Page 51 of Together

“We need help in here!” he yells.

He strolls back in as if he didn’t just scream something at the top of his lungs and walks to his sister, patting her on top of the head. “They’ll be right in. Just hang tight and then we’ll get to meet the little one soon.”

“I can’t do this, Nik. Why did I think I could?”

He bends down, grabbing one of her hands and holding it between them. “You can and you will. You’re the strongest person I know and I’m not just saying that to make you feel better right now. I’m being serious. You are so capable and tough. And you’re going to be a mommy soon, which means you need to set those bad thoughts aside and remember how awesome you are.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Now, give me a niece. Or a nephew. And let the nurses and doctor do their jobs. They get paid for it and would feel really sad if they didn’t get to help.”

“You’re right,” she rallies, sitting up. “I’ve got this. Now, get out of here because the nurse that just walked in is going to make me spread my legs and even though I love you, there’s no reason for my brother to see my legs spread apart.”

“Agree. Love you, sis.”

“Love you, Niko.”

I follow him out and murmur, “Niko?” and he shakes his head.

“She’s the only one who calls me Niko. Full name is Nikolas and she likes it better than Nik.”

“You were great in there. Still so calm. How do you do it?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. No sense in getting worked up when she already is. It’s just the way I am. It’s no big deal.”

Yeah. It’s just the way he is. Calm in the storm. No biggie. I almost scoff, but I don’t.

“She looked like she was in a lot of pain, Nik.”

“That’s because sheisin a lot of pain,” he reminds me, not so helpfully. “It’s kind of what happens when you give birth to a baby.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

He grins, his eyes closed, head leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He’s seriously the calmest person I’ve ever met. From what I understand, he and his sister are really close so I would think he’d be freaking out. Nope. Not one bit. He’s totally chill.

“I won’t be that strong,” I warn him.

“Yes, you will,” he assures me, so certain of his words. He’s wrong, though. He has no idea who I am and what I’m capable of. Or, in this case, what I’m not capable of.

I spent years of my life pretending to be someone else just to please my boyfriends. I didn’t think anything of it. I changed my personality to meet the needs of others and tried to fit in with people I didn’t even like all that much. The fear of being alone was too overpowering, though.

“How do you know?”

He looks at me with one eye open. “You don’t have a choice. You think that baby’s going to extract itself in a simple way?”

“Nik! You’re not making me feel any better.” I chuckle, nudging his arm.

He sits up and turns to me. “Not here just to make you feel better about life, baby. I’m not the one who is going to say shit to make you feel better. We aren’t about that, remember? Sometimes the truth hurts — in this case, quite literally — but that’s better than living a lie, right? You want the truth? Labor, whether by C-section or straight up pushed out, is going to be a lot of work. It’s not easy. But I have a feeling you can handle it. Actually, I have a feeling you can handle a lot more than you think you can. Whoever you’ve been spending time with in your past has led you to believe that you aren’t the kick ass woman you are.”

He’s not wrong. Even my family has always treated me with kid gloves. I was the fragile one, or so they thought. Their miracle baby after the miscarriage needed to be kept safe. “How do you know?”

One shoulder pops up. “I just know.”

“Oh, okay. Like that helps.”

Smiling, he adds, “You found out you were pregnant and didn’t hesitate to take charge. You didn’t curl up and cry or hide.”

“Well, I did cry.” I let him know.

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