Chapter 44: Unpredictable

'Hey, Aqueela😊I was wondering if you could come over? I could really use your opinion on something? I would appreciate it so much.' ~ Hart of Gold

'I could use Jay and Grey's perspective too. Are you three free today?' ~ Hart of Gold

'Please don't stress if you're all busy. I know that it's short notice😅' ~ Hart of Gold

I show Jay the message.

"She doesn't reach out that frequently," he states the obvious. "I'm thinking that this is Lan related?"

I nod. "I'd agree."

That man is an enigma...

"I was actually going to suggest that you, Grey, and I go out anyway. I think Laik deserves some space with his family," Jay replies before sauntering off to go inform Grey of our new plans for the day.

'We're leaving in five👌' ~ Legend Lawson

'You guys rock🤗Thank you SO much!' ~ Hart of Gold

'What are friends for if not for showing up on short notice?' ~ Legend Lawson

'💜' ~ Hart of Gold

I approach the family and Mase, although he's pretty much Lai's brother at this point, and tell them that we're leaving for a bit.

"Already?" Mase asks, disappointed. "But I've hardly spoken to you guys."

"We'll make plans with you before you go," Jay assures him, he and Grey joining my side.

Mase nods in understanding. "I took some leave; I'll have time to hang at a later stage."

"Thank you for calling us and arranging this," Rita says, taking Jay's hands into her own. "We're so grateful. We would never have known. I know my son and he wouldn't have told us for a while."

"You're welcome," Jay smiles down at her before hugging her briefly.

Noah pats him on the back, grateful. "Good meeting you, Jay." He glances over at Grey. "And thank you for making us breakfast."

Grey just nods, keeping his distance.

Jay does his secret handshake with Susie, melting my heart, before he fist-bumps Laik. "Call me if you need anything, bud. We'll be here."

"Thanks, dude. Appreciate it," he replies before turning back to talk to his baby sister.

My heart hurts a little. Zac should be here...

Jay pulls on my hand when I don't move. "Let's go, 'Queels."

Grey grabs his car keys. "I'll drive."

"I can drive if you want?" I ask hopefully.

I imagine memories flickering through his brain. He scoffs and then laughs humorlessly. "Not a chance in hell, Lawson."

I shrug. "Wise choice."

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

"Thank you, guys, so much for coming," Sarah greets each of us with an affable hug that only Sarah Hart is capable of giving before inviting us inside. "I owe you all one."

Grey shakes his head. "You don't owe us anything, Sar," he says, taking the words right out of my mouth. "We're friends."

I nod, actually agreeing with him. "Friends never walk alone."

He pulls a face and shakes his head. "I wasn't going for something that cheesy. I just meant that friends don't expect any favors in return. We show up because we're friends. That's it."

I swat him on his chest. "If I'm cheesy, then you're corny!"

Sarah smiles at the two of us, easily seeing through us. "You two are each other's polar opposites in so many ways, but in other ways, you're both so alike. It's funny because you dummies can't even see it."

"Woah, Sar," Grey teases her, a grin on his face, "you're calling us dummies now? Is Lan influencing you?"

He's always been fond of Sarah but then again, it's impossible not to. She's one of the sweetest humans that I've ever met.

She closes her eyes in dismay. "Please don't say that, Grey. I'd like to think that I influence him much more."

Grey weighs it up in his head and lifts one of his shoulders. "I guess he's a little...nicer...since meeting you," he humors her.

"That's a win for me. I'll take it," she laughs.

Dean comes rushing through into the room like an excited puppy after having heard our voices. "Oh, great! You guys are finally here! So, I'm guessing that she told you already?! She told you that she's pregnant with my bestie's baby?!"

I gasp loudly. "What?!"

Jay grins, unfazed. "I figured it was something like that."

I roll my eyes. Of course he did.

Sarah narrows her eyes at Dean. "I didn't get to that part yet, and can you keep it down? You know that I haven't told Lan yet. The last thing that I want is for him to find out like this."

Grey immediately embraces Sarah in a sweet hug. "Congratulations! That's awesome, Sar."

I quirk an eyebrow at him. "I thought you hate hugs?"

He lets go of Sarah and smirks down at me, taking great delight in my reaction. "Only yours, Lawson."

"I love your hugs!" Dean defends me, still overjoyed as he sweeps me off my feet, twirling me around in pure happiness.

Sarah awkwardly clears her throat. "Yeah, so I'm going to be a mom."

"More importantly, I'm going to be an uncle!" Dean exclaims, giddy, and somehow making this about himself.

Sarah playfully rolls her eyes at him. "Congratulations, Dean."

He grins over his shoulder at her. "Thank you, Sar-Bear."

Dean is going to be a fantastic uncle. I've seen him with Tia and the triplet. He loves children. As for Sarah, she's a kindergarten teacher with the kindest heart – any kid would be lucky to have her as a mom.

Onto Landon...yeah...that's a different story...I'm scared...

"Are you sure?" I ask her, just in case.

Dean places my feet back onto solid ground, beaming down at me. "She sure is, Furby."

Sarah reaches behind her and picks up twelve different types of pregnancy tests. "Pretty sure."

"She told me before anyone else," Dean boasts.

I don't know all the ins and outs of their relationship, but I know that Dean and Sarah are super close. From the little that I've heard, Dean was apparently really good to her when Lan still had his head up his...you get the point.

"That's because I would assume that you, as his childhood friend, would know the best way to approach this. Other than Em, of course," she tells him.

He guffaws loudly at this. "Jokes on you, sweet Sar-Bear, because, to this day, I still don't understand your man."

"Neither do I, if I'm being honest," Em chimes in, walking into the room with Alexis on her hip. "My brother is unpredictable. He could swing either way with this."

I'm pretty sure he's only going to swing one way with this one...and if he is gonna swing, I just hope that it's not at me.

Sarah sighs as she looks to us again. "And that's why you three are here. Jay, you've known him for quite a long time too. He respects you. Grey, you're similar to him. Emotionally detached. Aqueela, you have a way with people like I've never seen before. You're the buffer should this go horribly wrong."

I nod thoughtfully. "Good to know."

"I'm emotionally detached?" Grey questions, somewhat upset by the revelation.

"Yeah," we all answer him in unison.

He frowns and then copies me. "Good to know."

"And you're definitely sure?" I repeat. I just can't see this going down well with Lan.

"We're sure. Her period is already fourteen days late," Dean answers on her behalf.

Sarah's mouth falls agape. "How do you know that?"

He shrugs like it isn't a big deal. "I track your cycle, usually to make sure I'm not around when you're PMSing."

She glares at him, furious. "I cannot believe you, Dean! That's a huge invasion of privacy. You can't just—"

"Relax, Sar," he brushes her off. "I've been tracking Em's for years now and you don't see her whining about this."

Em's eyes nearly roll out of her head when she whips around so fast to growl at him. "You—what?!"

He places his hands up in surrender. "I—"

"You're dead, Wyatt!" she threatens, handing Alexis to Xavier when he steps into the room with his perfect timing, before predictably going after Dean.

"Dadda!" Alexis gurgles, smiling up at her father and reaching up to touch his face.

He places a kiss on her forehead before straightening up. "What have I just walked in on?" he asks the rest of us, bewildered. "Why's my wife trying to kill him...again?"

"Because he's a creep," Grey debriefs him, filling him in.

Xave shrugs. "Oh, so nothing new?"

"Nope," I answer, popping the 'p'.

"If my little girl keeps seeing her mother go after Dean, she might just grow up to be a serial killer," Xave voices his concerns.

I pat him on the arm in sympathy. "Either way, be proud of whatever she accomplishes."

"Psycho," Grey sighs like I'm a hopeless case.

"Em, lil sis, you're only this angry and violent because you're on your period right now!" Dean tries to justify it, using Sarah as a shield. "I track Melinda and Aqueela's cycles too because I work with them. I only do it for the important women in my life. I need to know when to be the best version of myself around the women who matter...or to avoid them completely. You should see this as an honor."

And that gets my attention...

"Me too? Prove it," I challenge.

"You should be starting in the next day or so, more or less," he answers, right on the money. He glances over at Jay and Grey. "You two are welcome for the heads-up. Be extra sensitive around her in the next week. I've noticed at the office that she can get either extra insane, which is scary, or uncharacteristically emotional and fragile, which is even scarier. Be prepared for both."

"As weird as this is, it's also incredibly impressive," I compliment him. "You have a gift, Dean. Treasure it. Foster it. Nurture it. Grow it. Use—"

Grey shakes me by the shoulders as if trying to snap sense into me. "Are you kidding me, Lawson? This is so weird! Why are you okay with this? Why are you like this? Why are you encouraging this? Why?"

I shrink under his fierce gaze. "I don't know." When he doesn't look pleased with my answer, I try again, "Because I'm a psycho?"

"Besides the point, psycho," he replies, releasing me. "But don't get me wrong, you are a psycho, psycho, and I'm glad you've finally accepted it."

I knew you'd get it, Furby!" Dean shouts while he continues to run around like a chicken without a head, avoiding Emma's blows. "I knew you'd appreciate it. You're the most sensible woman that I've ever met."

"Okay," Grey chuckles humorlessly, "now you're just lying."

"Bud," Jay calls to Dean, crossing his arms over his chest in an alpha-male kind of way, "you need to stop. I'm not cool with this."

Sarah nods, backing Jay. "Wait until I tell Landon."

"Tell him, Sar-Bear! I'm not worried! I'll kick his ass!" Dean replies over-confidently, unconcerned, stopping to take the hits of Emma – his apparent sister from another mister.

"Tell me what?" Landon asks from behind Dean, having just entered the room. He doesn't blink twice at Emma attacking his friend, probably used to it.

Dean doesn't turn around to face him. Instead, he just drops to his knees and hugs Sarah's legs. "I take it back! Don't tell him! Please don't tell him! I'm sorry! Please don't say anything!"

Sarah stares down at him before sighing, unsurprisingly showing him mercy. "It's nothing, Landon," she lies, waving it off.

Dean blows out a breath of relief and then glances at Jay who glares at him for extra measure but reluctantly lets it go.

He is so lucky to be dealing with two of the nicest people on the planet.

"He's tracking Sarah and Emma's cycles," Xave deliberately spills the beans, deciding to be the bad guy when no one else says anything; he's exceptionally good at it.

Dean sucks that relieved breath right back in when Lan clenches his jaw and grits his teeth.

Right. I forgot Xave, one of the meaner people on the planet, is here too...

Em stops smacking Dean and directs a look of pity his way when noticing the look on her brother's face.

"I'm going to permanently disfigure your face, Dean," Lan tells him nonchalantly, forcing his friend around to face him. He cracks his knuckles and curls his hands into fists, striking up a perfect boxing stance.

Dean covers his face and flinches as if waiting for the punch. "Buffer! Buffer! Where the hell is my buffer?! Do the freaken buffering already, buffer-er!"

I reluctantly step in between the two of them, courageously facing Lan.

"Move, Aqueela," he warns, itching to do some damage to his friend's face.

I shake my head, keeping my feet planted firmly to the spot. "I don't think so, Lanny. I can't stand by and let you destroy a beautiful face, and one that belongs to my unofficial office husband at that. Not happening. Sorry, friend."

Dean's a gorgeous specimen and it wouldn't be fair on all the females in the world to ruin such a pretty face.

Lan meets my gaze, and we have a stare-down for a few seconds. His hardened emerald-colored eyes eventually give way to defeat when he sees the determination in my features. Recognizing his loss, he uncurls his fists and drops his hands back to his side. "If you were a guy, I swear I'd knock you out too, Aqueela," he promises, and I believe him.

I've never been so grateful to be a female as I am now.

"Lucky you, Wyatt, you get to live another day," Lan informs his friend. "Your buffer-er saved your pathetic ass."

"My hero!" Dean draws me into another one of his annoying bear hugs that I could honestly do less with – is this how Grey feels with me?

"Where are the eggs, Landon?" Sarah asks him with a raised eyebrow that comes across as strangely intimidating.

He shrugs, uncaring. "I left them out in the backyard somewhere."

She taps her forehead in frustration. "But I told you—"

"I'm not going to pretend the eggs are babies for practice, Sarah. You're not even pregnant. It's stupid. All of it is stupid," he cuts her off with a sharp edge to his tone.

"Fine, but just go get them please before they rot outside."

"Now that I can do," he agrees before marching back in the direction he first came from.

Done with Dean and his antics, she flings a hand at him. "Go with him."

"Why? Why are you sending me into the lion's den?" he complains like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "Is it because I'm his real best friend who he obviously pretends to hate?"

"Just go get the eggs, Dean," she says with another sigh. "I can see where this is going. I'm not doing another pretend fight with you right now. You go on aimless rants and it takes forever."

"I can't even!" he huffs. "It's a real fight, Sar-Bear, because you're using me to watch over your fake babies that your almost-there husband refuses to take care of because he still doesn't know that you're not just pretend pregnant! You know that I hate keeping real secrets from him! I'm so fake mad at you right now!"

To top off his dramatic rant, he throws his hands up in real exasperation before fake angrily trudging off.

He speaks his own language.

Em rolls her eyes. "I can't be the only one who can't stand him"

"He reminds me of Aqueela," Xave chips in, looking my way. "If you two ever got together, it would be a huge mess. You need JT's calm to balance your crazy out."

I meet Jay's gaze and we both smile. I still get a rush of butterflies whenever he looks at me like that, like I'm the only person in the room.

"How are you feeling about this?" I ask Sarah, changing topics because I can sense her apprehension.

"Nervous," she answers truthfully.

I would be too...

"Well, I'm over the moon! My Alexis is going to have a cousin soon!" Em rejoices, kissing her baby's nose.

Alexis laughs out of her belly and pouts her lips at her mom as if asking for another kiss. Em smiles and kisses her lips.

"When do you think you two will have a child?" Sarah asks us, not pushing but simply asking.

Jay shifts uncomfortably. "Not for a while."

"With Jay travelling and our futures kind of up in the air, it's not a good time," I add, agreeing with him. We're on the same page.

"JT has his head screwed on right. He's doing everything the right way. He's living life and chasing his dreams first before settling down with his girl," Xave backs him.

He sure is...

"Is that why you guys dropped Alexis off the other night?" I change the subject again, my focus on Em and Xave. "You already knew about Sarah and were hashing out a plan because you guys wanted Lan to have experience with a real baby?"

Sarah smiles and nods. "I was grateful for that. Lan...not so much."

I raise an eyebrow, intrigued. "How did it go?"

She shakes her head. "He wouldn't even hold her. He watched football while I fed her, played with her, read to her, and put her to sleep. When I tried to get him to engage or if she cried, he just put the TV on louder."

Em scoffs. "He's a jerk. How can he resist my baby's cute face?"

Sarah shrugs, attempting to stay optimistic. "He patted her head once and gave her a whole, uncut steak to eat. So, there's that..."

"He'll be different when it's his own kid," Xave reassures her.

Sarah nods, hopeful. "Dean thinks that he's just afraid."

"Honestly, I would be too," Jay offers his perspective. "It's a huge responsibility and you all know how insecure he is of his temper. He might first have a meltdown and doubt himself, but he'll be okay once he processes it because he loves you and he'll love your kid too."

Sarah blinks back tears and hugs him, thankful for his words. "And that's why I wanted you here today."

He pats her back, showing his support. "Anytime, Sarah."

I glance at Grey to see him staring down at the floor. I already know where his mind is at. I loop my arm through his and nod up at him in reassurance when he looks down at me questioningly.

His gray eyes meet mine and his lips turn up ever so slightly when he realizes that I'm trying to comfort him.

"Hey, been meaning to ask, how's Laiken doing?" Xavier questions, bringing me back into the conversation.

"He's got the fam and Mase there today. I think they've cheered him up a little," I answer with a smile, tearing my gaze away from Grey.

"I'm glad. What he's going through...it's hard. Real hard," Em replies softly, probably thinking of saying goodbye to her own father.

I nod. "Yeah, it is."

Sarah glances around at all of us, stunned. "Am I the only one in the whole squad that had a happy upbringing?"

"You're lucky," Grey tells her. "That's rare nowadays."

Benley has a cool family, but he's mentioned that his parents are overbearing and that his sisters are a little judgmental. AJ's family sound awesome, just like her. Max's parents divorced and made him feel like he was to blame. Blubber's dad left them. Bell's dad is super hard on Troy. Xavier's parents barely raised him. We all know about Jay and Grey's backgrounds by now. I'm not sure about Jezel's parents. Sarah really must be one of the few in our group who still has a great relationship with both of her parents.

I don't get time to dwell on it because suddenly Dean's fearful screams pierce through the air:

"Help! Sarah, help! He's killing them! He's killing the babies!"

We all run outside to see Landon using a baseball bat to hit the eggs across the garden and against the wall of their house.

My jaw drops at the sight of the babies being smashed to pieces against the bricks as the yoke seeps out and drips into the ground. It's a gory and traumatic image that will forever be stained into my mind.

"Stop it! Stop this, bro! Stop the brutality! You're killing them!" Dean tries desperately to yank the bat out of his friend's hands.

Landon mercilessly shoves Dean to the ground and continues on with his gruesome killings, not batting an eyelid for anyone.

Dean scrambles back to his feet and jumps on Lan's back, not giving up. "Dude, c'mon! Please stop! This isn't you!"

"The hell are you doing?! Get off me!" Lan flings Dean onto his back onto the dusty floor with little effort despite Dean being all muscle. Lan's always been incredibly strong and a great fighter because of his boxing.

Dean wails into the dirt while crawling through the sand to reach us. "They're all gone, Sarah! Yoko! Eggiot! Shelly! Benedict! All gone! He's a mass murderer!"

I reach down and ruffle his hair. "There, there. You're safe now, Dean."

"He made me watch, Aqueela," he shrieks at me, scarred by what he's just seen. "He made me watch as he busted all of their little heads right open in front of me. He made their guts splatter everywhere. I even have a little bit of Yoken on me! He cracked each of their heads in with a sadistic grin on his face!"

Sarah grabs the bat from Lan's hands, and he lets go when he sees that it's her. "I told you to bring the babies inside, Lan, not to murder them in cold blood!"

Em shakes her head at her brother, disappointed. "How could you, Lan?"

"Has everyone around me lost their damn minds?!" Lan yells, clueless as to why we're all on his case for having some fun. "They're eggs!"

"But they were your eggs!" Dean continues being the distraught victim. "And they trusted you with their little oval lives! And what did you do with that trust? You pulped it and pulverized them!"

Lan shrugs, surrendering to their act. "I was teaching the kiddos to be strong – normal dad things."

"Did you even feed them some uncut steaks before killing all of them in front of their loving uncle?" Sarah interrogates him, hands on her hips.

"How am I supposed to feed an egg, Sarah?" he drops the act, already fed up with his part. "The egg is supposed to feed me."

"You ate some of the babies too?!" Dean chokes out, placing a hand over his mouth in shock. "Is that why I couldn't find Egg Sheeran, Eggma Thorman, and Shelldon Cooper anywhere?! I think I'm going to vomit!"

"Did he really name an egg after me?" Em asks warily, displeased.

Yes, yes he did.

Dean throws an accusing finger at Lan, furious. "You cannibal!"

Lan, like a pro, ignores Dean and directs his next words to his fiancée, "Even if they were real babies, how would I have fed them, Sar? I don't have boobs. You should have asked Dean instead."

I can't help it, I fist-bump Lan and start laughing.

Dean glares at me for switching sides so quickly.

"I'm pregnant, Landon," Sarah tells him abruptly.

His grin instinctively drops. "You're not funny, Sarah."

"I really am pregnant, Lan," she tells him again.

He shakes his head, refusing to accept it. "No, you're not."

"I am."

"You're not."

"I'm pretty sure I am," she says in a sing-song voice.

"I'm pretty sure you're not," he replies back in the same sing-song voice, unamused.

"I really am."

"You're really not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, Lan."

"No, Sarah."

"I'm going to be a mom."

"I'm not going to be a dad."

"Landon Kitler!"

"Sarah Hart!"

This is going well...

Sarah takes out all the pregnancy sticks in her bag and shoves them into his hands. "You can't argue with facts."

"I can and I will! Facts should be afraid of me," he says while looking through all the sticks. "These are all positive. That means we can celebrate because we're not pregnant. If they were all negative, then I would be worried."

She exhales tiredly. "You know that's not how it works, Lan."

"These things aren't even accurate most of the time, though," he says, trying his best to find a way out of fatherhood.

"I bought twelve different ones at different stores, my love," she gently breaks it to him.

"Twelve too little!" he protests. "C'mon," he takes her hand into his and starts walking them toward his car, "let's go and buy some more and then you'll see that I'm right."

She rips her hand out of his hold. "Stop it, Landon." She stands on her tippy-toes and cups his cheek. "I know this is not what you wanted to hear but babe, whether you like it or not, this is happening."

He pulls back from her as if he's been slapped. "It can't happen."

About to give them privacy, I turn around, only to come face to face with the rest of the crowd who are all staring at me with expectation in their eyes, all except Jay.

I recoil under their demanding gazes. "What?" I ask helplessly, feeling small.

As they continue to wordlessly stare at me, I sigh heavily, coming to terms with what those stares mean.

I pout, foreseeing my future. "Oh, c'mon, guys!" I slap my own thigh a little too hard for my liking. "Why does it always have to be me?"

"Get in there," Xave instructs.

"Yeah. I know it seems like an impossible feat but maybe you can talk some sense into my brother," Em suggests.

"Now's your moment, buffer-er!" Dean starts dragging me up to the couple while they're distracted.

"What? No! I've already been buffer-er!" I dig my heels in, trying to fight him off. "Don't! Dean, I swear, I'll—"

"Chin up, kiddo! It's your time to shine!" he speaks over me and then pushes me, full-force, into Landon's back.

Landon stumbles forward and turns around to look at me, already ticked. "Why?"

I lamely gesture to my feet. "Uh...tripped," I answer nervously.

"Uh-huh." He crosses his arms over his chest and glances down at the ground, skeptical. "Over what?"

"Air," I reply like a loser, hearing the others snicker from behind me.

He's about to turn back to Sarah when I stop him with words that I know will get through to him.

"You need to decide if it's always going to be worth it," I use his own words against him, the very words that he'd used on me at the ice-cream shop.

He stares down at me with a blank expression on his face. "What are you talking about?"

I continue with his own quotes, hoping that they'll echo into his heart. "Stop overthinking and embrace whatever comes next."

Recognition finally flickers through his eyes. "Don't use my—"

"You and Sarah can go the distance. You can build an empire together," I interrupt him.

He frowns deeply, catching on. "Alright, I get it. Just—"

"Everything will be fine," I conclude. It's not my line but I still mean and believe it.

He freezes momentarily, registering everything, before grinning down at me. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that, Lawson?"

I grin back at him proudly. "I do."

Xavie takes the gap and bravely joins my side. "I know that you won't listen to whatever I have to say, Ruthless, but being a dad is the best thing to ever happen to me," he tells Lan before passing Alexis over to him.

Lan starts shaking his head. "No, bro, I can't—"

"Hold my baby, Landon!" Emma lectures him, her terrifying side rearing its ugly head.

"Yeah, hold Alex already!" Dean adds to the shouting, being the usual loudmouth that he is.

Em hits him upside the head. "For the trillionth time, Dean, her name is Alexis."

Lan, as tense as board, anxiously holds her body away from his frame, unsure of what to do. "I can't do this," he says after another second, trying to give her back to Xavier but he isn't budging, and neither is Em.

"Yes, you can," Sarah encourages him, invading his space to help him readjust his hold on Alexis. "There. Now she's comfy. And look, she's happy too."

Alexis is a little star beaming up at her uncle with the biggest smile. "Lanna!"

He chuckles when she starts playing with the dog tag around his neck. "You're right, Em. I didn't think it was possible with her being the spawn of pure evil and everything, but she is cute."

"Told you so," Em smiles knowingly, paying no attention to Xave's whines.

"See. We can do this, Landon," Sarah tells him in certainty, sure of herself and sure of him, boosting his confidence. "And I'm a little apprehensive too. I'm right in it with you."

He nods, appreciative of her and coming around to the idea. "Sar, just so you know, I would never have hit those eggs that hard if they were real babies."

"Okay. We're done here." Sarah, not finding it funny in the least, takes Alexis from him and starts walking back inside.

"Sa!" Alexis exclaims happily, hugging Sarah's neck before waving goodbye to her uncle.

"Babe, wait!" Lan laughs aloud and jogs after her. "I'm kidding! You know I'm kidding!"

I glance at the others and nod. "I think they're going to be just fine...or as fine as whatever the heck that was."

Dean high-fives me, singing my praises. "You did good, kid. You did good."

I take a bow. "I always do."

"Did you mean what you said?" Grey suddenly asks, unable to focus on anything else.

Xave knows him well because he doesn't dig deeper and simply nods. "I did. Other than Emma, she's the best gift." 

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

'Thank you for the help today. You are a great friend. I will never be able to put into words how much I appreciate you🥰' ~ Hart of Gold

'All good, Sar. Happy to be there for you guys🤗' ~ Legend Lawson

I'm glad that today was eventful, and in a great way. I never thought that I'd be able to speak reason into Lan, but I guess my friendship with him as progressed as well.

I get deterred from my thoughts and accomplishments of the day by the sound of Jay's phone ringing again. It's been ringing pretty much non-stop since he got into the shower. Somebody is desperately trying to get a hold of him and I'm not sure if it can wait anymore.

"Jay!" I yell over the sound of the rushing water coming from the shower. I knock on the door, but he doesn't seem to hear me. I open the door slightly, "Jay?!"

"Why are you shouting, Looney Tune?" he answers, finally able to hear me.

A warmth spreads and blooms through my chest at hearing the old nickname. It makes me smile so wide and so hard that my mouth hurts.

"Your phone's going crazy," I eventually reply. "Can I answer for you and tell them that you'll call back?" I check with him.

"Sure. I'd appreciate that, thanks."

I close the door again and walk over to his side of the bed to answer his phone. Before I can greet the person on the other end and explain that Jay's currently preoccupied, he's already talking:

"Hello Jay, it's Tobias from BMW again. I'm sorry I keep nagging you about this after you already said no in person, but I just wanted to ask you one more time, are you sure you won't take the seat?"

I blink, dumbfounded and speechless.

He takes my silence as his cue to keep on talking, "As you know, BMW is buying Haas out in the second half of the season, which is around the corner, and as previously discussed, we'd love for you to be our number one driver."

What?

"We know your loyalty lies with Ferrari, but they already have two great drivers and we're currently on the prowl for two great drivers to join our team in three months time. We've seen your past races and we saw you in free practice one. You're always flying out there. I wanted to see if I can change your mind."

He's already turned them down.

"With your talent, you deserve to be so much more than just a reserve driver. We'd love to have you on our team. It would be an honor. We can offer you a two-year contract as it stands. I can't promise the same offer or any offer at all in a few months' time. You should take the opportunities now while you can, while you're still young and while you still have those insane reflexes of yours. I'm not exactly sure what's holding a guy like you back, but take some to think about it and let me know before the end of the week, okay?"

When I still don't say anything, he clicks off.

A numbness flows through me as I'm left to linger in his profound words.

I swear, I'm never answering Jay's phone ever again. Nothing good ever comes out of it.

It feels like my soul has been injured. There's an unexplainable ache that I can only describe as guilt. The only reason he'd say no is because of me, which makes me incredibly selfish. I'm holding him back because of my own fears and if I'm going to be with him, long-term, I can't do that to him anymore.

It's my job to push him to follow his dreams, not to keep him from awesome opportunities like this. If he takes the seat, our whole world will change, but I've always known what I'm getting into when it comes to him. I've always known that a day like this would eventually come; I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon.

I don't even look up when Jay enters the room, changed and now drying his wet hair with his towel.

"You okay?" he eventually asks, noticing my drop in mood. He takes a seat besides me when I don't immediately answer. "Who was on the phone?"

"Tobias," I answer flatly.

*~**~*

Hey, guys :)

If you'd like to read the rest of this chapter now, head over to Radish :D The complete chapter is up on Radish under 'Fast Forward' & written by CJ_Adler. I'll upload the full chapter on Wattpad in 12 months from now.

~ CJ