“Now you’ve done it,” Matthew says, looking over at my mother, shaking his head. “You made her cry.”
“No,” Jillian denies from my chest. “It’s not like that.”
Jillian turns her face to look at my mother. “It’s just so overwhelming that you care.” Her voice is soft as she tries to talk without her voice quivering, and my mother comes around to sit beside her.
“Of course I care,” my mother says. “We all care.” She rubs Jillian's leg. “We all want the best for you. We all want the both of you to be okay. We will do whatever we need to do to make the rest of the pregnancy go as smooth as it can.”
“Thank you,” Jillian replies, and she sits up and looks at my mother. “And I promise you that I’m eating well and taking vitamins. I’ve gained some weight back.”
“Oh, we have no doubt that the baby is in good hands,” my father clarifies. “What Allison was trying to say, but her delivery was frantic and not calm, is that you’ve been here for a long time and haven’t had anything to eat. Would you like a snack?”
I look over at my mother, who glares at my father. “You made her cry.”
“The only one in this room who hasn’t made her cry today is me,” Matthew says, getting up and walking over to us, holding out his hand to Jillian. “Come on, let’s get some food into you.”
She reaches out and grabs his hand and gets up. “I wish I could offer you more choices, but he’s a Neanderthal,” he says, opening my fridge. “Has nothing but milk and protein powder.”
“I was out of town for two weeks.” I get up, going to the kitchen. “All the food would have gone bad.”
“I can order whatever you want,” my father suggests, coming into the kitchen with his phone out.
“Um,” Jillian says and looks at me.
I smile at her, and the only thing I can say, “Welcome to Crazy.”
Chapter 22
Jillian
“We should order food,” Matthew calls from the kitchen, looking at me. “What have you been craving?” He asks me, and I want to break out into tears again. It’s all these hormones going through me, but it’s also because of how I’ve been accepted without a second thought. They didn’t judge me or blame me, and it means everything to me.
“I don’t know if I’ve had any cravings,” I say. “I have been eating more meat.”
“That’s because it’s a boy,” Matthew presses, puffing out his chest. “He needs the protein.” I roll my lips to stop from laughing at him. “Burgers or steak?” he asks, looking at his phone. “I’ll get both.”
“I want both also,” Michael says from beside me, and I look over at him. “I haven’t eaten today.”
I’m about to say something else when the front door opens, and everyone looks around. I look at Max, who pushes Allison behind him, and Michael does the same to me. “Oh, good, the gang is all here.” I hear a woman’s voice, and my heart starts to speed up. “Traitors!” she shouts and looks around the room. “You two.” She points at Max and Allison. “I can’t believe you.” She stands there, her hair a chestnut color and her eyes so crystal blue, I swear I can see right through them. She wears black jeans and a shirt with a leather jacket. “Liars.”
“Now wait a minute,” Allison says, coming around. “We didn’t lie.”
“You said you were coming to visit Erika and the baby,” she says, and I grab on to Michael's waist from behind. He looks over his shoulder at me and winks with a smile. I don’t know why, but it calms me, and I know everything is going to be okay. “What you forgot to say is that you were coming, too.” She looks over, and only then does she see me trying to peer over Michael’s shoulder. “Oh my gosh,” she says, getting tears in her eyes. “Is that her?”
“Oh, God,” I sigh as Michael moves to the side. She comes over to me with tears in her eyes.
“Hi,” she says softly. “I’m Alex.” She doesn’t put her hand out. Instead, she takes me in her arms in a hug. “It’s so, so nice to meet you,” she adds and then lets me go so she can wipe her eyes. “You are stunning,” she compliments and then looks down at the baby bump. “Can I?” she asks with her hands out.
“Fuck no,” Michael growls, getting in front of me. “I haven’t even touched her yet.” He pushes his sister away from me. “If anyone gets to touch her stomach, it’s me,” he says to her. “I put it there.”
“Yeah, you did,” Matthew comments and holds up his hand for a high-five, but no one gives him one.