by Nikki Ash
“You will?” Hollis smiles. “Can I bring my toys?”
Harland chuckles. “You can bring two of your favorite toys. One for you and one for me. Okay, buddy?”
He nods happily. “Deal! Here’s Mommy! I have to get ready!”
Handing the phone back to me, Hollis goes running down the hallway like he can’t get dressed fast enough. I roll my eyes at how easy that was for him and take the phone off speaker.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Hey, that’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”
I don’t answer, mainly because I’m not entirely sure what to say. I’ve been so used to doing this on my own for so long that I never imagined what it would be like to have someone else to lean on.
As if he can read my mind, he exhales, and I can practically hear his smile. “We’re a team, Em.”
“Yeah,” I sigh happily. “We’re a team.”
Getting to Harland’s, I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous. This is the first time that we’re going to be around Ashlyn and Harland at the same time since Hollis’s birthday party, and things were very different then. And to top it off, their mom will be there, too. I’m just hoping Ash is too distracted by the fact that her mom and Harland are meeting Brandon for the first time today.
He’s a decent guy. I met him one night when he came to pick Ashlyn up from my place. Her car was in the shop and I had picked her up so she didn’t have to wait there. Brandon was the one to bring her back to get it. I wasn’t able to find any red flags, and he seems to make Ash really happy. To me, that’s what matters most, but I can already tell Harland doesn’t like him.
“Hawlan!” Hollis yells as he runs up the driveway.
Shit.
He bends down and scoops him up into his arms. “Little man! I got you something.”
He takes him around to the passenger seat of his car and pulls out the Avengers set he’s been asking for. Hollis’s eyes widen in disbelief, and he wraps his little arms around Harland’s neck and pulls him close.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, buddy.”
Ashlyn’s voice flows through the air. “I thought I heard my favorite little guy.”
But as soon as she sees how him and Harland are being with each other, confusion etches across her face.
Play it off, Em.
“Oh, sure. What am I? Chopped liver?” I tease.
That manages to distract her a little. She comes over and gives me a hug, but then looks back at Hollis.
“Since when are they best buds?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “Since every time he sees him, Harland gives him a present.”
She chuckles, but still watches her brother closely. I walk over and take Hollis into my arms, telling him we should go inside so we can open the box. As we head up the walkway, I can hear Ashlyn behind me.
“If you’re using that kid to get to her, I will literally cut you.”
Harland laughs, as if it’s no big deal. “You’ve been watching too many Lifetime movies.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find a sharp blade and some bleach.”
Yeah, I need to tell her soon.
And maybe make sure she isn’t around any knives at the time.
Sitter at the dinner table, I’ve got Hollis on my right, with Ashlyn on the other side of him. Harland, to avoid suspicion, is sitting across from his sister, but his eyes stay locked on Brandon. Since the second he got here, he’s been fucking with the guy.
“So, Bryan,” he says, making me roll my eyes.
“It’s Brandon, Harland,” Ashlyn corrects him again, this time with more frustration. “Knock it off.”
He smirks at her. “Right. Brayden. What do you do for a living?”
“I work at Bay Ridge Legal with Ashlyn, but I’m hoping that’s just a temporary thing,” he explains. “I’m trying to get onto the police force. I want to be a cop.”
Harland’s brows raise in amusement. “A cop? So you want my sister to be worried sick every night, waiting for you to come home?”
“Harland!” Ash hisses.
He leans back and puts his hands on the back of his head. “What? I just want to make sure he’s thinking of you while making all these major decisions.”
Oh my God. He’s acting like they’re engaged, when they’ve been dating for only a couple of months. Even their mom is staring down at her plate like she doesn’t know whether to intervene or stay out of it. Honestly, while I’d normally choose the latter, I can’t seem to watch this poor guy squirm anymore. And besides, if Ashlyn is on one of her my brother is an asshole rants for the next week, she really won’t take the news of him being Hollis’s dad well.
I take my phone out and discreetly send a text to Harland.
Me: Can you go a little easier on him, please?
Thankfully, he reads it and answers without it being seen.
Harland: Why? The guy’s a complete tool. He doesn’t deserve her.
Me: Maybe so, but she really likes him. At least give him a chance.
I debate sending something else for a moment before finally saying fuck it. What can it really hurt?
Me: Please? For me?
Harland reads the text, and I watch as his eyes soften and he bites his lip. He subtly glances at me and sighs.
“I’m just messing around, Brandon,” he says, finally getting his name right. “I’m protective of my sister. I’m sure you can understand that.”
“Absolutely,” Brandon answers. “I’d be a little concerned if you weren’t.”
His jaw locks like he’s holding back from making another snide comment, and I know he’s only doing it for me.
I’ll take that as a win.
After dinner, we’re all sitting in the living room when Ashlyn comes back with a stack of photo albums. She’s going on and on about how she’s been meaning to look at these for ages and tells Brandon that she wants to show him the bed she had as a kid. It was a top bunk, with a playhouse underneath, and an actual slide to get down. I remember that bed. I was super jealous of it.
However, as she’s flipping through all the pictures, my eyes are locked on Harland. He’s sitting on the floor with Hollis, playing with the new toys he got him. They laugh like they’ve always been the best of friends, and if I was thinking clearly, I’d be worried someone would notice, but I’m mesmerized.
“Oh, look!” Ashlyn exclaims, bringing my attention back to her. “I was what—one—here?”
I glance over at the photo album and smile at my best friend’s toothy baby grin. She’s wearing a light pink tutu dress, and the next few pictures show how it was ruined by the cake she ate that day.
“I was the cutest baby,” she says conceitedly, but she’s not wrong.
She really was adorable.
As she turns the page, Brandon’s eyes narrow in bewilderment. “Why is there a picture of Hollis in your baby album?”
Ashlyn looks at where he’s pointing, and my heart rate starts to quicken. “Oh, that’s Harland.”
I can see the very moment it clicks in her head, because her breathing stops, and mine does, too.
“Wait,” she whispers, looking between the picture and to where her brother is sitting on the floor with our son. “No.”
She looks over at me, her eyes begging for the answers she’s already figured out on her own, and I don’t think anything could keep it from being written all over my face.
“Ash,” I start, but she throws the album off her lap and stands up.
“Are you kidding me?” she roars. “Are you actually fucking kidding me right now?”
“Potty mouth, Aunt Ashlyn!” Hollis chimes in, and I cringe.
She looks over at him and then at Harland, who is frozen in place. “And you. You knew about this?”
He sighs. “Maybe this isn’t exactly the time for this, A.”
The nickname is one that only he’s ever used with her. One that originated when they were kids and she was jealous of his H nickna
me. And I know he used it in an attempt to calm her down, but it’s hopeless.
“You’re right,” she scoffs. “It’s not the right time for this. You know what would have been the right time?” She narrows her eyes on me. “Almost five years ago, when you found out you were pregnant!”
Tears stream down my face faster than I can wipe them away, and I just hope that Hollis doesn’t turn around and see me upset. He’s incredibly empathetic and will stop everything to comfort me.
“Let me explain, please,” I beg.
“It’s too late to explain, Emery.” Her shoulders sag in utter despair. “You ruined everything.”
"Ashlyn,” her mom tries, and I realize that not only is Ash learning the truth, but so is her mom.
My best friend closes her eyes for a second, and then shakes her head. “No. I’m sorry, but no. I can’t do this.”
She walks right out the front door, and I’m a fucking mess. I look back and forth from the door that just slammed shut and where my son is playing on the floor, and Harland’s voice breaks through my inner turmoil.
“Go,” he tells me. “Go ahead. I’ve got him. Go talk to her.”
I sigh in relief and mouth a silent thank you to him before running after Ashlyn.
She’s halfway to her car by the time I get out there, but I’m just glad she hasn’t left yet.
“Ash,” I call. “Ash, please.”
She throws her head back and stops. “What, Emery?”
“Don’t leave. Just stay here and talk to me. We can work this out.”
“Work this out?” she sneers. “He’s fucking four Em, and I’m just now finding out that the deadbeat I mentally cursed out for years is my fucking brother. I think we’re well past talking.”
She turns around and goes to walk away, but then stops again.
“And you know what?” She spins back to face me again. “I noticed the similarities. When he was born, the thought went through my mind, but I told myself no. Emery would never do that to me. She would tell me. But you never did, so I convinced myself that I was just crazy. That the similarities were all in my head. Because my best friend would never lie to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I sob. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah,” she breathes. “I am, too. I’m sorry I ever trusted you.”
Chapter Eight
Harland
Everything goes eerily quiet as Emery rushes out the door after Ashlyn. Brandon, the dumbass who started all this by asking a stupid as shit question, is literally twiddling his thumbs while still planted on the couch. Hasn’t he gotten the fucking hint? Ashlyn left. That’s his cue to go.
As the yelling outside gets a little louder, I grab my phone and turn on one of Hollis’s favorite YouTube videos to drown out the noise. I can feel the eyes burning into my skull, but I can’t seem to look at them. My focus, right now and always, is Hollis.
“Is it true?” my mom asks quietly.
I’m thankful for the way she doesn’t say the words, since we haven’t told Hollis yet. I know lying to her isn’t an option, not that I would want to. Hiding the fact that Hollis is mine was never something I wanted, but something I did for Emery. She needed to figure out how to do this in her own way, and instead that was ruined by Officer Dipshit over there.
I nod once, feeling the relief of finally being able to tell someone. “Yeah, it is.”
She hums softly, but when I look up at her, I notice she isn’t shocked. I always knew she wouldn’t be angry. My mom just isn’t the kind of person to get mad at her kids, and Emery is just as much her kid as Ashlyn and me, but what I wasn’t expecting was to see a neutral expression on her face.
“You knew?” I ask.
Her one shoulder moves in a half shrug and she smiles subtly. “I had my suspicions. I mean, it’s no surprise that a few old pictures made the pieces fall together. He’s the spitting image of you.”
I look over at my son with pride. “He's better.”
“I take it you didn't know?” she asks hesitantly, trying to gauge my mood.
In an effort to avoid Hollis listening in, I get up and sit next to her. “No, but don't hold that against her. It's something we’ve talked about and we’ve both agreed to leave in the past.”
A small smile graces her lips, and she pats my leg. “I would never do anything to make Emery uncomfortable. She's family. But I have to say, I'm proud of you, H. You've grown into a very mature and responsible young man.”
Warmth fills me, but as I go to respond, Hollis turns around with a huge grin on his face. “Look Hawlan!” he yells. “Cocomelon!”
“I see, little man!” I say back just as excitedly.
“He's so silly,” he coos.
“Just like you,” I tell him.
He scrunches his nose and goes back to watching the video, only for me to find my mom looking at me with fondness and adoration.
“What?”
She smirks and shakes her head. “Nothing. You're just really good with him.”
A car door shuts outside, and I can hear as tires screech. Clearly Ashlyn is pissed, which I don't think any of us are surprised about, but she better lay off the gas before she kills herself or someone else.
“I think that's my cue to leave,” Brandon says as he stands up.
I grunt. “Ya think?”
As he opens the door to leave, Emery comes walking back inside with tears streaming down her face. I don't think I've ever seen her this distraught, and my heart aches for her. I'm on my feet in an instant and take her into my arms.
“Hey,” I whisper. “Shh. It's going to be all right.”
She shakes her head against my shoulder. “I don’t think so. She hates me.”
“She doesn't hate you. She's just mad.”
Pulling away from me, she looks me in the eyes, and I can see how broken up she is over this. “You didn't hear what she said. She wants nothing to do with me, Harland. She's my best friend, and she hates me.”
I sigh heavily, trying to figure out what I could say to make her feel better, but there's nothing. Even if it's just temporary, which I'm almost positive it is, she's lost a part of herself. A part she's never needed to live without. And she needs to grieve that loss.
“Okay, why don't you go home?” I suggest. “I'll bring Hollis back in a little while, but he doesn’t need to see you like this, and I know you don’t want him to. Go home. Drink a glass of wine. I'll be there in a bit.”
She thinks about it for a moment before she exhales and nods. “Okay.”
“It's going to be okay, Em,” my mom tells her.
As if she just now realized Ashlyn isn't the only one who had the bomb dropped on them tonight, her eyes nearly double in size. “I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.”
My mom gives her a warm smile. “You don't need to apologize to me, sweetheart. That boy has been and always will be my grandson. Being related by blood is just an added bonus.”
“You should hate me, too,” she says, so low it's almost a whisper.
“Now what good would that do anyone?” Mom asks. “So, you made a judgment call. Harland has made several over the years that I disagreed with. I still love him.”
“Hey!” I whine.
She chuckles. “Are you going to tell me I'm wrong? Would you like me to pull up your most recent headline?”
I wince at the thought of it. “No. Definitely not.”
Emery seems to relax a little at knowing my mom isn’t angry with her, but I can tell the second she starts thinking about my sister because she starts tearing up again. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close again, pressing my lips to her forehead. It's supposed to be completely innocent, but I'd be lying if I said I felt nothing from it.
“Text me when you get home,” I tell her.
She nods as she steps back. “I will. And thank you.”
Winking at her, I smirk. “We're a team, remember?”
Em gives me the best smile she can manage, and with a quick kiss on the top
of our son’s head, she leaves, and I can't help but stare at where she just was.
“You know, Hollis isn't the only one you're good with,” my mom says, piercing the silence.
I take a deep breath, feeling the intensity of my next words, but not looking away from the door. “I love her, Mom.”
She hums. “Yeah, I had my suspicions about that too.”
Two hours is all I can seem to stand to be away from her. I knock on the door and wait impatiently for her to answer it. When she does, her brows furrow as she looks up and down the hallway.
“Where's Hollis?”
I shrug and push my way inside, shutting the door behind me. “My mom's watching him for the night.”
She looks surprised. “She is?”
Nodding, I take in her appearance. She must have taken a shower when she got back, because she's changed into sweatpants, and her hair is still damp. And yet she's never looked better. I love knowing I'm one of only a few who gets to see her like this.
“He was having such a good time with my mom, I told her he could sleep in my bed and that I'd pick him up in the morning.”
She swallows. “Oh. Are you meeting up with Vance?”
My best friend moved back home a couple weeks ago while we try to figure out the future of Sound the Sirens. I've seen him a couple times while Emery has hung out with my sister, but that's definitely not the plan tonight.
“No. I'm staying here,” I tell her, as if it's obvious.
“H-here?” she croaks.
“Mm-hm.” I take a step closer and pull her into my arms.
“Why here?”
God, she's adorable. “Because you had a rough day, and while Hollis might be my number one priority, his mom is definitely a close second.”
I should tell her the truth, that she's tied for first, but I'm really not trying to show all my cards while she's on the verge of a mental breakdown. Instead, I'll play it safe, like I always do, and make sure she knows I'm here for her. Because I am.