I felt bad for leaving Jack with my family as I forced myself up the stairs. I looked down and knew that I needed to grab a hoodie to cover what seemed like an obvious bulge to my previously stick skinny body. Instead of going straight into the kitchen I ran up the stairs and turned into Josh's room.

"Eiw." I muttered as I picked through his messy room to his closet. Thankfully the door was open so I didn't have to kick anything aside and I pulled a hoodie from the hook. I brought it to my nose and sniffed it before deciding it smelt fine and slipping it over my head.

"Josie!" my mother's shrill voice called up the stairs.

"Yeah mom, I was just borrowing one of Josh's hoodies!" I called back before quickly walking out of his room, making sure to close the door behind me.

"Are you cold sweetie?" my mom questioned as I came down the stairs.

"Yeah, it's okay now though." I said while thanking god that Josh was much larger than me and the sweatshirt swallowed up my small frame.

"Okay, come on." my mom said turning and as I watched her walk I realized where I got my small frame from. My mom was at least five foot one which was three inches taller than me and she had gained weight from children but I knew that's where my petite frame came from.

"So who is this new boyfriend? What happened to Travis?" my grandmother asked as I reached the counter and I wrinkled my nose.

"We broke up." I said sharply hoping that my tone would show I didn't want to discuss this right now.

"Oh, what happened?" my mother questioned curiously and it seemed that all my aunts and my sister in law were interested too because they all turned to watch me.

"It just wasn't good for us anymore, okay?"

"Alright Josie, no need to be snappy." James's wife Kate said.

I sighed and bit down on my lip to keep from saying something nasty. "I'm sorry." I said softly and everyone just hummed to tell me they heard me.

"So how did you meet….Joe?" my aunt Clara who was my mother's sister asked.

"It's Jack and at a party."

"That's nice." my mom said but I knew she didn't mean it from her tone.

I was getting ready to just snap when my niece ran in. The bouncy red curls fell around her freckled face and she flung herself at my legs. "Josie! Come play with me!" she screeched and I laughed.

"I'm gonna go play with my little monster." I said while scooping her up and exiting the kitchen before I could be called back.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" the five year old terror shouted.

"I know! I've missed you Belle." I said as I kissed her cheek. She giggled before pushing my face away and wiggling to get out of my arms. I placed her on the floor and she began to tug at my arm instantly.

"Look what Santa brought me!" she exclaimed while bringing me over to a tea set.

This was where Jack found me almost an hour later, seated at the small table while drinking "tea" with Belle and my cousins who ranged from one to nine years old. "Having fun?" Jack asked while sitting down beside me and I glared at him.

"Belle why don't you pour Jack a cup?" I questioned and she smiled before shoving a cup into Jack's hand and pouring him some.

"So, couldn't take the guys anymore?" I inquired softly while I watched the girls try to instruct the lone boy who was about four to sit down and partake in the tea party.

"No, they looked like they wanted to kill me except your brother, Josh?" Jack said unsurely.

"Yeah, Josh has always been the sweetheart."

"Well I wouldn't say sweetheart but he isn't bad."

"Whatever, I say we get out of here right after food. They should be almost done and then by the time we finish eating it'll be three." I said thoughtfully.

"Sounds good-" Jack went to say but he was cut off by my mother's shrill voice calling everyone to the dining table.

Jack seemed to pale at the sudden realization that he would be seated at a dinner table with my entire family, staring at him, asking him questions that he wasn't sure how to answer, and more than likely my father, uncles and my older brother glaring at him. "It'll be okay. Just don't mention anything about how we met or about the sea monkey." I hissed and Jack nodded dumbly.

We walked to the table and I managed to get a seat beside James while Jack was on my other side. Luckily, the sweetest male member of my family took the seat beside Jack. Josh smiled at Jack who seemed to relax. I reached under the table, my hand finding his and resting in his lap. I didn't care that his palm was sweaty or that his long fingers were unusually cold, I was just glad to have him anchoring me to reality or otherwise I would have most likely begun to fill with panic at the thought of my parents having noticed that I was indeed pregnant.

The first half of the meal went smoothly but I knew by the time everyone was starting in on their ham that the silent eating wouldn't last long. "So Josie." my father's deep voice disturbed the silence and everyone looked up from their plates.

"Yes daddy?" I questioned, my voice silky smooth. I kept my face clear of any emotion, I was panicking but if they didn't know already, a panicked expression would soon alert everyone to something being not hundred percent right.

"I miss you dear, you haven't been by in a while." he said and I calmed down slightly.

"I know, I've just been busy. You know with school and work." I said while picking slightly at the food on my plate. The churning in my stomach had completely erased any smidgen of my appetite.

"Obviously not that busy since you've managed to find a new boyfriend." Kate said. I clamped my mouth shut tightly to keep the obscenities from spilling from my mouth but I glared at her.

I cleared my throat and painted a smile on my face a few moments later, "Obviously you're not that busy either seeing as you looked so well done up, maybe you should get off your ass and get a job seeing as Annabelle is in school now. I don't think getting your hair and nails done and shopping count as duties of a stay at home mom." I said smartly. Jack squeezed my hand sharply under the table but I didn't react, I was too busy watching Kate's face. I was enjoying the fact that my comeback had bothered Kate when James stomped down sharply on my foot.

"Shut up or I'll spill your secret." James hissed into my ear and I looked up at him, my eyes wide with fear.

"Uhm, excuse me for a moment." I said standing sharply and walking towards the living room. James followed not far behind. Once we were out of everyone's sight I grabbed his wrist, yanked him up the stairs and into my old room. It was still the same shade of purple I had detested growing up, the twin bed still in the same spot but now there were various toys thrown around.

"This is Belle's room when she sleeps over." James told me which explained it. I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at James curiously. He had always been the older brother I had admired, he was nine years older than me and I had always just been the little sister that pestered him. I was closer to Josh, our ages were closer; he was only three years younger. James and I weren't close but we had something that set us apart from Josh, we were rebellious. That is probably the reason I had grown to loathe Kate, she was exactly the type my parents liked which surprised me but James loved her so I grew to deal with her.

"So what do you know?" I asked.

"You're pregnant; it's not that hard to tell. You were always frail, small and now you look as if you gained weight. You have always been pale to but now your face seems brighter. I'm the oldest of the children anyways, I've seen all our aunts pregnant and mom pregnant twice, it's easy to spot the signs."

"Do you think they know?"

"No, you were the first girl. They think you're an angel but we both know that's wrong." James said smirking slightly. My mind flew back to when I was sixteen and James was twenty-five. He was already married to Kate, Annabelle only two. I had been drunk at a party and was stranded. I called him of course and he retrieved me but since then he wasn't fooled by my innocent act that everyone in my family managed to believe despite my very obvious mess ups. We seemed to grow closer over that, over the fact that we were both rebels in our otherwise perfect family.

"How much longer do you think I can hide it?"

"Not much if you stay. If you leave now then maybe until dad's birthday but even that could be pushing it."

"Alright, I'm leaving. Story is that I got sick, okay?"

"No, being sick just points them to your secret. Jack's family called, his elderly grandmother is home for Christmas and they want him there, it could be her last Christmas." James said lying easily.

"God I love you. Thank you so much." I said throwing my arms around James's neck.

"It's alright, how many times have you covered for me?" James asked while squeezing me gently and I knew he was right, I covered for him so many times while growing up.

"Thanks James." I said one more time before going towards the door but he caught my hand, pulling me back.

"Remember, you need to tell them eventually." he said and I nodded. I knew I would need to tell them and I dreaded that day but until then I would have to avoid them.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I carefully removed it. It took a moment but finally I managed to get to the text message. My eyes scanned the words to make sure they were right. I looked up at James as he came back in, no Josie behind him. James gave me a look that told me that the message was right and then my phone began to vibrate with an incoming call.

"Uh, excuse me." I said while standing up and going into the living room. Josie was there waiting for me and she quickly ended the call.

"We need to go, now. James knows and I don't want any of my family to find out right now." Josie said, panicking rising slightly in her voice.

"Shh, Josie, they're gonna find out anyways." I said soothingly while going to stroke the side of her face but she pushed me away.

"Jack, I'll explain to you in the car, just please believe me on this one." she begged, her small fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed tightly.

"Okay, I'll go in the car, okay?" I said and her face regained some color.

"Thank you Jack." she said leaning up on her tippy toes to brush her lips against my cheek before walking straight into the dining room. I pulled on my jacket before slipping outside and down to the car. I climbed into the passenger's seat before reaching over to stick the key into the ignition and turn it on. I was only in the car for a few moments before Josie came flying out of the house and down to the car.

"You alright?" I asked while reaching over to stroke her arm soothingly.

"Yeah." she answered shortly before slipping on her seatbelt and backing out of the driveway.

We drove in silence for a moment until it began to drive me insane and I turned to look at Josie. "So what was all that about?" I questioned.

Josie sighed and bit down on her lip for a moment before turning to look at me when we stopped at a red light. "My family is really strict and I guess you can say I was once the golden child, which is why I moved out as soon as possible, I go to a crappy community college and I refuse help from my parents. Their money means their control and I can't live under the pressure of being perfect. "she said, stopping as the light turned green so she could focus on driving.

"Go on." I whined, impatient to hear the remaining reasons for her to keep something like this hidden from her family.

"Well they don't believe in drinking, smoking, sex before marriage or anything similar. James was the rebel, the one who broke all the rules but that was until college. Without my parents' money then he wouldn't have been able to go so James fell into line pretty quickly, married someone they approved of and had Annabelle. I followed in James' footsteps but I was smarter than him, I was able to keep my rebellious activities secret. I moved out because I wanted to have more freedom but my parents were furious. They wanted to keep me under their watch a bit longer." she said and then stopped to take a breath. By now I was engrossed in the story.

"Please go on." I begged and she rolled her eyes.

"Well as I was moving out my aunt claimed that I would be pregnant before I graduated. My parents were furious and swore that if I got pregnant before I graduate college then they would disown me." she ended and my eyes got wide.

"But they're your family."

"But you don't understand Jack. They're different. They aren't focused on their children's wellbeing, no, it's their image. If they found out in front of the entire family then I don't know, they would hate me." she finished bluntly and I could tell there was a hint of disgust in her voice.

My stomach boiled with anger and my head swam. How could you just disown your child? Especially if they were carrying your grandchild? I had always appreciated my family but in this moment I seemed to love them more. "Don't worry Josie, you will always have family." I said and she looked over at me curiously for a moment.

"How Jack? I love my mom, my dad, my brothers, Annabelle. Without them there is no family." Josie told me and I frowned.

"You have me, you have May and Joe. You have my mom and dad. There's Matt and Alex, Rian and Zack. They're my family and you're mine so they're automatically yours too."

"Jack, I." she stopped and seemed to be thinking about her words.

"Josie, I know you may not like me that much,"

"Shut up Jack, I do like you." she said and a grin came across my face.

"Well okay you like me; you may not know my family and friends that much but they're different Josie. I….I love you and I know they will come to love you too." I said and Josie pulled to stop before looking over at me, her eyes filled with something I just couldn't figure out.

"I love you too Jack." she said, her voice slightly shaky. I reached my hand over to her and she took it, her small fingers fitting perfectly in my long ones.

"Don't worry okay? Don't worry." I said before leaning across the car to kiss her. It was sweet and simple, just our lips brushing together but it seemed to make me warm, from my toes all the way to my head and when I pulled away Josie's face was red.

"Thanks Jack." she said and I raised an eyebrow curious as to why she was thanking me. "Thanks for making me feel safe." Josie said softly and I nodded before turning back in my seat. The rest of the car ride was silent; neither of us looking at the other but neither of us pulled our hands away from the other. For the first time ever I felt like I was complete, that the person whose fingers were so tightly intertwined with mine was the person I should be with.