Page 126 of Reaper and Ruin
“What?” I laughed. “Like I’m one of the kids with their school awards?”
“Exactly like that! We’d take a photo of the kids if they won something. Why wouldn’t we do it for you too?”
I glanced at Francine, and she also had her phone out and was shooing me toward the wall.
“Go on, Violet. I’ll put it on the Facebook page. My podcasts say social media marketing is also very important for small businesses.”
I couldn’t deny both of them, so I shuffled over to it and gave them a cheesy smile.
Francine’s flash went off, but it was the honest pride on Whip’s face that really got to me. I’d never had anyone love me so much they thought I was all that just because my employer had stuck a photo of me up on an outdated wall of honor.
But I knew that if it was him, I would have done exactly the same.
Francine moved back to her desk, muttering curses about technology and why she couldn’t find the upload button on her app, and I took the opportunity to step into Whip, who was still grinning up at the stupid photo like I’d just won a Nobel Prize or something.
I dragged him away and pushed him toward the door. “I’d kiss you for being so sweet if I hadn’t just puked.”
He chuckled and stepped out, his fingers grazing my belly that had absolutely no outward signs of the baby growing inside it. “Have you told the others yet?”
I shook my head.
He nodded, but I could see the pleased uptilt of his lips that he was the first. “I won’t say anything. But, Vi, you gotta tell them soon. What are you waiting for?”
I no longer knew. Suddenly I wanted to run home and shout it from the rooftops to every person I knew. I wanted to call my brother and Rebel and Bliss. I wanted to tell old Mrs. Sinterro, who I cleaned for every week. I wanted to get Harold a little shirt that announced he was going to be a big brother.
I couldn’t spend my life living in the shadow of the things I’d done to Travis. That would be a life half lived, and I’d already been kept small for too much of this one lifetime I was getting. I couldn’t live in the grief of losing Toby, or in the ache that existed without Nyah here to celebrate with.
I wanted to live for the people I did still have. They deserved that.
I deserved it.
I deserved to be happy. “Tonight,” I promised him. “I’ll tell them all tonight. It’s time we had something good to celebrate.”
“Violet!” Francine called from inside. “Meeting is starting!”
Whip kissed me quick, his eyes crinkling at the corners with how happy he was. “We’re having a baby, Violet.”
Yes, we really were.
38
WHIP
Iwhistled the entire way home, like I was in some sort of Hallmark movie. I couldn’t wipe the cheesy grin off my face, and I did a little shoulder shake shimmy as I pulled into my driveway that was very unlike me, but I needed somewhere for the excitement to go.
Levi looked up from where he sat on the front steps and caught the end of it. “What was that?”
“I’m dancing.”
“Looked more like you had a mini seizure.”
“Fuck you.”
He cracked a grin and reached an arm for me. “Come here.”
I flipped him the bird and tried to get past him, but he grabbed me and dragged me down on the step next to him.
It didn’t take much convincing.
