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“Not having sex for month!” She slaps his chest, pushing him away, and heading for the door.
He bolts after her. “Lil’ mouse, you couldn’t handle not having me for a month.”
“Oh, just watch me try, Tall Man!”
As usual, growls and squeals ensue, and we’re left to sit here listening to those two idiots. A moment later, Ethan’s door slams shut, and we all know they’re getting it on.
“Assholes,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Asher gives me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Do you want that or not?”
I sigh, tipping my head back against the wall. “I want it.”
“Yay!” Rachel claps her hands. “Go make it happen.” Then she sniffs and gives me a kind smile. “But maybe take a shower first.”
I give her a dry glare, but that just makes her smile grow. Leaning over the bed, she pecks my cheek. “Love you, Casey.”
All I can manage is a soft grunt in response.
That’s obviously enough to satisfy them all and they trail out my door, leaving me to stew on my own.
Those fuckers are probably right.
They make it sound so easy, though, and it’s not. If I stay with Caroline, if she keeps the baby… it’s complicated as hell. And no amount of romantic bullshit will take away the day-to-day reality of this.
It’d be so much easier to just let her go.
I sigh, staring at my phone, tempted to lean over and get it blasting Go West again.
But instead, I punch the pillow behind me and grab my towel, heading for the bathroom and a hot shower.
CHAPTER 39
CAROLINE
Despite my constant headache and roiling stomach, the weekend with my parents turned out to be not so bad. They forced me out of bed, made me shower and change, then took me out to lunch. We ended up driving to a pretty spot in the mountains, and we spontaneously booked a night in a cabin up there. I woke up to birds twittering outside my window and a mountain view that filled my soul.
Dad and I have always found solace in the mountains. Whether they’re covered in snow or the summer sun is baking off the rocks, those large formations speak to us.
Man, I can’t wait to go boarding again.
But that weekend wasn’t about carefree fun in the snow.
We sat by the fireplace, ate indulgent food, and talked our ears off.
Mom and Dad helped me form a bit of a plan. They actually made the whole baby thing sound doable, especially with them offering so much support. It’ll mean huge changes for my next academic year, but Dad’s offered to come with me and talk to the right people so I won’t fall too far behind. The baby is due in October, so I could take half a semester off to deal with all that, then restart my studies in the spring. That wouldn’t put me too far behind, and my parents have even offered to rent a place near the university so we can all live together until I graduate. They’ll help me raise this little one. So no matter what, I’ll be supported.
It would mean them both taking large chunks of time off work or even quitting, and we argued about that for a good hour or so.
“We will always put our family first. That tops everything.” They both said that sort of thing in a hundred different ways, and it made me wonder if I’ll have the ability to do that too. To be so selfless.
Can I honestly handle this parenthood thing?
At moments I found myself thinking, Maybe being a mom doesn’t have to be so terrifying. Maybe I can do this.
And then other times, I was caught up in all I’ll have to sacrifice, and I felt that panic and mind-numbing reluctance wash through me.
When they dropped me back at Nolan U on Sunday evening, showering me with hugs and words of affirmation, I felt far more centered and settled, though.
