Page 90 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
Ethan doesn’t move from his place in front of me. His hands are still warm on my knees. His voice is a thread of safety wrapped around my frayed edges.
“You don’t have to be perfect,” he murmurs. “You just have to let us in. Let ushelp.”
I look at each of them—Ethan, kneeling. Jake, solid beside me. Liam, unshakeable behind me.
For the first time since those two pink lines flipped my world upside down, I’m not overwhelmed with anxiety and fear.
I actually feel a little bit of hope.
This could work.
Thiswillwork… because I’m not alone.
Chapter thirty-seven
LIAM
I’m still kneeling in the living room, the late afternoon sun filtering through the curtains.
Everything feels surreal, like I’m watching a movie and my heart is racing in sync with the soundtrack.
Maya’s words echo inside me—I’m pregnant.At first, I’m stunned.
Like the rest of the guys, I don’t know what to say. My mind’s a tangle of disbelief, fear, and something else—something hopeful, something wild and wonderful.
I glance at Ethan and Jake. Ethan’s hands are still resting gently on Maya’s knees, steady and sure. Jake’s sitting beside her, that usual confident smirk softened into something tender. I can see the same mix of shock and joy in their eyes.
I swallow hard and finally speak. “Maya… we’re not just going to stand by. We want to be with you. All of us. This doesn’t change how we feel. It makes it stronger.”
Maya looks up at me, her eyes wide and shining, her breath catching like she’s afraid to believe it.
Ethan nods. “We’ve been talking about this already. About finding a house—somewhere we can all live together. Where you won’t have to do this alone.”
Jake leans forward, his elbows on his knees, voice a little breathless. “A fresh start. A place that’s ours. Big enough for all of us, for this new chapter. We want to build a home, Maya.”
I can feel my heart swell with hope as I watch her process it all—the fear, the doubt, and now that fragile flicker of something better.
Her lips curve into a smile, shaky at first, then more sure. “I want that,” she whispers, voice thick with emotion. “I want all of that. I want you.”
The way she says it, like she’s saying it for herself as much as for us, makes something inside me loosen. I reach out carefully and take her hand in mine. It’s small and trembling, but warm. Real.
“We’re in this together,” I say softly. “No matter what. You’re not alone anymore.”
Ethan shifts a little, his gaze steady on hers. “This isn’t just about the baby. It’s aboutus—all of us building a future.”
The room feels lighter somehow, as if the air itself has shifted. The old couch beneath me, the scattered cushions, the faint scent of jasmine from the candle burning low—all of it becomes part of this moment, this promise.
Her eyes glisten with tears, but there’s laughter too. A laugh I’ve been waiting to hear—a sound full of relief, of hope.
I know, right then, that no matter what comes next, we’ll face it as one.
***
The next morning, sunlight streams through the blinds in sharp stripes across the kitchen table, where we’re all gathered—coffee cups in hand, laptops open, a mess of notebooks and printouts scattered between us.
Maya’s here, of course, and she’s smiling more than I’ve seen her in days.
“We need space,” Jake says, tapping a listing on his laptop. “A yard for the kid to run in someday.”
