Page 113 of A Kingpin's Weakness
I stared at her for a second, heart caught between loving her and not understanding her at all.
“Why you felt like you couldn’t tell me?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, even though it didn’t feel calm inside.
“It’s not that I couldn’t tell you,” she said quietly. “The night I found out everything had already gone to shit. Jo was spiraling, the party was a mess, and I was in shock. I needed time. I needed to be there for her. I just pushed it to the back. Tried to figure it all out before bringing it to you.”
I sat with that. Let it sink in. I understood it, on the surface. But deep down, it still hurt. “So the only reason RJ, Ari, and Noah knew is because you couldn’t stop throwing up?” I asked, tone sharper than I meant.
She nodded, eyes soft. “Yeah. I didn’t tell them. They figured it out. I didn’t even want to talk about it with them, but it just happened.”
“I wanted to be there for you,” I said, my voice breaking a little, even if I tried to play it cool. “I wanted to be the one holding your hair back. Rubbing your back. Getting you crackers or some shit when you couldn’t hold anything down. That was my right too.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I should’ve known.” “Jo was there for me,” she said, looking at me finally. “And I feel like she needed that. She needed to feel like she could still show up for someone. Be strong for someone else. I let her have that moment.”
I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t mad at Stormi, not even mad at Jo for being there for her. But damn it stung.
“And what about me?” I asked.
She reached for my hand and laced her fingers with mine. “We’re going to haveeveryother experience,” she said softly. “Every doctor’s visit. Every late night craving. Every mood swing. Every time the baby kicks, or I cry over a stupid commercial or throw up in a Chick-fil-A parking lot that’s us. You and me.”
I didn’t say anything right away. Just pulled her in closer and rested my forehead against hers.
“I just don’t want to miss nothing,” I muttered.
“You won’t.”
“Promise?”
She nodded against me. “I promise.”
And this time, I believed her.
Ring! Ring!
My phone lit up with a FaceTime from S3. His name and little smiling picture popped up on the screen.
I turned the phone toward Stormi. “It’s S3.”
Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell him yet.”
“Why?”
“I want to surprise him.”
I smirked. “I didn’t get a surprise.”
“That’s ‘cause you’re nosy. Ruined the whole dramatic moment.”
I chuckled as I answered the call and S3’s face filled the screen.
“What’s up, baby boy?”
“Daddy! What are you doing?”
“Stormi and I just waking up, laying down,” I said, flipping the camera for a second to show her.
“Hi Stormi!”
“Hi S3,” she replied, her voice soft but smiling.
