Growing up is 2 hard

"What am I still doing wrong?"

TW: Ed mentions, sadness
2 years later
Brantley's POV:
(October 7th, 6:17pm, Saturday)
I stood here outside of Lansy's house taking pictures for homecoming.
Steve's out here genuinely pissing himself over us. "Oh my gosh, I'm so old." He huffs and wipes his face, putting down Karder who giggles.

"Y'all ready? I wouldn't want you to be late." Mr. Nelson questions.

"Sure." I answered.

As we get in his car my parents and Lansy's mom wave him goodbye. His sister rode with her boyfriend because he's a junior. The fact that I'm a sophomore already baffles me. But hey, I'm still with Lansy so I'm not too baffled.

Steve's POV:
Soda pushes like a damn horse. He has three part time jobs and the rest of his time is spent working out and trying to look like it's fun in front of his family.

When he goes to bed at night he's pooped. And I hate seeing him die like this. He's doesn't even eat how he used to, he only eats healthy shit that's 'full of energy'.

I'm on my way to our house now. Yes, somehow someway we were able to get a house. It's not far from our parents and only forty minutes out from my campus, so I can stay full time and I don't have to go away every month. I just leave for school and work daily. I feel bad because the boys are usually with Mrs. Curtis or day care. Yeah, the boys. Keegan and Karder are our one year olds. I gave birth to Karder, Soda did to Keegan. They're three days apart. Keegan being the oldest.

"You okay?" I walked into him laying on the couch just staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah." He looks over at me but there's nothing in his eyes.

"What's on your mind baby?"

"I go to work at nine pm tomorrow and get off at three in the morning." He sighs.

I'm just about fed up with how much he's working, we maybe tight with money, but we're not going bankrupt.

"I think you should quit." I sit and he sits up and looks at me.

"Quit? Quit what? Why?" He looks tense and fearful.

"I'm worried about you, baby." I hold his hand and scoot closer.

"Why?" He frowns and something about it looks too right on him. Soda's a naturally happy person but work and money and everything else is just dragging him down.

"You don't look like yourself, and you're tired. And really I don't think you have to work like this. If we both just keep one full-time job I think we'll be just fine. The boys are okay, and I want you to be. Training is fine, but you need to sleep and sometimes you need to eat something sloppy. Don't you get tired of salad and oatmeal?" I feel like I'm confronting him and that wasn't my intention but here we are.

He goes quiet and looks embarrassed by my question then he sighs, "look, I'll get a full-time job, okay? Don't worry about me." He kisses the top of my head and I can feel his anxiety radiating off of him.

Soda's POV:
I hate how Steve just reads me. I'm really trying. I'm trying. I'm fine, really, I'm okay. I just have to get him to believe that. At 8:30 we tuck the boys into bed and get into bed ourselves. I don't even know why he checks on me? I still cuddle him and meet his sexual needs. I listen when he talks and I make sure he's happy every, single, day. What am I still doing wrong? Am I too nice? Do I not play with the boys enough? Do my eating habits upset him? I'm sorry, I can't eat grease or anything how I used to. I'm sorry, that I have to eat something different if he cooks certain foods. I'm really really sorry that I'm tired all the fucking time.

"What babe?" Was I zoned out again? I guess I'm doing that a lot.

I feel the panic run through my veins before I just start panting out of fucking nowhere. I hate when this happens, it's becoming daily. I normally try to make sure Steve can't see it, if it's near him.

"Breathe baby." He pulls me into his chest and makes me listen to his heart beat. Slow and cool.
I miss when I was like that.

I feel myself falling asleep in his arms, my God. I'm so tired.

Pony's POV:
Ella's with Johnny's family and I'm in here dancing it up for real for homecoming. This shit is mad fun.

I've finally made it to Soda Curtis status. I'm hot and I have a boyfriend who loves me, a lot of people love us actually. Well, me because Johnny is in college. He's at The University of Oklahoma, and yes. That's different from Oklahoma State University where Darry used to go and where Steve goes. Johnny's majoring in journalism. He plans on being a editor for writers. I'm excited for him, he's so smart I'm glad it's going to use.

I decide to leave at ten. I have a baby to see. When I get back home she's asleep in her little bed. Her splotches on her legs and arms come to light the way she's lying. In her blue princess gown pajamas, hugging her teddy bear. She has a skin condition called genetic physical defectilia  GPD (I pulled that out my ass cause I'm too lazy to find the name for it). Doctors say it normally happens when a baby has two set of genetic material, like a twin, that gets absorbed into them and the two materials don't mix. Which is why she has natural highlighted hair, it's curly, blonde with thick streaks of dark brown, she has splotches on her skin, some pale like me, some darker or tan like Johnny. And my favorite part her eyes, her left one is hazel like me and my mom, the other big and brown like Johnny's. They're beautiful.

As soon as I walk out of her room, her dad starts calling me.

"Hey, Johnnycakes." I cheer.

"Hey, Pone. How was prom?" I can hear his smile through the phone.

"It was great. It was so fucking fun, Johnny. I wish you weren't a senior last year." I happily complain.

"Aw don't make me miss you." He plays, "Annie, asleep?"

"Knocked out, slumbering away and I'm about to do the same." I admit, I'm tired.

"Then go to bed, baby. I love you, goodnight." He soothes. I can't wait for him to come home,
oh my gosh.

"I love you Johnnycakes, goodnight." We hang up and I immediately go shower, I'm most definitely about to go to bed.

I love our little family.

-Hehehe hope you guys like 🫶-