LOGINAva Her words hit harder than any slap. They didn’t just sting, they sank deep, settling somewhere in my chest where it already hurt to breathe. My eyes burned, vision blurring for a second, but I refused to let the tears fall. Not in front of her. Not when she was looking at me like I had already ruined everything.“I am not erasing anything, Mom,” I said, my voice shaking despite how hard I tried to steady it. I swallowed, forcing the lump in my throat down. “Not until I decide. This is not fair. You are acting like I did this alone.”She let out a laugh, but it wasn’t the kind that held humor. It was sharp, hollow, and cracked right through the air between us. “Not fair?” she repeated, her voice rising. “You want to talk about fair? I have given you everything, everything and this is how you repay me? By turning our family into some kind of joke?”I flinched, but I didn’t look away. If I did, I knew I’d break.“You think people won’t talk?” she went on, her eyes hard, almost unrec
Ava I woke up to cold water hitting my face again but this time it was not my mom waking me up for school or something stupid like that. No, this time she was standing over my bed with the pregnancy test paper all crumpled in her other hand and her eyes were red and swollen like she had been crying for hours already. My heart dropped straight into my stomach before I could even sit up properly.“What the hell mom?” I said, wiping water off my face and trying to grab the paper from her but she jerked it away fast.“You tell me what the hell Ava!” she yelled, voice cracking halfway through like she could not decide if she wanted to scream or break down completely. “I came in here to clean your room because you never do it yourself and I find this? This test that says you are pregnant and then this other paper with Jax’s name matched to it? Your stepbrother? Are you out of your mind?”She started crying harder then, tears just pouring down her face while she waved the papers around like
Ava I threw my hand up before anyone could even start talking again and it came out of me fast, like my patience just snapped in half and fell on the floor.“Okay. Everybody. Hold your horses.”Jax stared at me like I had grown a second head and didn’t know what language I was speaking anymore. “What did you just say?” he asked, slow and confused, like he was trying to process if I was joking or just completely gone in the head.“I said relax,” I repeated, louder this time, pointing between all of them because apparently I had become the manager of chaos whether I liked it or not. “Nobody is doing anything until this test is done properly. No arguing, no shouting, no accusing, no random emotional explosions. We are not doing this circus again in public.”Professor immediately stepped forward like I had insulted him personally and not just asked him to breathe like a normal human being. “You are the reason we are here,” he said sharply, like that solved everything in his mind.“Yes, I
Ava I slammed the front door behind me so hard the whole house shook. My heart was still pounding from everything with Riley earlier, that stupid hug where I almost broke down in her arms, and now I was standing in the empty hallway wondering why the hell I thought coming straight home was a good idea. Mom and Dad were out, thank God, because the last thing I needed was them asking why my eyes looked red. I kicked off my shoes and headed straight for the living room, where Jax was sprawled on the couch scrolling on his phone like he owned the place.He looked up when he heard me. “Hey. You look like shit. Rough day?”That was all it took. The words just spilled out before I could stop them. I stood there with my hands on my hips, chest tight, and said, “Jax, I’m pregnant. And it may be yours.”He blinked once, twice, then sat up so fast his phone slid off his lap and hit the floor. “What the fuck, Ava? Pregnant? Like, actually pregnant?”“Yeah, actually pregnant,” I snapped back, my
Riley She practically screamed my name. Her hips bucked up, and I did not stop. I kept fingering her through it until she was whimpering. Then I finally let her wrists go so I could slide down her body, push her legs wider, and replace my fingers with my mouth. I sucked her clit hard while I pushed my tongue inside her, tasting how wet she was. She grabbed my hair with both hands, yanking like she could not decide if she wanted me closer or needed a break.“Riley, fuck. You are too much. You are going to kill me, ”I did not. I licked and sucked and used my fingers again, curling them deep, until she came a second time even louder. Her thighs clamped around my head, and I loved it. The way she fell apart under me. For once I was not the one feeling torn in half. I was the one making someone else feel good, and that felt like control, even if it was just for a little while.I finally pulled back when she was panting and shaking. I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and climbed back
Riley The door clicked shut behind Ava, and I just sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at the stupid empty spot where she had been a second ago. My face was still sticky from all those tears I had let spill out earlier, and my chest felt like someone had punched a hole right through it. I kept seeing the way her shirt had gone dark right over her nipples, and instead of keeping my hands to myself, I had reached over and rubbed her back like it was the most normal thing in the world. Like we were back in high school and she was just stressed about some test, not carrying a whole baby and leaking colostrum in front of both of us.Chloe was still right there beside me on the mattress, her knee brushing mine. She had this look on her face that was half mad and half something softer, like the crying had cracked her armor a little, but she was trying real hard not to let it show. Because god forbid Chloe ever looked anything but tough.She shifted closer. Her hand landed on my thigh
Ava Two weeks crawled by like they were dragging their feet on purpose, but weirdly enough it felt... good? Chloe had already bounced back home the day after that whole disaster and vanished with her suitcase and Riley followed a couple days later, hugging me so tight I thought she was moving to a
Ava I stared at his mouth too long. Way too long. The way his lips curved up. The little dimple on one side. How his eyes crinkled at the corners. Everything about that smile made me feel warm and stupid at the same time. I wanted to kiss it. I wanted to crawl across the table and just sit in his
Ava I woke up at like six thirty, which is basically the middle of the night for anyone with a soul, and my first thought was Noah. Not the organic chem crap we were supposed to study, just Noah. Noah with his stupid soft smile and the way he texted about counting my lashes like a total weirdo. My
Ava He crouched right in front of me, eyes locked on mine like I was the most beautiful, broken thing he’d ever seen. His thumb stayed gentle on my cheek, brushing away that single tear, but his shoulders shook with the effort not to laugh. I was caught completely caught. My fingers were still bur







