AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It looks like I have a lot more to thank Greg for than just a Christmas spent with his family.
Lennon
Greg asked to speak to me before I left, and I follow him to his office. I’m not going to lie, I’m exhausted after running around today and playing.
“Okay, close the door, because Melly has started snooping lately. I swear, she’s thirteen and already wants to give me gray hairs. I’m too pretty for that shit,” he mutters and I roll my eyes.
“Melly is perfect,” I tease him. “She’s got a lot of you, and if she’s curious, you should give her carefully crafted answers where you control the narrative while still keeping in mind that she’s intelligent.”
Greg’s lips part as he stares at me. “I’m sending her to you when she starts dating,” he mutters and I chuckle. “You’re right next door, so it’s perfect. I don’t know if I can handle the hormones now that she’s gotten her first period. Shit’s rough right now.”
Shaking my head at his antics, I prompt him, “You said you had something to tell me?”
“Oh, yeah. So, we found your mom, and she’s now in custody,” he tells me with a wide smile. Typing on his computer, he turns around his screen.
Leaning in, I see my mother prowling her cell impatiently.
“She’s in a facility not far from me, and again, it’s up to you if you want to be there when she dies,” he explains. “It’s going to happen tomorrow morning. I don’t want to give her any time to make friends at the prison, and I’m limiting who has access to her. I would starve the bitch if I could.”
I smirk half-heartedly as I watch the woman that I call my mother prowl her cell. Breathing deeply, I shake my head. “I don’t want to be there, I just need to know that she’s dead. My mother has been the cause of so much misery, I just need to be able to know she can’t hurt anyone anymore,” I explain.
Even if this pregnancy isn’t something I ever wanted, the last thing I need is for Xav and my mother to get their hands on me and claim this baby too. It sadly wouldn’t be the most fucked up thing they’ve ever done.
Nodding, Greg leans back in his chair. “Are you feeling okay? You look kind of, I don't know… tired.”
I have felt exhausted and worried all day today. While I’m glad I finally know one way or the other, the knowledge is eating away at me. I haven’t told the guys yet, I’m just sitting with the knowledge for now. I swear I felt flutters in my stomach and ended up on Orion’s computer screen for a little while this morning before deleting my search history. He gave me the password to his computer for my therapy sessions and anything else I may need. I have no doubts that he could see my history somehow, but computers are not my strong suit.
It makes me feel like Orion finally trusts me if he’s giving me access to his stuff. I need to tell them what’s going on soon.
“I haven’t been around many people lately, so peopling is tiring for me,” I lie with a shrug. “I’ll probably need a nap soon, but I’m alright.”
Greg doesn’t look convinced. “You know you don’t have to go back on tour if you don’t want to, right? I know your uncle is also your manager, and wants you to make some decisions soon, but you have a choice,” he insists.
My heart flutters as I realize he’s worried about me, though currently for the wrong reasons. “Uncle Jordan would never pressure me to go back on tour,” I tell him with a shrug. “I think he wasn’t expecting Mav and Atlas to riot the way they did about no longer being part of the band. I figured that because they’re involved with Layla that the guys wouldn’t want to leave her, but that was an unfair assumption too.”
“I just want you to remember there’s options outside of touring,” he says. “You could go to school for music therapy to help people heal from past trauma, or do a half dozen other things. Keep an open mind, okay?”
I wonder why he doesn’t want me to tour, but shrug. I won’t be able to be on the road if I’m pregnant, anyway. Buses don’t have much room, and I’m definitely not living in a bus with a newborn.
Fuck, I’m going to have a baby. Curling my fingers inwards so I won’t touch my stomach in wonder, I focus on Greg. “I will, Greg, thank you. I’ve been on the road for so long, it’s weird to think about doing anything else. There’s just a lot of change,” I confess, blowing out a breath.
Feeling a wave of exhaustion, I wince. “I think I definitely need that nap now. Thank you for inviting us over and including us all. This was really nice.”
Greg stands as I do. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asks.
I swear, I’m always asked this. I would love to be okay.
“I’ll be better. I think I just need to lay down,” I yawn.
Chuckling, he shrugs. “You were run off your feet by the twins. They have so much energy.”
Smiling weakly, I open the door to the office. Orion is leaning against the wall waiting for me as he chats with Melly.
“Hey, O. Want to walk me back for a nap? I think I’m hitting my wall,” I explain.
Orion has been watching me all day, and I can tell he’s worried too. I should share the load and my worries, but it’s Christmas, and I just want one more day before I unload on them all.
Orion straightens as I walk into the hall. “Yep, I’ll never say no to a nap with you,” he says and Greg coughs.
