Chapter 16

The rest of the drive went by nice. We belted out to our favorite songs, laughed, and smiled the whole way there. It was like for a few hours we could pretend that everything was okay. Like we were normal.

We get to our airbnb in San Francisco after a long drive, and we all carry our things into our rooms before meeting up in the living room.

"My joints are stiff." Cameron groans.

"Seriously. Is this what it feels like to be old?" Dylan asks, stretching his limbs.

"I'm tired." I laugh, yawning.

"Well it's too late to do anything now. So should we eat dinner and rest? Tomorrow we can start the fun." Ethan wraps his arms around me from behind.

"That sounds good. We brought food to make, so I can cook tonight." Callie smiles, happily running off to the kitchen, Cameron following suit.

"Let's sit and relax, baby." Ethan whispers into my ear while pulling me onto his lap as he sits down on the couch.

"You guys want to watch something while we wait?" Lorena asks, sitting on the love seat with Dylan.

"Sure." Ethan nods.

Lorena grabs the remote and switches on the TV. She goes through the endless amount of channels before selecting Sponge Bob.

"Sponge Bob?" Dylan laughs. "Of all the shows, you pick this one?" He teases.

"Yes, yes I did." She grins. "Got a problem with it?"

"Not at all." Dylan smiles, leaning down and kissing her.

"Gross!" I yell, making Ethan laugh.

"What do you mean 'gross'?" She pulls away, gaping at me. "I dealt with this from Callie and you two! You have no right to say that." We all laugh and I put my hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. Sorry." I grin.

Dinner goes by fast, the majority of the time was spent silent, all of us just tired and wanting to go to bed since we were in the car for so long.

"I can wash the dishes." I offer, standing up and beginning to collect the dirty plates and utensils.

"What? No, go rest. I'll clean up." Lorena forcibly takes the dishes from me and I frown.

"Are you sure?" I ask and she nods.

"I'll help." Dylan stands up, grabbing half of the dishes and taking them to the sink.

"Okay. We're going to bed then. Goodnight guys." Callie stands up, Cameron walking behind her.

"I guess we will too. Goodnight." I smile, holding Ethan's hand and walking to our room.

The two of us quickly shower before getting into bed. I turn off the lamp that sits on the nightstand and turn around, facing my boyfriend. As soon as we make eye contact, a smile takes over his features. He reaches out, cupping my cheek and my expression starts to match his.

"Can you believe how far we've come?" He asks, making me chuckle.

"What do you mean?" I don't think we've really accomplished anything.

"We went from complete strangers...to instant lovers. We had bad arguments- we've already been through so much. And now you're pregnant. I'm going to be a dad! And you, a mom! Isn't that crazy? I know it scares you, and to be completely honest it scares me too. But I know that I am going to do my best to be the most amazing dad ever. And I just know you'll be a great mom. God, I can't wait until we're married- I cant wait until we're out of school! I just want to spend the rest of my life with you." He gives me a soft smile and my heart just absolutely melts.

"Ethan, I didn't really think I'd ever be in this situation. Since we're being honest, a part of me still believes that we're absolutely crazy. But I'm glad that I'm with you. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll be a great father. I love you so much." I reach a hand up, starting to play with his hair.

"I love you too." He says quietly, leaning forward to place a kiss on my lips.

~

Shuffling and low mutters slowly pull me out of my deep slumber. A soft groan leaves my lips, my eyes still too heavy to be opened right now.

The sound of the door closing is heard, and it's nice and peaceful again. However, this only lasts for a few minutes. Soon, in comes the person again and a second later the blanket is getting ripped off of me.

"Sorry love. You can sleep in the car." I hear Ethan whisper quietly.

"Car?" I mumble, confused.

"Oh, did I wake you? Sorry." Ethan quickly scoops me into his arms, rushing out of the room. "We have to go. Send a text to one of your friends before they wake up. Tell them send their Venmo or something and I'll pay for the entire stay of the airbnb to make up for this."

He walks out the house, gently placing me in the car before running to the other side and quickly getting in.

"Please put your seatbelt on. I would have done it but we don't have time." He doesn't even put his own seatbelt on before pulling out of the driveway.

I clasp the buckle of mine, still slightly out of it from being woken up so early. It's still dark outside.

I look at the clock in his car and groan. It's 3:57 am.

"Babe. You know I love you. But why are we up so early?" I ask softly, watching as he barely puts his seatbelt on as we come to a red light.

"Just go back to sleep, love. Okay? Don't worry right now." He reaches over, grabbing one of my hands.

He lets out a long sigh, resting our hands on his thigh.

A deep frown comes over my face and I sit up a bit. How am I not supposed to worry after he says not to worry? This is weird.

I turn my head, looking to see our belongings in the back seat. Realization dawns over me as the light turns green and Ethan takes off.

"It's happening again...isn't it?" I ask quietly.

"I'm sorry." He immediately apologizes, confirming my thoughts. "Gosh- I am so sorry. I didn't think she'd find us that quickly. I don't even know how she found out- but my uncle and aunt called and told me to leave immediately. I thought we could have fun and spend time together. We just finished our first semester of University, you know? And we don't see each other often. I'm sorry, I got really greedy. I should have been more-"

"Stop it. Ethan it isn't your fault. I'll wait, okay? I just want you to be safe already." I cut him off, sighing.

"You're the one I'm worried about. You're pregnant. If something happens to you- I don't know what I'd do. I'd go crazy." He says quietly.

I look at him for a moment, guilt rushing through me.

This is all happening because of me. I hate that.

"Nothing will happen to me. I'll be okay."

He spares me a glance, smiling just slightly.

"Yeah. You're right." He says softly, giving my hand a light squeeze.

I wanted to stay up with him until we got home, but I ended up falling asleep within the hour.

~

"G'morning sleeping beauty."

I slowly come awake to someone slightly shaking my body, and I see Ethan peeking his head in through the passenger side's door.

"Good morning." I blink, looking around. We're in a neighborhood

Are we resting? Was Ethan too tired to keep driving?

"Where are my things?" I ask, seeing my bag is the only one missing from the backseat.

A small grin comes over his face and he unbuckles my seatbelt, pulling me out of the car and onto my feet.

"I have a present." He says. "A really big one this time."

My eyebrows furrow, and then I get slightly scared when his expression drops.

"I have to go away again. I can't see you for a bit. Just 10 days though, okay? That's for sure. I'm leaving you with this present so you can trust me." He takes my hands in his.

Looking around, I wonder what it is. I didn't see anything in his car. Did he hide it somewhere?

Ethan leans down and pecks my lips once I look back up at him.

"Remember I said I was already looking at houses? Well, that was kind of a lie." He bites his lip, a grin coming back onto his face. "I already bought one for us."

My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat.

A house? That's his 'present'?!

He laughs at the look on my face, quickly taking his phone and snapping a picture.

"Ethan...stop it. You're lying." I choke out once I find my voice.

"I'm not. Ours is that one."

He points across the street, at a beautiful two story home. All the houses in the neighborhood are nice, but this one is my favorite. It has a garden in the front, various colored petals dusting the small section. The grass is a dark green color.

It's beautiful.

"Do you like it?" He asks softly. "We aren't too far from campus either, so it's nice huh?"

Tears well up in my eyes, overwhelming emotions taking over my body. My chest and throat tighten, and I let out a small sound before wrapping my arms tightly around him.

"Why would you do this?" I bury my face in his shoulder, sobbing.

"I told you already, I wanted something we can call ours. I've already filled the closet with clothes, and there's things in there to keep you entertained." He wraps his arms around me, being sure not to squeeze me.

"Nova, I need you to stay here. Okay? Just until after the 10 days are over- then I'll come and we can move out the dorms. My mother doesn't know about this place yet, so I'll feel a little better knowing you're here. I'll have groceries delivered. Please don't leave the house. If you want to go outside go in the backyard, okay? I don't want anything happening to you."

I hum, sniffling as I try to get ahold of myself.

10 days. That's it, that's not bad. It's the 11th now, so 10 days will be...

The 21st.

"Ethan." I pull away just enough to see his face. I hastily wipe my eyes, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "10 days from now is your wedding."

A small smile comes over his face and he nods.

"I need you to come to that. Okay? Just show up. There's already an outfit in there for you to wear, though you may change at the venue. Someone will come pick you up and escort you and your friends."

I pull away from him, looking at him like he's crazy.

"You want me and my friends to watch you get married?" I ask, confusion lacing my tone.

He quickly shakes his head, puling me to his chest again.

"I have a plan. Kaityln is in on it too. I need you to trust me. I promise this is the end of it. Just 10 more days, okay? Please just bare with me for 10 more days. Things will be 20x better after that." He looks down at me and I can see the desperation in his eyes.

Slightly pouting, I nod.

"Just 10 days?" I ask and his eyes brighten.

"Yeah. I promise." He leans his forehead against mine. "Then we're going to move in here and raise our baby. Things will be good. They'll be perfect."

A slow smile comes over my face and I nod. A giggle leaves my lips as he places a forehead kiss on me. He stares at me, lifting his head.

"Man...I cannot wait." He mumbles, leaning down and capturing my lips with his.