Both of them are pregnant at the same time? What are the odds?
“You don’t happen to be pregnant too, are you sweetie? Because I would be over the moon to make this a three-for-one celebration.” My mom’s hands are clasped in front of her like she’s begging me to be knocked up. I don’t know what happened to her talk all those weeks ago about being too young, but her mind has clearly changed. I think she has grandbaby fever.
“Ava, cover your ears,” I tell her with a wink and wait for her to comply. “Hell freaking no, I am not pregnant. I’m still too young. It’s just those two. Thank God.”
“I’ll find out the sex in a couple weeks. I’m due March third.” Olivia can’t hide her smile and walks over to Luke who kisses her and places a hand on her belly as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“We’ve been trying for a while now. It’s still very early, but I wanted to tell you all. I’m not due until April twenty-fifth, but I’m looking on the bright side. We’re just excited it actually happened.”
“I’m going to be a big sister?!”
At least I’m not the last to know.
Ava talks everyone’s ears off about how excited she is to have a little sister to play with. We remind her that she could get a brother, but she doesn’t want to hear anything about that.
I’m happy for Carson and Olivia. They’re both excited and happy, and for once, I don’t deflect the mood. I absorb it because it’s infectious.
My parents are back together. I’m dating a man I adore and I feel good, better than I ever have. My siblings are married and pregnant and everything is good and right.
I still haven’t talked to my friends and I’m not sure if I will again. Not until they grow up.
That chapter of my life is over. I’ve grown up and moved on. It seems abrupt, that after twenty-one years of being reckless and rebellious, that I could change in the blink of an eye. But it’s more than that.
Liam changed me. Not in the damsel in distress, he’s my prince kind of way. But he saw me. He rearranged all my broken pieces and made a puzzle. He didn’t fix me, he just put me together.
My diagnosis isn’t my life story. It’s just a part of who I am. My medication doesn’t make me broken or any less of a person. It makes me more real.
I’m flawed. I’m not perfect. I’m not the rich kid with the perfect life and parents.
My life is only beginning, and for once, I’m excited about my future and to see where I go from here.
Epilogue
Flynn
Four Years Later
“I’ll meet you there after my meeting, okay? Can you put the presents in the car?” Liam walks over and kisses me as I’m about to head out the door.
“Sure, babe. I love you. Good luck at your meeting,” he tells me as I leave.
About three years ago I got an idea for a club and started to put my plans in motion to become an owner. Wren helped me design the building and create it from the ground up. Today, as long as all goes well, I’ll be finalizing the liquor license and preparing for opening weekend.
Once I put a little thought into it, it made sense to be a club owner. I talked to my parents and they agreed to let me access my trust fund early to pay for everything. They’ve been nothing but supportive and I can’t wait for my club to open. It’s not going to be another college club. I wanted something more high class to cater to a more mature audience.
My meeting goes as expected and in a month we’ll be officially ready to open. I’m already counting down the days.
By the time I get to my parents’ house, everyone is already there. I hug my parents and siblings before finding Liam. Once my family accepted that we were serious and in this for the long haul, they welcomed him with open arms. He’s been teaching at the university for a few years now and he was just granted tenure this semester.
“Hey, sis, you look…huge.” I laugh and hug Olivia who’s pregnant with her second child. Today’s her baby shower, and of course, my parents pulled out all the stops.
The backyard is decorated with pink and blue balloons. Each side of the yard is dedicated to a guess on what the sex will be. If you guess it’ll be a girl, you’re designated on the right half of the yard and the blue party stays on the left.
Olivia is wearing bright pink and is camped out on the right side of the yard while her husband is wearing blue and chatting to Wren on the left side. My brother’s son, Tanner, is in a blue overall onesie and running around with his cousins, not abiding by the rules of the party.
Ava is awkwardly hovering between the adults and kids, too old to hang with the younger crowd but too young to fit in with the adults. I’m used to being the outsider and go to stand by her.
“Hey, what side are you on?”
She turns and shows me a pink ribbon pulling back one side of her hair. “I need another girl in this family. Since Eli and Tanner were born it’s been all boys all the time. And not in a good way.”
Oy. She’s already boy crazy. Carson’s going to have a tough time with this one.
Carson and Wren also had a boy they named Elijah. Ava was disappointed to get a brother, but after a few
