Page 388 of Wicked Brutal

I put my hand over his, and the baby moves beneath our palms. Not a kick anymore — there isn’t enough room for the dramatic kicks from a few months ago. Just a slow push. A stretch. Ryan goes still every single time.

“Hi,” he murmurs. I watch his face. His hand moves with the baby.

“Boy or girl?” I ask.

"Nope.” He bends and kisses my stomach through the hospital gown. “You’ve kept your secret this long. You can keep it a little longer.”

My heart squeezes. We could have found out months ago. We chose not to. There were so many things about this pregnancy that didn’t feel like ours at first. Too much fear. Too many plans being made around us. Too many people trying to decide where I would live and where I would go and what would happen to my body and my future. So when the doctor asked whether we wanted to know, I looked at Ryan, and Ryan looked at me, and we said no. Together. This one could wait. This one could be ours.

_

By the time Penny and Xander arrive, I don’t see them. I see pictures. That’s enough. The first is Tobias sitting between Kaiden and Cat with ketchup on his cheek and a plate of French fries in front of him. The second is Tobias and Cat making a card — a green frog wearing a crown taking up most of the paper, WELCOME BABY across the top. The third is him asleep with his head on Kaiden’s thigh, Kaiden’s hand resting lightly against his hair. The fourth comes after Penny and X get there: Tobias on Xander’s back, Penny laughing beside them, Cat having apparently turned a corner of the waiting room into headquarters for the baby pool. And Penny’s phone is propped against something on the table, Becca on the screen.

“Are they still on FaceTime?” I ask.

Cassandra smiles. “They haven’t hung up. Catherine had them for a while, then Penny. They booked the red-eye — they’ll be here tomorrow.”

My throat tightens. “That’s a long way to come.”

Ryan looks at me. “It’s us.” Just that. It’s us. As if California has nothing to do with it. As if of course they’ll cross the country.

Cassandra’s phone rings, and she looks at the screen. “Speaking of.”

She answers, and Penny appears first.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“How are you doing?”

“Tired.”

Her expression softens. “You look tired.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t mean—“

I laugh.“I know.” Then Becca leans into the screen beside Penny’s face.

“Hi.” My heart squeezes.

“Hi.” Her hair is pulled up messily, and Danny is moving around behind her over two open suitcases on their bed.

“You’re packing?”

“We’re almost done.”

“We’re done,” Danny calls, without turning.

“We are not,” Becca says. “I haven’t packed my other shoes.”

Danny pauses. “Okay. We’re apparently not done.”

I laugh, and Becca smiles at me. “We’ll be there tomorrow.”

“You guys really don’t have to—“