Pregnant.

The word kept replaying in my head long after I left the bathroom and put the cake away. 

Reo was...?

How far along? Why didn't he tell us? How?

Well, that last one was a stupid question. I knew how: the one time he'd let Archer and me touch him. It hadn't been planned and, honestly, we probably should have waited now that I was looking back on it. However, at the time, we weren't exactly thinking with the right heads.

Reo had seemed fine afterward—happier, even—which was why the sudden mood change had caught Archer and me so off guard, but now it made sense. He wasn't angry at us. Well, maybe a little bit, but not really. He was terrified.

And, if I had learned anything about Reo since meeting him, when his emotions were too large to keep inside, he pulled back.

"Earth to Boston." Archer waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, though the jury was still out on whether it was true or not.

Reo had disappeared to go shower, but that had been a while ago so I was sure he had to be out by now. I tried to keep my face neutral while thinking of where to go from here.

Should I say something? I mean, he was basically going through uncharted territory alone. That had to be taking a toll on him, so maybe letting him know that I knew would help? Then again, it might cause more problems and more stress... if he hadn't said anything then letting him know I found out might not have been the way to go about it.

Then there was Archer who was still blissfully unaware of it all.

Shit, shit, shit!

"I... left my phone in Reo's room. I'll be back," I told Archer. It was a pretty weak lie, but I didn't give him the chance to speak before I got up.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say, but sitting in the living room, losing my mind, wasn't helping anyone.

I couldn't fully wrap my head around it. Not because I didn't want kids, though the possibility of having one so early on in our relationship wasn't ideal, or because it was somehow bad... but because it was Reo. My Reo who flinched when people got too close sometimes. Reo, who carried every burden as if it were solely his responsibility. Reo, who had been spiraling for weeks while Archer and I stood around trying to solve the wrong damn problem.

Guilt twisted in my stomach.

I paused outside his bedroom door, hearing the faint sound of movement inside. The shower wasn't running anymore. For a second, I considered turning around and pretending I'd never seen anything.

Maybe he'd tell us eventually.

Maybe this wasn't my place.

But then I thought about the look on his face lately—how tired he'd seemed, how tense. Ignoring it felt... wrong. It was wrong.

I lifted my hand and knocked lightly against the door.

A few seconds later, his voice invited me inside and I pushed the door open to find him sitting on the edge of the bed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. His hair was still slightly damp, curling at the ends.

For a moment, I just stared at him. Or rather, I examined him to try and find any signs of pregnancy I had missed: the start of a bump, a subtle change in scent... nothing stood out to me, but maybe it was too early to tell?

Did he even know? I doubted he had seen any doctors. Definitely not here. He would've been too worried about it getting out.

He looked up at me, brows furrowing almost immediately.

"You okay?" he asked cautiously.

That nearly made me laugh from the absurdity of it.

He was the one secretly carrying a child and somehow I was the person being checked on.

"Uh..."

Brilliant start, Boston.

I closed my mouth then opened it again. Nothing came out. Suddenly, I was looking at him and realizing how terrifying this must've been. How alone he probably felt. And if I handled this wrong—if I pushed too hard or sounded upset or even remotely judgmental—he'd retreat even further.

So instead of blurting out the truth, I closed the door and sat down carefully on the opposite side of the bed.

Reo immediately looked suspicious. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"That's never a good sign."

Normally I'd make a joke back, but this time I just stared at my hands for a second before quietly asking, "Have you been scared this whole time?"

I went still. Completely still.

"...What?"

I looked up at him slowly.

He stared at me as if I had two heads, but beneath that confusion, I could make out fear. Pure, cornered fear. Oh, Goddess. My chest ached instantly.

"I found the test in your bathroom," I admitted softly. "By accident. I wasn't snooping, Reo, I swear."

I watched those words sink in. All color drained from his face. His shoulders stiffened. His breathing stopped. Even his eyes widened just slightly before narrowing again with frightening speed.

And then, just as quickly, he shut down.

He shook his head and stood up. My first instinct was to reach out and grab him, but I fought the urge, knowing he wouldn't react well to it.

"No." He shook his head again. "We're not doing this."

"Reo—"

"No." His voice sharpened this time. "I said we're not doing this."

He moved away from the bed quickly, like putting distance between us would somehow erase the words I said. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest.

"Not talking about it isn't going to make it go away," I told him, watching as his eyes shifted toward the door. Toward where Archer was. I added, "Archer doesn't know. Not yet."

Now that caught his attention.

His gaze instantly snapped back to me and he said, "You can't tell him."

...what?

An uncomfortable pit formed in my stomach. Sure, Archer and I had our differences but keeping something so huge from him didn't feel right—especially given how fragile the bond between the three of us already was. If he knew that Reo and I kept it from him then he'd be a mess.

"Reo..."

"Not forever," he added. "Just... not now. You know how he gets. It'll become a huge deal and then everyone will know and I can't—"

He stopped himself abruptly. Can't what?

Handle it? Tell people? Lose control?

"Hey." I kept my voice gentle, forcing myself not to move toward him even though every instinct screamed at me to close the distance. "Breathe for a second, okay? I'm not trying to ambush you."

Reo laughed humorlessly under his breath. "Could've fooled me."

Fair.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "I know. I just..." I exhaled. "You've been dealing with this alone."

His jaw tightened immediately. "I wasn't planning to."

"Then when were you going to tell us?"

Silence.

He looked away first, eyes fixed somewhere near the window. It wouldn't have surprised me if he were thinking about escaping, though we both knew that wasn't going to happen.

"I don't know."

That... hurt. Not necessarily because he didn't tell us, but because he still didn't trust Archer or me. Then again, it was a bit hypocritical of me to say when I hadn't been completely open either.

But the thought of bringing a child into a home when we were still learning about each other terrified me.

I swallowed hard and leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on my knees. "How long have you known?"

"A couple of weeks."

Weeks.

Goddess.

All those nights Archer stayed awake worrying. All the times I'd caught Reo staring off into space looking sick with stress. The sudden distancing. The panic. The shutting down.

"Have you seen a doctor?" I asked, though I practically already knew the answer.

His expression seemed to sour at the thought and he said, "No."

"Reo—"

"I'm fine."

"That wasn't the question."

His eyes flashed. "I said I'm fine."

I stared at him for a second before speaking carefully. "You don't have to keep saying you're fine every five seconds. I'm not gonna run away screaming."

He blew a breath. "You're only taking it this well because it hasn't completely set in yet. It's not real to you."

"Reo," I said softly, "it's real to me."

"If it's not real to me then it definitely isn't real to you." He shook his head and dragged a hand through his damp hair, visibly frustrated with himself. "Everything was finally starting to come together then this happened and I didn't know what to do."

I nodded slowly. "Okay."

"And I know Archer," he continued. "He's gonna get excited and protective and overbearing and he'll mean well, but it'll become this huge thing and I can't handle everyone watching me right now."

He... wasn't wrong. Archer would absolutely lose his mind. In a loving way, but still.

He'd start researching immediately. Rearranging schedules. Hovering. Worrying. Telling Quinn. Probably building a crib tomorrow despite us not even knowing what the hell was happening yet.

"Boston." Reo's voice pulled me back. "Please."

I looked up at him again.

He looked exhausted. It was like whatever strength he had been using to try to appear "normal" around Archer and I just evaporated and I hated to see it.

"I won't tell him tonight," I said finally, watching as the relief flooded his face. "But," I added before he could relax too much, "you can't keep doing this alone."

His shoulders tensed again.

"I'm serious, Reo. You're pregnant." Even saying the word aloud felt surreal. "You need support. Actual support. Not just locking yourself in your room and pretending nothing's happening."

"I'm not—"

"You literally hid a pregnancy."

"Because I panicked!" Reo exclaimed and almost immediately, his eyes widened like he was startled by his own voice. Then, quieter this time, he said, "I didn't know what to do."

Before I could think better of it, I stood and crossed the room slowly enough to give him time to back away if he wanted. When he didn't, I carefully rested my hands on his shoulders.

He stiffened instinctively beneath my touch, but he didn't pull away which was something.

"We'll figure it out, okay? We don't have to have all the answers right now," I told him seriously.

He nodded, seeming to calm down even if just a little bit. For a moment, neither of us said anything but that didn't silence the thoughts in my mind.

Where did we go from here?

AN:

I originally stated that this book happens roughly around the same time as Escape, but that's changed. To be more accurate, this book starts a few weeks after Mask and as we get further into Reo's story, Escape is happening in the background. Reo, of course, doesn't know this so we won't be seeing Escape characters in here. (We will see Tatum and Nixon at some point of course.)

Also, just a reminder that Archer and Boston do not share a direct mate bond. They are both mated to Reo, but not to each other. (This will play a role later.)