wanted to see the evidence of more disappointment.
McKenzie
My head is on Luke’s chest. His heartbeat is strong beneath me, and it has me recalling the sound of our babies’ heartbeats.
“Thank you for the party. It was fun having all our friends here.”
“You’re welcome.” He kisses the top of my head, and I could drift to sleep. His arms and warm breath are soothing, but we have to talk about something, so I sit up. Luke smiles at me immediately.
“Since you’re not going to fall asleep, I want to give you my gift. I stuck it in your closet when I came over earlier to decorate.”
He climbs off the bed and returns with what looks like a picture. It’s wrapped in dark purple paper, with a large lavender bow in the center, and I bet Luke took the time to do it.
“I can’t wait to see what it is, but I don’t want to mess up the pretty paper.” I get up on my knees and scoot to the edge of the bed where he’s holding it.
“I’ll at least save the beautiful bow,” I say as I remove it.
“Rip it off, Kenz. Go for it.” His smile is genuine, and he’s happy. Even with what we’re faced with, he’s positive and content with me.
“I think you might be more excited than I am,” I say as I tear the wrapping off. It’s about an eighteen by twenty-four picture frame, and my mouth is agape as I take in every inch of what is beneath the glass.
“Luke, this is the most thoughtful gift.” Inside are five drawings I did when I was younger.
“See, here are two of the sports cars you drew for me.” Luke points to the top left and bottom right drawings. There’s a picture of an ocean scene on the bottom left.
“Do you remember when you said you were going to live in this treehouse?” he asks, pointing to the drawing on the top right.
“I remember we kissed that day, and I liked it, so I gave you the drawing when I finished it,” I reply with a giggle. He leans over the frame and kisses me, and unlike the one in the treehouse, this one is passionate.
Right in the center is a portrait of Liv, Luke and me. I drew it from a photo of the three of us at a Dartmouth ice hockey game a couple of years ago.
We’re in the stands with green paint on our faces. Our arms are around each other’s shoulders, and we’re smiling cheerfully.
“Luke, I absolutely love it, but don’t you want to keep it?”
“I have more, and anyway, someday, it will be in our house.”
I glance from the frame to him. “That is the best present you could give me.”
Luke props the frame against my dresser and wraps his arms around my waist. I’m still on my knees on the bed as he kisses me again. Our tongues move together as if they’ve been friends as long as we have, stroking slowly and lovingly.
“I’m going to give you everything, Kenzie. It will take time, but I will, and that treehouse you drew ... we might not live in it, but I’ll build it for our kids.”
His words are sweet yet painful, and I can’t hide that they hurt.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“We need to pick a family for the twins. Mom said they’d likely pay for whatever medical bills I have left. Time is going by fast.” I see the same pain in Luke’s gaze, so I glance away.
“It’s your birthday, Kenz. Let’s wait and search tomorrow. Maybe once we find a couple we like, it will be easier to go through with it.” He turns my chin back to him and softly kisses my lips.
“I love you, Kenzie Baker, and those babies in your belly will always be a part of both of us no matter who raises them.”
Chapter Seventeen
Luke
I’m a ball of nerves. Kenzie is twenty-two weeks pregnant, and I’m going to the obstetrician appointment with her today. I’ll finally get to hear their heartbeats.
She smiles at me on her way to her lunch table. Stew’s across from me, and I watch as he twists his body to see who I’m staring at. It should be a no brainer, but he’s not the brightest. He looks pissed when he turns back around.
“Damn, Luke, her belly’s getting huge. You two must’ve hooked up on the first date. If I’d known she was that easy, I wouldn’t have given up so quick—”
I’m launching myself toward him. I thought he was my friend, but since Kenzie and I started dating, he’s been nothing but a dick.
I grab the front of his shirt and practically drag him across the table, causing food to fly everywhere. Our friends interfere once again and pull me off of him.
“Man, why would you say something like that to him?” Dalton asks Stew as he holds my arms.
“Both of you sit your asses down before you can’t play this weekend,” Noah says.
I jerk free of Dalton’s hold and storm out of the cafeteria. Outside, I walk around with my jaw tightened and fists clenched, trying to calm down. Feeling someone grab my arm, I spin around.
“Luke, it’s me,” Kenzie says, stepping back. “What the hell happened back there?”
Pulling her close, I hug her tight. Holding her should calm me. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It was about me, wasn’t it?”
“I know he thought he had a chance at dating you before we got together, but he acts like I broke the two of you up or something.”
“You have to ignore him before he gets you into trouble.”
“You didn’t get to eat. How are you feeling?”
“I’m OK. I’ve been snacking all day,” she says before snickering. “I could provide snack time to a class of preschoolers with what’s in my backpack.”
“I’m nervous but excited about seeing the ultrasound.”
Her smile fades, like every other time I mention us going to the doctor appointment.
“Everyone is talking about me showing.” Biting on her lip, Kenzie stares off, and I believe she’s working on changing the subject.
“I don’t care about everyone. I care about you and our babies.”
***
The ultrasound tech appears to be in her thirties, and she’s wearing scrubs. “This gel will be cool,” she says before squirting a liquid on Kenzie’s growing belly. I take hold of her hand as she lies on the table. I can’t stop tapping my foot.
For a few minutes, everything on the screen looks fuzzy and grey. The tech presses on Kenzie’s belly firmly with what she calls a wand, and I guess her stomach can take more pressure than I thought.
After the lady pushes some buttons on the machine in front of her, I hear it. Similar to the day I found out about the twins, time stands still. I hear nothing but the sound of my babies’ beating heart
s.
“So, you’re the daddy?” the woman asks, never taking her eyes off the screen. Daddy.
“Um, yeah. That’s their heartbeats, correct?”
“Yes.” As the tech concentrates on the ultrasound, Kenz squeezes my hand harder.
“Would you like to know the sex of the babies?” She smiles and glances to both of us.
“No,” Kenzie says.
“Aren’t you dying to know?” I ask. We agreed not to find out the sexes of the babies, believing it would create further attachment to them, but I want to know.
Kenz peers up at me. “Yes, but we agreed.”
“Please, Kenz.”
After momentarily staring at my desperate face, she turns back to the tech. “OK, you can tell us.”
“The first one ...” the tech pushes some buttons again before freezing the screen, “is a boy. You can see right here.” She points to the screen, and I feel my heart pounding in my chest.
“Now, let’s see if the other will cooperate.” She begins moving her wand again, pressing it hard into Kenzie’s belly. The machine makes a swooshing sound over and over. It’s fascinating.
“I have a female twin,” I say excitedly.
“Actually, you wouldn’t be the reason she’s carrying twins. However, you could possibly pass on a gene to a daughter that causes hyper-ovulation, and she could possibly have twins.”
She moves her wand a touch more, her forehead creasing from concentrating. “And it looks like you have a chance of that happening, Mr. Harris, since your other baby appears to be a girl.”
“A boy and girl?” Kenzie asks, sounding shocked.
“Yep. How about that? Purely coincidental to Mr. Harris being a twin to a sister.”
I squeeze Kenzie’s hand even tighter.
“It’s not coincidental. This was meant to be,” I say. Kenzie takes a peek at me again and smiles. Her eyes are bathed in tears, and it’s causing mine to do the same.
***
Coach was nice enough to let me come to practice late. I’m in aww still that Kenzie is carrying a boy and girl. She begged me to let her tell Liv.
I’ll have to inform my parents soon, anyway. Kenzie’s stomach is growing fast, and we’re over the halfway mark. I’m in the locker room gearing up when Noah comes in.
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