In The Long Run

In The Long Run (7)

Wayne and I went back to my house, with Curly not far behind us. She stayed for about half an hour before she had to take off. We did the only thing we could while we were alone . . . Homework. I sucked at math, while Wayne was a genius. Then again, he stunk at French where I had the highest in my class. It was one of the many things that made us so compatible, the fact that we needed each other. I wouldn't survive without his tutoring and he wouldn't survive without mine.

He closed his books and fell down on my bed after sighing and kicking off his shoes. I laughed at him and laid down beside him. It didn't take long for him to wrap his arms around me and I was happy to accept his embrace. He was always so warm and I genuinely felt safe in his arms, now more than ever. His breathing was slow and relaxed as he gently ran his fingers along my stomach.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What?" he said lazily.

"Why are you stroking my stomach?"

"Because I want to. It's fascinating."

"Fascinating? Are you saying I'm fat?"

"No. . . Not yet."

"Do you want me to kick you off the bed?"

"No, it's just weird that there's actually something growing inside of you. A living, breathing little human being and we saw it today. It's kind of . . . amazing."

"So being judged and called irresponsible by our entire modern society is amazing?"

"No, the fact that you're the mother of my child, now that's amazing."

That made me blush, but luckily he couldn't see it. He was really amazing. He was so supportive about this whole thing and he was determined to keep the kid. Where the hell did I find this guy?! Oh yeah, he saved me from Dean. The memory made my skin crawl. I loved Wayne too much to see him get hurt like that. If Dean sliced that bark just a little bit deeper, it would've gone into Wayne's heart and . . .

I gasped at the thought. It was too much to bear. I couldn't lose Wayne. I can't believe I've been doubting that I need him lately. I honestly love him too much to lose him. The mere thought of it made me want to die. I sucked in a breath of air and closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears running down my face.

"Jamie? What's the matter? Are you okay? Come on, talk to me." Wayne's voice brought me back to reality. I opened my eyes to let the tears spill over and grabbed Wayne, my head against his chest.

"I don't want to lose you, I love you too much. I love you, I love you, I love you . . ." I sobbed the same sentence over and over again. What was wrong with me? I'm a strong person and I've never had trouble keeping my emotions to myself, but now I was crying like a baby. He held me up against his chest as tight as he could, lightly running his fingers down my back to calm me. He held me for a minute or so, before, suddenly, he started laughing. I looked up at him, tears still streaming down my cheeks, trying to figure out what the hell was so funny.

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" I said with a stuffy nose, making him laugh even more.

"It's the pregnancy hormones. It makes you weepy and emotional."

"I'm not weepy, emotional maybe, but I'm not weepy."

"If you say so."

I hit him with a pillow before I started sobbing again. "Why don't you believe me? It's not my fault." I howled.

He kept laughing and held me tightly again until I stopped crying. I sniffed and had an immense headache.

"Better?" he asked.