Page 14 of Say You're Mine

"Song, honey," Louis interjects, hanging up the phone and rejoining our circle. "Maybe we should let Cara have some input on her own child's name, hmm?"

My brother sighs dramatically, flopping back onto the carpet. "You're no fun. All of you."

Sonya snorts, reaching over to pat his head condescendingly. "There, there. I'm sure your future children will appreciate your... creative naming skills."

The laughter dies on my lips as Sonya's words hit me. Future children. June's face flashes through my mind, his deep baritone filled with awe as I told him about the baby. The memory of his voice, trembling with emotion, echoes in my ears.

"Cara?" Louis's gentle voice pulls me back to the present. "You okay, love? You went somewhere else for a minute there."

I blink, realizing my hand has drifted to my stomach, cradling the barely-there bump. "I... yeah. I was just thinking about June. About when I told him..."

The room goes quiet, the earlier levity evaporating like mist in the morning sun. Sonya scoots closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks softly.

I take a shaky breath, fighting back the tears that threaten to fall. "He sounded so scared," I whisper, the words catching in my throat. "So... lost. God, you should have heard him. It was like he couldn't believe it was real."

Song sits up, his earlier joking manner replaced by solemn concern. "But he was happy, right? About the baby?"

A watery laugh escapes me. "Happy? He was... God, I don't even know how to describe it. Terrified, excited, overwhelmed. All at once. He kept saying he was going to get out, that he'd come back to us."

Louis reaches out, taking my free hand in his. "And he will, Cara. We'll make sure of it."

I nod, but the doubt gnaws at me, insidious and relentless. "But what if we can't? What if Elaine's too powerful, what if we can't prove anything? I hate this. I hate that he's missing everything. The first ultrasound, the shopping trips, the late-night cravings..."

My voice breaks, and suddenly I'm crying in earnest, great heaving sobs that shake my entire body. "I miss him so much," I choke out between gasps. "It's not fair. He should be here. He should be a part of this."

Sonya pulls me closer, rocking me gently as she strokes my hair. "I know, honey. I know it's not fair. But we're going to fix this, okay? We're going to bring June home."

Song nods emphatically, his jaw set in a sharp line "Damn straight we are. That bougie bitch Elaine doesn't know who she's messing with."

"Language," Louis chides half-heartedly, but there's a fierce glint in his eyes that matches Song's resolve.

I hiccup, the sobs slowly subsiding into sniffles. "I'm sorry," I mumble, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "I didn't mean to fall apart like that."

"Hey, none of that," Sonya says firmly. "You're allowed to fall apart, Cara. You're pregnant, your baby's father is locked away in some facility, and you've got Elaine Deveaux breathing down your neck. I'd be more worried if you weren't having moments like this."

Louis nods, squeezing my hand. "Sonya's right. You don't have to be strong all the time. That's what we're here for."

A fresh wave of tears threatens, but this time they're born of gratitude rather than despair. "God, what did I do to deserve you guys?"

"You were born awesome," Song declares with a grin. "It's a Briers family trait."

That startles a laugh out of me, watery but genuine. "You're ridiculous," I tell him, but there's no heat behind the words.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway," he retorts, sticking out his tongue.

The tension in the room eases, the earlier playfulness slowly seeping back in. But there's an undercurrent of something more now, a shared resolve that seems to crackle in the air between us.

"So," Louis says, his tone deceptively casual. "What's our next move? Because I don't know about you, but I'm not content to sit back and wait for Elaine's next power play."

I take a deep breath, centering myself. "You're right. We need a plan. Something concrete."

Sonya nods, her expression turning thoughtful. "Well, we've got Song working on getting proof about Amethyst's supposed pregnancy. That's a start."

"But it's not enough," I say, surprising myself with the steel in my voice. "We need more. We need to find out where they're keeping June, what kind of treatment he's receiving. And we need leverage."

Song's eyebrows shoot up. "Leverage? Like, blackmail?"

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