Annabelle’s POV

I wake up to the sun shining brightly through the open curtains of my bedroom. “Ugh” I groan, feeling the hot ray of the sun & the slight headache that’s starting. I think we drank too much. I can’t remember, to be honest. I don’t even remember how I got to the bed. Brian & I were smashed. I turn around & smile as my eyes land on Brian, sleeping peacefully, with Kevin on top of him, almost as if he was cradling him. I turn around again & lean over to my table beside my bed, grabbing my camera & position myself so I can take a picture. They look so cute, just the way Brian’s arm is so carefully placed around Kevin’s back, in such a protective manner, that I know someday he’ll be a great dad. I start looking at the pictures & let out a small laugh from all the pictures that I have taken. They dated from Matt’s birthday, until last night. I laugh at all the pictures Brian & I took last night while being smashed. There’s even a picture he took from me taking off my boots & stockings in a sexy way. I can’t remember. I turn it off & place it on the night stand again, sighing before getting out of bed to the bathroom so I can take a shower. I smell awful. Guess I smoke a bit last night. I’ve quit smoking for 2 years now, but I occasionally do it when I’m way too drunk. I’m not usually drunk, but last night I was. It’s when I start taking off my clothes that I notice that I somehow managed to take my corset off. That must’ve been hard. I stared at my reflection on the mirror & laugh. I look like a cheap hooker. My makeup is all smeared up, my hair is a mess, as usual, & I’m somehow missing an earring.

I love my bathroom. It’s a small, yet very modern, bathroom. I like it so much since it’s an open space… kinda like my whole apartment actually. I open the shower door, loving my glass doors & red shower walls & start running the water, making sure it’s at the right temperature, before hopping in. I like the feeling of the hot water running through my body, & I just close my eyes, while I continue washing away the dirty night I had.

Brian’s POV

I feel something tickling my nose. More like someone. I hear some giggling & I hear the shower running. I crack an eye open to find Belle’s nephew pinching my face. Apparently he finds it hilarious. He’s sitting on my chest, his broken arm resting on my side. “Wake up, Uncle Brian” I hear him say. I groan & roll us over, making sure I don’t hit or hurt his arm. He laughs loudly again. “No, Uncle Brian” He says between laughter and screams as I start tickling him. Bad move… my head just started pounding so hard. I stop & lay back down, closing my eyes & grabbing my head.

“God, I’m never drinking that way before” I mutter to myself as I feel some rustling beside me & I open my eyes to see Kevin getting off the bed & walking to my side of the bed.

“I’m hungry” He says, while clutching a small pillow that I know Annabelle keeps around for when her nephews sleep over. “Can you cook?” He asks me.

“I can try” I honestly answer. “What are you in the mood for?” I say, sitting up & looking around for my shirt.

“I want bacon” He says. I eye him carefully.

“Are you allowed to eat bacon?” I ask him, giving up on finding my shirt. Giving up on finding a pair of pants too. Where the hell are all my clothes? He smiles & shakes his head no.

“My mom says it’s not healthy, but she makes bacon for my dad everyday” He says, placing the pillow on the bed. I see him his arm is scratching & his trying to get one of his tiny little fingers through the cast, failing miserably.

“Itching?” I ask him. He nods, still trying. I get up & head to the bathroom, entering to find a steam filled room, were you can only see the silhouette of someone, a girl, showering. “Hey, Belle?” I ask as I walk to the toilet, lifting the lid up, about to make my business. “Do you have any bacon?” I ask, doing my business. It’s nothing weird, we do it all the time.

“Yeah, but don’t even think about giving Kevin that” She says, as see the silhouette lathering her body. “I keep his cereal on the top shelf” She says again. I flush the toilet & wash my hands. I notice placed on the bathroom counter a one of Belle’s paintbrush. “Can you make some coffee too?” She says, before I walk out of the bathroom.

“Ok” I say, walking out of the bathroom to find Kevin sitting on the bed, still trying to scratch his arm. “Here, this’ll help” I say, grabbing his arm & carefully pulling the stick between his arm & cast & start scratching him. “Better?” I ask him & he smiles, relief on his face. “Just be careful, ok? No running around while you’re holding that. You might kill yourself & then your father is gonna kill me & I don’t want to die” I say. He rolls his eyes at me.

“Duh, I don’t want to die too” He says. I look at him & smile.

“Come on, I’m making you cereal. If you’re lucky & your aunt is not out of the shower, I’ll give you a piece of bacon” I say. He hops down off the bed & starts walking in front of me to the kitchen. When I enter the living room, my eyes widen. It looks like a fucking tornado stopped by & trashed everything. I see my pants lying on the floor next to Belle’s corset & all our clothes scattered around the room & some on the dining table too. “Go to the kitchen & wait for me, ok? I’ll be right there” I push Kevin a little & he walks to the kitchen, still scratching his arm. I walk to where my pants are & start pulling them on, when the bell rings. I walk to the door, opening it while I zipper up my pants & look at Justin there. I guess he wasn’t expecting for me to be opening the door.

“Uh…” He mutters. I see him eyeing me up & down & up again, but I don’t pay too much attention to it. “Hi, Brian. What are you doing here?” He asks, his voice cracking a bit.

“I stayed the night. Come on in, please. Belle is the shower; she must be getting out any minute. God knows I have to take a shower too” I say moving from the door to let him walk behind me as I look for my shirt.

“She’s in the-the shower?” He stutters & I turn to look at him. He looks like a mixture of jealous & scared. “So early?” He brushes it off, walking around the room.

“Yeah, she wanted to wash off all the sweat from last night” I say, spotting my shirt underneath one of Belle’s boots. I grab it & smell it. Bad move… it stinks!

“What happened last night?” He asks, while I threw the shirt away. I guess I’ll have to see if Belle’s stole another one of my shirts. That would be handy!

“What are you talking about?” I ask him.

“Did you & her…?” He stops & I turn to see him taking in the surroundings. I look around & that’s when it clicked.

“Oh, no, no, no” I answer rapidly. He eyes me, almost like he didn’t believe me. “I just stayed over cuz I was too drunk to drive all the way to my house. It happens every time, you’ll get used to it” I say, a bit uncomfortable. This does look bad. “We start drinking, trash the house a bit, and lose a big part of our clothes before we fall asleep on her bed” I start rambling & I know I’m making things worse! “Ok, that didn’t come out right” I say, quickly.

“So, I have to get used to it?” He says, anger dripping from every word. I open my mouth to tell him, no when Kevin walked out of the kitchen, with a frown on his little face.

“Bacon is not gonna cook itself, you know?” He says, crossing his small arm over his chest, annoyed. He looks so much like Belle when he does that. He looks at Justin, up & down, & walks to the kitchen again. I see Justin look at me again.

“That’s Kevin, by the way. He’s a sweet kid, he’s just hungry & I promised to make him bacon before Belle got out of the shower. Are you staying?” I ask him, trying to lighten the mood.

“No, I’m on my way to a photo shoot actually. I just wanted to pass by & kiss my girlfriend good morning” He says, putting special emphasis on the word ‘my, like if I didn’t know.

“Well... I’ll tell her you stopped by” I say, a mocking grin on my face. He squints his eyes at me before walking out of the door. “Asshole” I mutter, turning around to see Belle walking out of the bedroom dressed on some jeans & a tank top, while drying her hair with a towel. In that moment I’m filled with a sweet & delicate fragrance… her fragrance. Well, not hers, more like Victoria’s Secret body lotion & body splash, but it’s so her.

“Who was that?” She says, placing the towel on the back of a chair. She should definitely use her hair wavy more often.

“Oh… nobody. Wrong apartment” I say, walking towards the kitchen. I don’t know why I did it… but it felt good.

Annabelle’s POV

“Please, Auntie Ann” I hear Kevin beg for the millionth time.

“Yes, please Auntie Ann” Brian says mockingly, glancing at me for a moment before looking back at the road, the small pout on his lips still. I turn to see Kevin staring at me with those big blue eyes.

“Ok” I give in. “But after that, we’re going straight to your house & drop you off, ok?” I say, seeing him bounce on his car chair & clapping his hands excitedly while nodding. After a while, we arrive at the ice cream shop, hoping off before opening Kevin’s door so I can unbuckle him. Brian is talking on his cell, probably with Michelle, & assuring her that he’ll have me on time for the task delivering of her wedding. I’m getting a bit tired of that, actually. She’s getting a bit ridiculous about it too. I mean… $50,000 on flowers? Really? & don’t get me started on the bride’s maid dresses. At least Val was given the option to choose her style, but the rest of us are stuck with a hideous red dress. She thinks its fashion forward, but let’s be real… it’s a wedding not fucking Project Runway. Kevin & I walk into the shop, Brian a few steps back. We start deciding on flavor when I hear someone call my name. I turn to look who it is & it’s the girl that made my life a living hell my last 2 years of school… Pauline Jackson. Her perfectly blonde hair is pulled down on a messy bun, a few strings of hair falling over her perfectly shaped cheeks, framing her perfectly shaped face & her perfect little nose with those perfect pouty lips that are painted in a very lustrous red. She looks, perfect, for a lack of better words… but that’s nothing new.

“I thought it was you when I saw you walk in” She said, walking towards me. I stand there, dreading this conversation.

“Hi, Pauline” I say, walking towards her, trying to keep her away from Brian & Kevin. They don’t need to catch something from her. Only God knows how many diseases this girl got in High School, being the popular one for all the wrong reasons. Although, I hate to admit, she does look good, with her black & white ensemble. She looks important.

“Wow… look at you. You haven’t changed a bit” She says with a small smirk on her face. I honestly don’t know if she’s mocking me, or if she really means it. I mean… I haven’t changed that much.

“Can’t say the same to you” I mutter, faking a smile. A small laugh escapes her mouth & I hate that even that is perfect. We stand there in awkward silent for a bit when she speaks again.

“How have you been? I haven’t seen you or heard about you since graduation. What do you do?” She asks. I can lie & tell her that I’m a big corporate lawyer & that I’m on my free day, but I can’t do that. I’m not that good of a liar.

“I got a Master in Fine Arts at NYAA & I’ve been working as a photographer on the side” I say, really proud of what I became. I do what I love! How lucky am I?

“Really? Me too! Well, not that. I own an art gallery in New York. My husband & I are into all forms of arts” She says. "I really thought you would become a ballerina or something like that. You were good at that" At that moment, Brian & Kevin appeared by my side, handing me an ice cream cone. Brian turns to look at Pauline & gives her his infamous smirk. She swooned. I roll my eyes without being noticed. It gets a bit tiresome after all these years of watching him do that & get the same reactions. “And who is this, Annie? Your boyfriend?" She says, playfully hitting my arm, making me stare at her.

“He isn’t my boyfriend, he’s-“

“Her husband. Nice to meet you. I’m Brian & these is our Kevin” Brian cuts me & my mouth falls open. I look at him & then at Kevin. HE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE US!!!

“Really? Well, congratulations, Annie" She says. “I always worried you would’ve end up alone & bitter” She says, making me glare at her. Brian places his hands on the back of my back, while holding his own ice cream cone with the other. “How long have you been married?” She asks.

“It’s been 6 years & I still feel like the first day I saw her… breathless” He says looking down at me. Pauline ‘aww’ at his words. I stare at him, not believing his words. I feel like, if only for this second, he really meant it.

“Wow, 6 years. That’s a long time” Then her phone rang. She looks at it & rolls her eyes. “I can’t even have a break without the world crumbling. It was nice to meet you, Brian. & it was nice to see you, Annie. Hopefully we’ll keep in touch” She says, handing me her card. “Call me whenever you are in New York so we can grab some coffee or something. Bye, little guy” She says, caressing Kevin’s cheek before walking away. Brian waves at her, me shaking my head.

“She’s nice” He says.

“Are you kidding me? She was a bitch. She made my life a living nightmare” I say, grabbing a napkin & wiping Kevin’s face that is almost covering with ice cream.

“I think she was nice. Now, come on, we’re already late… wife” He says the last part before grabbing my hand, while Kevin grabbed my jean, & we headed to the door. I couldn’t help but feel that him using that word & taking my hand like this… it feels right. & I can’t help smile too.