Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Devon
The interior of the barcade was loud. But I couldn’t complain—we were contributing to the volume just as much as every other patron.
Josh had found the barcade and invited us all along while the girls got together for brunch at Hazel and Luke’s house.
Reed and Luke were going head-to-head in another game of air hockey, while James and Josh finished up their third round of a racing game. Josh must have beat James handily with the way he sulked back over to the table I’d commandeered for us.
“That game is way harder than it should be. And I think my pedal was defective. It was delayed or something.”
I chuckled at my sore loser of a friend and polished off my second beer. For once, I wasn’t the designated driver. Luke and Hazel were on constant baby watch, which meant he refused to drink in case he had to get to the hospital on a moment’s notice.
“Sure, blame it on the game,” I mocked, and he shoved my arm.
“Want another?” Josh asked, pointing to his own beer as he walked by .
I nodded. “I’m still good,” James said and set his glass on the table. “So, Ivy told me something earlier this week.”
Cautiously, I dragged my eyes from the table in front of me up to James’s face. I knew what he was going to say, but I wasn’t going to start the conversation.
“She said that you and Piper are dunzo.”
My only confirmation was my silence.
“What the hell happened? I thought y’all were good.”
I rolled my neck along my shoulders and spun the beer bottle for something to do with my hands. It was the last thing I wanted to talk about, but I knew James wouldn’t let it rest until he knew the details.
“Didn’t Piper tell Ivy?”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I only got a few details. I wanted to hear it from you, man.”
He nudged my shoulder, and I sighed. “It happened on Valentine’s Day,” I said.
“Oof, that’s rough.” He winced, and I gave him an unimpressed look. “Sorry, please continue.”
“I went to visit her at the hospital because we couldn’t hang out that night. But when I got there, she already had a vase of flowers from her ex. She said that he’d contacted her the week before, and she realized she wasn’t over him. That it wasn’t fair to either of us if she still had feelings for someone else.”
Her exact words had actually been, “If we both still have feelings for someone else.” But I didn’t share that part with James. He’d never shut up if I did.
Although I knew who she was talking about, the comment surprised me. And when I’d tried to argue, she’d shut me down. Then she’d gone back to work without another word.
“Wow, I’m sorry. And things were going well…”
“Yeah, things were going well,” I confirmed.
Josh returned and slid a fresh beer across the table, which I immediately scooped up and tipped to my mouth.
“What are we talking about?” he asked .
And as Luke and Reed joined us, James said, “Piper and Devon broke up.”
Simultaneously, they all stopped and glanced at me, then at one another.
“I didn’t realize you two were actually together ,” Josh said.
I scoffed, and Reed shot me an incredulous look. “You don’t really tell us much, Dev. Can’t blame us for not knowing.”
He was right, and standing there with all my friends staring at me, I felt the pressure. Unlike the rest of them, I wasn’t an open book, and I didn’t wear my feelings on my face for the entire world to see.
It didn’t feel necessary to tell everyone every thought that crossed my mind. But I could see their point—if I was going to open up, it should be to them.
“We’d decided not to date other people in December. But it didn’t work out,” I said with a shrug. “It happens.”
“You don’t seem too upset,” Luke quipped.
I looked over at him but noticed the look on James’s face. Like he knew something more and was trying to keep his mouth shut. He did know something more, or at least he thought I did. He’d had it in his head for as long as I can remember that I had unrequited, hidden feelings for Blakely.
“Shit happens,” I said, ignoring James. “I’m…if it was meant to be, it would’ve worked out. Piper seemed pretty steadfast in her decision, so there’s no reason to dwell on it.”
“Sure, sure,” Reed murmured. “Anyway, how’s the daddy-to-be feeling?”
Standing directly next to me, I felt Luke tense. I glanced over at him and saw the muscle in his jaw jump.
“You and Hazel are so excited. Why are you making that face?” Josh asked his brother.
Luke was quiet for several seconds, and we all patiently waited for him to get his thoughts together. The very loud, ruckus sounds of the arcade echoed around us while he stared down at his water .
“We are excited. I am excited, but growing up with our father…it makes me even more anxious.”
We simultaneously nodded, and the seriousness of the topic weighed heavy on all of us.
“You’ll never be like dad,” Josh said with the utmost conviction.
I hadn’t met their father, yet I immediately agreed without an ounce of hesitation. Josh and Luke’s father had been an abusive bastard. And it had been that abuse that killed their mother when they were only teenagers.
“I had the same fear,” Josh continued. “When Sam told me she was pregnant with Zach, I spiraled—which you were all there for,” he said with a shallow laugh. “And yeah, I’ve fucked up several times, and I’ll mess up in the future, but I’ll never be like Dad. Neither will you. The fact that you’re scared, concerned, and anxious…that shows how much you care.”
“I know, I know,” Luke said with a deep sigh. “You’re right.”
“And look at how amazing Zach is turning out,” Reed added. “If Josh can do it, you sure as hell can.”
Josh grabbed Reed’s arm like he was going to punch him, only for him to kiss him soundly. “It’s a good thing I love you,” he said with a smile.
Reed kissed Josh again and then excused himself to the bathroom.
Thankfully, the heavier topics were in the past, and we continued into more carefree conversation. I challenged James to an air hockey game when Reed came sprinting back from the bathroom. He nearly ran over three separate people who stepped in front of him and almost tripped over a random guy sitting on the ground. For a man who owned a gym and spent a lot of time in said gym, he was breathing heavily by the time he got to us.
“Luke, where the hell is your phone?” he asked.
Luke patted his pockets and pulled out his phone, quickly looking down at the screen .
“This place is a fucking black hole,” James said.
“You get a signal in the bathroom,” Reed explained. “And while I was in there, Amanda called me like three times.”
“What? Why?” Josh jumped in, his concern for his girlfriend obvious.
But Reed didn’t acknowledge Josh’s question. He stared at Luke and said, “You’re having a baby.”
We couldn’t have made it to the hospital any faster if we tried. Although Luke was worked up, and we all told him that it was probably better if he didn’t drive, he wasn’t giving up the driver’s seat. So, I had been chosen to ride with him while Josh, Reed, and James tried to keep up in their car.
Apparently, I was the most likely to keep him calm, which, by the time we got to the hospital and were sprinting inside, had been proven false.
Hazel and Luke had toured the hospital before—which was apparently something people did when they were planning on having a baby—so he knew exactly where he was going. It was up to the rest of us to keep up.
We all piled on the elevator, our panting and Luke’s nervous fidgeting the only sounds as we impatiently waited for it to climb to the third floor.
It was the longest elevator ride of my life.
When the doors opened, Luke hopped out first, looking right, then left, and deciding on that direction. We all followed and saw Amanda and Ivy in a small waiting area right off the elevator bank.
“Am I late? Did I miss it? Where is she?” Luke threw questions at Amanda faster than she could answer.
“You didn’t miss it. She’s right down the hall in room 212,” she said, and Luke was running again. “And let me know if she wants me in there!” she hollered after him.
She took a breath and turned back to the rest of us. James took a seat next to Ivy in one of the blue and brown chairs while Reed and Josh both took turns hugging Amanda.
“She’s early,” Amanda said. “Her sister and mom won’t be here until tomorrow.”
“When did y’all get here?” Josh asked as we all fell into our chairs.
“Only a few minutes ago,” Ivy said.
“Did you drive her?” I asked.
Amanda shook her head and nervously chewed on her thumbnail. “No, Blakely did.”
I wasn’t the only one to look at Amanda like she was insane, but I was the one to ask, “Blakely?”
“Yeah, Hazel invited her over early so they could talk and clear the air. Ivy and I weren’t there yet, and Hazel wasn’t driving herself, so when she went into labor, Blakely drove her here.”
“Where’s Blake now?” James asked.
Amanda shrugged and motioned to the hallway where Luke had disappeared. “I think she’s still in there with her.”