Page 96 of Back To You

“Say it with us, Ann,” Drew starts, “‘I am not a burden.’”

“No, I’m not saying that.”

“Say it,” Mia reprimands, slapping her hands on the bar.

“No, this is stupid. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you guys for help, I’ll nev—”

“Say it!” they both exclaim, and this time it’s my turn to roll my eyes.

I exhale. “I am not a burden.”

“Again,” Drew says, with a little nod of her head.

“I am not a burden.”

“Louder,” Mia adds.

“I am not a burden!”

Mia and Drew look at each other and smile, quickly rounding the bar, coming up to me, and pulling me into a group hug. Feeling their arms around me was everything I didn’t know I needed, the comfort I didn’t know I was longing for, the reminder that I don’t have to do this all alone.

“Wait,” I say, pulling away from the two. “Why were you guys looking for me at midnight anyway?”

“Oh, I called a 911, and you didn’t respond in the group chat,” Mia says matter-of-factly, as if it is a perfectly reasonable answer to my question.

I don’t know exactly when “calling a 911” started for the three of us, maybe around the time Drew and Emmett got married, but it became our way of saying “I need you to drop everything and find me” and it can’t wait. It could be an emergency, big or small, or just amoment where we need each other, for both good and bad things.

I just hope Mia will be sharing good news tonight because I don’t know how much more bad news I can take.

“But we got caught up in finding you for the past half an hour, so after going to your place and finding Luke fast asleepalone, we knew there were only a few places you could be,” Drew adds.

“We thought you were going to be next-door, but when the door was locked, we were going to go back to Emmett’s office and grab the extra key, and instead we found you here instead of one of the three bartenders whoactuallywork here,” Mia concludes.

I let out a dry chuckle before asking, “So what’s the 911?” Both Drew and I look at Mia, Drew not knowing her reasoning for calling the 911 either.

“Oh, I’m pregnant.”

A moment of silence passes before Drew and I look at each other and then back at Mia who’s wearing a small smile, as if she didn’t just drop a total bomb.

“WHAT?!” Drew and I exclaim, pulling Mia back into a hug.

“Mia, oh my god!” I exclaim, pulling back to hold her face between my hands. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Me too!” Drew adds, her eyes glistening. “How far along are you?”

“Twelve weeks, as of midnight tonight. Everyone always says to wait at least twelve weeks or whatever, but I couldn’t wait more than that. We found out at the end of September. I wasn’t sure if it would be the right time to tell you guys, and I know things have been crazy with everything going on—”

“No, I’m so glad you told us,” I stop her before she can even think about apologizing for sharing such amazing news, a tear escaping down my cheek. I also can’t hide my grin at the fact she had to tell us at twelve weeksexactly.

I needed this.

Not just this amazing news or seeing my best friends after two weeks of running on empty, but I needed the reminder that I can ask for help, and that I don’t have to do it all alone.

And if I want to be there for Luke, I need to make sure I’m strong enough to be his strength right now.

Chapter 39

Luke

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