I'm in It (The Reed Brothers 10)

“Was it hard turning them over? The kids, I mean,” Lark asks.

“No, they were happy to be with their grandmother. They’re going to be fine.” I shrug. “That part was well worth the trip.”

“So, can we get back to what’s important?” Finny says with a snort. She leans toward me like she’s telling me a secret, but says loudly, “Did you get any pictures of the goods?”

“The goods?”

“You know, the man meat. The dick pic. The ol’ sausage.”

I lift a hand. “You can stop there. I get it. And no, I didn’t get any pictures.”

“But you did see it.” She slaps her hand on her thigh. “I knew it. I knew you would.”

“So, what happened? Why aren’t you happy?” Star asks. Out of all my sisters, we’re the closest. She knows me the best.

“I…I don’t know,” I admit. I shrug my shoulders as tears flood my eyes. I blink them back. “I have no idea what happened.” And I don’t. I still don’t know. “We came home early, because he said he had to go to work. And we didn’t speak on the plane, or when we came home. It was like everything changed with that pill, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“What pill?” Star asks. She looks to our other sisters like one of them will know what’s going on, but they all shrug too.

“The morning-after pill,” I say. “After that, everything changed.”

“Wait,” Lark says. “You took a morning-after pill?”

“So, you did fuck him!” Finny cries out. “I knew you would.” Then she sobers when Star shoots her a look. “Sorry,” she mutters. “Please continue.”

“So, the pill?” Star prompts.

I nod. “He bought me one. Said to take it.”

Lark collapses back against the couch. “That was…thoughtful of him.”

“Did the condom break?” Finny asks.

I shake my head.

“He didn’t pull out?” Finny probes. Star glares at her. “What?” she cries. “It’s a legitimate question!”

“I didn’t exactly give him a chance to pull out. I was on top. My fault entirely.” I heave a sigh and scrub a hand down my face.

“Bullshit,” Finny says. “He could have lifted you right off if he’d wanted to.”

Funny. That’s the same thing he said. And yet I still feel responsible. “Maybe.”

“So, after you took the pill…” Star leaves it open.

I shake my head. “I didn’t take it.”

“Why not?” Peck asks softly.

“It didn’t feel right.” I can’t even begin to explain it. I just know it hurts. It fucking hurts. My eyes well up again and I don’t even try to stop the tears this time. “I actually opened the package and put the pill in my mouth, and then I stopped. It just didn’t feel right. At the time, I thought this thing between us would last forever. But then he went cold on me. And now I don’t know what to do. I just…don’t know.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Star says.

I throw up my hands in surrender, like throwing confetti into the air. They’re going to make me rehash it over and over. And every time, it hurts exactly the same.

“Just hear me out. We’re going to figure this thing out.”

I nod.