Page 119 of Before We Break

“Hayden.” Lexi fidgets with her hands. “I’m… pregnant.”

Hayden huffs out a laugh. When nobody reacts, his expression falters, and he blinks rapidly. “You’re serious?”

“Why would I joke about something like that?” Lexi swipes at her damp cheeks.

Hayden stands and starts pacing. “Ok. Ok. This is fine. I can get more hours at the Grove and save up for an apartment. I graduate in a year. By the time the baby’s here, I can work full time.”

“Hayden…”

“I always thought I’d have a dog before I had a baby, but it can’t be that different, can it?”

“Hayden,” Lexi snaps. “Will you sit down and shut up for two seconds?”

Hayden slumps onto the chair adjacent to the couch and runs his hands through his hair. “We could get married.”

Oh fuck no. Absolutely not. I’ve seen and heard just about enough. “Like hell you will.”

“Ok.” Clio abruptly stands. “Let’s give them a few minutes.” With her hand on my chest, she pushes me into the kitchen, but I’m still glaring at Hayden the whole way.

He settles into the spot Clio just vacated and takes Lexi’s hand in his.

“We’re too young to get married.”

He stares down at their joined hands and sighs. “I know, but… you’re my best friend, and that’s my baby. I want to take care of you.”

Hayden’s not much younger than I was when my parents died, and he’s stepping into a role he wasn’t prepared for, much like I was. I can respect his strength, even if there’s a part of me that wants to tear him limb from limb for the part he played in getting them here.

“He’s a good kid,” Clio says. “You can stop trying to scare him off.”

I groan. “That’s not⁠—”

“It is.” She smooths her hand down my chest. “But in the end they’re just two kids who made a very grown-up decision. Now they have to face the consequences.”

I meet her gaze and the tension melts away. My fingertips trace the contours of her face. “You laid out the blueprint. She already knows how to be a mom because she has a great one.”

THIRTY-FOUR

WHEN IN ROME

♫ Hold My Girl - George Ezra

CLIO

Hayden called his parents and told them he would be spending the night with a friend; he just left out the part where the friend is Lexi. I couldn’t tell them no when I know better than most just how much they need each other right now.

They talked for a long time and decided it would be best to wait to tell his parents until after the first doctor’s appointment. I could’ve played the overbearing mom and insisted they tell them immediately, but they have a lot of decisions ahead of them, and I can’t be the one to make them. They have to learn to stand on their own feet.

“Are you sure about this?” Noah asks as Lexi and Hayden head off to her bedroom with an extra pillow and blankets from the hall closet.

“It’s not like he’s going to get her pregnant,” I quip.

Noah lets out a half-hearted laugh. “True.”

I grab my favorite blanket off the back of the couch and drape it over my arm. “Come sit outside with me?”

“Still stealing my quiet place, princess?”

“It’s our quiet place now.”