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XXXIV .. mother(s) knows best
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IT WAS MID-MAY, MEANING SPRING RUNWAY WAS NEAR. it was a busy time for bella; preparing inventory, taking trips to burbank to oversee production, and meetings left and right. she often stayed at the office working late and would often get home late.

after a frustrating morning, bella hopped into the car and sat there, taking deep breaths. she leaned back into the seat, placing a hand on her growing bump. she turned the radio and pulled out of the parking garage.

bella was due to meet jenna and dina for lunch around ventura boulevard, but she needed to take a break from work and decided to take a different route, she headed home to north hollywood.

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being that it was mid-may, the sun was bright and temperatures were slowly rising. johnny, who decided to take the afternoon off, arrived to encino and sat in his car for a few minutes, before getting off and walking up to the doorstep.

as he was about to take his keys out from his pocket, laura opened the door. "how'd you know it was me?" johnny smiled.

"call it mother's instinct." laura smiled as she embraced her son. "i thought you were working."

"i took the afternoon off." johnny said as he walked into the mansion.

laura looked at her son as he sat down on the sofa, running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath. "what's wrong?" she said.

"nothing, i'm just tired." johnny said as he sat back onto the sofa.

"c'mon, food's almost ready." laura said as she walked back into the kitchen. "let's talk about it over lunch."

"ma, i'm fine. really." johnny said as he stood up and walked into the dining room.

"john, i'm your mother. i know you better than you know yourself." laura said as she put out a plate for her son. "what's wrong? how's bella?"

"i'm not sure. she's everywhere." johnny sighed as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"so, that's the problem." laura said as she stepped back into the kitchen. "sit down and tell me."

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"i don't have a single moment to myself." bella said as she ran her hands though her hair. "i feel sleep deprived; between this runway show and preparing myself, both physically and mentally for the baby, i feel exhausted."

lisa placed a her plate of food in front of her as bella sat down as well, serving herself a glass of cherry coke. "take it easy, the more you stress, it's gonna affect you, especially because you're pregnant." she said as she looked at bella.

"how'd you go through your last few semesters of law school being pregnant with me?" bella said as she placed her fork down.

"i felt the exact same way you're feeling right now; overwhelmed and exhausted." lisa sighed. "it was tough, handling finals and then a baby. it takes a toll on a woman, but you just have to find ways to balance everything out."

"but ma, i don't have a moment for myself anymore. if it's not going up to burbank, it's fittings with the models, it's just crazy." bella said as she was close to tears. "and on top of that, i feel like i don't even have time for–"

"what's this really about?" lisa said as she placed her glass down. bella stayed quiet as she cleaned the small tears in her eyes. "you can say it. you don't even have time for?"

"for anyone. for you, dad, chrissy, jenna, the guys." bella said. "not even for johnny."

"where does he fit in all this?" lisa said.

"he's just trying to support me as much as he can, but the only time we're really together is asleep in bed." bella sighed. "he's doing his courses and i stay at the office working late and there's times where he's out on the couch by the time i get home."

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"is this about the baby?" laura said as she picked up her glass of wine. "a baby can be overwhelming, you know."

"how'd you know about the baby?" johnny said as he turned to his mother. "you knew?"

"she was feeling uneasy and she came to me." laura said. "i told her to check herself, just in case and when she saw the result, she called me."

"yet i found out two weeks later." johnny sighed.

"look before you lose it, she was scared to tell anyone, she didn't know how you'd react." laura sighed. "it wasn't easy for her to just blurt out that she was pregnant."

"why?" johnny said. "we said we'd tell each other everything."

"because she was afraid you would leave her." laura said as tears formed in her eyes. johnny's heart dropped as he grabbed his mother's hand.

"i wouldn't do that to her." johnny sighed. "not after i saw you struggle. i'm not gonna do that. i'm just concerned about her, that's all."

"about?" laura said.

"she's everywhere, ma." johnny said. "i-i barely see her and she's taking on too much. just when she tries to slow down, she's back at it again."

"look, i'm pretty sure she's feeling the pressure as well, but it's her job." laura said as she held her son's hand. "she's gonna be okay, but she just needs to know that you're there for her. it's a tough time for her right now, give her a chance. she'll be okay."

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bella pressed a cherry coke bottle up to her lips as she laid in the bathtub of the apartment. after lunch, she went back to work and went into a meeting, then spent the rest of the afternoon in fittings. all she wanted to do was come home.

she caressed the small bump as poison's every rose has its thorn played on the radio, smiling at the song. it reminded her of simpler times, when she and johnny were living in new york and used to go up to the roof, to spend some time with each other. she was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her boyfriend come through the door.

"bella?" johnny called out.

"i'm in here." bella called out as she took another sip of soda as her boyfriend walked into the bathroom. "hey."

"hey." johnny smiled. "long day?"

"extremely long." bella sighed.

"i bought dinner for us. i thought you might be hungry." johnny smiled as he sat on the edge of the tub. "i've missed you."

"so have i." bella smiled as she placed her palm on his. there was a moment of silence between the couple as bella took a deep breath. "i'm going crazy, i can't do this."

"you're gonna be fine." johnny said as he intertwined his hand with hers. "it's just been a rough week. it's gonna be alright."

"i love you." bella smiled as johnny knelt down near the tub and leaned her forehead onto hers. he placed a small kiss on her temple then pressed his lips against hers.

"not as much as i love you."