41. Selena
Selena
The drive back to the guys’ house passes in complete silence.
I’m relieved that my babies are okay. I just need to remain stress free and healthy.
Which means absolutely staying away from my mother.
But I think it’s also quiet because Zeke, Eli, and Jay are processing the fact that one of them is a father to not one but two children.
Or could two of them be the father? Each child fathered by a different brother?
I may have gone down the paternity rabbit hole and all the possibilities of who the father could be.
Heteropaternal superfecundatkion.
I mean, it’s some weird percentage of chance it could happen. Not to mention throwing in the fact that two of the men I’ve slept with are identical twins. The percentage of options available continues to grow of who the father or fathers could potentially be.
“We’re home.” Eli’s voice breaks the silence in the cab of the truck.
My door opens, and I see Zeke's face smiling back at me.
He helps me get out and slips his arms around my waist, pulling me snugly against him.
He bears the brunt of most of my weight as he guides me toward the house.
Every few steps, his thumb rubs slow, deep circles against my hip, grounding me. Comforting me.
When we step through the front door, I expect him to let go. But he doesn’t.
He leads me through the living room, straight to my bedroom.
He holds me tight to him, as Jay and Eli quickly changes the sheets on the bed.
When they’re done, he eases me down onto the mattress with a tenderness that makes my chest ache.
After helping me get comfortable, I instinctively scoot toward the middle of the bed.
Zeke climbs in beside me without hesitation, filling the empty space.
A second later, Jay sits down on the other side, resting his back against the headboard, stretching his long legs out.
Eli remains standing for a moment before taking up the space at the end of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.
No one speaks, but the silence isn’t awkward. It’s comforting. Familiar.
My hands twist together in my lap as I struggle to find the courage to speak. To explain exactly why I held the truth from them. About how they make me feel.
Finally, I draw in a shaky breath. "I'm...I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Eli's expression softens, his voice calm, "Why didn't you tell us?"
I swallow, worrying my lower lip as I search for the words to express everything.
"I was scared." I lower my eyes, focusing on my hands so I don’t have to witness their expressions morphing into ones of hatred.
Betrayal. I continue to speak, my voice barely above a whisper, as I spill my guts to them.
Leaving no secret untold. "I was embarrassed.
I slept with each of you within days of each other.
" I let out a hollow, broken laugh. "Not to mention, you're my stepbrothers. "
My confession is met with silence.
Then Jay surprises me when he lets out a playful laugh. "Do we look like we care that you slept with all three of us?"
My head snaps up, my eyes gazing at him in disbelief. His dark brown eyes are full of disbelief, like the very idea that I would think any different is ridiculous.
Eli scoots forward on the bed and takes my hand into his. "You being pregnant doesn’t change how we feel about you. If anything, it makes us love you more."
Zeke reaches out and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear as I turn to look at him, seeking something in his face that will tell me what Eli says is wrong. But it doesn’t.
"And besides..." Zeke says with a crooked smile, "we already know how to share."
Heat floods my body, and I can feel my face getting hot under their stares. I can only imagine how red I’m turning.
"Selena, what you don’t understand is that you've been ours since the moment each of us laid eyes on you." Zeke’s fingers lightly cup my jaw. "We’re just waiting for you to realize it."
Fresh tears blur my vision. God, pregnancy has turned me into a bawling mess. Everything makes me cry.
"But...the babies." The words catch in my throat, and I close my eyes. “I don't know who the father is. I know there's testing we can do before they're born..." My voice breaks, because the risk of finding out is just too great, especially with almost losing them.
"We don't care who the father is." Eli says it so quickly my eyes open in surprise.
Each of them is looking at me with love.
"We don't care, Princess.” Eli’s voice is soft and full of warmth.
Jay chuckles beside me. "Besides, with me and Zeke?" He points between him and his twin brother with a grin. "It'd probably be impossible to tell, anyway."
A surprised laugh escapes me through my tears.
"Cupcake..." Zeke smiles. "We don’t care whose sperm created them. To us, we're all their fathers." He glances toward my stomach before meeting my eyes again. "We all share the same blood."
"The same blood they'll carry," Eli finishes softly.
A sob catches in my chest.
"But...our parents."
Eli just shrugs. "What about them?"
"My mother..." I whisper. "She's going to have a heart attack." I can already hear the disappointment in her voice. How she’ll go on about how I ruined her life. The scandal. Not one thought to the two precious babies who are her grandchildren.
I can feel their bodies tense. “Your mother, if we even want to call her that, will never say a negative word about you, our relationship, or our children. Not if she ever wants to be a part of our lives.”
"The same goes for our dad," Jay adds on. “If he allows your mother to continue to treat you the way that we’ve witnessed, he’ll know that he risks losing the chance to know his grandchildren. To be a part of ours, and their future.”
Eli leans forward, his gaze unwavering. "And as far as what anyone else thinks.” He reaches over and gently wipes away another tear rolling down my cheek before continuing. "We don't care. All that matters is that we love each other. And make no mistake, Selena, the three of us love you."
"That the four of us," Jay continues, smiling at me, "are going to raise these two precious little bundles surrounded by so much love they'll never question whether they're wanted."
"They'll never want for anything," Zeke finishes for him.
As I move my gaze between the three men who surround me, I question why I fought them so hard. Why I’m so concerned with what other people think. What my mother would say.
All I know is that I love these men, and I’m tired of fighting the bond we have. Who cares how we met, just that we did.
For the first time since I saw those two pink lines, I don't feel alone.
I take my time, hugging each of them, whispering to them through happy tears. "I love you.”
Three voices answer me at once. "We love you too."
“Now that we have that taken care of, you can scrap your plans for moving. Because this is now your home,” Eli’s deep voice booms.
“And we need to start ordering everything we need for the nursery. Two of everything.” Zeke practically sounds giddy.
“Nope, the first thing we need to do is to decide—do we want to know the sex or leave it a surprise?” Jay proclaims which has us all laughing.
We lay there in bed. Me surrounded by them, talking about everything until I drift off to sleep. Exhausted from the events of the night.
All I know is that tomorrow and every day after is going to be amazing.