"Your parents hate me."

Theo laughs while he taps the ash of his cigarette into the ashtray resting on his knee. "They don't hate you."

"Okay, maybe the word hate is a bit too strong, but I don't think they liked me very much. How could they when I'm not Megan?"

And when I will never be able to give them grandchildren...

He sighs and his fingers lightly brush against the back of my head while he holds his cigarette between his lips.

"I'm sorry about that," he says once he's holding his cigarette between two fingers again. "They were only asking about her because they've known her for so long. It wasn't anything against you. They liked you, Milia." He takes a drag of his cigarette and exhales, then leans closer to kiss my cheek. "More importantly, I like you, so you don't have to worry about them."

"How can they like Cal but not me?" I wonder out loud, and Theo chuckles at the way I'm blatantly ignoring everything he just said. His lips brush against my jaw and down the side of my neck, making it difficult to continue my complaints, though I still manage to mutter, "He's such a suck-up."

Theo grins against my neck before he kisses it again. "Cal has a lot to suck up for, and he knows it. He's left a couple of bad impressions over the years. They're not the type to hold things over your head though. At least, not in a malicious way." He speaks close to my ear, only moving away momentarily to butt his cigarette out in the ashtray. "Now stop worrying about them. I'm going to start thinking you care about me or something."

More like, I'm desperately in love with you. Even if I can't manage to say those words out loud.

"Ha." I take a long drag of my cigarette and blow the smoke out slowly. "In your dreams, big guy."

"Yeeaah," his low voice draws out in my ear, "you're in my dreams, Princess. Every night, in a dozen different scenarios, wrapped up in my arms and—"

"Fuck me, I need a cigarette," Cal's voice as he comes up the stairs onto the porch interrupts Theo's sexy confession, and I resist the urge to whip the glass ashtray resting on Theo's knee at his head.

Theo extends an arm to hand Cal his pack of cigarettes. He makes no effort to lean forward though, keeping his face in the crook of my neck while Cal steps forward to retrieve them.

"Thanks," Cal mumbles around the filter of the cigarette he's placed in his mouth before he lights it. He returns the lighter to the cardboard pack and rests it on the porch railing behind him. He takes a few drags while he frowns down at his feet, then slowly raises his eyes to take in Theo and I on the porch swing. "I stand behind what I said. Seeing you two together is so fucking weird."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah, 'cause walking in on April giving you a blowjob wasn't weird at all for me."

Cal has the decency to look slightly embarrassed but a grin spreads across his face when Theo makes an uncomfortable sound and hides his face against my neck. I can't help but laugh a bit myself.

Cal's grin slips away. He lets out a quiet sigh and then turns away to look out at the street.

Theo sits up after a moment. He looks from Cal to me and then back to where Cal is standing. "As much as I hate to say this," he starts slowly, "I kinda figured you'd be too busy with April to want a cigarette tonight... Is everything okay?"

"Yah," Cal answers a little too quickly to sound convincing. He sighs again and slowly turns to look at us with his cigarette firmly pressed between his lips. He takes his time breathing in the nicotine and then exhales.

"You know I love your sister," he begins as if he needs a disclaimer. "She's amazing and she puts up with all my shit, so I'm really not saying this to complain but April is just... Well, you know how she gets sometimes when Wendy visits. But she seems worse than usual this time. I guess it makes sense since it's right around that time of..." His words peter out, and the frown on his face intensifies before he adds under his breath, "Month..."

I can see the precise moment that the calculations form in his head to make the connection that he's been missing. His face turns pale. The cigarette falls from between his fingers to the porch floor. He mumbles, "No," in the softest whisper, and then his eyes go wide.

"What the fuck," he curses almost just as quietly before raising his voice and repeating it, "What the fuck?" And then he's turning around to jump down the porch steps and running towards his house. "April!" he yells her name as he wrenches their front door open and moves inside before slamming it closed behind him.

Theo stands up from the porch swing, staring after Cal with a worried expression. "What was that?" he asks quietly but I don't think he expects me to have an answer.

The door of the Jones' house is once again whipped open, and Cal storms out onto their porch with April right behind him.

"Cal, please," she pleads, "come back inside. Let's talk about this." She catches his hand in hers and attempts to pull him back but he's quick to shake her off before moving down the steps toward his car.

"Calvin!" she cries out in one last desperate attempt but Cal's mind is set, and he gets into his car and slams the door closed without sparing her a glance.

The engine comes to life and the car reverses out of the driveway with a squeal before launching forward and speeding down the road.

"What the hell is he doing?" Theo asks in alarm. He looks at April on her porch and then looks at me before running into the house. He emerges a moment later with his keys in hand and rushes toward his truck.

"Theo," I call after him, "What do you think driving after him is going to do?"

"I... I don't know!" he yells back without slowing his approach to get to his truck. He swings the door open and begins to climb inside but stops when the sound of screeching brakes fills the once quiet street.

We both turn to look at Cal's car as it comes to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. The night feels eerily quiet and still for the shortest moment, and then his car is speeding in reverse back towards us. It stops just past his driveway and then lurches forward and turns sharply to once again park in its usual spot.

The door flies open, and Cal steps out. Without sparing us a glance, he marches up his porch steps to where April is standing with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Get inside!" he demands.

April stands her ground, keeping her eyes fixed on his face while Cal takes a deep breath and begins to run his hands through his hair repeatedly.

"Please," he adds in a quieter voice. The word comes out with a small shake.

April reaches up to take one of his hands out of his hair. She leads him back into their house without a word.

Theo watches from where he's half inside his truck. Slowly, he comes back to join me on the porch. "What the hell was that about? I haven't seen Cal that freaked out in a long time. Maybe I should go over there, and—"

"Don't go over there."

"I know I should probably stay out of it but you don't get it, Milia. I know he'd never physically hurt her but sometimes those two need a mediator when things get heated, or things get said that—"

"Your sister's pregnant."

Theo's eyes go wide. "What?" His startled expression turns to confusion. "How do you know that?" Before I can answer, he shakes his head to show that it doesn't matter. "Then I definitely need to go over there. Cal—"

I grab the hem of his shirt when he turns to start walking away. "Wait, Theo. Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he questions while looking over his shoulder at me. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. Don't you think we'd be able to hear something if Cal was screaming?"

We both pause and look over at their house, straining our ears to pick up any sounds of an argument.

"Huh..." Theo muses softly.

"To be honest, he probably has her bent over the nearest piece of furniture right now. I don't think you want to go over there."

Theo shudders and looks at the quiet house next door one more time. "Ugh. I think you're probably right."

"Let them figure it out on their own," I suggest. "You can check in with April tomorrow."

Theo momentarily hesitates but then slowly nods, and I feel like I understand his hesitancy on a deeper level. April has been through too much shit, and Theo has always tried to be there for her. He fucking lives next door to her even. He's used to having her depend on him, but I wonder now if that has less to do with what April needs and more to do with what Theo wants.

April's words from earlier come back to me. "He was always so strong for me... but I could always tell that knowing about it crushed him and dampened his spirits."

"She's a big girl, Theo. You don't have to fight all her battles for her."

"I know that," he counters. "And I don't..." He drifts off when he sees the pointed look I'm giving him. "You're right. I do try to fight her battles for her. It's just... she's been through a lot and I hate seeing her upset. When did she tell you she was pregnant anyway?"

I frown at the question and shrug. "She didn't tell me. I just sort of guessed and asked her about it earlier today." I turn away from him to enter the house, hoping that will be enough to end this conversation.

"How could you have possibly guessed that?" he asks while he follows me.

Apparently simply walking into the house wasn't a good enough approach. I'd have to be more direct. "I don't know. She was just... showing some signs that I recognized and—"

"What signs? I didn't notice anything."

Well, you've never been pregnant before so that adds up...

I didn't notice the signs while I was pregnant either but afterwards, when I already knew the baby was gone and that I would never have children, they became clear to me.

The utter exhaustion I felt, the raging emotions that I couldn't seem to get a handle on, the way a pot of coffee churned my stomach while no one else seemed affected by its foul taste; they were all signs that I had now heard about or noticed myself in April. They were all signs that I didn't want to tell Theo I too had once experienced.

"Why does it matter, Theo?" I can't keep the sound of annoyance from my voice but it's better than letting the pain that's running through me show. "I don't want to talk about this. You can talk to April yourself about it. Tomorrow." I add the last word as a reminder that he should leave them alone for now.

"Right..." He mumbles the word and sits down on the couch. "Sorry. I know you don't like thinking about Cal and April together. And them having a baby must really put the nail in the coffin."

What?

He thinks I don't want to talk about it because I'm still pining after Cal, and the realization hits hard when I see the unsettled expression on his face. "No, that's not it at all, Theo."

"Okay." He doesn't sound convinced but he offers me a quick smile and then stands up from the couch again to move towards the stairs. "I'm going to get ready for bed. I'm beat."

"Me too," I agree. Maybe I should address his assumption some more but instead, I ask, "Do you want to watch some TV together before we sleep?" I could use the distraction, and if we continue to talk about Cal and April he is bound to have more questions that I don't want to have to answer. "And could I borrow a t-shirt to sleep in?"

He smiles at me—one that looks more genuine than his last one. "Coming right up. I'll be right back down."