Saturday morning I pick Jenelle up at noon. Silently, she gets in the car looking tired and pale.
"Hey," she says, pulling on her seat belt.
"Hey," I reply quietly. "You okay?"
She nods in silence.
"Did you..."
She nods again, rubbing her face with both hands.
"I talked to him last night."
Relieved, I squeeze her hand.
"How'd he take it?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"He hates me."
"Everything's gonna be okay," I tell her.
She nods, but then looks over at me, her eyes filled with tears.
"Promise?" she asks.
I offer her a small smile. "Promise."
Thankfully, Mom and Dad aren't at the practice today. Mom took the day to spend with Amelia and Lexie.
Lexie's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, and she's getting more and more nervous.
I go with Jenelle into the exam room just long enough for Addison to come in and explain the procedure to her again. The entire situation makes me really uncomfortable, but I don't say anything. Fortunately, Addison knows me very well.
"Kati's going to have to step out now, Jenelle," she says gently.
Jenelle swallows, looking to me.
"It'll be okay," I tell her again, and she squeezes my hand before I leave the room.
I go over to the kitchen, where Sheldon and Violet are.
"Hey you," Sheldon smiles. "Feels like I haven't seen you in weeks! How's UCLA?"
"Really great," I smile, getting a water from the fridge. "Exhausting and somewhat infuriating and I love it."
"I loved college," he grins. "Lots of good times."
I laugh at his grin and sit across from them at the table.
"So...how's everything else going? I haven't seen you in a few days," Violet says.
"I know about Mom," I say. Violet's subtlety has never been strong.
"Pretty big news, huh?" she replies.
"Yeah. It's good news, though."
"Finally getting that sibling you always wanted," she grins.
"Better late than never," I say.
Violet has a patient, so Sheldon and I play Scrabble while I wait for Jenelle.
When I take Jenelle home, she moves slowly. Her face is expressionless and she's still pale. She hasn't said much, so I don't push her to talk about it.
Her mom comes into Jenelle's room as she's crawling into it.
"Honey? Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yeah, just the flu or something," Jenelle replies, glancing at me.
"Thanks for bringing her home, Kati," her mom smiles.
"No problem," I reply. "I should get going."
I give Jenelle a sympathetic smile, and she manages to return it.
"Kati," she says, when I'm at the doorway.
I turn back.
"Thank you."
I nod, chewing the inside of my lip, before leaving the house.
A couple of hours later, I'm at home with Mom, Dad, Amelia, Lexie and Mark. Dad and Mark are BBQing as the rest of us sit around.
"Hey buddy," I hear Dad call out. "Come on back."
I look over and see Chase at the gate to the backyard. I take one look at his face and my throat tightens. I get up and go over to him, and his eyes are swimming.
"Did you know?" he asks firmly, trying so hard to control his tears.
The silence of my family behind me is deafening.
Frowning, I stare at him. Then it makes sense, and I feel furious.
Jenelle didn't tell him at all.
"She said she told you," I say quietly, my forehead wrinkling with worry. This seems to soften some of his anger, as though he was prepared to blame me; to unleash on me. And I'd let him. I can't imagine how angry he must be right now.
"How could you not tell me?" he demands loudly, his emotions rising.
"Chase," I begin, feeling terrible.
"You should have told me," he says, furiously wiping at his eyes and turning away.
I move forward and touch his shoulder. Still pressing his fingers into his eyes, he paces a few times before moving back towards me.
He hugs me with the crushing force of someone being submerged in their own pain. I can feel him trying to calm down, holding his breath, but a few sobs escape anyways.
Out of the corner of my eye I see everyone looking at each other, confused and worried.
"How could she do this?" Chase cries into my hair.
"I don't know," I say softly, hugging him tightly.
After a few more moments his grip loosens, and he releases me. His eyes are raw and red, and he looks heartbroken.
"Let's go for a drive," I say.
He nods, and then, embarrassed, turns slightly to face everyone.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly, his voice sounding hollow. "I didn't mean to barge in like this..."
"Don't be sorry, honey," Mom stands up, looking at him sadly and then asking me, with her eyes, what's wrong.
I shake my head imperceptibly.
"I'll be back in a bit," I say, and turn back to Chase, wrapping an arm around him.
He's so tall it only wraps around his back, but he slides his arm around me and holds tightly as we head to my car.