AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Holly has had it pretty tough lately, D." Ryder ran a hand over his beard. "The fire, losing all of her things, the MG, and now this? You know how independent she is. She's fierce. I can't see her doing this to deliberately shut you out."
"Weren't you the one who defended Hannah keeping stuff from me before we worked things out?" Brandon asked Eli. "You can't judge Holly for the same thing."
"Hannah wasn't assaulted," he shot back. "She wasn't diagnosed with something life changing, and she didn't hide a pregnancy. I'm pretty sure this is majorly fucking different."
Brandon shrugged. "You're right, but I was being hard on her, and you saw that. And I think you're being hard on Holly."
"Agreed," Fally said.
"Thirded." Ryder piped up. "Sorry, bud."
"Glad to see I can count on my friends to have my back," he snapped, then took another swig of beer. "Thanks a lot."
"We are your friends, and that's why we're calling you out. Look, I get it. You feel betrayed. I did too when Hannah kept shit from me," Brandon offered. "But you need to sit down with Holly and sort this shit out. Because it's not just about the two of you anymore. At least it's not if she's keeping the baby."
"She's keeping it."
"And how do you feel about that?" Fally asked.
"I don't know what I feel right now." He dragged a hand down over his face. "I didn't want kids. I told her that when she was asking me questions for the feature she was writing."
The three men exchanged looks. "And you wonder why she didn't tell you?" Ryder asked. "There's your answer."
"She was asking me a hypothetical question," he argued. "This isn't fucking hypothetical anymore."
"Was she supposed to read your mind to know that? D, she was probably scared as hell to tell you, knowing how you felt about kids. It's not like me and Zoe. I'd fucking turn a cartwheel if Zoe told me she was pregnant. I can't wait to have babies with my wife."
"Holly and I are just finding our way. And now she's having my..." Eli waved a hand. "I'm fucking freaked out."
"Do you want Holly?" Fally asked, leaning forward. "Because it sounds like this is a package deal, Eli. Probably another reason she was afraid to tell you."
"You know, you aren't exactly the king of forthcoming, either," Ryder pointed out. "You've been keeping some massive shit to yourself for years. I didn't know your mom was ill until we won the Cup, and you mentioned it in an interview. We're supposed to be your friends. We had no idea what had happened with your parents, and now you have sisters. It's a lot to keep from us."
"That's different. I didn't want people feeling sorry for me. I needed to escape a lot of it."
"You have your reasons for doing what you did, and Holly has hers. Did you ask her about why she hid this stuff?"
Eli picked at the label on his beer bottle, wiping off the condensation with his thumb. "No. She tried to tell me, and I told her I didn't want to hear it. Our argument didn't end well. She's moving out."
"I know this is tough to hear, D," Brandon said, "but this baby is coming whether you are on board with it or not. I was scared shitless when Stacey got pregnant with Briar. We weren't married. Hell, I wasn't even in love with her. You can choose to not be involved and send Holly child support, or you can be a father to this kid, with or without her. Those are your options."
"And only you can make that decision," Fally told him. "Do you love her?"
"Is the sky fucking blue?" he shot back. "Yeah, I love her. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with what she did. And it doesn't mean I know how I feel about all of this yet."
"Just talk to her," Brandon said. "Hash all of it out, D."
Eli glanced over at the television set. "Yeah, I know."
Though after how they'd left things, he wasn't sure if she was going to even want to talk to him again. He guessed he'd find out soon enough.
* * *
Five days. It had been five fucking days since he and Holly had last spoken. He’d been lower than low, battling a sense of panic that ebbed and flowed along with sheer, utter exhaustion.
He’d bitten the bullet and called Irena to discuss moving his mother into the care facility. He’d gone to visit the place himself, and he was satisfied that the nurse had been right. It really was the best place for his mother. He’d talked to the staff and secured her spot. All that was left to do now was to get her moved in.
It was going to break his heart, whether it was the right decision or not.
