Page 23 of Sloth
“That's not nice.”
“It was true, though, Matthew always had drive and determination. He wanted to be with Dad all the time, helping and learning. I’d do whatever I could to get outta the chores.”
“Well, you're not shying away from those chores now,” she reminds me, “and your mom can see that. She’s proud of you.”
“Just not as proud as she was of Matthew.” I smile at the irony. The selfish part of me wants to tell my parents what an evil bastard he was, so they realize that he was far from fuckin’ perfect. But I would never make them suffer like that. Knowing the truth is a curse; it’s bred a hate inside me that wasn’t there before.
“Your mom’s the kinda mom I’d like to be. Maybe a little less intense.” Erin smirks, and it looks so damn irresistible that I drag her off her chair to sit on my lap.
“D’ya think about that kinda thing often?” I ask her, trying to hold off on kissing her so I can get her answer. “We haven’t spoken much about what our future will look like, and I know it’s still early days, but I already know that my future is here.”
“I do now.” She smiles back at me so brightly it’s hard to believe that she’s been through so much, and when we get interrupted for the second time today and she quickly leaps off my lap, I feel the loss of her and want to tug her back.
“You would not believe how long it took me to get away from Dolores. She was showing me pictures of—” Liza pauses when she notices the basket on the table. “Are those Mary’s muffins?” Her eyes go wide with excitement.
“Blueberry,” Erin tells her, and when she attacks the basket like a hungry bear, I pick up what's left of my sandwich and grab one for myself before she devours them all.
“I gotta get back to work,” I tell the girls, resisting the urge to kiss Erin goodbye on my way out the door. I guess I’ll just have to make up for it later when I’ve got her all to myself.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ERIN
“He’s changed,” Liza tells me with a mouthful of muffin, once Luke's left to return to work. “Not even finishing his lunch and heading back out to work. Who even is he?”
“Forget Luke. Come on, I wanna see.” I hold out my hand impatiently, and she smiles at me before delving into her purse and presenting me with her sonogram picture.
“Ahhh, look at it.” I stare at the grainy image and smile to myself. “Was everything okay?”
“Perfect, and the dates match exactly to the night I called Koben.” The smile drops from her face as she takes a seat.
“You have to tell him now, it won’t be long, and you’ll be starting to show.” I get her reason for wanting to keep this a secret, but it’s gone on for long enough. Koben’s gonna need time to get his head around this himself.
“I know and I will, I just want to tell my parents first.” She blows out a breath and helps herself to another muffin.
“I know you're scared, but at least you have this. How can they be mad when you show them their little grandbaby?” I hand her back the picture, and despite her trying to play it cool, I see the little glisten in her eye as she looks at it.
“Yeah, well, I don’t think they are gonna be jumping for joy. I’m gonna get the lecture of my fucking life.”
“It’ll all be worth it when he or she gets here.” I try to keep her positive.
“When I’m up to my elbows in dirty nappies and have saggy tits? Can’t wait.” Liza rolls her eyes, determined not to show me an ounce of excitement.
“I for one think this is gonna change your life for the better; you're gonna be an awesome mom,” I assure her, taking the basket of muffins away before she consumes every single one of them.
“And what makes you think that?” She laughs at me.
“Because you're an awesome best friend,” I inform her, wondering if I should divulge the fact me and Luke are a thing now to her. I’ve hated keeping it a secret for so long, and I could really use someone to talk to about everything. Sometimes I feel so happy, my heart feels like it could burst, and I’ve got no one to share it with besides Luke, who I still think feels some guilt about the way things are between us. I understand why, despite what Matthew did to me, he was still Luke’s brother. He must still love him even if he’s angry. So I do my best to tone things down a little.
“Do you think Luke would be interested in taking your awesome best friend out for a drink sometime?” She heads over to the window and looks out across the yard to where he’s up on the roof.
“Liza, you're pregnant,” I remind her, trying not to laugh because I think she could be serious.
“Pregnant, not celibate. Do you have any idea what these hormones do to a woman? I would give that man the ride of his li?—”
“Stop.” I cut her off before she says anymore. I don’t like the image it’s putting in my head. “Luke is like a brother to me.” I shrug defensively when I notice the way she’s looking at me.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got to take what I can get while I still have my figure.” She looks down to her waist and sucks in.
