LIV

Everytime I walked into class, I felt like my big belly was barreling into the room. My OB had warned me about the reality of rapid growth during a twin pregnancy, but my first thought was "it won't be that bad." That's how I thought of everything these days, it seemed. Wouldn't be that bad to go to a party I have no interest in. Not that bad to go home with a stranger. Sex?

Not that bad.

I placed my bag and water onto a desk at the back of the room where Yana was waiting for me, and plopped myself into the chair she'd pulled out far enough for me to have space. We'd been lucky enough to sync our schedules so that we were in another class together this next semester. My winter coat rustled loudly as I peeled it off. The sound seemed to get worse the slower I went.

"Thanks for saving my seat," I whispered to Yana.

She smiled and said, "I also signed you in."

That was one of the perks of a large lecture class: sign-in attendance. Being that we took the class together, Yana and I could cover for each other and exchange notes if we ever missed a class. I wasn't too late, but she caught me up with what little I had missed.

My phone buzzed, and I checked it to find another update on my pregnancy.

Congratulations, you're in week 35. Your baby is the size of a dumbbell now, weighing in at around 5.5 lbs. As your baby is pushing against your bladder now, you may feel the constant need to pee. Don't worry, you're almost at the finish line. Stay hydrated.

I looked down at my rotund abdomen that I was resting my hands on. That was something I'd come to love as I grew along with the twins. I now had a constant resting place when I didn't feel like I needed to hold my belly up with my own two hands. I closed the pregnancy app to go and check my calendar and to-do list.

Things were piling up with school, writing, and my relationships. Living with Rob had been easy when the two of us were both busy, but it was tricky to learn each other's habits and quirks over the summer. We both loved travelling, and so we had. Being pregnant in a cabin in the mountains with my new boyfriend was an experience I hadn't expected. But, once we got used to each other, it felt like bliss. That, and the sex...

"Ow!" I threw my hand up to soothe my arm where Yana had just poked me.

"We're doing pair discussion," Yana said.

"Yes, sorry." I looked at the screen that sat at the front of the class and quickly scanned its contents. "Okay, you wanna answer the first one?"

Yana smirked, "I think the answer is 3. Now, what were you thinking about?"

I rolled my eyes before gesturing at my abdomen. "What else would I be thinking about?"

Yana took some notes in her MacBook, and talked about how weird she found it that algae and seaweed are basically the same thing.

I picked up my phone again and subconsciously went to Instagram. The first thing I saw was a post of Myra with a hand on her ass. A man's hand. The caption read, "They can say what they want but we're stronger together." I frowned and put my phone away. I hadn't noticed I'd been rubbing circles over my shirt until I saw Yana staring right at my belly. I cleared my throat and sat up a little, eager to talk about anything else.

"How's your boyfriend?"

"He's good, we're good. We're planning to visit his family for Thanksgiving next month. I already met his sister and mom, so it's just his dad and brother left." Yana reached into her bag and took out a photo to show me. It was in a wooden frame that said "Ian & Yana" at the top with a heart on the bottom. I had to assume it was his idea, because Yana hadn't been known to be this sentimental.

She smiled down at the frame, then gave it to me to survey. "It was for our six-month anniversary," Yana told me. I looked down at them smiling during golden hour as they sat by the beach. I recognized that beach, and remembered Yana telling me about their Labour Day bae-cation.

"You guys always look so happy," I told her as I handed back the frame. "Why do you have that anyway? You don't wanna keep it somewhere safe?"

Yana chuckled softly, "I forgot it at Ian's house, and he reminded me to take it with me so he doesn't have two sitting at home. I stayed with him last night. Are-"

"Make sure to keep up with the readings, and I'll see you next week," our professor said to the class. I rounded up my things, stuffing them back into their places, then took a swig of water even though I already felt the need to pee. Yana offered to take my bag as I got up.

"Liv, are you not happy?" Yana asked me.

I smiled then shook my head. "I'm just tired."

******

Rob was sitting at his laptop in the living room when I came home. The TV was on, and it looked like he was watching a rerun of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Well, if staring at his laptop and using the TV as background noise was considered watching. He tipped his head to the side, which told me he knew I was there, but his eyes stayed on his screen a little longer.

"Welcome back," Rob told me with a smile, finally looking up at me. He closed his laptop, then got up to help me with my coat. I stomped my feet on the rug to clear up any dust that I didn't leave outside. I bent to take off my shoes, and Rob waited for me to give up before he made quick work of taking them off for me.

"How was class?" He asked me as he hung up my coat. I shrugged as I went to the kitchen to get some coconut water.

"It was- Oh," I placed my right hand under my belly as what felt like an aching pain stretched across my pelvis. Rob glanced back at me, concerned, and rushed over when he noticed me looking down at my stomach.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head once the pain subsided as it had only lasted a few seconds. "I'm fine, I think I'm just digesting something."

He sighed, but reached for my belly himself, seeming unconvinced. Rob gently ran his hand along my swollen abdomen, but I don't think even he knew what he was looking for. He stopped after a while, seemingly satisfied when he couldn't find anything that raised any red flags. Even if there was something to worry about, I was sure he wouldn't know what that felt like, but I held my tongue and took the opportunity to retreat to a sofa.

"I am exhausted," I said to Rob as I let my limbs fall every which way. He grabbed a bottle of tea from the kitchen for me and water for himself before he came back to where I was. I thanked him for the drink then closed my eyes. The bottle of tea sat next to my butt on the couch and that's where Rob picked it up.

"You want some now?" I heard him ask. I nodded, and a few moments later felt the mouth of a bottle touch my lips. My eyes fluttered open and I took the bottle from Rob. He seemed to relax once he saw me take a sip. I felt my discomfort subside and figured it was just dehydration and exhaustion that were making me feel off.

I could feel Rob settle down next to me on the couch as his weight fell into the cushions. He lifted my feet up and over onto his lap, then started kneading into them as he slowly massaged the stress of the day out of my body. It was a welcome relief, and reminded me of something I'd always dream about when wishing I had a boyfriend that would really love me.

"My day was pretty short, which is good. The perks of grading ahead of time," Rob said as he continued his massage. I hummed in response before he continued.

"Aaron called to ask if you were okay with homemade pizza for dinner, Liv."

I groaned, too tired to even bring a palm to my face. I didn't know what it was about today, but I'd completely forgotten about the plans I'd made for dinner with my aunt and uncle. Rob had advised against it considering how far along I was, but I told him that the best place to be aside from the hospital was in the company of a nurse.

When I still didn't say anything, Rob stopped his massage and sighed. I opened my eyes to find him looking at me with his brows fixed in a way that made a wrinkle form in between them. I tipped my head to the side and raised my own eyebrows to which he sighed at once again.

"I can call Aaron and we can just stay home-"

I shook my head, "we already made the plans."

He looked at me for a while before he mouthed an "okay" and went back to the foot massage that had kept him occupied earlier.

A couple hours later, Rob stood at the door of our bedroom waiting for me as I put a minimum amount of makeup on--concealer, blush, mascara, and lip gloss--and changed my cardigan for the fourth time. My black maxi dress hovered just above my ankles as I walked around the room and made sure I had everything I needed. As I made my way to my bedside dresser, I felt a sharp pain at the base of my belly that gave me pause. I closed my eyes and just stood there for a few moments as I waited for the discomfort to fade away.

I felt a hand on my face, and another on my hip right before I opened my eyes to see Rob's blue ones fixed on me. His concerned stare bounced between my eyes and my belly before he asked if I was okay just as the pain had subsided.

"I'm fine," I told him with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. I pushed past him to where I'd been going before, and he hovered over me as I grabbed my phone and lip balm.

"We should bring the overnight delivery bag," Rob suggested.

I turned around to tell him once again that I was fine, but he was already picking it up from its spot in the closet. He apparently hadn't been checking with me, just confirming his plans with himself out loud. He sifted through the different sweaters that were hanging up in my part of the closet and some of the slides and sneakers before picking the ones that I wore most.

"Don't you think you're being dramatic?" I asked him with a little laugh.

Rob gave me a small smile but didn't respond. Once everything  was ready and to his liking, he stood by the door and waited for me to head out first. I rolled my eyes but walked out anyway to head downstairs. The sound of footsteps and the bedroom door closing behind me came soon after.

******

Knock knock knock!

My eyes burned holes into the door as I tried to pretend I couldn't feel Rob studying me outside of my aunt's house. Ever since we'd left home, he'd watched me for signs of labour and asked if I'd had any contractions. No matter how many times I insisted I hadn't, he started trying to check himself. I felt like some kind of specimen in a lab being watched by its scientist.

The door finally swung open, and I smiled when a small face peered up at me shyly before my cousin hid behind my aunt's leg. Jen smiled before she came in for a hug, and I did my best to return the affection with the twins sitting in between us.

"Welcome, welcome," she said, then went to give Rob a hug as well.

When she let him go, her eyes went straight to the delivery bag that was hanging from his shoulder. Aunt Jen looked between us, then down at my belly, and I couldn't help but sigh. I glared at Rob.

"Why are you bringing that in the house?"

"Just in case," he retorted.

Aunt Jen stared at me, then laughed in a way that we all knew wasn't actually because she found anything funny, but more so because she was at least a little taken aback, before she fixed me with a concerned look.

"You're in labour Olivia?!"

I shook my head and waved my hand, "no, no. Rob is just overly concerned. I'm fine."

Before she or Rob had a chance to say anything else or ask me any other questions, I rushed into the house and said hi to my uncle and my other little cousin. I could hear the pair of concerned adults talking about me from where I was in the living room, and I did my best to ignore them.

I felt fine.