Another week had passed since Lily told her parents and they still hadn't spoken. She was 13 weeks along in this pregnancy and we were nearing the mark of about when she lost the last one. She was more on edge each day, waking up from night terrors. Last night's wasn't great.

***

"No," Lily mumbled in her sleep. "No. No! Jake stop! No!"

I sat up in the bed. She was starting to thrash about now. Taking her by the shoulders, I gently shook her. "Lily, wake up honey."

"It's my baby. You can't take it!" she cried.

"Lily, wake up."

"No!"

"Lily." I pulled her close to me, kissing her clammy head.

She suddenly gasped. "Cory?"

"It's okay honey. It's just a nightmare."

"Oh Cory." She buried her head into me and sobbed. "It felt so real."

Pulling away momentarily, I switched the bedside table lamp on before pulling her back into my arms. "Want to tell me about it?"

She looked down and continued to heave small sobs, finally coming down from her emotions.

"You mentioned Jake?"

"He came for my baby again. He wanted to hurt me."

I brushed the wetness away from her cheeks. "Jake can't ever hurt you again, Lily. He's far away from here."

"But he didn't even get imprisoned."

I sighed, pulling her to my chest. "He was convicted under minor laws. But he is receiving mental help in a ward in Brisbane last we heard, and I'm sure he's not out yet. Besides, you have a restraining order on him. All is fine. He legally cannot come near you."

"It felt so real," she mumbled.

"But it's not. The babies are fine. They will be fine this time. I can feel it."

***

Of course, I couldn't be sure myself, but I continued to whisper sweet nothings to Lily last night until she fell asleep. I still had knots in my stomach in the morning, remembering her mention of Jake. But I couldn't tell her I was worried too. I had to be strong for her. For the babies.

As I pushed trollies into their bay with Jessica that morning, I was lost in my own world, only brought back to my senses by a high-pitched scream.

"Cory look out!" Jessica shrieked.

I looked up and saw a car coming at me really quickly. I pushed the trollies forward out of the way. I wanted to scream after the car for not driving slowly in the car park, but I knew I couldn't. Maybe the old Cory would have done that, but I had grown up since then, no longer snapping over every slight matter. Screaming at a customer while in uniform would only come back negatively.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked, crossing the car park to stand next to me.

"Yeah... just distracted." I rubbed the sweat off my forehead.

"Want to talk about it?"

I smiled at her sadly and shook my head. "I'll be okay."

"It's not good to bottle things up."

"Yeah... But I'll be okay."

"Always here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Jessica."

"Hey... can I ask you for some advice? It might even distract you from what's troubling you."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"How did you know you wanted to study science?"

I started to laugh at her question. "I did not. I still do not. First semester I was studying education, majoring in PE. Then I switched to science because I remember I liked working with animals during school." I shook my head. "I still don't think it's right for me. But everyone around me is studying something and all the adults say I need to be studying." I sighed. "And Lily is so smart. Feel like if I get a degree in something, even if I don't like her, maybe I'll catch up to her. She's going to accomplish so many great things and I'm just..."

Jessica pursed her lips. "I don't know you enough to offer any advice on that, but I'm sure there is something you're good at." She sighed. "I just don't know if law is what I want to do, you know?"

I nodded. "Oh. I know. Just switch if you hate it."

"But the debt?"

I shrugged. "Don't do something you hate."

"Yeah... Thanks Cory. I hope you feel better soon. You seem to be a nice person, so I hate seeing you like this."

"I just have a lot on at the moment."

"Because your partner is pregnant?"

"Yeah." I bit my lip, going quiet for a moment as we tied the trolleys tougher and readied them to be pushed into the store. Then eventually I said, "We lost the first one." I don't know why I was telling her. Maybe it was because she was really easy to talk to. But ever since Lily got pregnant, I had to make sure I was the strong one for her, so I kept quiet to my family and even Tristan. Getting it off my chest to a stranger who doesn't even know Lily was a relief.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. How old are you?"

"19. I knocked her up accidentally in our final year."

She shook her head. "Teenagers. Though I'm really sorry for your loss. Must have been tough."

"It was... but if it weren't for that baby, we may never have gotten together." I began pushing the trollies towards the store while I spoke, Jessica helping me guide them around customers walking out and the cars parked and driving. "It was so complicated getting together too. We had a lot of growing up to do and a lot to overcome when we lost the baby. But things were finally great. Yeah, I don't know where I'm going, but I'm sure on her. But now I feel like that lack of communication thing is starting up again and I don't know what to do. I need to be strong for her because she's freaking out. But I also don't like keeping things from her about how I'm feeling because that caused so many problems in the past." I hesitated before I said the next part, wary of the judgement I'd get from my coworker. "I wasn't exactly... the nicest guy towards women in high school."

Jessica came to a stop. "What does that mean?"

I sighed, stopping as well as we stood in front of the store now. "I was a player. Slept with so many girls."

"And that's how you got her pregnant?"

I nodded. "Then the harsh consequences of Cory the playboy's actions caught up with him, forcing him to deal with his problems." I shrugged. "But I met Lily."

Jessica gave me a small smile. "She sounds lovely."

"Oh she is."

We began pushing again. "I get why you don't want to tell her. I can imagine it's traumatic for her, maybe a little more so than you because she physically experienced it. But you can't bottle it up. So if you ever need someone to vent to, I'm here. My sister had a couple of miscarriages, so I get what it's like being on the outside and watching someone suffer."

"Thanks Jess. Mind if I call you that?"

"Would love nothing more."

The shift finished and Jess and I said goodbye to each other. I pulled my phone out of my locker and checked my messages. Three missed calls from Jojo. I rang her back immediately.

"What's up, sis?" I asked when she picked up.

But she responded in indistinguishable weeps.

"What? Slow down and speak more clearly."

"M-m-m. Mikey broke up-p-p with m-m-m-me!" she wailed.

"Oh Jojo. Where are you?"

"A-a-a-at s-s-s-s-school."

"I'll come get you."

"Thanks C-C-C-Cory."

It didn't take too long to get to her, but she seemed like she had stopped crying. She was sitting on the garden bed, her knees brought to her chest, her nose as red as a tomato and her eyes bloodshot and swollen. When she saw me, she slowly got up and slumped her way to my car.

"I'm taking you to the beach and we will get ice cream and talk all about it."

"I don't want to eat." She slowly pulled her seatbelt over her.

"Then you can let it drip down your hand. I'm still getting you an ice cream."

She didn't eat the ice cream though. We sat on the steps that led down to the beach, me eating my iceblock and her letting her opened ice cream drip down her hand as she stared at it. "A year. I spent a whole year with him only to be dumped through Suzie."

"He dumped you through another person?"

She nodded. "He told Suzie to tell me it's over."

"So are you sure he meant it?"

She nodded. "I hunted him down and demanded to know if it was true. And then he told me yes and called me a-a-a-" She began to sob again.

"A what?" I ran a hand on her back.

"A frigid virgin," she finally got out, continuing to bawl.

I pulled her close. So many girls crying in my life right now. Is this what two children will be like? "Want me to beat him up?" I asked when she had calmed down again.

"Yeah because that will go down well. You're an adult. You can't hurt a child."

I sighed and hugged her tightly again. "You deserve way better than him anyway. And if all else fails, you can move in with Lily and me one day and raise our children." That reminded me of a distraction. "Oh. Want to hear some news about the baby to distract your mind."

Jojo pulled away to look at me, lip jutting out as she nodded.

I reached into my bag and pulled the latest ultrasound out. "Don't tell mum yet because I still haven't broke the news but..." I passed the ultrasound to Jojo. "What do you notice?"

She looked at it, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and sniffing. Then her eyes widened and she leaned closer. "I see two blobby blobs. Are there supposed to be two blobby parts? People are normally one blob, right?"

I smiled at her in response.

She looked at me, her jaw falling slack, obviously forgetting Mikey for the moment. "No way. No! Shut up. No!"

I nodded.

"Say it. You have to say it. No."

"It's twins."

"Oh my gaflureg."

"Your what?"

"I can't words right now. Cory! Two babies?"

I nodded.

She threw her arms around me again. "I'm going to be an aunty to two babies! Amazing!"

And so when I dropped Jojo off at home that afternoon, I went in and shared the news with mum as well. She jumped up and down excitedly and basically had the exact same reaction as Jojo. I was glad my good news was able to lift both of these amazing women's spirits. But as the excitement died down and I grabbed my things to leave, I caught a sight of Jojo's face as she headed up the stairs to her room. Her sadness had returned and a look of despair crossed my little sister's face--a look I had never seen on her before.

"I will punch Mikey myself," Lily said when I told her about my afternoon.

"No you will not."

"I'd like to see him take on a pregnant lady."

I rolled my eyes. "You are not going anywhere near jerk-head teenage boys."

Lily sighed and stirred her dinner around on her plate. "Fun ruiner."

I shook my head.

"So how was work?"

I hesitated for a moment, but thankfully she didn't look up. I probably should tell her all the things I told Jessica and that I had vented to her, but I choked. I couldn't voice my worries to her just yet. Not until we made it past the last milestone. So instead I shrugged and said, "Same old, same old."

"Lame. How's your uni classes?"

I shrugged.

"Picked out next semester's subjects yet?"

I sighed. "I'm still thinking I should defer earlier so that I can work more."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You are not letting these babies get in the way of your education again."

I bit my lip. I wanted to say, 'It's not the babies. It's me. I don't like my education', but I couldn't. Lily had enough to worry about. So I said, "Let's see how things get along."

Lily awoke again that night, screaming. I flicked the light on right away this time, checking over her, trying to rouse her from her sleep.

When her eyes flew open, she gasped, "My baby!"

"It's okay, Lily. It's all okay."

She shook her head, her hand going under the blanket to pat her stomach. But then her eyes went wide.

"What?"

She pulled her hand back out. Red liquid glistened on her fingers.