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MAIA
Three weeks later…
“We’ve got the doctor’s appointment today,” I remind all four men, my eyes raking across each of them as they eat their breakfast. They were doing a work catch-up meeting together, but none of them have complained about me hijacking it for my own demands.
My anxiety is running a little high, although I know Phoebe is healthy and happy, and the appointment should go well. She’s four weeks old and has begun to have longer wake periods. She still sleeps for the vast majority of the day, and the night times aren’t as restful as I’d like, but we have a bit more activity from her, which makes up for it.
I’ve seen the health visitor twice, and she’s a decent enough woman. She makes it very clear that she’s here only to check the boxes and not for any other reason.
I miss Polly’s chaotic care.
“I’ve got three meetings today,” Alex says with a sigh. He pouts, fluttering his dark lashes. “Text me how it goes, please?”
I nod my head and look towards Seb. “Are you free to come?”
“I hate that he’s your favourite,” Ben mutters. He glares at the way Seb’s holding Phoebe, and I can feel the way he’s desperate to steal the infant from him. “Why am I not good enough? I threw our angel two parties. She’s only a month old! The one yesterday had confetti.”
Which I spent an hour cleaning up before Alex came home and finished for me. The glitter is still everywhere.
“I don’t have a favourite,” I reassure him, and Ben grins at me. He’s wearing a very bright shirt today with an Easter egg on the front as part of his month-long festivities. Apparently, he’s going to dress up as the Easter bunny for Phoebe to celebrate her first Easter.
I was assured he already had the costume, and the answers to all the questions that simple statement brought about are things I’ll have to survive never knowing because I refuse to ask him.
“But if she did, it would absolutely not be you,” Topher says with a smirk.
I give him a dirty look that he absolutely ignores. “It wouldn’t be you, either.”
“It wouldn’t?” Topher demands. “Surely, I would be your favourite.”
I snort. “Yeah, surely.” There’s laughter around the table, and Topher just lets out a huff. “Anyway, back to my doctor’s appointment.”
Topher’s eyes narrow, and then the four guys share an identical look that I have come to hate. It’s the one they share when they’re communicating without me. Sometimes they use their shared mental link, and other times they just communicate with body language and fucking eyebrow waggles.
It’s annoying, and rude, and?—
“There’s a reason you want us to come with you,” Topher says, leaning forward on the table, and my eyes catch sight of his bare forearms. They’re weirdly attractive, and I pray they don’t scent any changes from me.
I shake my head. “I’m just used?—”
“Don’t lie, little butterfly,” Alex says.
“Shit rhyme,” Ben says as he examines his nails. “And I still think butterfly is a shit nickname for her.”
Alex rolls his eyes, and Topher raises his eyebrow, giving me a stern look. “Maia?”
“I really don’t like Dr Thomas,” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest. I don’t like that they sussed me out so easily, but they’ve got reason to be suspicious.
I’ve tried to get out of having a shadow every single time I’ve left the house. Mostly because I’ve seen the hours they work, and I hate feeling like a burden when I know they’re running a huge business. But, selfishly, it’s also because Ryan won’t approach me with them near.
I’ve talked with him twice, and each time was weirder than the last. He’s obsessed with Phoebe but is reluctant to talk about what life is like for him wherever he is. He comments on how good at parenting her I am, how nice it is to see me smile… how grateful he is to me for loving him. It’s hard seeing him and even harder seeing him leave.
He told me last time that he’s not sure how much longer he can keep coming to see her, and I had a nightmare about the day I identified his body that night. It’s been rough and even harder keeping it from the guys because they know something is up with me.
I’m constantly searching for him in the street, desperate to see that blond hair of his or his cheeky smile, and every time I don’t… it hurts me.
“You’re not seeing him, though, right?” Alex demands, and his words are very gruff. My heart races, thinking about Ryan, and my eyes widen. “Maia? You got the appointment changed from Dr Thomas to a different doctor, right?”
“Oh, yes!” I say, nodding quickly. They exchange another one of those shared looks, but I’m not sure what to say about it. “I’ll be seeing Dr Carson instead. She’s lovely.”
