34. Wesley
34
WESLEY
T he brightness of the morning sun pierces through the glass like a searchlight, making it impossible to drift back off to sleep.
Did I not close my curtains last night?
I blink slowly and take in my surroundings.
There’s a brief moment of confusion when I realize this isn’t my bedroom or Avery’s, but it fades as soon as my brain catches up to my eyes.
Damn it, Jamie, why do you feel the need to wake up at the crack of dawn?
If we ever end up finding a place together—which we’ll have to do sooner rather than later if Avery’s pregnant—I’m going to insist on blackout curtains or my own separate bedroom.
There’s no way I can live like this in the long term. Jamie might be a morning person, but I’m decidedly not.
When I sit up, I can see that the only person still asleep is Phillip and that’s because the bastard has buried his head under the pillows.
I’m not actually mad at him. Mostly, I’m just pissed that I hadn't thought to do it myself.
Across the room, I see Avery perched on an ottoman giving Phillip the same look I am.
“How does he do that?” She shakes her head in disbelief.
“It should be considered a crime,” I say with mock solemnity.
We share a laugh that quickly turns into scowls when Phillip doesn’t even stir.
She scrunches her nose. “What a jerk.”
“If you are pregnant, you should make him be the one to get up in the middle of the night with the baby.”
“I think that would be a fitting punishment.” She smiles.
“You’re just jealous,” Phillip mutters from underneath the covers.
“Sleeping Beauty awakens,” I tease.
He chucks a pillow at my head and misses me by a mile.
“That’s not very high society of you. Where’s that debutante training of yours?”
He flashes me a hand signal that’s decidedly ungentlemanly and rolls back over. In seconds, he’s back to snoring.
“Where did Jamie get off to?”
“He left a note on the end table saying something about going for a run and not to worry about him.” She shrugs. “Based on the time he scribbled at the bottom of the note, he left maybe an hour ago. He won’t be gone for too much longer, right?”
“Honestly, I’m surprised he’s not in the master bath already. Usually, he only runs for about forty-five-minutes and then hops in the shower.”
“Maybe he decided to go longer today,” she suggests. “I mean, if he’s feeling anything like I do right now, he’s probably got a truckload of stress to burn off.”
Do the two of them already know? Is that why she’s been sitting here in the corner of the room instead of getting herself breakfast or showering herself? Has she been psyching herself up to tell us?
Anxiety starts slithering around in my body. I can feel it coiling inside me and squeezing my innards.
I search her face for any clue that she already knows, but I can’t pick up on anything more than nerves.
“Did you—” I swallow hard. “Did you take the test already?”
Please say no. I won’t be able to stomach it if you’ve left me out of this.
I try to use one of the breathing techniques I learned during my stint in therapy, but I know I won’t be able to truly settle until I know for sure.
“No, not yet. I wanted to wait until we were all together.”
Just like that, I can breathe again.
“I guess we should try to get Phillip up, then. Jamie’s bound to come back to the bedroom any minute now.”
I swear I must be some type of wizard because as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I hear Jamie’s footsteps in the hallway.
“Morning.” He nods.
“I see you used the guest bathroom,” I say, nodding at the towel around his waist.
“I was going to use this one, but the three of you were still passed out in the bed. I didn’t want to disturb anyone since we got to bed fairly late last night. Is Leo still asleep?”
Avery nods and gestures toward the monitor on the nightstand where a tiny image of Leo is sprawled out in his travel crib.
“Yeah, he’s out and should be for another half hour or so.” She bites her lip. “I guess we should be getting on with it. Once Leo wakes up, it’ll be impossible to have a quiet moment.”
After we manage the herculean effort of waking Phillip (and keeping him that way), Avery disappears into the bathroom to take the test that might turn our worlds upside down.
I never thought I’d be this anxious over someone peeing on a stick, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.
She comes out after a minute looking more nervous than a criminal revisiting the scene of their crime. We jump to our feet at the sight of her.
“Well, what does it say?” I ask.
“It’s going to be five minutes before we know anything, remember?”
“Right. Sorry.”
Phillip and I drop back down on the bed, and Jamie starts pacing around the room. Avery just stands there fidgeting with her hands.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
Her laugh is manic. “Am I alright? Let’s see, my ex-husband is stalking me because I was bullied into doing a video for Age Gap Academy, my boss treats me like I’m shit on his shoe, and my teachers might have gotten me pregnant. That’s right, I said teachers. Plural. Being with just one of them apparently wasn’t enough of a risk. I had to fall for all three of them. Oh, and I forgot the best part. If the academy finds out about it, my boyfriends could lose their jobs and if my ex finds out, he might kill me. So you tell me, Wesley, am I alright?”
“Come here,” I say, patting my lap.
She shuffles over with the same expression on her face as Leo has when he thinks he’s in trouble and perches gingerly on my lap.
I wrap my arms around her, tucking her tightly against my chest.
Jamie stops pacing and settles himself on the empty spot next to me. It’s clear by the look on his face that he’s thinking the same thing I am.
She’s the priority. Our needs don’t matter right now.
“That is a lot for one person to handle on their own,” Phillip says softly.
“It’s too much.” She sniffs.
“But you’re not alone. We’re right here to shoulder the burden with you. Sure, our relationship isn’t exactly conventional, but all that means is that there’s more people around to support you.”
“He’s right, you know,” I say. “You’ve got three of us to protect you from Kyle. We’re going to make sure he never lays a finger on you again. Once you graduate and get your certificates, you can leave that place behind you. Hell, I was ready to hire you on the spot for my catering company after just seeing your video portfolio. You’ll have a place to work if you want it. I guarantee it.”
“As much as I’d like that, I don’t think the other staff would like it if you hired your girlfriend—nepotism and all that, you know?” Avery bites her lip.
“The minute they taste anything you make, they’ll be demanding to know why I didn’t hire you sooner.” I smile.
Jamie puts his hand on her shoulder. “As far as children go, whether that’s right now or a few years from now, you’re not by yourself there, either. Leo and anyone else who comes along is going to have four parents.
“If anything, we’ll be better than regular parents because it won’t just be two people sharing the load—we have double that.”
“Sometimes, I forget that I’m not by myself anymore. You have no idea how much having you here means to me. Thank you.”
“Of course we’re here,” I say. “We love you.”
She sighs, and I can feel her relaxing into me a little more. Unfortunately, it’s only for a second because she tenses right back up again.
“But what about your work at Age Gap Academy? You could get fired if they find out we’re dating. It could be even worse for you if I’m pregnant.”
“Avery, I like my teaching position, but you’re more important. If I had to choose between being with you and teaching rich people’s kids how to cook, I would pick you every time without hesitation,” I say earnestly.
“But you were some of the first teachers there.”
“Honestly, that’s why I think it’s unlikely we’d have to make the choice in the first place,” Phillip adds. “They practically begged us to join their staff when they were starting out. I don’t mean to be overly conceited, but we were and are some of the top people in our fields—at least in the Tri-State area.
“Besides, the students at AGA are mostly from high-profile families, so even if they did find out, firing us right at the end of a session would cause a scandal. That’s the last thing they’d want.
“At worst, they just don’t invite us back and review your portfolio with a little more scrutiny.”
“But won’t you miss it?” she asks.
“Not if I have you.”
“What about you, Jamie? You’re semi-retired. Won’t that cause you problems?”
“Not at all. I’ve got investments and I still hold the majority stock at Catalyst Consulting. I’ll be fine.”
Her brow furrows. “So why do you do the temp jobs, then?”
“They’re not exactly temp jobs, but it was the easiest way to explain it when our relationship was in the early stages. Now that things are more serious, I can give you the full picture.
“The jobs I work are at Catalyst or businesses that the company owns. I hop around from place to place to make sure the employees are being treated properly and that everything is functioning the way it’s supposed to. If there are problems, I call the CEO and he comes down and fixes them. That way, I can keep passing as just the temp.
“To be perfectly frank, I have enough money and lawyers on my side that I could just buy the academy outright or start my own if I wanted to keep teaching. Everything in my life is replaceable except for the family we’ve found with each other. Understand?”
Her lower lip is trembling, and there’s a tear or two sneaking down her face, but somehow, she’s also smiling.
I will never understand women.
Avery reaches out to Jamie and Phillip and pulls them in close until the four of us are an indistinguishable blob.
I don’t exactly enjoy being sandwiched between my two friends like this, but I don’t kick up a fuss because it’s what Avery needs right now to feel loved.
The alarm on her phone goes off, making us all jump. By virtue of her position on my lap, I can feel every inch of her body clench so tightly, I’m worried she’s going to snap in half.
“Deep breaths, Avery,” Phillip encourages. “That test isn’t magically going to make you pregnant if you’re not and unpregnant if you are. It’s just a result.”
“Unpregnant?”
She giggles, but it seems more from nerves than anything else.
“Hey, I’m just as nervous as anyone here,” he protests. “Cut me some slack.”
“Do you want us to go in with you and look?” I ask as she stands up.
“It’s all going to happen in my body, so I want to go grab it by myself, if that’s alright with you three.”
“Like you said, it’s your body. If anyone has the right to know first, it’s you,” I say.
Jamie and Phillip nod their agreement.
“You all take such good care of me. I love you so much.”
We all respond in kind. Maybe we’re a little more terse than we might have been otherwise, but that pregnancy test is hanging over us like the Sword of Damocles.
I find myself revisiting her behavior over the past few weeks.
Her emotions have been on a hair trigger. At the drop of a hat, she bursts into tears.
She’s been far more irritable than usual. All her patience goes toward Leo—as it should—so she’s been pretty snippy with us.
Her balance is off and she’s been clumsier than usual. She’s been banging into counters and stubbing her toes with increasing frequency.
Avery’s always misplacing her keys or other little household items like that. I know it’s something she’s always done, but it’s gotten much worse lately.
We’d all noticed, but each one of us—including her—thought it was just the stress of juggling too many impossible things at once.
Knowing what I know now, there are only two options. Either she’s about to have the world’s worst period any day now or, more likely, she’s pregnant.
The look on her face as she comes back in the room—scared but excited—is a dead giveaway.
“Does that look mean what I think it means?” Jamie asks.
She nods. “It’s positive. We’re having a baby.”