Another Vice

Chapter Ten

"Well, I think we deserve a break," Lillian states, matter-of-factly as she tapes up one more box.

Lillian looks over her shoulder, catching a nod from the other person in the room before she heads into the kitchen.

"Beer?" she calls over her shoulder, grabbing two bottles out of the fridge.

"Please," Derek responds, following the curly-haired woman into the kitchen.

Lillian takes a seat on the counter next to the fridge, holding out a bottle to Derek, which he takes, leaning against the kitchen island counter opposite her.

Both Lillian and Derek crack the tops off their drinks, each taking a generous swig.

"Have you talked to her?" Lillian asks, smiling.

Derek laughs lightly, looking down at his hands before back up at the blonde in front of him.

"This morning. She told our parents last night," he replies.

Lillian's eyes widen.

"And?"

"She said she isn't sure how they're feeling. She said when she was done telling them, her mom hugged her and told her to go upstairs and get some sleep."

Lillian scrunches her eyebrows together, also unsure of what that might mean. Sometimes silence is worse than a response.

"Can I ask you something, Derek?" Lillian asks, taking another swig of her beer.

Derek nods, though he's got a feeling he knows what Lillian is about to ask.

"Are you in love with her?"

Bingo.

Derek nods again, laughing nervously as his eyes meet Lillian's.

"I've been in love with her since I was fifteen."

Lillian shakes her head.

"Well, why haven't you told her then?" Lillian asks, incredulously, setting her drink down next to her.

Derek laughs, this time a genuine, that was funny laugh.

"Lillian, how much has Casey told you about our relationship?" Derek wonders, knowing the answer would probably be 'not much' otherwise Lillian would know why.

"Just that you guys never really got along— until you did," Lillian wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, laughing a little.

Derek smiles, taking a sip of his beer.

"You're a little right," Derek starts. "When we met, it was like… fire and gasoline. We brought out the worst in each other because all we ever did was fight. But, while I would never tell a girl that when a guy picks on her, it means he likes her— that's what it was. It was like pigtail pulling. I picked on Casey because if I didn't, I was gonna blurt out that I was in love with her in the middle of family dinner."

"But what about now? Casey said you guys fight just as much now as you did in high school?"

Derek nods.

"Yeah, that's true. We've gotten better in the last few months, but yeah, we still fight. I think we just got so good at it that it comes naturally now."

"Fair enough, but then how did the other stuff come about?" Lillian asks, feeling slightly strange asking her best friend's… whatever he is…about their sex life.

"The sex?" Derek asks, laughing at the way Lillian almost spits her drink out. "Well, we were in the middle of a fight. I did something mean and Casey called me out on it. And I just couldn't take it anymore, so I kissed her."

"But you never told her you were in love with her? Why? You must've had a million opportunities to say something."

Lillian's right. Derek did have plenty of opportunities to tell Casey how he felt about her, but what if he did and she didn't feel the same way?

"Casey is… She's beautiful, and she's brilliant, and she's kind, and I'm none of those things."

It's then that Lillian understands. She understands why Derek has never told Casey how he feels about her.

"You think she's too good for you, don't you?" Lillian questions, looking at Derek intently.

Derek's brown eyes meet with Lillian's and she can see in his eyes that she was right.

"Well, she is. I'm not good enough to be with someone like her."

Lillian smiles, taking one last swig of her beer before dropping it in the sink and hopping down off the counter.

Lillian turns back to Derek, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, for what it's worth— I think she's in love with you too, she just doesn't know how to say it."

"Case?" I hear a voice at the door, which stirs me awake from a deep, comfortable sleep.

I sit up quickly, looking to the doorway where my sister is standing, staring at me like I've got three heads.

Lizzie raises her eyebrows at me, no doubt wondering why I was just sleeping in our step-brother's bed.

"I guess it is true then," Lizzie says, almost to herself before stepping further into the room, closing the door behind her.

My eyebrows furrow, "What's true?"

"That you're pregnant and Derek is the father," Lizzie replies, her voice uneven and sounding confused.

"How do you know about that?" I ask, almost yelling.

"Edwin," Lizzie laughs, coming to sit beside me on Derek's bed. "He was listening from the stairs when you and Mom and George were talking last night."

Of course he was.

I sigh heavily.

"Will you two ever grow out of spying on people?" I ask, laughing lightly.

I know I should be mad that Edwin was listening in and that he told Lizzie what he heard, but they were going to find out eventually, so I guess now is as good a time as any.

"Not likely," Lizzie replies easily, smiling back at me.

"Yeah, I thought so," I smile, stretching my back, which seems to always be sore now.

I can't help but wince a little, my body still getting used to all of these changes.

"Casey?" Lizzie asks. "Does that mean that Derek was X?"

I purse my lips, running my fingers through my hair, nodding in response.

Lizzie seems to think for a minute before her eyebrows scrunch together and her nose pinches up.

"So that means that when you left that night when I was in New York, you went to see Derek?"

I nod again.

"And while Lillian and I were watching a movie at your apartment, you were… doing it with our step-brother?"

I can't help but laugh lightly at that.

"Lillian said you'd been seeing X for years— Why didn't you ever tell me?"

I smile a half-smile at my sister, taking her hand in mine.

"Lizzie," I sigh. "Derek and I have a very complicated relationship. We always have. I didn't want to drag anyone else into it."

Lizzie nods, understanding as much as she can. Lizzie is eighteen years-old. She knows life isn't always cupcakes and rainbows. Sometimes life is messy and difficult and weird.

"Do you love him?"

I think for a second, wondering how to respond.

"I care about him. He's important to me. And he's only been gone for a day and I miss him."

Lizzie smiles, squeezing my hand.

"Well, I think that says a lot about how you feel about him— He's worth being missed."

"McDonald?"

My head immediately picks up from the magazine I'd been flipping through and I smile at the woman in front of me.

"You can come on back, is anyone else joining you today?" she asks, a file folder in her hands as she leads me back to a private room.

It's been a few weeks since Derek left, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to make it back to come to this appointment with me. But with any luck, he'll be home soon and can come to future ones.

"Not this time. The father is in New York for a few weeks. He'll be here next time."

The ultrasound technician smiles as I sit up on the bench, and I can't help but feel a little giddy. Today is a very big day.

The ultrasound goes by well— baby is healthy and all looks well, ten fingers and ten toes, working organs, et cetera.

"And are you finding out the sex today?" the technician asks.

"Yes, I'd like to."

The technician turns the screen toward me a little more so it's easier to see before typing something out on the screen.

Oh, boy. Derek is gonna flip.

It's a girl!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More should be coming soon.