Page 46 of Accidental Baby For My Brother’s Best Friend

Gemma

In the commotion, I get blood all over my white tank top, so when Samuel sees me, his eyes widen.

I shake my head to let him know I’m not hurt.

“I’m okay, just help me get Axel on his feet.”

“What the hell happened?” Samuel asks, and I sigh heavily.

“I’ll explain everything, just get Axel to his room and I’ll come to yours, okay?”

Samuel’s brow furrows, but he grabs Axel’s hand and heaves him to his feet.

“I’m okay, it’s just right above my eye,” Axel complains, blinking rapidly. Sure enough, there’s blood in one of his bright blue eyes, and I feel awful about it.

I’m still reeling from what happened, the way Locke had said he had something important to tell me, that he didn’t feel the same way anymore, and I figured he had been gearing up to break up with me.

I got sick before he could, though, and I didn’t realize that I’d lost my phone until Axel and I made it back to the hotel. I guess Locke must have seen Alex’s text and gotten the wrong idea. Looking back, it makes sense, him asking me on the bus if I’m seeing anyone else.

I already know that he thinks I’m seeing Axel and to be honest, I’ve played it up here and there just because it’s easier to keep him away from me. It’s hard enough seeing him every day, but if I have no buffer, I’m sure I’d have caved by now or told him something I might regret.

I had no idea that it actually affected him this way, though, and I don’t know how to feel about what just happened. It’s like something out of an action movie, really, the way he tackled Axel and it’s all a stupid misunderstanding, anyway.

What did it mean that he called me “his girl” but when he found out the baby is his, he bolted? That doesn’t bode well. It’s not like I thought we’d live happily ever after, but I thought he might, at least, want to talk about it.

“If you guys hadn’t abandoned me after the concert, maybe I could have kept Locke from trying to kill you,” Samuel says dryly.

Axel gives me a wry smile as Samuel walks him to his room, and I sigh and follow them, for once not feeling nauseous, even though my face feels hot from all the adrenaline.

I can’t stop thinking about how Locke looked at me when I pulled him off Axel. He looked so…hurt, as if I punched him in the throat instead of keeping him from killing our mutual friend.

I feel guilt flow through me. No matter how badly Locke reacted, it’s my fault that he thinks that Axel and I are seeing each other. I’ve been letting him believe that because it served my purposes, and that’s a shitty thing to do to someone, even if they don’t have real feelings for you. Hell, no wonder Locke planned to break up with me after the show. No wonder he stormed off the way he did.

I’m the asshole, I think to myself, in wonder, but there’s so much more to worry about that I can’t even process that thought. I have no idea how Locke feels about kids, no idea how he really feels about me, and no idea what to do next.

Axel must be okay, because he babbles everything that happened to Samuel in an excited tone, and I swear, he must be one of those people who lives for adrenaline. I feel like I’ve been on one giant ride for about a week now, but Axel seems to be happy to have something to focus on that isn’t his ex-wife.

I’m quiet when I walk with Samuel back to his room, and he opens the door for me.

“So, you let Locke Kincaid knock you up, huh?”

“I hate that term,” I mutter. “And I just skipped a couple of days on my birth control, I didn’t know–”

“You didn’t know unprotected sex equals babies?” Samuel drawls, and I huff out a long breath.

“Stop acting like my big brother and give me some real advice,” I snap, and then rub my hand over my face.

“I’m sorry. Congratulations.” Samuel gives me a sheepish smile. “You’re still the baby, after all.”

I put a hand on my stomach. “Not anymore,” I say softly.

Samuel leads me to the bed, sitting me down on the foot of the bed and turning on the television. I still feel like I’m in a haze, and it helps that he puts on some dumb reality show that I don’t have to really focus on.

“You have to tell Jackson.”

I look over at Samuel, shocked at his words.

“What?”

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