Epilogue I
1 Month Later
"I never meant to hurt you," Trey explained. "You know that, right?"
"And I don't regret kicking you out that day," he continued before pointed behind me. "Or else he wouldn't be here."
I turned around to see Nate playing tag with my nieces and I forced myself to hold in my smile.
"You're not freaking Cupid, you idiot," I narrowed my eyes at my big brother.
"I am," he arrogantly said.
"Family is supposed to be there for each other," I muttered, still feeling a little bitter that he sent me away.
He nodded, not denying it.
"Yeah...but sometimes being there means doing the hard thing," he answered. "And Nate is also family."
"Even though you two were fighting, it was obvious that he was losing his shit thinking you ran away," he answered and I tried to be mad, but I couldn't.
"You're annoying," I gave a dumb answer before he laughed and pulled me into a love.
"I love you, lil sis," he said.
"I love you too," I told him as we released.
"Time to do your homework, girls!" Trey shouted and they began to cry as they held on to Nate.
He laughed before picking all of them up and bringing them to us.
"Say goodbye to your aunt and uncle," Trey instructed.
"Bye!" They all said before running away.
"Girls!" Trey shouted after them.
"I'll see you guys later," he told us before running behind them.
We laughed before letting ourselves out.
"I want ice cream," I announced as he held the door open for me and helped me in.
Instead of responding, he narrowed his eyes at me before shutting the door in my face.
When he got in on the driver's side, I turned to him.
"Not the store bought crap in the freezer," I continued. "I want one from the place with the rude old lady who always says I'm about to pop."
Nate paused, his keys already halfway in the ignition. "Nae..."
"I'm not going back in that bed," I glared at him. "I've been in bed all day and I'm bored. Your kid is bored."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "The kid's not even born yet."
"The baby can still be bored," I softly muttered before looking outside the window.
Nate sighed heavily as he ran a hand over his face. "You're eight months pregnant, Nae."
"Exactly!" I quickly snapped my head to him.
"Which means if I want a damn pistachio gelato at eight at night, I should get it without an interrogation."
"You did this to me, remember?" I tried to make him feel guilty.
He stared at me silently, not giving in, so I continued.
"You fucked me and fucked me and fucked me and fucked me and-"
"Okay, okay," he quickly gave in. "I get it. You'll get your pistachio gelato."
"Seatbelt," he said finally, starting the car. "And if your water breaks in this car, I'm billing you for the detail."
I kissed him before he rolled his eyes and kissed me back.
...
"You're infuriating, you know that?" Nate muttered beside me as we stared at the sign.
Closed for maintenance. Back tomorrow :)
I glared at the sign.
It took us thirty minutes to get to Long Beach.
Soon my lips started to quiver.
"I just wanted ice cream," I softly muttered.
Nate quickly wrapped his jacket around me and pulled me into a hug.
"It's okay," he comforted me. "We'll go somewhere else."
I wiped my tears, suddenly becoming very aware of everything.
The closed for maintenance sign and him giving me his jacket.
"This feels nostalgic," I said, looking up at him, but he didn't answer.
Instead, he silently stared at me for a long minute before he cupped my face and crashed his lips into mine.
My eyes widened from his sudden affection, but I quickly ignored it as I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
There was nothing gentle about our kiss.
It felt like he was trying to erase every moment we spent apart and I was trying to make up for every fight.
His hands slid down to my waist, careful but firm as pulled me into until my stomach was pressing against him.
I let myself get lost in him.
His scent, his warmth, and the way he always kissed me like it was the first time and the last.
The baby sent me hard kick and I winced in pain as I broke the kiss with a shaky breath, leaning my forehead against his.
He quickly tightened his hold on me. "Wow, you okay?"
"I just wish little Carter would stop kicking me," I said, not enjoying my 50th kick for the day.
We laughed as he held my hand and started leading me down the boardwalk.
"He'll be great at soccer," Nate said confidently and I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"He?" I asked. "It's definitely going to be a girl."
"The second borns are always boys in the Carter family," he bragged.
"So are girls in the Ellis family," I argued as he adjusted his pace to suit me.
The boardwalk was almost empty.
I looked around. "We should get a hotel room around here tonight, so you can fuck me."
He stopped walking, staring at me like he was trying to figure out if I was serious or delirious.
"You're eight months pregnant."
I shrugged as we started walking again. "That hasn't stopped us."
He reached out and steadied me as I stepped over a loose plank.
I tried not to laugh from his protectiveness.
"I'm picking the hotel," he gave in, which took me by surprise. "Only one round and you stay on your back the whole time."
My eyebrows lifted. "One?"
He gave me a look. "You're carrying a whole human and asked me for sex like we're not in the third trimester. You're lucky I didn't carry you back to the car instead."
I smirked, licking my lips just to mess with him. "I'm lucky you're still obsessed with me."
"That's the problem," he sighed as he took my hand when he spotted an open ice cream shop.
But then I froze.
"There's a line," I muttered, squinting down the sidewalk.
Nate glanced where I was looking to see half a dozen people stretched ahead of us, chatting and laughing.
I shifted my weight, suddenly very aware of how much pressure was building low in my belly. "Also... I really need to pee."
He gave me a knowing look. "You want me to get in line while you find a bathroom?"
I nodded, biting my lip.
Nate squeezed my hand. "Deal. Stay put. I'll grab the ice cream."
I watched him get into the line, the taste of pistachio already in my mouth before I rushed to the bathroom.
When I reached, I barely had time to sit before I noticed the warmth from a sudden, alarming wetness.
My breath hitched.
I reached down and my fingers came away stained faintly pink.
Panic curled tight in my chest.
No. Not now.
I gripped the sink, steadying myself as my mind raced.
This happened before.
I know exactly what this meant.