Page 51 of Waiting to Love You

“Thank you for doing that,” I grumble, grabbing her hand as she walks by and giving it a squeeze.

“We know it kills you to cancel class and let people down.” Leia reaches across the table and grasps both of my hands, squeezing them slightly.

“I’m going to call your mom. We need to come up with a plan, and you need a break,” Selina says as she dials my mom’s number.

My mom showed up on my doorstep this morning, demanding to spend time with her granddaughter. I’m sure she knew how hard the last few days have been with Rebekah being sick, but I never expected her to show up on my doorstep. I figured she could spend the day with Rebekah, and I could get a home-cooked meal and maybe a few hours of sleep after work. However, now I have a feeling her arrival wasn’t such a coincidence.

“You called my mom and told her to come down today, didn’t you?”

“We did no such thing,” Audrey responds as she comes back into the room and retakes her seat.

Her eyes look everywhere but at me. Bingo. Audrey is a terrible liar, and I should be livid with them for interfering, but I’m not. I know these ladies are just looking out for me. “But even if we did, you need the rest, and your mom is the only person you will listen to.”

I open my mouth to protest but slam it shut almost immediately. I know she’s right. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in days, and it’s showing.

“Hey, Mrs. Reid.” Selina narrows her eyes at me, daring me to say something, but I raise my hands in surrender. “Would you like to hang out with all of your granddaughters for a few hours? Bristol has been burning the candle at both ends. She needs some rest.”

Granddaughters? As in plural?

“Love and Jade have been wanting to spend some time with your mom. We’re killing two birds with one stone,” Audrey whispers. “I already called Connor to let him know she was coming over with Rebekah.”

“You guys are too good to me.”

Selina listens intently to what my mom has to say before smiling. “You bet. Connor is expecting you and has already ordered pizza, so don’t you dare try to cook.”

My mom grumbles something on the other end of the line, and Selina snickers. “You’re spending time with your granddaughters, not taking care of all of us. Bristol will be there around seven. See you later.”

“Rebekah is taken care of, and so are your classes,” Audrey says with a smile.

“You need to remember you aren’t alone,” Selina insists, which causes tears to well in my eyes.

“I know I’m not alone, but you guys have families to take care of.” I place my hand on her baby bump. “Or babies to grow. I can’t ask you guys to keep helping me as much as I do. It’s not fair.”

“First, you never ask. That’s the problem.” Audrey throws her arm over my shoulder and pulls me into her. “We’re here to help you. Seth is here to help you. Damn, he was more worried about you not eating than the fact that you’ve been ignoring his phone calls and texts. All you have to do is let us help you.”

“You’re not alone, Bristol. You never have been and never will be,” Leia adds.

“Fine. I can take a hint.” I pull away from Audrey and raise my hands in surrender. “Now, how are we going to get me out of this mess?”

I’ve been trying to figure a way out of this on my own, but maybe I need to rely on my friends a little more. Yes, I got myself into this situation by keeping Rebekah a secret for so long, but I don’t have to find a solution on my own.

“There’s no perfect way to let someone know they have a seven-month-old daughter,” Leia huffs. “But what we need is to figure out how to explain it to him. We need to make sure he understands why you kept her a secret.”

What if it’s not a good reason? I think to myself, once again afraid to give voice to my innermost thoughts. At first, I wanted to be sure that Seth was staying in town, that he was going to be a permanent part of Rebekah’s life, but I was afraid doesn’t seem like a good enough explanation, but it’s the only one I have. I was afraid of what his reaction would be to me keeping such a tremendous secret from him. He might understand why I didn’t get in contact with him during deployment, but he’s been in Tyson’s Creek for months.

Honestly, I’m surprised no one has said anything to him about me having a child. We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Hell, Mrs. Thomas delivered Rebekah, and there’s no way she doesn’t know that Seth and I have been seeing each other. I know there are some types of laws that don’t allow her to say things about patients, but still.

“You also need a place where you feel safe. This is going to be just as hard for you as it is for him,” Audrey says, stopping my thoughts from spiraling out of control.

“You know,” Selina begins, “we’re having a BBQ to let everyone know the sex of the baby next weekend. Why don’t you invite Seth?”

“Sure, that’s an amazing idea.” I scoff.

“Just think about it, Bri.”

“What’s there to think about? I won’t ruin your gender announcement just so I can have a buffer in case Seth loses his shit when he finds out about Rebekah.”

With every conversation we have, I feel more and more guilty about keeping Rebekah from him. Especially after our conversation about children and the future. After learning more about Seth, I’m convinced he wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt either of us. If anyone has the power to ruin everything, it’s me. This secret has been eating me alive, and if I want this relationship to go any further, I have to fess up.

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