Chapter 47 Freddie
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Freddie
The door slams open before I even hear the truck. That’s Jesse for you, always making an entrance, always dragging the storm with him.
But of course, I know why today.
The very reason I’ve been avoiding my best friend.
Not something I can do forever in a small town like this, so it shouldn’t be a surprise… yet it is.
I’m elbows deep in some half-finished sketches when I look up and see him standing in the doorway, face red, eyes as if he’s been chewing on broken glass. And then he’s holding up a damn ultrasound photo high.
I feel my stomach drop to my shoes.
"Freddie," he spits, like the word’s a curse. "You’re gonna tell me the truth now, right? Are you the father? I have been waiting, trying to calm myself down, thinking you would man up and come to me about this, but I can’t hold back any longer. You have to tell me.”
I push back from the counter, trying to keep my breathing steady. My hands are still shaking from the last couple of days, and now this… this unexpected confrontation.
"What the hell, Jesse?" I rub a hand through my hair, the words stuck in my throat. "I don’t know what to say…”
His jaw locks, and he takes a step forward, anger turning his face into a hard mask. "What do you mean you don’t know what to say? Does that mean you could be the father? Because I got my sister a job with you to help you both out. Not so you could betray me by fucking her!”
Shit.
I’m caught in a mess of my own making. It’s not like I expected this to stay a secret. It’s not as if I thought I could get away with pretending everything was clean, neat, and tidy. But Jesse’s reaction? That’s a gut punch. I can already see the betrayal in his eyes.
This is my best friend.
I have to tell him the truth. I mean, it can’t get any worse, can it? He’s going to find out eventually.
I just wish I’d been more prepared for this moment.
I take a breath, trying to stay calm. "You know what, Jesse? I’m not gonna lie to you. It could be me, it could be Mitchell, it could be Timothy. Hell, I don’t even think Ivy knows yet. I’m not about to stand here and pretend I’ve got all the answers. I don’t."
I watch as his face goes from red to white, like he’s been sucker punched in the stomach. His fist tightens around the ultrasound photo, crumpling it slightly. But I don’t look away.
“All of you?” he gasps. “You and the twins? That is… fucked up. Is that why they were fighting the other day?” He rakes his fingers through his hair. "You all think this is some... game?"
I watch Jesse, a man who’s always been my rock, unravel in front of me.
His fists are clenched, and I can see the anger radiating off him, pushing out any semblance of calm he might have had before he walked in here.
His breath is sharp, coming in shallow gasps, he’s holding himself back from throwing a punch, either at me or himself.
The accusation stings. It cuts deeper than I want to admit.
He’s right. It is fucked up. Hell, I don’t even know how we got here, where everything started to blur into something too messy to untangle. But I’m not gonna lie to him. Not now. Not when everything’s already spilling out. It’s too late for secrets.
Jesse snaps, shaking his head, like he can’t even believe it’s come to this. "You’re all sleeping with her, there are babies involved, and now you’re just gonna leave her hanging like this? She’s not some... some fucking toy!"
Jesse starts to move toward the door. He’s done with this conversation, he’s not even hearing me anymore. But something snaps inside me. I can’t let him walk away thinking the worst of this.
"Jesse, wait." I step forward, my heart pounding in my chest, and suddenly I feel the weight of every word that’s coming next. "You need to understand something. This isn’t just about sleeping with her. It’s not like we’re each taking turns and it’s some... fucking game."
He stops dead in his tracks, and for the first time, maybe he’s actually listening.
I swallow hard, but I’m not backing down now. I can’t.
"I’m not gonna pretend like this is easy to explain, but it’s not just physical.
It’s not just about having a good time. We’re not treating her like a damn harem.
Mitchell, Timothy, and I… we all have feelings for her.
This isn’t a ‘who’s gonna win her over’ kind of thing, Jesse.
We’re all in this. All three of us care about her, and yeah, it’s messy, it’s complicated, but it’s real. "
Jesse stands still, his shoulders tight, his back stiff, but I can see a flicker of confusion mixed with something else, maybe shock, maybe realization. I’m not sure. But I can’t stop now.
His breath hitches, and for a moment, I wonder if I’ve lost him. Maybe I have. Maybe this is too much for him to swallow right now. But I can’t let him go thinking I’ve been treating Ivy like something disposable, just to be fought over.
"She’s not some object," I add quietly, my voice softer, but firm. "She’s a person. And we all know it. And I don’t know what’s gonna happen next, but I know that we’re all in this together. It’s us… three guys, one woman, trying to figure out how the hell we make this work."
Jesse just stands there, looking at me. His face is a mix of disbelief and something that almost seems to be... concern. He finally shakes his head, as if trying to process everything I’ve just thrown at him.
And then, just like that, it happens.
Without warning, his fist shoots out, slamming into the counter with a sickening crack. The sound echoes in the small shop, and I jump back, my heart racing as I watch him grind his teeth together.
“This is insane, Freddie!” he yells, his voice cracking, the rage bubbling over. “All of you, all of you, sleeping with her, getting her pregnant, and now you’re trying to tell me it’s real? How the hell am I supposed to believe that?!”
I open my mouth to speak, but Jesse doesn’t give me the chance. He’s already pacing, his hands tearing through the air, like he’s trying to beat the frustration out of the room. He kicks over a chair, sending it clattering to the floor, and I flinch, the noise ripping through me rough as a knife.
“You fucked her, Freddie. You all fucked her, and now you’re just gonna act like it’s some big, happy, messed up family?! You can’t just fix this with some bullshit apology!”
I try to stay calm, but every word he spits cuts me open. He’s my best friend, the one person who’s always had my back. But right now, I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do. How do I make him see the truth of this without it feeling like a betrayal?
I feel the heat rise in my chest, the weight of what he’s saying pressing down harder.
I know this isn’t just about me. It’s about Ivy.
And the anger? It’s not just about the mess we’ve made.
It’s about him being blindsided. About his little sister being caught in something so far out of his control, it’s tearing him apart.
“Jesse, man,” I try again, stepping forward, but he’s too far gone.
“You don’t understand, this isn’t how we thought it was gonna go.
None of us are trying to hurt her. We’re all just…
trying to figure this out. It’s not just about us, it’s about her too.
It’s about giving her a choice, a real one. Not treating her like she’s just…”
But Jesse’s beyond reasoning now. He shakes his head, his eyes wild with fury, and with one final shout, he storms toward the door, slamming it open with enough force to rattle the walls.
“You better fix this, Freddie. Or I swear, I’ll make you regret it.”
And then he’s gone, leaving me standing in the wreckage of the shop, the echoes of his words still ringing in my ears.
I let out a shaky breath, trying to hold myself together. The room is silent now, except for the faint sound of my heart pounding in my chest.
Fuck.
My hand trembles as I reach for my phone. I know what I need to do. I need to call Ivy. She needs to know about this.
I dial her number, feeling the weight of every second as it rings, but she doesn’t answer. Shit. I can’t let this sit. Not after what just happened.
I try again.
And then, finally, she picks up.
“Freddie?” Ivy’s voice sounds small, distant, as if she already knows something’s wrong.
“Yeah,” I say, trying to steady my voice. “I need you to listen. Right now. Please.”
She hesitates. “What happened?”
I exhale, feeling the tension in my shoulders creep higher. “Jesse knows. He came in here, all guns blazing, with the ultrasound photo. He wants answers. He’s pissed, Ivy. Pissed at me. Pissed at all of us.”
There’s a long pause on the other end, and I can almost hear the gears turning in her head. “What did you tell him?” she asks, her voice tight.
I swallow hard. “The truth. About me, about Mitchell, about Timothy. About all of us being involved. I couldn’t lie to him, Ivy. He’s your brother. He deserves to know.”
A sigh slips from her lips, and I can hear the pain in it. “Shit, Freddie. This isn’t... this isn’t how any of this was supposed to go. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. What if I’ve ruined everything?”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” I say quickly, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “Look, this is on me too. We’re all in this together, right? But Jesse… He’s in shock. He’s hurt. And he doesn’t know how to process all of this. He’s going to need time.”
“Okay,” she gasps out. “Thank you for warning me. This is… it’s real now, isn’t it?”
I nod along with her. “Yeah, it is.”