Slowly We Trust (Fall and Rise #3)(55)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

“Okay, calm down for a second. Let’s just talk this out.”

“You don’t get to tell me to be calm. You don’t say anything and then one day, bam, I have a daughter. You can’t just do shit like that to people. You can’t just do that!” He was getting upset and I had to find a way to calm him down. I moved away from my dorm and headed down the hall to a little study room that had a door I could close so no one else heard what I was saying.

It was blessedly empty, so I sat down at one of the rickety chairs and tried to keep my voice steady.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie. But it’s the middle of the night and I don’t have custody of Emily. My aunt does. So all the decisions are hers. I’ll have to call her and talk with her, but I can’t do that right now because I might disturb Emily and she needs all the rest she can get.” It was the only thing we could do for her until we found a match.

I could hear him pacing.

“Do you want to meet tomorrow so we can talk? Then I can call my aunt and ask her.” I didn’t want to put Maria in that situation, but I didn’t have a choice. We needed to know if he was a compatible donor for Emily.

“Okay, okay. Tomorrow. But you’d better be there.”

“I will, I promise. What time is good for you?” We set a time and decided to meet at a restaurant off campus, which meant I was going to have to ask Trish for a ride again.

I finally hung up. That was a longer conversation than I thought. I hoped Will was still sacked out and not wondering where I was.

I tiptoed back to my room and crawled back into bed with the still-sleeping Will. He snored a little because of his stuffed-up nose. Poor thing. He was so convinced he wasn’t getting sick, but he definitely was.

I watched his face in the dark for a while. I couldn’t lose him.

Aud had another errand to run with Trish the next day, and I had the feeling it had something to do with Valentine’s Day, given how weird she was being about it. I tried not to be excited and speculate on what she would do for me. I knew it would be something awesome and would probably blow my roller skating idea out of the water.

While Aud was with Trish, I headed to Lottie and Zan’s to work on my own surprise.

“A roller skating party? With balloons and a disco ball and cheesy music from the 70s?” Lottie said, stealing a cookie from the plate she’d put out.

“Yeah. That’s what I want to do for her. The cheesier, the better. You wanna help me?” She munched the cookie and looked thoughtful.

“Sure, why not. You’re going to do it with or without me, so I might as well help you make it as awesome as possible.”

That was why I wanted her help. She’d think of details that I probably wouldn’t. She was good at that kind of stuff.

“So what are you doing for Zan?” He was upstairs with Stryker, and judging from the sounds coming from the hallway, they were working on a new song.

“I’m giving him blow job coupons,” she said, picking up another cookie. If I didn’t grab a few, she was going to eat them all. I always wondered how she could eat nearly as much as I did even though I was so much taller.

“That’s disgusting, Lot. I did not need to know that.”

She smacked me.

“I’m giving him a bunch of things. Some records he doesn’t have, a framed picture of his favorite poem and then I’m going to kidnap him and sneak him up to his parents’ cabin. It was the place where we first . . . you know.” Yes, I did. I’d known they’d had sex without her even telling me. One of the downsides of being a twin. You knew things you really didn’t want to. Especially when your twin was a girl.

“Sounds nice. You have any idea what he’s getting for you?”

“No. And I’ve tried. That boy is like a clam with a pearl. I mean, he’s had a lot of practice holding secrets in, so this is just old hat for him. The bastard.” She was smiling though.

“I just hope she likes it. I have this fear that we’re going to get there, I’ll tell her what we’re doing, and then she’ll just have a blank face and thank me in that voice that I know is fake.”

“Aud would never do that,” Lottie said, taking the last cookie and shoving it in her mouth before I realized it was gone.

“No, she wouldn’t. She’d lie to me and tell me she loved it and I’d probably believe her because I want her to like it so much.” That was definitely what was going to happen.

“Anyway, I wish we didn’t have to make a big deal out of this holiday, but society’s told us we have to. And it’s kinda nice to get presents. Zan and I don’t really do the anniversary thing, so other than birthdays, this is the only thing we celebrate.” Aud’s birthday wasn’t until this summer, so I had plenty of time to plan for that. I was hoping we could do our Universal trip right around then, and combine her Christmas present with a birthday present. That would really blow her mind.

“You guys are good? The living together going well?” It was weird checking in with Lottie. Now that we didn’t live in the same building, I saw her less and less.

“Yes, we’re good. Very good. I know Mom’s still pissed at me for being so ‘young and impulsive’ but I just told her she shouldn’t have given me all those books with strong female role models.” I snorted.

“What did she say to that?”

“Nothing. But I could feel The Look through the phone.” Oh, The Look. It was one of those things women learned in secret. Someday Lottie would have it. And maybe Aud.

“Hey, I’m just glad you’re taking the heat off me. For so many years, I was the bad one and now you’re making up for it,” I said.

She leaned back on the couch and put her feet in my lap. I normally would have pushed them away, but I just left them there.

“Wanna watch cartoons? Our cable just added a new channel with vintage cartoons. Otherwise known as the cartoons we used to watch growing up. We’re officially old.” That was kind of depressing.

“Yeah, sure.” She turned on the television and flipped to the right channel.

“I miss being a kid,” she said, sighing.

“Me too.”

“Being an adult sucks. Except for the sex. And being able to stay up late and eat ice cream for breakfast.”

“And the driving. And being able to buy lottery tickets and swearing,” I said.

“Other than that, being an adult sucks.”