Page 62 of Dangers of Love

I hadn’t noticed much about her room the only other time I’d been here since I’d been more focused on taking her to bed. This time, I still didn’t take it all in. I simply scanned the room for anything she might want to take. I was surprised at how much personal stuff was here.

My parents had kept our rooms pretty much the same so we could use them whenever we needed to, but with the exception of my siblings who didn’t have a place of their own yet, those rooms felt more like really familiar guest rooms than ‘ours.’ Aline’s room looked more like she’d been living in a dorm than having had an apartment of her own.

Well, not really her own since she’d moved into Freedom’s place. Maybe that was why it looked like she still lived here too. I mean, her closet was at least a third full, and her dresser had cosmetics and other toiletries she might need.

“We both keep some stuff here so we don’t need to take a lot of luggage back and forth every time we come home,” Aline explained as she set a suitcase on the foot of the bed. “But since I’m living in L.A. now, coming to visit my parents won’t involve an overnight stay, so I can take whatever I need and not worry about having to bring it back.”

“I don’t want to go pawing through your underwear drawer, so why don’t you tell me what you want me to pack.” I went for a teasing tone, hoping to get a smile, and I did, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Still, she tried to joke in return. “I’m pretty confident that you’ll end up seeing all of my underwear at some point, so I might as well get some use out of you.” She turned back to the closet. “Everything in the dresser should fit in there. I’ll put my dresses in a few garment bags and then get some things from the bathroom.”

I considered commenting that it was definitely a better idea for her to get the things from her bathroom because I’d clearly shown before that I couldn’t find the right door, but I didn’t think talking about the night Freedom had caught me in the hall was a good idea.

Instead, I just did as Aline asked and moved everything from the dresser to the suitcase. We moved quickly but didn’t rush. All in all, it took about fifteen minutes to get everything put together in such a way that the two of us could carry it all to the car in a single trip.

I could see her visibly bracing herself to go back downstairs, and I hated it, but I wasn’t going to make her feel like she needed me to rescue her. I would protect her from any danger, but if I acted as if she couldn’t even deal with her family, I’d be no better than they were, treating her like she was a child and not an adult having a child.

But if I had the slightest hint that she needed me to step in, I would. I wanted her family to like me – even Freedom – but that was secondary to taking care of Aline. She and the baby came before everything else. Everyone else could fuck off if they didn’t get that.

I followed her back down the stairs and offered her family goodbyes that were only a little stiffer than the ones she gave them. As we took everything out to the car, I found myself wishing there was a way I could redo the day, give her a great first Christmas instead of a good day that was ending in conflict.

Although, it wouldn’t be late by the time we got home, so maybe I could salvage something after all. Hot chocolate, leftover Christmas cookies, and another Christmas movie might be enough to push that brief blow up to the back of her mind.

Thirty-Five

Aline

Yesterday could’ve gone betterwasmy first thought upon waking up, but the second was right on its heels:it could have been worse.

I regretted having blurted out three big announcements like that, but I hadn’t been able to take the condescending treatment anymore, especially when Freedom had gone from relatively passive to straight out aggressive.

Things should’ve gotten better during the time I’d been out on my own, but nothing seemed to have changed. If anything, Freedom was worse, and I didn’t understand it. I felt like something must have been going on with her for her to behave this way, but I simply didn’t have the energy to add her issues to my plate right now.

Perhaps it was selfish of me to not inquire about my sister’s life, but pursuing something she was allowing to affect her to such a great extent was, in my opinion, a straight shot to overwhelming stress for me. If she wanted to reach out with an apology and explanation, I wouldn’t turn her away, but my baby’s health was directly related to my own well-being, and that came first.

I refused to dwell on that part of yesterday, though. I preferred to think about the good parts. The morning hours before we’d gone to my parents’ house. The stilted but not unfriendly meal and gift giving with the family. Then skipping over the unpleasantness to when Eoin and I had arrived back at the condo, and we’d had hot chocolate and watchedA Christmas Story. We hadn’t even unpacked any of the things I’d taken from my old room. Doing everything at once today seemed like a better idea.

Assuming that, since I wouldn’t be returning to Stanford with her, Freedom wouldn’t be returning to Stanford until later this week, spending today with Mom and Dad, helping them take down the tree and any decorations that they couldn’t do by themselves. I experienced a small pang of guilt for not being there, but I didn’t think I was wrong in thinking that the tension between Freedom and I would make the experience more stressful for them than if I wasn’t there at all.

Besides, the longer it took me to retrieve my things from the Stanford apartment, the more my family would think this was some sort of childish rebellion that would eventually fade rather than a rational adult decision that I intended to follow through. On a personal level, this would help me settle in at Eoin’s place.

Our place.

Home.

I needed to start thinking of it that way. After all, I wasn’t a girlfriend moving in with a guy she barely knew after not even having a toothbrush at his bachelor pad. I was a pregnant fiancée making a home in a place that had been purchased for our family.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night up here and drive back tomorrow?” Eoin asked as we pulled into the apartment parking lot. “We could get a hotel room or stay with someone in my family. I have a few options there.”

I shook my head. “If we drive back tonight and get in late, you can figure out the best sleep schedule for you to be on for the weekend, but if we drive back tomorrow and run into traffic, you could be exhausted going into a late shift, and that’s the last thing I want or you need.”

“I could call Cain, tell him that something came up. One of the other guys could cover it.”

I didn’t doubt for a minute that Eoin would do it if I gave even so much as the slightest hint that I wanted him to, but I also knew that he would hate doing it. It wasn’t about needing the money. No, he never wanted to let anyone down, that much had always been clear to me, and with him wanting to go with me to doctor’s appointments, he would feel guilty for requesting time off right now when it wasn’t really necessary, especially since he was the newest member of the team.

“No.” I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “Your work is important. Save the time off for our ultrasound appointments.”

He raised my hand and kissed it before getting out of the truck. “That sounds good to me.”

---