Page 11 of Cruel Love

“I will.” I paused. “I love you, and please tell Dad the same.” I didn’t tell them that enough.

“We love you too. Call anytime you want to talk or if you need us.”

“I will, thanks. And Mom, I’m really happy for you and Dad and that you’re working things out. Thanks for telling me. I need to go, though. I have homework.”

We disconnected, and I pulled my backpack over and got to work on math. I grabbed my phone and found my go-to homework classical playlist. Once the clear cadence of harmonic instruments crooned from my speaker, I scanned my homework. There were only about ten problems to complete. My pencil scratched over the paper as I worked on the problems, making sure to show my work. I liked math. It was analytical and enabled me to go through the steps without too much thought. Sometime later, someone knocked on the door.

I set my laptop on the floor and rolled out of the beanbag chair. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to heave myself out of that thing once my stomach was huge. I hoped it didn’t get too big. Body changes sucked. I already had to pee ninety-five times a day, my boobs were getting weird, and I wasn’t looking forward to the hemorrhoids I’d read about in What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

When I opened the door, I almost cried in relief—crying was apparently another of my pregnancy things. Riley, Sky, and Cass stood there, and I couldn’t have been happier to see them. I ushered them in, eyeing the drinks they carried from the coffee place. It was late, so I wasn’t sure what was going on.

“I see that look on your face.” Riley grinned. “Decaf, every single one of them.”

“Including that chai tea thing you like.” Sky passed me a cup.

“Yum. Thank you. My mood just got miraculously better.”

“What’s the problem? Phoenix being a drag?” Cass winked. “Oh no… I so know that look. Phoenix and I go way back. No need to defend our QB. I’m only teasing.”

“Emotions.” I waved off what I knew was my resting bitch face. “And”—I looked to the ceiling, confused by my new reality—“I’m worried about him. Also, can I say that he is way more agreeable in his current mental state as a fourteen-year-old than he is at nineteen?”

Sky smirked as she fell onto my bed, tugging one of my throw pillows over and hugging it to her stomach. “It’s because he sees you as part of his inner circle. If you were just some girl, he would be an asshat. I knew him at fourteen, so trust me. The guys were some stupid elite group that everyone bowed down to, even then.”

“Because they’re incredible athletes and hot as hell,” Cass said, taking the desk chair and crossing her legs.

I tilted my head, not believing their decaf story given the amount of energy that trailed their restless movements.

“Don’t let miss I-hate-all-athletes get in your head. The guys weren’t all that bad.”

Riley snorted as she settled on the bed next to Sky, her back against the wall. “They’re assholes.”

“Well”—Cass rolled her eyes—“you have every reason to think that. But things are different now. They’ve grown up a bit.”

“They are. Cole and I had lots of run-ins, and he made things challenging for me, but that’s all in the past. And… full disclosure, I gave him hell back and loved every second of it.”

“Yeah, you really did.” Cass high-fived Riley then moved from the chair to jump onto my bed. “We brought snacks, and we want to hear everything.”

“What do you mean?” I got a little preoccupied with the food they brought. “About what?”

“The baby.” Skylar elbowed her way off the bed and moved to the floor next to me then placed her hand on my tiny soccer ball. “Have you felt it move yet?”

“It?” Riley’s brows rose. “You know what the sex is, right? You’re around four months, so…”

My lips twitched, and a rush of happiness filled me. “It’s a girl.”

“Holy shit!” Sky screeched. “This is the best news ever! There are too many boys and so much testosterone with Cole, Damon, Phoenix, and Shane. Don’t get me wrong. I love them, but we need more girls to balance everything out.”

Cass glared at Sky. “Um, why aren’t you including Matt?”

“Matt’s got that chill vibe like Aspen. He doesn’t count.”

“What do you mean?” I understood the chill-vibe thing—that had been my usual demeanor and outlook on life. Everything was low-stress when my parents weren’t trying to kill each other verbally.

“You haven’t met him yet, but he’s a laid-back surfer and so, so gorgeous,” Cass gushed. “And he’s all mine.”

I laughed at her lighthearted possessiveness. The nagging thoughts weren’t far, though, and my friends must have seen them in my expression. Sky asked what was bothering me.

“I don’t like keeping things from Phoenix, but I can’t tell him I’m pregnant or that the baby is his. It’s driving me crazy.” I rambled. “He doesn’t know that the amniocentesis results came back negative, he hasn’t seen the latest ultrasound pictures, and he doesn’t know we’re having a little girl. Like… how can a guy who lost five years and has no memories past the age of fourteen be a dad?”

---