Page 72 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends

I don’t think I’ll make it home. Maybe he’s right. Maybe if I just lay down, I can get through this.

With a nod, I shut off my laptop and let Max pack it into my laptop bag for me. After he tosses our trash and gathers our bags, he holds his arm out to me, helping me out of my chair and out of the coffee shop.

“I can get you some ginger ale or something,” Max offers as he takes me down the sidewalk.

Even the smell of people’s cologne and perfume as they walk by pushes me closer to the point of losing my breakfast. I haven’t even been pregnant for long, and I’m ready to deliver this baby so that I can escape the symptoms.

“I just want to lay down,” I tell him.

Max doesn’t make any other offers. He gets me to his fancy apartment building and takes me up to the top floor where his large unit is located. When he opens the door and leads me toward the couch, I think I’m safe until another wave of nausea hits me.

“Bathroom?” I manage to say before clamping my hand over my mouth.

“First door on the left,” Max says as he points to a nearby hallway.

I rush into the bathroom and lock the door behind me before throwing myself over the toilet seat, barely giving myself a second to spare before I lose my breakfast. My entire body aches as my stomach clenches, nearly all of my strength leaving me by the time that I’m finished.

I manage to drag myself over to the sink and wash my mouth out before slumping back down to the ground, feeling shaky and cold. I still feel sick. This nightmare still doesn’t feel over.

“Emma, are you okay?” Max asks as he gently knocks on the door.

Maybe it’s the stress or the hormones or the guilt that I feel about everything, but tears immediately fill my eyes and start spilling down my cheeks. I place my hand over my mouth to try to stifle my sobs, but they burst from me regardless.

“Are you crying?” Max asks. “Emma, open the door.”

I can’t. I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t wantanyoneto see me like this.

Instead of answering, I bury my face in my hands, wishing that I could hide or disappear. There’s no escaping my reality, though. I’m harboring the biggest secret of my life.

Chapter thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-Three: Max

Hell has finally broken loose.

“Emma, please! Open the door,” I say as I try the doorknob for what feels like the hundredth time. Just like all the times before, it doesn’t budge.

“Stop, Max,” Emma tells me from inside, her voice coming out weak and shaky. “Just… stop.”

My heart pounds in my chest as I pace in front of the bathroom door, seriously considering the option of kicking it down. I’m scared. I’m downright fucking terrified of what’s going on with her right now.

I’veneverseen her like this before. Josh, Ryan, and I have been right on the money the entire time. Something is definitely wrong, and I think it’s finally made her snap.

“If you don’t want to talk to me, I’ll call someone for you,” I tell her as I stop in front of the door again, straining my ears to hear anything.

All that I’ve heard for the past twenty minutes is her crying and sniffling with an occasional word here and there. Merely a door separates us, but it feels like we’re miles apart, and I can’t get to her to help her.

“I can call Ethan and Andrew,” I offer.

“No!” Emma shouts.

I frown, figuring that I shouldn’t even mention her parents if that’s her reaction to her brothers. But if she won’t talk to me, I have to find someone she’ll talk to. I need some help.

“I’m still here, Em. I’m here when you need me,” I say through the door before stepping away where she can’t hear me. I move to the entrance of the hallway, still keeping an eye on the bathroom door as I pull out my phone to call Josh.

He and Ryan should be at the office wrapping up a strategy meeting right about now. This is way more important than work, though.

“Hello?” Josh answers on the second ring. He’s always been good about answering his phone.