Caught In A Riptide
Chapter Twenty
Arlo
The driveway is empty when I pull in, Mom on her way to get the sixers and Dad at work, so I cut the engine and release the big breath I feel like I've been holding since I walked out of Principal Greene's office and spotted Jane. Eyeing Lakely, I realize she hasn't moved since we got in the Jeep back at school.
She's just staring down at her hands, twisting her key ring around her fingers. She's minus two keys now.
"Are you okay?" I ask gently, instantly wincing.
Of course she's not.
"I thought...I thought she'd come to get me," she admits, voice wobbly, breaking my damn heart because, honestly, I thought the same thing.
Swallowing the curses that I'd love to slap Jane with, I hop out of the Jeep and jog around the hood. Lakely comes willingly when I unbuckle her and scoop her out.
For once, she doesn't bitch that she's 'too heavy' for me to carry, instead wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in my shoulder. Getting the door open is a nightmare, but my neck is damp before I even make it to the porch; there's no way I'm putting her down any time soon.
She doesn't say a word until we're wrapped up together on my bed, her wet cheek against my chest and her fingers toying with the hem of my tee.
"Your mom was so nice," she whispers, her breath fanning over my skin, goosebumps rising in their wake.
Snorting, I squeeze Lakely and kiss her forehead. "She was so pissed."
.
My blood runs cold when Jane stands up, stiff as a board, and shoulders her purse.
"Mom…" Lakely breathes, taking a step forward. "What are you doing here?"
"I got a phone call. The principal's office? Really, Lakely?"
"I didn't...it wasn't…"
"It wasn't her fault, Mrs. Samuels," Tyler explains when Lakely trails off, probably because of the way her mom's acting. "She was just there, she wasn't really involved."
Jane tsks, but doesn't look away from her daughter.
"You know me, you know I—"
"I thought I knew you," Jane interrupts, "but I clearly don't."
None of us miss her pointed look at Lakely's middle.
I also don't miss the way Lakely's hands drop, like she's protecting it, protecting that tiny, alien-like bean we saw wiggling around last week.
"Hey, that's not fair." It takes everything not to lose it with a woman I always liked until recently. She and CJ...I thought they were better than this.
I'm not the only one.
"Arlo, what on earth…" Mom's eyebrows shoot up her forehead as she looks at the odd grouping in the corridor, Tyler and I flanking Lakely while Jane just stares at her.
Mom's eyes dart over to me, and I realize she's asking if Jane knows—if she knows I'm the father of Lakely's baby.
She doesn't, so I swallow hard and shake my head just a little as Jane turns to face Mom.
It's...awkward.
"Mom, I need to talk to you," Lakely says, softly and on the verge of tears. Against my better judgement, I listen to Lakely when she shakes her head at me, telling me not to follow. Watching her walk toward the exit with Jane is excruciating.
Wrapping her arm around me, Mom murmurs, "Let's go around the other side. The other exit pops out just a little way past where they're going."
I almost smile. "You're the best, can't say it enough."
"I've gotta get back to class," Tyler says, eyes on the door Lakely and Jane just went through until he clears his throat and glances at me. "I'll catch you later?"
Nodding, just a dip of my chin, I tell him I'll get Lakely to check in.
When we get outside, we loiter far enough away that we can't actually hear anything. My feet itch as I watch Lakely wringing her hands, head bowed as Jane waves her arms about.
"I should go over there," I mumble, blowing out a big breath.
"Lakely needs this. Let them have a moment."
Mom has the patience of a saint, I swear—she has to with nine kids, I guess—but even she can't rein herself in when Lakely's shoulders start shaking.
The sun catches on the first tears that roll over her cheeks and I'm done.
Lakely's eyes widen when she hears me coming, sneakers scuffing the asphalt.
"You want my keys?"
Jane nods, and for a second, when Mom heaves in a big sigh and stares at her friend like she's looking at a total stranger, I see Jane's mask of indifference slip.
Then she fucks it all up by nodding and extending a hand, palm-up.
My blood boils as Lakely's trembling fingers wiggle the keys off her keyring. It's just another kick in the teeth I guess that the keys for her house and the bakery are attached to a photo keyring. I know what the picture is of, but when I capture a glimpse of Lakely and Austin smiling with CJ and Jane behind them, the ocean their backdrop, it twists the knife deeper.
"Jane…" Mom breathes, and I can hear her disappointment, her anger barely being held back. "What are you doing? She needs help, support, not...this."
Jane sighs. "Bella, please, don't get involved. You don't know what's going on." Her eyes sharpen suddenly and land on me.
She might as well shout her silent 'or do you?'
Staring her down, I don't budge. She finally flicks her gaze over to Mom again and her expression shifts as her mind works.
I can see the moment she wonders…
"Wait."
There it is.
Mom must see it, too. "I think we all need to have a sit down and—"
"You're kidding me, aren't you? This is your fault?"
I'll happily take that on the chin, I don't care—and this whole mess kinda is my fault anyway—but Mom has other ideas.
Momma Bear has claws.
"Firstly Jane, I love you and we've been friends for a long time, but you do not get to speak to my son like that. Secondly, yes, this baby is Lakely's and Arlo's, and in the interest of honesty going forward, I took them for a prenatal check up last week and everything was perfect."
Biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself grinning at the fiery fury in Mom's voice, I watch Jane vacillate between rage and shock.
"You would know that already if you'd shown your daughter some compassion instead of tossing her out on the street just when she needs you."
Jane's teeth snap together.
Catching the fat tear rolling over Lakely's cheek before it can tumble off her chin, I wind my arm around her and squeeze her to me. A weird, soft kind of pride floods me when I follow Jane's glare to Lakely's hands resting on her belly.
Instead of waiting around to say anything else or ask any questions, Jane looks between each of us one last time before taking off. Thankfully, Mom doesn't make us go back to class. She 'advises' us to, then admits that she and Dad are planning on having an early dinner and we're welcome to join.
.
"She was so great," Lakely whispers, yanking me back to the present.
Stroking her back, I hum into her hair and nod. "I just wanted to get you outta there, but Mom wanted to give her a chance to be a decent human being." I wince against the top of her head. "Sorry, she's still your mom."
"No, you're right," Lakely sniffles, pulling back enough to offer me a faint smile. "Thank you, for being so great today. I'm...I'm glad you didn't get in too much trouble."
"With Mom, or with Principal Greene?" I tease, relaxing a little more when I feel, more than hear, her light laugh. "You don't need to thank me, Lakers. That kid's had it comin' for a long time."
Her eyes flash with mischief, and it's a tiny sign that my Lakely is coming back to me. "Are you pissed Tyler got to hit him and you didn't?"
Snorting, I tip my head side to side. "A little. I'm just glad someone got to do it."
We lay together in comfortable silence until the muffled sounds of the sixers arriving home break into our little bubble. When Mom yells up the stairs for us to come down, I grin a little and help Lakely up. "It's like she thinks you can get pregnant again."
Lakely huffs a laugh and trails along behind me, brightening up the second Mom asks if she wants to help her cook dinner again. Watching them goof around in the kitchen together, it doesn't take long before I'm warring with myself, eyeing the clock.
"Go."
"Huh?"
Lakely shoots me a smile as Mom ducks into the pantry. "Go to practice. I can hang out here until you get home, or I could go to the apartment."
"You're sure you don't mind?"
"You need to go to practice, Arlo. Go."
Kissing her cheek, then Mom's, I grab my shit and just make it to practice before Coach.
~ oOo ~
Instead of letting everything that's happened today distract me, I channel my anger into the drills Coach has us running.
I picture Alec in the goal and slam the ball into the net over and over, imagining the way he'd crumble as it hit his face, the way he'd groan.
When we split into two teams to pass the ball around for a bit, I replace the other team with Jane in my head and pretend the ball is Lakely, playing keep-away until Coach finally blows the whistle to end practice.
I'm hot, sweaty, and way too amped up to go straight home, so I shoot Lakely a text to check she's okay before stuffing my headphones in my ears and jogging away from Bay High.
I don't have a particular destination in mind, the sun on my back and only the softest breeze taking the edge off the thick heat wrapping itself around my body like a blanket.
My mind is constantly whirring while I run, and I realize as I jog past the veterinarians where Uncle Em works that it's the first time I've let myself really try to imagine what life is going to look like now.
My big plans for college across the country have to be shelved, and my dream, my life-long ambition to be a star soccer player one day, has never been so far away.
My lungs seize as I picture myself spending all day at college and practice only to make it in time to watch Lakely put the baby to bed and fall asleep herself.
Dad has always been an amazing role model, a great example of what a dad should be.
I know it isn't being a guy who puts himself over his family and shows up just enough to do the bare minimum.
Our sperm donor was proof of that.
My eyes start to burn and I slow until I'm standing still, bending over to rest my hands on my knees while I catch my breath, sweat running down over my forehead into my eyes.
Hissing, I use my shirt to wipe it away, standing up quickly when I hear a familiar voice calling my name.
Pops grins at me from his porch before his smile drops and concern replaces his surprise.
"What's wrong, son?"
My eyes drift, up and over the house that still feels like home, just a little. He bought it from Dad years ago, when the sixers were little and didn't steal my shit all the time, but we've still spent a lot of time here since; especially me, Jaxson, and Finley.
Everything is a little more weathered, even Pops. His hair is all gray and his face a bit more wrinkled.
I kinda figured Mom or Dad would have kept him in the loop about Lakely, about the baby, but when he waves me through to the back porch and I spill it all, the whole messy story, he's obviously surprised. Staring at me with wide eyes and his fingertips resting on his slack jaw, Pops murmurs, "Oh."
Snorting, I sip the lemonade he gave me on the way through the house, staring out at the sea over the back fence. It shifts and crashes against the shore in loud bursts, and I'm suddenly itching for my surfboard and the rush of catching a great wave.
"I'm surprised...her parents aren't being supportive at all?" Pops finally asks.
"Not even close," I admit; part anger, part disappointment.
"That's such a shame. I bet your mom is upset."
"Yeah."
Honestly, I think Mom's as upset about it as Lakely is. They both feel betrayed, but Mom sees Lakely and looks at her as if she's her own daughter. She hates that her friend of so many years has done this.
"I'm lucky to have Mom," I admit with a smile, never more grateful for her than I am now. Pops nods and grins, rubbing his jaw.
"You're not wrong, son. I told your dad the same thing when I first met her."
"Really? You liked Mom from the start?"
Pops chuckles, and I'm reminded that he has the same laugh as Dad. "Oh, yes. Your Gamma and I both loved your mom right away. She's perfect for Edward, that was plain to see. We couldn't have chosen better ourselves."
Chewing the inside of my cheek, I look away from him. "Lately...lately, I've been thinkin' that I don't just want Lakely to be my best friend, you know? I knew I cared about her, obviously, but I don't know. I think it might be more than that, but I have no idea how to figure it out or what to do about it. And Lakely? Do you think she's perfect for me?"
I can feel Pops staring at me, but I keep my eyes on the sea, waiting for his answer, holding my breath because I'm not sure what I want him to say.
If he says 'yes,' it's another reminder that I've wasted so much time. Another kick in the teeth because she's been right here all along.
"I don't know," he finally admits, and for some reason, it makes my stomach fall to my feet. "Think about this for me, all right?"
Dipping my chin, I chew my lip and wait.
"If Lakely weren't pregnant, if the two of you weren't in this situation now, do you think you'd feel the same way, or do you think you'd still believe that she's your best friend and nothing more?"
Swallowing hard, I stare out at the sea and realize the wild waves are the perfect representation of my feelings right now.
~ oOo ~
Pops' question sticks in my mind.
Mr. Varner calls on me three times in Trig and I get the answer wrong all three times, Lakely's confused gaze burning a hole in the side of my face. Ms. Sanchez waves her hand in front of me until I zone back into the Spanish lesson, then makes me recite a whole page from the textbook in front of the class. I have to repeat it twice to get it right. I escape Lakely's probing gaze for last period, but spend the entire time thinking about her anyway.
By the time I find Charlotte guarding Lakely out front after the final bell rings, some of our dickhead classmates circling like vultures, I've almost forgotten what today is.
"Twelve week scan. That's a big one," Charlotte reminds me with an excited grin, bouncing in place with her fingers wrapped around Lakely's.
Shit.
"That's today," I breathe, pretty sure my smile is as rueful as Lakely's is nervous.
"Uh-huh. Your mom said she'd meet us there."
"Lakely said I can come...that's okay, right?"
"Sure, sure." Heidi will probably flip, but she can come to the next one, I guess. She'd scheduled her trip to visit her dad before we booked in for this appointment, so…
I drape one arm around Charlotte and another around Lakely as we head for the Jeep, and I let Charlotte's excited chatter distract me all the way to the doctor's office. Mom's car is outside, so I'm expecting to see her in the waiting room, only…
She's not alone.
"Dad?"
"What, you thought I'd miss this?" he chuckles, arm draped around Mom's shoulders as Uncle Dale wanders out to greet us. "I missed the appointment the other day. I wasn't gonna miss seein' my grandkid this time, too."
My stomach flips and a smile spreads across my face when he immediately gets a little misty-eyed.
"Shit. My grandkid. I'm not old enough for this."
"Me either," Lakely blurts, cheeks flaming when we all crack up.
"All right, shall we get this show on the road? I think we'll just about squeeze all of you into my office."
My hand finds Lakely's, our fingers twisting together as she looks up at me with a mixture of fear and excitement in her butterscotch eyes.
I hope the baby gets her eyes.
The thought pops into my head randomly, but as we file down the hall, Lakely squeezing the crap out of my fingers, I decide I do hope the baby gets Lakely's pretty eyes.
"All right, if you'd just hop up here."
Lakely nods, gnawing her lip, and I'm grateful that Uncle Dale offered to do this for us. It's usually a sonographer who does this kind of appointment, according to Mom, but when she explained how nervous Lakely is, Uncle Dale agreed to handle it.
Once Lakely is up on the bed, her shirt rolled up and her leggings rolled down a little, she looks around the room until she finds me, sweating in the corner. The plea in her eyes is silent but I can hear her loud and clear.
Get over here. I need you.
As soon as her hand is in mine, I can breathe a little easier. The room feels too small with Uncle Dale, Mom, Dad, and Charlotte all crammed in here with me and Lakely, but I'm pretty sure the lack of oxygen is all in my head.
Will I always get this nervous right before a scan? I sure hope not. That would suuuuck.
It feels like my heart is in my throat when Uncle Dale smears some gel on Lakely's abdomen.
"Eek, I'm so excited!" Charlotte squeals from the foot of the bed, Lakely offering her a weak smile before turning her gaze to the monitor as it all starts to move, fuzzy gray, white, and black shapes that mean very little until…
My breath gusts out of me in a rush.
"There's our baby," Mom breathes, and despite the nausea twisting my stomach, I chuckle.
"Our baby?"
I see her shrug in the corner of my eye before her hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
"Your baby, my first grandbaby. A little earlier than planned…" she trails off teasingly as Charlotte giggles and Dad snorts. "But surprises can also be blessings," she finishes firmly, but nobody is laughing when Uncle Dale clears his throat and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth like he's trying not to laugh.
Or cry.
"Uh, about that…"
"Yeah?" I mumble, eyes flicking between his face, Lakely's, and the monitor, which…
"Aw, shit."
"Language, Arlo!" Mom snaps, her voice wobbly as she lightly flicks the back of my ear. "He gets the cussing from you," she adds, but I don't have the mental capacity to listen to Dad protesting that she's the potty mouth because it feels like my lungs are squeezing their way up my windpipe and my heart is in a vice.
There are sonogram pictures of me, Jaxson, Finley, and the sixers on the refrigerator at home. I've seen them all thousands of times. The sixers' look like honeycomb 'cause of how many sacs there were; five, since Mackenzie and Asher shared one.
Which is how I know it's not my nerves making me see double right now.
"Surprise, kids," Uncle Dale laughs humorlessly, pausing the screen. "It's twins."
"Fuck."
Mom doesn't have time to cuss me out for cursing because my head gets all hot and I'm out like a light before the word is even fully off my lips.
~ oOo ~
"Twins," I mumble, staring down at the strip of images Uncle Dale printed for us. My hands are trembling so it's not easy to focus on the weirdly shaped white blobs. The twins. "How the fuck can it be twins?"
"Language," Mom sighs for maybe the twentieth time, grabbing my shoulders before I can fall down the stairs outside the doctor's office. "Sit."
My butt hits the bench as I shake my head slowly, thumbing the sac on the left Uncle Dale labelled 'Baby A.'
"River was Baby A, right?"
Mom smiles, nostalgia bleeding through her concern as she crouches in front of me. "Uh-huh."
My thumb moves over...to Baby B.
"How is this happening?"
"I think it's a little late for the birds and the bees talk, don't you?"
I snort, dropping my chin to my chest as I blow out a big breath. "I can't believe I fainted."
When I came to, apparently less than a minute after passing out, Dad was guiding me into a chair while Charlotte held Lakely's hand and tried—not very hard, I've gotta say—not to laugh her ass off.
"You know, your dad fainted when we found out we were having the sixers."
Nodding, I muster a faint grin. "I remember you telling us that, yeah. I always thought it was so dumb."
"Shock does funny things to people, kiddo, and you just had a big shock." I glance up in time to see her eyes get all glassy. "I can't believe I'm getting two grandbabies."
"Yeah, yeah," I croak, clearing my throat. "You get all excited while I just freak the fuck out over here."
"Hey." Mom's eyes soften, her touch gentle as she strokes my hair out of my eyes; it's finally long enough to be annoying now. I love it. "You know we're going to be right here helping you, right? Your dad and I, we're going to do everything we can."
"You won't let me screw up?" I ask, hopeful.
Dad's laughter joins Mom's. He grips my shoulder, Lakely and Charlotte following him out into the late afternoon sun.
"Son, we all screw up as parents. No amount of guidance or support from us is going to stop that happening."
Deflating a little, I hold out a hand, tugging Lakely onto my knee and inhaling her light floral perfume as she rests her head on my shoulder.
"Gee, got any more pearls of wisdom to bestow upon us, oh wonderful oracle?"
Dad huffs a chuckle and squeezes the shoulder not occupied by Lakely's head. "Son, parenting is kind of like a soccer match. You can go into it with an air-tight game plan and as many practice sessions as you want. None of that will prepare you for the all-nighters, the spit-up, the poop explosions, or the worry you'll feel when your seventeen-year-old kid makes a dumbass decision and knocks up his best friend."
Charlotte hisses "burn," exchanging a high five with my grinning Dad.
I'm not grinning, just for the record.
"But it's all worth it, bud. Every sleepless night."
My hands are still trembling, but when Dad gently cups them in his steady palms and tells me to look at the sonogram pictures, I feel a wave of tentative calm washing over me.
"These babies need you to be strong now, both of you. One baby is no joke, but twins..."
Lakely nods against me, and I feel her deep inhale before she breathes a soft, "Will you help us?"
Dad's eyes crinkle at the corners, and as he drops into a crouch he flashes her the crooked Cullen smile—the one Uncle Sullivan uses to talk Uncle Gray into all his schemes.
"Of course we will, hon. Every step of the way, probably even when you'd rather we didn't."
I'm about to tell him that I can't imagine a time we won't want them to help us, but I don't get the chance because over his shoulder on the other side of the street, I spot two people who've already been less than helpful.
Two people who, if I have any say in it at all, will never get the chance to let their grandchildren down a second time.
Lakely's parents.
Quick note: There's a fundraiser going on over on Facebook for a sweet fandom friend, Jenny Rarden. She desperately needs an expensive medical procedure that her insurance isn't covering, so some wonderful ladies have put together a compilation! All you need to do is donate the fee and when the compilation goes live, you'll receive a copy. There are some incredible writers donating both new stories and expansions to classics, so it'll be well worth your money!
And if you've been waiting ever so patiently for Sully's story...this is your chance ;) I'll be donating some to the compilation.
As always, sending you all my love and gratitude for supporting me on this journey with these kiddos xo