Chapter Thirteen → The scars of your love they leave me breathless I can't help feeling.

Zane pondered exactly what was going to happen with life, his, Joanna's, hell even Cora's once it came out that Joanna was in fact expecting Zane's baby.

Meanwhile, Kinsley decided to take up the organ, she wasn't very good.

"Didn't mom tell you to stop walking around in your underwear?"

"Didn't she also tell you to stop fucking dork boy in the tree house?"

"I'll be good."

"We could get married you know." Zane prompted one morning as he lounged in his bed with Joanna, the woman just scoffing at him. "What?"

"I'm not the marrying type Zane, trust me."

"Why, because of what you do? You know i don't care." He said, reaching out to touch her round middle. Truth was, he did care, a lot. He wished she'd stop, now that she was going to be a mother. It was different months ago when she wasn't carrying his child, he knew somewhere in the back of his brain that whole thought pattern was misogynistic. Sure, spread it around until you're carrying my child, then it's not okay.  He didn't think that's what he meant, it was just.... different?

"Everyone cares Zane, and you sure as shit ain't any different."

"Why do you assume that i'm just like everyone else?

"Because you are." Joanna said as she stared off into space for a moment, getting that empty look that Zane hated so much.

"I love you."

"No you don't!" She snapped, pushing up from her place on the bed and scooting to the edge of it, Zane sitting up as well.

"What, so you know how i feel now, is that it?"

"I was just your first, that's all." Joanna sighed, leaning her arms on her legs, running a hand through her hair. "I never should have let it get this far."

"What get this far?"

"Everything, the pregnancy, you, all of it." 

"You can't love me Zane." She said, her back to him.

"Why not?" The woman was silent for a moment before moving to get up. "Why not." Zane said again.

"I'm not longed for this world." She just said with a sad smile before leaving, the smile leaving a cold lump of worry in the pit of Zane's stomach.

But Zane couldn't worry too much about his problems with Joanna, because it was Suzanna's birthday. There was no party, at her request, although she did invite the already graduated Derrick (see: nerd boy) over for cake and gifts.

Everyone was excited, expect it seemed Joanna who just pointed and laughed like the bitch she was.

Suzanna had come to terms early in her life that she was destined to be the 'plain' one in the family, with simple brown hair and Kinsley's wide eyes yet Cherie's eye shape, which made her look like her eyes were slightly too far apart. So when the aging process was over, she was less than impressed.

"You're gorgeous." Derrick assured her, quelling Suzanna's self doubt for the time being.

"You're just trying to get into my good books." She teased.

"You mean i'm not already?" He teased right back.

"Hmmm, i dunno, maybe. Depends on what you got me for my birthday."

As it turned out, Derrick got her something no one was expecting.

Suzanna was over the moon, she hadn't expected to be engaged right out of high school.

They had a simple wedding in the front yard since the house was too small to hold all their guests and the backyard was covered in unused kid stuff.

While it was a simple wedding, Suzanna was not a simple bride, managing to look stunning for what she felt was the first time in her life.

Zane was the first one to lose his composure.

Eventually Kinsley and Cherie follow in tow.

Even the gomes attended, although two got into the booze early and the other two just wanted those damn kids to keep the noise down. Baby gnomes likes how the world looks upside down.

Downstairs, where Joanna was pointedly ignored the wedding happening, the woman went into labor mid dance. Being a party animal and all, the basement stereo got a work out.

 Just as the rings were being exchanged, Joanna waddled out to head to the hospital, half the guest flipped out.

Because of that, Suzanna was forced to cut the cake on her own, but she didn't care, cause this was bliss.

Late that night Joanna arrived home with a new baby boy in her arms, she was blank as she walked into the living room and promptly set him on the ground, walking away after she did.

Zane made an odd little concerned face as he picked up his son from the floor, the new born reaching out for him slightly.

"It's okay Michael." He said to the baby as he went to place him in his own baby bassinet which Zane had placed at the foot of his own bed for the time being. "We'll be okay." He said as he glanced into the hall through his ajar bedroom door, seeing Joanna walking past with that hollow look on her face, heading to one of the old single bedrooms opposed to sharing Zane's.

Chapter Notes:

A lot of Suzanna in this one, but i felt bad because she was featured so little during all the other chapters. Plus, neither Michelle or Katharine have married yet, in fact Michelle's apparently the town tart, which i kinda love lol. So yes, Suzanna is now a Barnhart and will move out with her husband and start a big ole family no doubt. I did have to add Derrick to the household to get the wedding done, but they'll leaving so it's fine. Actually everything that happened in this chapter was wiped out right after the baby was born due to the game glitching out while i was trying to move Suzanna and Derrick out, but i had a feeling something was glitched the minute Joanna went into labor because it happened during the wedding and i find when you two big things like that happen, they try to cancel each other and it never works. It resulted in the baby not showing up on the portrait panel, even though there was space in the house for him, Joanna coming home from the hospital and giving birth there opposed where she had been, which left Zane standing outside the damn place just chatting with random people and eventually the "processing" circle when you move people out to be processing for over a real time hour until finally i had to shut the game and my computer down. Yes, i am pissed about it, but i shall live.