Page 96 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends
“Is she okay? I want an answer longer than a sentence,” Max questions the brothers.
Andrew narrows his eyes, frustration written all across his face. “She’s doing better than she was yesterday. She needs rest.”
“She can rest with us,” Ryan replies, his words coming out with a punch. “You know, if she didn’t want us to be part of her life or the baby’s life, she would’ve made that clear. She wouldn’t have told us that she wants to be with us and raise the baby together.”
“She wasn’t thinking straight. Probably too exhausted to do so,” Ethan says snidely.
They’re not being fair. They’re beingbitter, pulling us further away from the chance of settling things. They want us to give up. To admit that we’re guilty of what they’re accusing us of.
“Can we please just come in and talk to her? You can be in the room if you want,” I reply.
Andrew’s eyes flicker over to Ethan, who tightens his jaw and subtly shakes his head. Andrew turns back to us, his expression turning stony. “No. You should go. All of you.”
“Stubborn sons of bitches,” Ryan grumbles under his breath, making Andrew and Ethan visibly bristle in anger.
“Let’s just go. This is only making things worse,” Max mutters as he leans closer to me, his jaw twitching in frustration.
Part of me wants to say screw it and barge into the house, but that’ll be a guaranteed ass beating that I’d rather avoid. Max is right. This is a bust.
We failed.
“If she asks, please at least tell her that we came by to check on her. She doesn’t need to doubt for a second that we care about her,” I tell the brothers before turning and motioning for Max and Ryan to follow me back to the car.
Leaving without even seeing her feels like giving up, but temporarily retreating is better than blowing up the bridge between us and her completely. Maybe we’ll have to play the long game.
Or maybe her brothers will never back down and force us apart.
“That was bullshit,” Ryan bites out once we pile into the car.
I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, well, we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”
Max runs his hand over his face. “Honestly, this is even worse than I imagined it being. I thought we would at least get to be with her while her brothers lost their minds. It almost feels like they’re keeping her hostage!”
“Yet,weare the bad guys,” Ryan speaks up from the backseat as I drive down the road away from Emma’s childhood home. “We haven’t heard a peep from her since the hospital. Not even a text. You think she would at least do that.”
“Unless she’s too tired. She’s still recovering,” I remind him as I repeatedly thump my thumb against my steering wheel, unease crawling up my spine.
“Or maybe her brothers have gotten into her head and convinced her that we’re no good for her,” Ryan mutters bitterly.
“She already knew that they wouldn’t approve. I doubt they got in her head,” Max replies as he stares out of the side window.
“So, she can’t even manage a text to let us know that she’s okay?” Ryan asks, his words coming out sharper.
“Ryan, don’t,” I grit out.
“What? You can’t tell me that neither of you are thinking about it too,” Ryan says. “We should’ve heard from her by now. If she even wants to talk to us anymore.”
“We don’t know what’s going on inside of that house. We shouldn’t jump to any crazy conclusions,” Max replies as he pitches Ryan a quick look of warning over his shoulder.
“Maybe Andrew and Ethan are right,” Ryan mutters under his breath.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel as my jaw clenches. “What did you say?”
Ryan’s eyes flash up to the rearview mirror at the same time as mine. “They think this whole relationship is foolish and doomed to fail. What if they’re right? What if our little fantasy is only meant to be that? A fantasy.”
“Don’t say that,” I warn him. “Don’t let them get in your head too.”
Ryan scoffs and crosses his arms as he leans back against the seat. “We’re idiots. Did we really think we could have everything we wanted? A beautiful woman to call ours. A baby to raise as our own. A family.
