Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Elliot

For the eighth time, I make sure that my oversized tee is flowy enough and hangs over my massive tits so that my sisters don't notice my stomach isn't flat anymore. It's getting hot out since Tennessee only has a week of spring before it's full-fledged summer. Because of this, I have no choice but to wear shorts so I don't die of heat exhaustion. As I take in my reflection in the bathroom mirror of the Drippy Drip, the coffeehouse my sister and her husband own, I bite my lip. While I look like my regular self, I know something is very different. I know there is someone growing inside me, and I'll be lying to all of my sisters today.

This is the first time in months that all four of my sisters and I will be together.

Austen has been living in Nashville for over two years now, and we don't see her much anyway, but she made the trip down with Louisa and Eliza since Dimitri's season is over and they're heading to Russia in a couple weeks. Louisa has been in Nashville for over a year with Ciaran, coming back and forth here to Knoxville to take care of her bookshop. Eliza has been there for the last eight months as her husband has been recovering from a nasty injury he sustained back in November. They're coming in to check on Drippy Drip and to spend time with us. I had to drop off the keys to her new place since Coleson is still struggling with stairs.

With my three older sisters four hours away, that's left only Clara and me, which has made it easy to hide the child growing in my belly. Clara is completely distracted with her mobile dog business, and I hardly see her since I've been living in Louisa's apartment to keep an eye on the bookshop at night. Clara was going to move in with me, but she decided to have a small house built on the property of her dog resort. It's still being built, so for now, she's staying with our peepaw because the land she's building on is right by his estate.

I find myself cradling my little stomach as I gaze at myself. How I've kept this from them is beyond me, because before we came to Knoxville, we were inseparable. We knew everything about one another, knew what was going on, and above all, we protected one another.

We shared a room growing up, and we have photos of Lou and Austen holding Clara and me on their chests when we were newborns. The three eldest were our moms, honestly. When we were old enough, Clara and I would share one bed, while Lou, Eliza, and Austen slept in another in our small room. We did everything together, the older girls protecting and guiding us through life. I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for my elder sisters and the sacrifices they made.

But now, they're all in Nashville, and Clara and I hardly see each other. It's mind-blowing how quickly things change, but I'm not upset or resentful. I am happy for my sisters, all of them, and so proud of the lives we've all built. I know deep in my soul that when I tell them about the baby in my belly, they'll be happy and supportive of me.

This is the perfect time to tell them.

I just don't think I can.

I exhale heavily as the guilt of hiding my pregnancy wears on my soul. I need to tell someone, but I feel like it should be the father. But doing so would involve me speaking to him, and since that hasn't happened in six months, I doubt it will anytime soon. I know he wants nothing to do with me. Why would he? When he walked out of that hotel room that night, he didn't look back. I had hurt him. I had rejected him. I thought I'd be okay with my decision. I protected myself, I kept him at arm's length, but fate being the cunt she is, he left something behind.

With a heart and a head and a soul.

And hopefully with his eyes and lips and curls.

I press my hand to my stomach and gaze at myself. I hate the guilt that I struggle with every time I do this. I shouldn't feel guilt when I'm growing a human, but I do. I hate lying to everyone I love and, even more, preventing Alex from knowing the truth. The alternative of coming clean, though, makes me physically sick. How will everyone react? Will they hate me? I feel if I wait until I have it, then they can't be that mad because they'll be distracted by the cute little baby.

Yes, I'm a coward. And yes, it's pathetic.

I push my long locks of dark hair off my shoulders and pull my shirt away from my body once more before heading out into the shop. As I walk by the counter, Eliza calls out to me, "El, here is your smoothie."

I make a detour, taking it from her with a grin. "Thanks, sis."

She beams at me, and I love how bright and happy she is. She's always been full of optimism and very sunny, but Coleson Katz makes my sister shine even brighter. Even though the big lug can't walk without his walker yet, he isn't far behind her, leaning on the counter and watching her with such love in his eyes. I sort of feel bad for clocking him in the eye last year, but I still don't like that he used my sister to fix his reputation. In a way, though, and by the smirk on his lips, I know she fixed more than his reputation. Not that I'm surprised. Eliza is a gift to anyone who gets to love her.

And he got called up, which was the goal. Even if it ended way too soon, he will always have Eliza.

Lucky lug.

Eliza falls into step with me, her arm locking with mine, and I tense up under her embrace. Please God, don't hug me , I think as we head to where our sisters are gathered. Eliza is the shortest of us all, so when she leans into me, it's into my bicep, and I pray she'll stay right there. When we all first saw one another, I sucked in my stomach so hard and hoped that my kid was okay. Since they kicked me in revenge, I figure they're good and take after me in that sense.

I can be a bit violent.

My brother-in-law can verify that.

As I sit down, I bring my legs up, crisscrossing my ankles so that my shirt flows more. We're all gathered in our favorite spot on the couches in the corner. Austen sits beside me, sipping on her hot tea before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. She kisses my temple, and I beam up at her.

"How are you?" she asks, chucking my chin.

I nod. "Good. Working a lot, taking care of the bookstore, you know…doing me."

She nods. "Good. You should come up to Nashville for a weekend. We can go to Broadway and have fun."

Yeah, I can't do that. "Sure! I'll look at my schedule. With the Bears going into the postseason, I'll be busy with all that."

"For sure," she agrees, squeezing my shoulder. "I love all the things you post. The thirst traps are my favorite."

I snort. "Everyone loves them. Especially the single guys. They're getting all the attention."

"Speaking of single guys, Ciaran is not one, and we want to have a wedding this summer," Louisa says, and I scoff at her proclamation. All of us grin at her as she smiles widely back at us. "We want to do it in the bookshop."

Eliza squeals. "I love it. How incredibly sweet!"

"It's perfect," Clara adds. "When I get married, I'm only inviting you guys and my dog clients."

I roll my eyes. I'm pretty sure if Clara didn't have to talk to people and could just talk to dogs, she would. "I think it's great," I add, since I feel I need to.

Louisa's face flushes, and man, she's so in love. "It would be just us, Peepaw, and Ciaran's mom—oh, sorry, and dates. No, Clara, you can't bring a dog." Clara glares as I giggle. "But I'm not sure when since Austen is going to Russia for a month, and I'm not sure what's going on with Coleson's surgery this summer."

Austen waves her off. "You tell me when, and we'll be there."

"And Coleson's surgery isn't until August, so we're good," Eliza adds with an excited wiggle to her body. She's so damn cute.

I should probably say that I'm due at the end of July, but that would involve me telling them that I'm pregnant.

"So, maybe for the Fourth of July?" Louisa suggests, and everyone is nodding so I do the same. "Awesome. These are the dresses I want everyone to wear. I just need sizes, and I'll get them ordered."

When she shows us a photo of a skintight, mermaid-style dress, I inwardly cringe. I can't wear that. "It's a bit tight," I say, searching everyone's faces. Surely someone agrees with me.

Alas, they don't. "You have the best body out of all of us. Why would you care how tight it is?" Eliza teases, and I force a laugh.

This would be a great time to drop the bomb, but Louisa sets me with a guilty look. "You can pick the dress if you agree to move out and not hate me."

My jaw drops. "You're kicking me out of my digs?"

Our sisters all giggle as Louisa looks positively stricken. "I am. I'm sorry. We want our place back, just us."

I can't hate on her for it, but great. Now I gotta find another place. That is until Eliza pipes up. "You can have our place, El." I look over at her, surprised, as she goes on. "Coleson actually suggested it when Louisa said she was going to ask you to move out."

"Really?" I ask, and my anxiety dies down. It's been really hard since I had to come off my medications for the baby. I tend to spiral quite quickly.

"Yeah, of course. We can't use it."

I smile widely. "Thank you," I gush, and then I set Louisa with a look. "Thankfully, one of my sisters loves me!"

They all chime in at that, but I ignore them when my phone sounds from the table. With a grin, I reach for it to see that it's our peepaw. I bring in my brows since he doesn't usually call me, texting instead. Before I answer, I tell my sisters, "Sorry, it's Peepaw." They all nod in understanding. "Hey, Peepaw. What's up?"

"Where are you?"

I make a face. "I'm at the coffeehouse with the girls."

"Did you not get the email?" He sounds frustrated, and my chest seizes up.

"What?" I ask as I put him on speaker to check my email. As soon as I open my app, I see an urgent message from our marketing department, and my stomach drops.

How did I miss that?

"I need you here to film Cruz's return."

Everything goes still around me. A ringing starts in my ears, and my heart stops in my chest. I can't form words as I read the email quickly.

Alejandro Cruz has been sent back to the Bears from the Assassins for the postseason. We need to announce this by 3 p.m.

Alex is here.

In Knoxville.

And I'm pregnant with his kid.

Fate is a cunning little cunt.

And almost as if they want their presence known, Alex's kid kicks me in the rib.