Worse, I don’t even know where I stand in the grand scheme of things.
That’s a shitty feeling.
“I’m ready.”
I turn back around and give her a small smile. “Come on.” I extend my hand, which she takes easily, and escort her to the door. We continue to the front desk, where she stops to make her next appointment.
When we climb inside the truck and start heading back to Cooper Town, I notice her pulling the ultrasound images out of the folder she was given. She pulls out her phone and snaps a photo of one of the images, changing her phone’s wallpaper to our little peanut. Then, I see her tapping on her phone, sending a text message and attaching the photo.
My phone dings.
“I sent you the sonogram image so you have it, but I thought you might want a hard copy too. There’re two images here. When I get home, I’ll cut them apart and you can have one for your fridge or wherever.”
“Thanks, I’d like that,” I tell her. “And appreciate the picture.”
She nods, looking out the window for a moment. “I sent it to Sommer too with the due date.”
And soon I’ll be able to share milestones and discuss things with my best friend. Of course, that’s if he still talks to me after he finds out I slept with his sister. Actually, I’m not so worried about Camden’s reaction. He’s been well aware of my infatuation with his sister for far too long, so he’ll probably just shrug his shoulders and tell me not to give any details.
It’s the other two I’m a little worried about.
“Soon, they’ll all know,” I state as I drive along.
“Will you tell your parents?” she asks.
“Yeah. Eventually.”
She glances my way and offers a small smile. “I bet your mom will be excited.”
“Maybe.” I stopped guessing how either one of my parents will react to something a long time ago, because disappointment always follows.
We’re mostly silent the rest of the way back to town, and I don’t miss the happy looks at the sonogram in her hand. She has yet to return them to the folder in her lap, but I don’t mind. I get to steal glances at the images too.
When I pull up in front of her condo, she releases the seat belt and gives me a quick grin. “Thanks for the lift.”
I nod. “You sure you don’t want me to pick you up to go to your parents’?”
“No, I’ll just meet you there,” she insists, opening the door and climbing out. “See you soon.”
I lift my hand and wave as she closes the door. I don’t pull away from the curb until she lets herself inside, and only then do I drive away. Before I even reach the end of the block, my mind is already processing what’s to come, and by the time I pull into my own driveway, I’ve convinced myself everything is going to be just fine.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I glance down at the image Charli sent.
Our baby.
It has to be okay.
Nothing else will be acceptable.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
Charli
“’Bout time you got here,” Lizzie says, pulling me into a big hug.
“I got behind with these,” I reply, holding up the plastic container of chocolate chip cookies.
