Two months later

Christian

"Hi mom, how's work?" I place my phone on my shoulder as I finish an oil change.

"Work here is fine. Did your father tell you about dinner tonight?" she says hesitantly.

I frown slightly at her worried tone. "Yes, he did. You guys have some news to tell us."

"Yes, we do. I'm making pot roast. Ana said she would come straight from school so that she can help me prep," she explains, and I nod and walk towards my office while I clean my oily hands with a towel.

"That's good. We all should be done by 5:30."

I hang up as I open the door to the office and find Elliot staring at what looks like a black picture and smiling. He sees me walking into the office and hurriedly shoves whatever he was holding onto his desk drawer.

"What was that?" I frown and walk to my desk to start an invoice for the car I was working on.

"Nothing," he says quickly before logging onto his computer.

I shrug and start working on the invoice. After a few minutes of silence, I look up to tell Elliot that we were summoned to dinner tonight, but he is already staring at me intently.

I quirk an eyebrow, and he tightly smiles before getting out a cigarette and lighting it. "Dinner tonight," I take the offered cigarette from Elliot and light it.

"Yeah, I remember," he tries not to smile while he stares at me.

"What the hell is up with you? Why are you acting funny?" I say with the cigarette still between my lips.

"Nothing," he exhales and gets up from his chair.

He pats my shoulder on his way to the garage. I shake my head in bemusement before going back to the invoice.

After we get off work, I run home to shower and change into a pair of jeans, and a black button up before hopping back into my truck and heading towards mom and dad's house.

I open the door to my parent's house. When I close the door, I see my dad and Elliot standing by the couch, talking in hushed voices.

"Dad, Elliot," I announce.

Their heads whip towards me, and they both look suddenly uncomfortable. I shake my father's hand and fist pump Elliot before walking into the kitchen to see my mom and Ana. I ignore my father and brother's weird behavior while walking into the kitchen.

I smile when I see Ana chopping vegetables while she laughs at something my mother says who is standing by the refrigerator grabbing the milk. I spot Elliot's new girlfriend on the other side of the kitchen stirring something on the stove.

Elliot and his girlfriend Aleida have been dating for the last two months. He called me when he first met her and gushed at how hot she was and that they spent the whole weekend getting to know each other. Aleida is originally from Sweden and moved to the states, so she can be closer to her family who moved to Washington a few years ago.

After a few weeks, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and she happily accepted. I'm very happy for my brother because Aleida seems to accept him for who he is. To be honest, it's a little irritating on how affectionate those two can be when they are together. Ana always nags me on how I'm not affectionate enough towards her. I know most of the time she's just teasing, though. Elliot has met his match on a girl who is as loving as he, and I couldn't be happier that he finally found someone who he cares deeply about.

I'm secretly glad his relationship with Kate didn't work out because I never really liked her in the first place. She is a good friend to Ana and all, so I try to be civil towards her when she visits, but there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way. She tries to hide her obvious attraction towards me, and I don't bring it up to Ana because I don't want to cause problems in their friendship. It's not my place to tell her who she can be friends with, so I let it go and ignore her most of the time.

I shake my head and walk up to my wife. "Hey, beautiful," I smile and wrap my arms around her waist. I cup her jean covered ass, and she laughs and swats my hands away.

"Hey, you," she giggles as I chuckle and nuzzle her neck. I give her a little tap on her ass before walking towards my mother.

"Mom," I kiss her on the cheek causing her to smile at me affectionately.

My mother and I have always had a special bond. Growing up she was the best mother who would always spend time with us. She would always help me with my homework and help me study for tests. She would attend sporting events, plays and volunteer at any event we had going on at school. Ella would always express how much she loved us every single day, and I can honestly say I wouldn't be the man I am today without her.

"Hi, honey," she pats my cheek lovingly before going back to preparing dinner.

"Christian, it's good to see you again," Aleida smiles as she comes forward to hug me.

"Likewise," I hug her back and kiss her cheek.

Elliot and dad walk into the kitchen. Dad zeros in on mom and Elliot automatically goes to his girlfriend, wrapping her into his arms. I roll my eyes when he dramatically drags her away.

When everything is cooked and set onto plates, we all take our seats at the dining table. We start eating, making light conversation for a few minutes before mom turns her attention towards Ana.

"So, Ana, are you excited for the summer?"

"Yes, I am. School lets out in two weeks for a break, and it's been hectic with tests and prep, but I'm looking forward to having some time off," she says in relief before taking another bite of her pot roast.

Dad strikes up a conversation about what we all can do this summer as a family after mom and Ana talk more about the past school year.

Elliot and Aleida look nervous throughout dinner, causing me to frown several times. They talk in hush voices for a few minutes before staring at Ana and me apprehensively. I quirk an eyebrow at him in question, and he gives me a small smile before turning back to his girlfriend.

My eyes narrow when mom and dad stare at me strangely. I look towards Ana, and she's busy eating and seems not to notice how weird everyone is acting. I sigh and take a drink of my beer before speaking.

"Okay, what is going on? You all have been acting weird all day."

Everyone stops eating and stares at me with trepidation while Ana stares at me confused.

I see dad swallow nervously before turning his eyes towards Elliot.

"Elliot?" I narrow my eyes at him.

He sighs and then takes a deep breath before looking over at Aleida. She nods and smiles at him while she takes his hand.

"We have some news, and we don't know how you would feel about it," he blows out a breath and stares at Ana.

"What is it?" Ana nods and puts her fork down.

I look at Elliot perplexed and quite frankly, I'm starting to get pissed because nobody is telling us what the hell is going on. The strange looks. The hushed whispers are starting to fucking annoy me. They have been acting off all day, No, they have been acting weird all damn week, and they won't tell me why.

"Well?" I nearly snapped in frustration because no one is answering my fucking question.

"We are ah…we…," Elliot stammers before clearing his throat awkwardly and trying again.

"Were pregnant," he blurts out.

My eyes widen, and my fork slips from my fingers, and it loudly falls onto the table. I stare at them in shock, as well as Ana.

Pregnant? What the hell?

My breathing picks up when Elliot places his hand on her stomach. I stare at his hand, in shock at what he just said.

Pregnant.

I see Ana look down at her plate, her hair falling into her face, hiding her expression from me. Everybody stares at us nervously, waiting for our reaction to the big news.

"Say something, because I'm about to go crazy here," Elliot chuckles unamusingly while mom and dad nod in agreement.

I hear Ana take a deep breath and look up from her plate. She has a fake smile plastered on her face when she gets up and hugs Aleida.

"Congratulations. That's wonderful," she declares enthusiastically, but I know my wife. I can hear the masked hurt in her voice.

"Thank you," Aleida smiles in relief and hugs her back.

Elliot stares at her nervously before bringing her into a hug. He kisses her forehead and lingers for a few seconds before squeezing her shoulder.

"Bro?" Elliot stares intently at me.

I blink and swallow hard when I realize my hands are balled into fists under the table. I relax my hands and plaster a smile on my face and get up and pat him on the back.

"Congrats. You're going to be an amazing father," I nod, and he smiles and quickly hugs me.

"Thanks, man. That means a lot," he says before stepping back.

I kiss Aleida on the cheek and congratulate her before returning to my seat. Ana gives me a tight smile and takes my hand into hers. I note that her hand is shaking slightly, so I squeeze her hand to let her know I'm here.

"I know it's a shock. We have only been dating for a few months, and I never thought I would be one of those women who get pregnant on birth control," Aleida chuckles as Elliot snorts.

"Oh, I'm so excited, though. My first grandbaby," mom gushes as dad smiles and takes her hand.

I close my eyes and look down for a second before picking up my beer and taking a big gulp.

"How…how far along are you?" Ana stammers, and then clears her throat.

"Six weeks," she smiles and places her hand on her stomach.

Ana smiles tightly before finishing her dinner. We all finish our meal and talk for another twenty minutes about all things baby causing me to ball my hands into fists under the table once more. After that, I announce that we are going to head home. Ana offers to help wash the dishes, but mom waves her off and tells her she has it under control and that it's dad's turn to help clean up tonight. Dad, of course, rolls his eyes and then pouts causing mom to swat his arm in amusement.

After saying goodbye, Ana and I get into my truck and head home. At a stop light, I take out a cigarette and light it before glancing at Ana who is staring out her window. We don't talk on the way home until we shut our front door.

"Do you want some cookies?" Ana beams at me, but I can tell it's forced once again.

I stand in front of her with my hands in my pockets with a blank look on my face.

"Sure" I murmur as I walk towards the living room.

She busies herself in the kitchen while I sit there in my recliner with my hands on both my knees, gazing at the wall.

"Do you want to take a trip maybe this summer?" Ana calls out from the kitchen, but I don't answer her.

"Maybe drive to Seattle? Take a weekend trip? Yes, that will be perfect," she chuckles unamusingly while I slowly turn my head towards her.

She starts humming to herself before taking things out of the refrigerator and almost forcefully places it on the kitchen island. Her forced smile still plastered on her face.

I should go over there and comfort her right now, but I can't seem to make my legs cooperate. I know she is hurting, and I can see in her eyes that she is about to break down, but I just can't deal with anything right now. I feel numb almost.

"I'm going to take a shower."

My voice is void of emotion. My facial expression more than likely matches my voice as I get up from the chair and walk towards our bathroom. I know I just took a shower before going over to my parents tonight, but I need to do something. I need to get away from Ana right now because I feel like I could say something I will come to regret.

I strip off my clothes in a daze before almost tripping on my way towards the shower. I turn on the shower and set the water to the highest setting before leaning on the shower wall with my hands. The scolding water beats down on my head and back while I stare at the shower floor.

My brother's girlfriend is pregnant. My brother who just practically got together with his girlfriend a few months ago is having a baby. A baby that my wife and I so desperately want but can't have.

It's fucking, not fair!

I start laughing almost bitterly while the water continues to rain down onto my back. I stop laughing when I faintly hear my wife's cries coming from the kitchen. Suddenly, instant rage and intense jealousy hit me like a ton of bricks causing me to yell out and punch the tile wall repeatedly with my fist.

I don't know how long I punch the wall when I feel Ana's hands gently guiding me out of the shower. We both fall onto the tiled floor, and it's then I realize I am crying and shaking. Blood covers my knuckles causing Ana to frantically look for some towels, so that she can wrap my hands.

She gets my hands wrapped up in the towel before staring up at me with tears streaming down her face. She then wraps her arms around me as we both sit there on the floor of our bathroom weeping into each other's arms.