A few days later, Tess is finally home and she updated me on what happened after I left the boat. Apparently, Marshal, Simon's older brother, got very upset at what Leon did and they kicked him off the boat the next morning. Not literally, of course. It wasn't much more fun after that, because some people got upset that Leon was made to leave and it caused quite a ruckus. I felt bad after what Tess told me for ruining people's fun and I apologized to her. She told me to 'shut it' because it wasn't my fault. 

"How are things with you and Eli?" Tess muted voice reaches my ears. We're floating on the lake, faces half-submerged, enjoying the not-so-harsh evening sun. 

"I'm not sure. Good, I guess. We haven't talked much since I got back, he's busy at work he says."

"Are you still physical?"

"Yes, but he's a bit more withdrawn since the day after he picked me up," I tell her.

"Oh, so you shagged after he rescued you like a knight in shining armor?" I can hear the dirty smirk in her voice.

"Jesus, Tess. And no, I haven't slept with him, yet."

"What?!" she yells and pushes herself into a vertical position in the water. "You're still a virgin?"

"Virginity is a social construct, it's not real. And you know we have done stuff, just not that yet." I stay afloat, not facing my best friend.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe because we wanted to take things slow. Maybe I'm just not ready yet. I really don't know."

"Okay, fair enough, I guess. Would you stop if he initiated it, though?"

"No, I wouldn't." I can say that for certain.

"Okay, lemme grab my phone and send a quick text to your loverboy," Tess teases and it gets me to give up my floating.

"Don't you dare! And you don't have his number, anyway." I point a threatening finger at her face.

"I was just kidding, calm down, tiger." Tess laughs and splashes a wave of lake water at my face.

Is it weird that we haven't had sex yet? No, it's not. We are going at our own pace. Maybe I should ask Eli. God, I can already see myself blushing like crazy during that conversation. 

I haven't seen Eli at all today. He was gone when I woke up this morning, he didn't come home with Bennett for lunch and now it's almost seven and I don't think he's home, yet. He's probably hungry if he's still working. I could cook something and bring it to him at the garage.

"I'm gonna go and see if Eli's back. If not, I'm gonna bring him some dinner to work." I tell Tess and swim to shore.

"Do me a favor and ask him why he hasn't railed the shit out of you, yet!" she shouts from the middle of the lake.

"Fuck you!" I yell back, giving her the finger.

"Love you, too!"

Bennett is sitting at the kitchen counter, eating some pasta dish and reading something on his phone. He's pretty focused on it, not really registering my presence. 

"Hey," I greet him.

"Hello," he quickly looks up from his phone before looking down again. "Where's Tessie?" 

"Still at the lake, I think she will come in, soon. Is Eli still at work?"

"No, he's at the doctor's."

"What? Why? Is he okay?" I rush out the words. Dread spreads in my gut and I don't like that feeling.

Bennett abruptly drops his phone on the counter and looks at me. His brows are furrowed in a frown but he forces himself to relax.

"Uh, yeah, he's fine. No need to worry. It's just a check-up." He doesn't sound at all convinced by his own words.

"Just a check-up?" I ask him, suspicion clear in my voice.

Ben clears his throat. "Yep. Nothing bad, he'll be home soon, I'm sure."

"You're acting weird," I say.

"No, I'm not," he quickly objects.

"Yes, you are."

"I- uh I just feel bad because I promised Eli not to tell you so you wouldn't worry. And now I told you, so I broke my promise. That's all."

"But if it's nothing bad, then why would I worry?"

"Exactly! So, stop worrying."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Now I do worry!" I frustratedly throw my hands in the air.

"What's going on here?" Tess enters the kitchen.

"Eli's at the doctor's and you're brother is acting all weird about it."

"Why is Eli at the doctor's?" Tess questions.

"General check-up," Bennet hisses through clenched teeth.

"Okay, no need to snap at me. You are acting weird, dude."

"See," I tell Ben, pointing at Tess.

"Enough, both of you, get out of the kitchen and stop worrying." He points at the door.

"But we're hungry," Tess whines, and I throw in a pout for good measure.

"Fine, you stay here, I'll leave." With that, he grabs his phone and abandons his half-eaten dinner. Great, now I feel bad for spoiling his meal.

Later that night, Tess and I are snuggled up on the couch, watching a thriller. I tried calling Eli but it went straight to voicemail. His phone must be dead. I'm half asleep when I hear the front door open and close. I sit up and look toward the doorway to the hallway. Tess looks at me from her peripheral vision. 

"What?"

"I think Eli's back."

"Oh, good. I thought you wanted to scare me because you 'heard something'." She focuses back on the movie.

I can't stop looking over my shoulder every two seconds, hoping Eli will come in. 

"Damn, woman. Go to him or stop with the fidgeting, you're driving me crazy," Tess complains and I mumble a quiet 'sorry' before getting up from the couch.

"Be right back," I tell her and ruffle her hair.

"Sure you will." Her voice drips with sarcasm.

I find Eli in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water. 

"Everything okay?" I ask him as I enter.

He turns to look at me and a forced smile appears on his face.

"Hey beautiful," he murmurs.

"Hey handsome," I say and walk further into the room. As soon as I am within his reach, he pulls me closer to him by my waist and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"Everything okay?" I ask again. 

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Why do you think?"

"Romy, what's going on?" he asks, his voice now stern.

"Where were you?"

"At work."

"And after that?"

"I'm coming straight from work."

"You're lying." My voice comes out suspicious and a little shaky.

"I'm no-" he starts but I cut him off.

"Why were you at the doctor's?"

"Wha- who told you... Bennett..." His hands drop from my waist and he rubs his face.

"What did he tell you?" he asks annoyed. 

"That you went for a general check-up. But I think he was lying. Was he?" My arms cross in front of my chest and I take a step away from him.

"No. That's why I went," he says, little more convincing than Ben.

"Are you sick?" I ask, my arms now slack by my sides, my voice defeated.

"What? No, of course not. I'm fine, you don't need to worry, darling." He steps closer and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Promise me," I whisper.

"I promise," he whispers back and pulls me into his arms. I hug his waist, sliding my hands up to his shoulder blades. He buries his nose in the crook of my neck and my hair, nuzzling the skin and breathing in deeply.

Behind me, I hear someone step into the kitchen. Eli lightly lifts his head, looking up a little.

"Thanks for not telling her, man," he sarcastically spits out.

"Come on, it slipped out, I didn't mean to. I was distracted when she asked where you were," Bennett whines and even though I can't see it, I'm pretty sure Eli flipped him the bird behind my back.

I walk down the front porch, looking around the driveway. Tess sent me to find the guys and ask them what they would like to order for dinner. I couldn't find them anywhere in the house or by the lake so I went to the front of the house. They came home from work earlier today so I know for sure they are here somewhere.

"You have to tell her, dude. I'm serious." Bennett's more than frustrated tone reaches my ears.

I walk over to the parked trucks, following Ben's faint voice, when I hear Eli speak and stop dead in my tracks. I cannot see them from my position on the other side of his truck but I can hear them clearly now.

"Keep it down! I can't tell her, she'll fucking hate me," Eli says more quietly but just as frustrated.

"You don't know that. You don't even know if any of it is true yet, so just explain it to her," Ben reasons.

"I can't tell her, fuck!" Eli's fist connects with the truck door. I flinch and almost yelp but I slap my hand over my mouth, just in time. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop but my curious nature gets the better of me. Plus, I have a feeling they are talking about me. So, technically, I deserve to know what is being said.

"Calm down. Trust me, it'll be better if she hears it from you than from anyone else. That would break her."

Eli huffs a sarcastic laugh. "It'll break her regardless. I can't tell her - I can't fucking lose her. She's the only good thing in my life right now." He sounds truly exasperated.

"Okay, ouch," Bennett jests but he sounds actually a little hurt.

"You know what I mean," Eli grunts and rubs a hand roughly down his face.

"She deserves to know." Bennett's tone is final and before I can stop myself, I step around the truck and speak.

"I deserve to know what?" My voice comes out stronger than I anticipated.

Eli whirls around and Bennett stares at me with wide eyes, shock evident on his face.

"Romy," Eli states.

"What do I deserve to know?" I ask again.

Ben clears his throat. "I'm... gonna go inside."

We ignore him, our eyes intently locked. I refuse to look away even though I am close to doing exactly that. But I won't back down. Eli heaves a long sigh and looks up at the sky. I won, I think, but it's a short-lived feeling of victory. Because I am pretty sure, I am very close to losing something else entirely.

"Let's talk inside," he finally says. This time, he doesn't meet my eyes.

"No. Tell me here. Now." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Come on, Romy, please. Let's not do this out here," he pleads.

I lose it. "Fuck, Eli! Tell me what the hell is going on, now!" I scream at him and flinches at my outburst.

"Okay, okay. Fuck! Let me think for a minute," he yells back.

"You had enough time to think. I'm pretty sure that whatever you've been keeping from me hasn't just come to your attention today," I'm fuming, livid. This bullshit ends now. I can't deal with his back and forth anymore.

 Eli looks at me again and I swear I see unshed tears collecting in his eyes. Dread creeps through my every fiber and a shudder races through my body. Shit. Was he lying to me? Is he actually sick?

"What is it?" I whisper, stepping closer to him. 

A car pulls into the driveway, startling us both and we break eye contact. Janet jumps out of her red vehicle, smiling smugly before taking the two of us in. Her expression changes to mock sympathy. 

"Aww, what a sob fest. I didn't mean to interrupt," she sarcastically cooes, jerking her chin at Eli, referencing his still unshed tears.

She slams her car door and walks over to him. My eyes track her every move with a wary gaze. When she reaches him, she takes his handsome face in one of her hands, squishing his cheeks together and making his lips purse.

"Come on, be a man, Eli," she sneers as he pulls his face from her grasp.

She slaps his chest lightly and continues talking to him - but she smiles directly at me as she says, "You need to be a strong role model for your child."

It takes a few seconds for her word to register in my brain but when they do, I swear I hear my heart break and my head explodes into white noise. His child?

What. The. Fuck.

I shake my head in disbelief and my vision goes blurry with the tears pooling in my eyes and running down my face.

"Romy?" Eli's voice faintly reaches my ears through the fog in my mind.

"Aw, she didn't know. My bad, I thought you guys were in love and told each other everything." Janet is still talking but I can only look at Eli, and focus on the fact that he is not denying her statements.

"Your child?" I whisper and a sob rips out of me. 

Janet walks over to me. Her hand reaches out in an attempt to capture a strand of my hair but Eli's growl stops her before she can touch me.

"If you touch her, I will fucking end you, you hear me?" he spits at her and she takes a step back. "Romy, baby, please. Let me explain," he begs and steps closer to me. I take a step back.

Baby.

He's having a baby.

With Janet.

"Don't call me that," I say with a hollow, detached voice, so very unlike my usual tone, before I turn and run inside, the thoughts in my mind coming at me with a dizzying speed.