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Tabitha peers around her sister, then at me, and flashes a sparkling grin. “Did you break my brother?” Her voice is sing-song and twinkly like wind chimes.
“Yes,” Zeke calls out, his voice muffled. He’s still covering his head with his arms.
“Can I tell them?” Del’s whole body vibrates as she speaks, looking from Zeke to me. Pris’s scowl deepens, and Tabitha’s eyes widen behind her glasses.
“Go for it,” I say, no energy left to articulate the words.
Exhaustion drapes over me like a heavy blanket. I slide onto the stool by the kitchen island and rest my chin in my hands—a spectator to the shitshow that’s unfolding.
“Tabby, Pris. Zeke’s gunna be adaddy.” Del giggles like this is the most amusing thing. She’s prancing from foot to foot, cackling like a Disney villain.
“No,” Pris says, with enough conviction that I have to check in with myself to be sure this is all real.
“Yes. I am very pregnant,” I assure her, and Zeke curls into a tighter fetal position.
I really might have broken him. Or maybe it’s his sisters. Either way, he’s radiating an emotional shutdown.
Pris takes a deep, slow breath as she walks calmly over to the couch. She lifts a small pillow, gripping it firmly by one corner. She goes to Zeke, leans over his body, and slams the pillow down on him with a thud.
“What. The. Actual. Fuck. Were. You. Thinking?” She hits him after every word.
I flatten a hand over my mouth, shock and amusement playing through me like a lively tennis match.
“Ow! I wasn’t!” His voice pitches up, and he curls tighter to protect himself from his sisters. “I wasn’t thinking—fuck! Stop hitting me.” He yanks the pillow from Pris and hurls it across the room.
Tabitha comes and sits on the stool next to me, propping her elbows on the island with light, wistful eyes. She has this dreamy air to her, like she doesn’t live in the same plane of existence as the rest of us.
Tabitha flashes a toothy smile. “A baby?”
“Yup. I’m due the second week in March.” It’s tough to keep her words and Zeke in focus, but how am I going to save him from Del and Pris? I can barely stand up to my own sister.
Tabitha draws the last bit of my attention to her, and I absently touch my stomach. She leans in, and I feel that same sense of safety around her. “Are you feeling okay?”
Del hops up onto the counter, crossing her legs under her, and I suddenly feel cornered. Across the room, Zeke is on his feet, glaring at Pris.
“Mostly, I feel like barfing. Other than that, I feel okay.” I smile, and Zeke’s eyebrow lifts in a challenge.
“You have to tell them the rest, Nova,” he says. “They will be cool about it, but they have to know. They’ll find out eventually.”
He gives each of his sisters a warning glare, and then all eyes are on me. I rub my stomach, and for a moment, I want to strangle Zeke. I shouldn’t have to tell anyone anything.
But that’s not true. Being in constant communication about what’s happening to my body helps me thrive. Ignoring my MS means the symptoms sneak up on me. Having it out in the open is the only way I keep control.
“I have Multiple Sclerosis, and it’s completely under control.” I glare at Zeke. “I have to be careful because I have some permanent damage to my balance from when I was a kid. But other than that, I’m fine.”
Pris is at the island now, and I feel trapped by their concern. I want to shrink into nothing and disappear like a plume of smoke. Zeke steps up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders, and his touch grounds me as his thumbs gently press small circles into the muscle. My mind clears, and I take a deep breath to steady the sensations.
I like his hands on me. Obviously.
He leans down to whisper in my ear, the sensation sending shivers down my spine. “I’m so sorry. Really, I am. I’ll find a way to make this up to you. I promise.”
Pris snaps her fingers and points to the door. I’m both horrified and in awe of her command over him. “Zeke, go away. We’d like some time with your new roommate.”
“Roommate?” Zeke stumbles over the words, and I’m stuck to the seat, unable to be thrown in any more directions.
If one thing is clear, it’s that anything can happen around here—and it’s often the thing I’m not expecting. For all the glamour and novelty of my life, it’s boring and predictable, not like Zeke’s family.
“You’re going to leave her down here by herself?” Del scrunches her face up at him.
