More to This

by Tess Keeler

  “I’m sorry.” The words he spoke were muffled by her hair and skin, but they were loud enough to be heard.

  “Babe, you have nothing to be sorry for. We know this is what is best. I hate that she doesn’t, but it’s not her decision to make. It’s ours. And it’s the right one.”

  His throat bobbed with a hard swallow, and he sat up to examine her expression. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She was strong. Much stronger than he was. “You’re right,” he whispered.

  “Usually am,” she stated playfully. He couldn’t help the small smile his lips formed. Closing the distance between them, she kissed him sweetly once, letting her thumb caress underneath his bottom lip as he stared into his eyes. “I love you, H. It’s going to be okay.”

  1

  More to This

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Everly

  Everly could barely concentrate on her History of Design class. Her first doctor’s appointment in regards to their baby was an hour away, and it was all she could think about.

  When they were dismissed, she waited for everyone to pile out before she even made a move to stand up. She was hyper-aware of the possibilities of hurting the baby, and she wasn’t going to take any risks.

  The walk to her car was long, but she enjoyed the weather enough to not mind it. She was sure the baby could benefit from her attempts at exercise. Stopping in her tracks, she heard her name come from behind her. It was a black haired girl with big blue eyes walking towards her. Her side swept hair was long enough to brush her shoulders, and her lips were perfectly proportioned.

  “Yes?” Everly asked, turning to face the girl fully. The stranger stopped and sized Everly up.

  “I’m Mia.” The introduction was strange, and Everly had a weird vibe about it. Being best friend’s with Mason had pre-conditioned her to being approached by people she didn’t know more often than she would like. “I’m a friend of Tanner’s.”

  There it was.

  “Okay. Hi?” Everly cut her eyes in confusion and slight annoyance. She didn’t have the patience right now for any stupid games, but she had a feeling Tanner had some drama to start due to unfinished business.

  Mia didn’t seem fazed by Everly’s irritation and pushed on. “I also know Henley.” Her eyelashes fluttered and her lips pulled to the side. It was smug, and Everly felt heat spreading up over her neck. “Henley Moore?”

  The repetition of his name made her madder, but she tried to keep her temper in check.

  “I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re trying to get a rise out of me by bringing up my boyfriend in some suggestive way,” Everly started, her voice steady and cool. “Don’t bother. It’s not going to work.”

  Mia laughed, and she shook her head. “Doesn’t it bother you to know that most girls you run into around here know him?”

  “I don’t care about that bullshit.” Everly shrugged, trying to not clench her jaw. “Also, not a lot of guys would turn down girls throwing themselves at them. Not even your pal, Tanner.” Her lips pulled together, and she looked down a second before meeting the girl’s light eyes. “And no one knows him. Clearly. If they did, they wouldn’t have pointless, jealous vendettas against him. He’s a great guy.”

  “By impregnating you?” she squawked, and Everly cringed. “Oh, I guess there’s a possibility it’s not his, though. Right?”

  Everly lifted her eyebrows, taking a moment before scoffing at the girl. “Don’t you have anything better to do than obey Tanner’s request to be a bitch to me?”

  Mia lunged at her, shoving her fairly hard. She didn’t lose her footing and fall, but staggered back a few feet. Before she could react, she felt arms around her and she could smell the sweet, earthy smell of Henley invading her senses.

  “You’re lucky I’m carrying precious cargo, or I’d kick your ass,” she barked at the girl, refusing to break her stare. There was not a single sliver of trust in her body at the moment, and she felt herself harden in defense mode.

  Henley whispered against Everly’s ear in an attempt to calm her. “I’ve got this, baby.”

  “Henley, it’s been a while,” the girl purred in their direction, and Everly’s jaw tensed.

  He stepped in front of Everly, holding her hand behind him. “Did you really push my pregnant girlfriend? What is wrong with you?”

  She crossed her arms and glared at him, “Whether it’s yours or not, I would be doing you a favor.”

  Everly watched Henley’s jaw flex. “It is mine,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “Tanner doesn’t seem to think so.” She brought a smile to her lips again, probably triumph in his rising anger.

  Henley released a short laugh, “Or maybe he’s upset that every single girl he wants has already had the best.”

  A smirk played on her lips, and then her eyebrow lifted. Her voice was smooth–piercing. “He had Everly first.”

  Everly’s stomach turned, and she wanted to move around Henley, but he kept his other hand on her the best he could from his angle. It didn’t stop her from speaking, though. “I’ve always been Henley’s. Tanner was a mistake. Now, fucking walk.”

  Mia’s expression was one of triumph. She was here just to put doubts in Henley’s head. Did it work?

  “Henley, you’d be surprised how often the results aren’t in your favor. Get the test done. You don’t want to raise a child that isn’t yours, do you?” She was walking backward, finishing her thought before turning around to leave them standing there alone.

  Everly couldn’t tell if she was angrier or more upset. She hated drama, and this shit with Tanner needed to end. She moved in front of Henley, looking into his eyes to make sure he was okay. His face was set, and she could see a storm brewing in his eyes.

  “Baby,” she whispered, grabbing both of his hands and trying to get his eyes to focus on her. “They want to cause problems for us. That’s the whole point.” Her eyebrows pulled together, and she licked her lips as his eyes fell to hers. His long eyelashes were more obvious with his own eyebrows pulled together in thought. “Come on, we’re going to be late for the appointment.”

  “What if it is Tanner’s?” His voice was soft, his expression concerned. She sucked in a breath, not wanting to think of that being a real possibility.

  She swallowed hard before responding. “We should find out today, I guess.” Pausing, she watched his eyes for any sign of regret. “What if it is?”

  Henley shook his head, “I want it to be mine.”

  “I made him wear protection, babe. But, I know that’s not a guarantee of anything.”

  She kissed the corner of his lips and moved away to start leading him into the direction of her car. They were silent the whole way, and Everly wasn’t sure what to say to get him out of his head.

  Henley drove, and Everly tried to distract him with questions about his day. She could tell he was trying not to think about it, but the girl said some poisonous things. She could only hope that this appointment proved to him that they had nothing to worry about.

  When they got to the doctor’s office, she checked in at the desk and they gave her a clipboard with several pages on it. She blew out a deep breath and moved to sit as far away from the other people waiting. She could feel Henley sit down next to her, and she smiled at him.

  “Didn’t Mason want to come to this?” Henley asked, and she nodded in response.

  “Yeah, he’ll be here. He’s just habitually late.” Everly tried to lighten the mood. This visit was already bound to be difficult, but Mia’s presence did nothing to help the uneasiness of the situation.

  Henley took her paperwork back up for her and made sure the co-pay was covered before sitting back down. They had a compromised agreement to alternate paying for visits to make it easier until they figured more out.

  Mason showed up five minutes before she got called back, so they didn’t get to talk to him for long.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be entertained by all of these colorful m
agazines.” Mason said, holding up one of the many home improvement magazines in the office.

  As they went back, she really didn’t know what to expect, and she hated that. She wasn’t fond of doctors anyway. Her fingers tangled with Henley’s and her arm wrapped around his. The nerves were starting to get the best of her, and she couldn’t calm down.

  The visit went exactly as you would expect. She took a test, and the doctor verified she was pregnant. They tested her for any STDs or infections or anything else that could be harmful to the baby. The last piece was the ultrasound, which she requested to see if they could actually determine how far along she was.

  “My last menstrual cycle was about 8 weeks ago.” She said, looking at the doctor. They had her belly exposed from the revealing hospital gown they had her in. It was almost time to see their baby for the first time.

  Her doctor was female, and she felt more comfortable that way. Dr. Johnson was very calm, and it was really helping her relax through some of the discomfort of the physical and the pap smear. Henley never left her side, either, which always made everything more bearable.

  “Let’s take a look.” Dr. Johnson had slathered the clear gel onto Everly’s stomach and pressed the small grey gun against her. “Ah! See this?” Dr. Johnson pointed to a small, pea-sized blip on the screen. “That is your baby.”

  Everly felt her eyes water as she focused on the spot that her doctor was pointing to. She squeezed Henley’s hand as she prepared herself to ask the question that had been lingering between them.

  “Can you tell me how far along I am, then?” She paused and chewed on her lip as her doctor’s hazel eyes lifted to meet hers. “I slept with someone a little over three months ago. I want to see if there’s any possibility….”

  She swallowed hard, and her doctor shook her head. “No. At 12 weeks, your child would be over two inches long, and their eyes and ears are forming in their correct place. There’s no way you’re further than 8 weeks along.”

  Everly felt her lips curling into a big smile, and she turned to Henley to meet his eyes. She wanted to jump up and down, scream about how happy she was that they finally had confirmation; that Tanner had nothing over them anymore.

  “I’m going to give you two a few moments, so you can get dressed. If you need anything, let us know.”

  The doctor excused herself, and she couldn’t help the way her heart expanded in her chest. She reached up with her free hand and touched his face, lifting herself so she could press her lips to his.

  They shared a sweet, open-mouthed kiss a few long moments before their lips broke apart. Everly took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she rested her forehead to his. Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke.

  “I told you it was yours.”

  His voice was a whisper, “I’m sorry I let them make me doubt it.” Tears built in his beautiful light eyes, and she closed her eyes to relish the closeness. “We’re having a baby,” he breathed, laughing through his silent tears. “Can you believe it?”

  Everly let out a short laugh from happiness. The thought of them giving the baby up, especially now seeing it, knowing it was Henley’s— removing that doubt, was going to make this so much more difficult than she planned. It was best for the baby, though. Their baby.

  1

  More to This

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Henley

  Celebrating a girlfriend’s birthday was foreign to Henley. Hell, celebrating friends’ birthdays was foreign. Henley had only been around for his family’s parties, and it was because he should be. Everly’s 20th birthday was important to Henley; he didn’t want to fuck it up. He was confident about a lot of things, but it had been a long time since he was responsible for someone else’s happiness. Mason was his largest asset—surprisingly, he and Henley had grown close since he had moved in. When Everly wasn’t around, he had someone to communicate with. Their experiences were similar, and he felt comfortable sharing who he was with someone who understood him.

  “She’s going to love it, mate.” He grinned at their living room proudly as Henley scratched the back of his neck, watching his girlfriend’s best friend glow with pride.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you,” Henley said, matter of fact.

  He surveyed their work: twinkly white lights all around the living room and staircase leading to their bedrooms, a huge silver 2 and 0 balloon standing by all of her favorite snacks and caffeine-free sodas, a stack of her favorite horror movies, comforters and pillows laid out to form a huge bed capable of holding a friendly orgy, and a vanilla frosted lavender cake waiting in the fridge. There was a stack of presents from both boys in the dining room, on the table, along with a new pair of washed and folded pajamas for their slumber party birthday party.

  The cold November air was seeping through any crack it could in the house, and Henley needed to make sure she and the baby were warm despite the freezing Colorado air. She was nearly four months along, definitely showing, and even more beautiful than before.

  Henley was hoping it would be easy, pretending the baby wasn’t important to him so he could give it to the family that deserved it. A family that had no idea what was in their near future. Even more terrifying, their time to ask River and Aiden was running out. Henley was finding the idea of it more difficult to imagine. Maybe having a child with Everly wouldn’t ruin everything.

  The sound of the door unlocking got both of their attention. Pierson was escorting Everly home from school, since Henley dropped her off there. If she decided to skip out, he wanted to prevent her from showing up in the middle of the setup. He watched her expression change as she looked around the room.

  “Henley…” Her voice disappeared at the end of his name, a small gasp filling her lungs. She was surprised, at least a little bit. Her eyes lit up as her smile grew, her eyes scanning every inch of the perimeter. The hand protecting her stomach rose to her mouth and she released a short laugh. “I should have known you were up to something.”

  Pierson locked the door and joined them all in the center of the room. Henley tried not to notice how Mason and Pierson came together almost instantly, their arms grazing as they shared a secret of their own. Henley lifted his eyebrows, in response to both, and asked, “What makes you say that?”

  She pointed to his head. “Too much going on up here.” The laugh she had shared with them a minute earlier repeated. “You weren’t all over me.”

  Henley wrapped his arms around her waist, “I’m always thinking about being all over you.” He kissed her lips sweetly and smiled against them. “Go slip into those pajamas over there, and we’ll start the celebration.”

  They all reassembled after changing into their own party attire. All of the men gathered her gifts and brought them to the makeshift bed. Henley grabbed her something to drink and snack on before guiding her to her spot. The pillows encased her and Henley’s back, and Pierson and Mason faced them with their own alcoholic beverages.

  Everly was already ripping open one of the gifts. Henley watched as she went through every item—most containing superheroes and music. The way her face lit up tore him apart. She was more than his beautiful girlfriend; she was the love of his life, and she was carrying his baby.

  Once all the trash was cleaned up, they all cuddled into the blankets and watched Halloween, her favorite horror movie. The lights were off now, and the white lights Henley and Mason had broken out of the Christmas decorations were twinkling brighter than before. Everly was draped over Henley as he sat up against the couch, her fingers tracing his stomach absently. He was trying to not think about the baby in her stomach, but she almost always cradled it with her arm. It was an automatic reaction, he was sure, but it hurt nonetheless. He had never imagined wanting to start a family so quickly into finding a true, lasting relationship.

  Before her, Henley never thought much past the interaction of the day or night. He didn’t really care if it happened again. He just wanted to be in control of it. No one would ever
hurt him like Vic did.

  “You okay?” Henley heard Everly whisper, his eyes casting downward to meet her curious ones.

  He smiled, a little hesitantly. There was happiness and contentment bursting from inside of him, but there was also fear and sadness. Two emotions he hoped would disappear when they finally sat down with River and Aiden. He had to know if they wanted the child, because he wasn’t so sure about his own desires anymore.

  Henley nodded, but Everly lowered one eyebrow in disbelief. He leaned down and kissed her lips, inhaling her familiar scent. Once the kiss broke, he kissed her again, a little deeper. Feeling his chest expand, he wished to bury his pain with her love. She grasped at the tank top covering his chest as he pushed his fingers into her back to pull her closer. Suddenly, he needed her.

  “A-hem.”

  Henley backed away from her face to look at the two fools staring at them, their lips separating with a smack. The corners of his lips pulled downward. “You could watch the movie instead,” he teased.

  Everly laid her head down on his shoulder as the boys spoke. Henley rubbed his hands over her back, soothing her until the bickering passed.

  Pierson didn’t look as amused as Mason did, his grin growing before he spoke, “You know I’d rather watch this than that.” He motioned from them to the tv.

  “Then what’s the problem?” Henley asked, his eyebrows going up.

  Everly smacked his chest, her voice almost a whine, “Ugh, don’t encourage him.”

  Henley lifted his hands up defensively. “I just don’t understand why he interrupted us then.”

  The three men shared eye contact for a few agonizing moments before any of them spoke. Pierson was the first to break it, and he did so with such little emotion in his voice. “We respect you two by not making out in front of you.”