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Caleb watches me silently, his expression unreadable. Ryan continues to cry, and Caleb tries to soothe him while keeping his eyes trained on me.
"I didn't know," he finally says. "I had no idea this was going on. It's...a shock."
"I know," I tell him. "I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want it to mess with your head."
"I'm not worried about myself," he says. "I'm good, dude. I'm more worried aboutyou. You don't know what she did."
"Ido know," I tell him. "I know she used to run off when you were together...because we would talk on socials when she was on a bender and needed support. She doesn't even fucking remember, butI do. And the stuff she went through as a kid--do you know about that?"
Caleb's brow furrows. "Piper's too private to have shared that stuff--"
"She told me," I tell him. "And I'm not trying to make you feel like an asshole, but I need you to understand. She has this intense, horrible story about her life. She wants to change, but no one has ever been kind to her."
"I was kind to her--"
"I know, but she wasn't ready," I tell him. "Now, she is. And I love her and I'm not letting her go."
Caleb looks at me, his face softening. "Okay," he says quietly. "I get it."
I nod, relieved that he's not going to fight me on this anymore. "I just wanted you to know," I tell him. "And I wanted to apologize for not being upfront with you. It wasn't fair to you."
Caleb nods, his gaze drifting to the floor. "I appreciate it," he says. "And...I'm sorry too. I was a dick about it."
"It's all good," I tell him, feeling the tension start to ease out of the room. "We're brothers, man. We can get through this."
Caleb nods, looking up at me with a small smile. "Yeah," he says. "We can."
Then he frowns.
"Wait...but why was she at the clinic?"
I tell him everything about last night--about how I found out she was pregnant, how she got here on a fucking bus when I should have been taking care of her. Caleb listens intently, his face growing more concerned as I speak.
"Fuck," he mutters when I finish. "That's...that's a lot."
"I know," I say, my own worry starting to surface again. "But she's going to be okay. She's on bedrest for the next six weeks until we can do the C-section."
Caleb nods slowly. "And you're going to take care of her?"
"I'm going to do everything I can," I tell him. "I need to. She's carrying my kid."
Caleb nods again, his expression unreadable. For a moment, we sit in silence, both lost in our own thoughts.
Then, Ryan starts to cry again, breaking the tension. Caleb stands up to soothe him, and I take the opportunity to head for the door.
"I should go," I tell him. "I just wanted to talk to you before...before anything else happens."
"I get it," Caleb says. "You should be with her right now--but let me get you a travel mug."
He goes to grab one and I stand by the door, my hands shoved in my pockets. When he comes back with a steaming cup of coffee, I take it gratefully and take him in a one-armed hug.
"And Caleb?" I say.
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to add...you picked a real fine woman to marry. Reagan took care of Piper last night without hesitation. She's a keeper."
Caleb grins. "I know. I just want that for you too, little brother."
