I’m usually so good at keeping my temper in check even when provoked. I’ve gone through so many interviews where people say things just to get a rise out of me but I’ve almost always been able to deal with it and not let people get the best of me.

But there was something about Isabelle saying what she did that made me lose it. Maybe it was because she kept talking up Kyle. Maybe it was because of how she was treating Cassie. Whatever it was, I was dealing with it until she said her stupid little remark about Cassie dating Kyle. I don’t even quite remember all of what I said because it came out so fast and without much thought.

But you know, I don’t really regret it that much. Isabelle is a bitch and who says what she says in front of their daughter’s boyfriend? If she really thinks that Kyle and Cassie are so suited for each other than she can either keep it to herself or say it to Cassie privately.

I’m realizing that this is just how Isabelle is but it really pissed me off. It’s bad enough that I bend over backwards to try and get Cassie’s mom and stepfather to like me. But it’s made it a million times worse to find out that Isabelle absolutely loves Kyle and wants him to go out with Cassie. I have enough personal issues about Kyle as it is. I don’t need Isabelle putting ideas into Cassie’s head about her dating Kyle.

I probably shouldn’t have said what I did how I did. Not that I didn’t mean it all but it probably came across horribly. If I hadn’t sealed my fate with Isabelle before, I sure of hell have now. I can basically kiss any hope of a good relationship with her goodbye. That thought doesn’t upset me that much considering there wasn’t much there to begin with. But now that I’m a tiny bit calmer, I’m thinking about Cassie. She has major issues with Isabelle but it’s still her mother. She may not be too happy with me and I really don’t want to fight with her. I might have to swallow my pride and apologize.

I may have to do that apologizing faster than I thought because there’s a tap on the passenger’s side window of my car and when I look over I see Cassie standing there. I reach over and unlock the door and she gets in.

“Cass, I’m-”

“There’s paparazzi out there,” she interrupts me, her voice soft. “Can you just lose them?”

I nod, slightly relieved that I don’t have to start my apologizing quite yet. I need to chill out a bit before I do that.

I’ve just turned into some residential streets to get away from the paparazzi when I hear a sniff from beside me and a quick glance to my right confirms that Cassie’s crying. I was planning on waiting until we got to her house to say anything but I don’t think I can wait at this point. Figuring this street is private enough, I pull over to the side of the road and turn off the car. The silence is deafening and I force myself to break it.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at your mom.”

Cassie wipes the stray tears on her cheeks and shakes her head. “I hate her so much sometimes.”

“You don’t hate her. She’s your mom.”

“How can you say that after what she said?”

Okay so maybe I don’t have to be apologizing. “Look,” I say, turning in my seat so I’m facing her. “I was really rude to her. I could have said what I said a lot more nicely and in a different setting.”

Cassie leans her head against the headrest and stares in front of her. “She doesn’t like you.”

That much is obvious but it kind of really sucks when Cassie confirms it. The way she says it makes me think that there’s no hope at all for ever having a good relationship with her mom. That it’s just a done deal.

“Yeah I got that after this afternoon.” I sigh and rub my temples with my fingers, trying to push away the headache that’s rapidly forming. “So do I need to apologize to her?”

“No.”

Her response surprises me a bit and I glance over at her. “I don’t?”

“She was in the wrong and she deserved it. What I said after you left wasn’t much nicer.”

“It’s gonna be an awkward night with her at your house.”

“I told her to stay with Elodie and Chris tonight. I’ll deal with her tomorrow.”

“You actually told her to stay at their house?”

She turns her head to look at me and nods. “I can’t have her at my house tonight. I just need one night to myself.”

“So I take it you aren’t planning on coming to Allie’s birthday.”

She’s quiet for a minute and I can almost predict her answer. She didn’t seem too into it when I had brought it up before and now after all the drama with her mom, she probably just wants to take a bath and go to bed. I’ve already accepted the fact that I’ll be going alone tonight when she surprises me with her answer.

“No, I want to go but I still need to go home and change.”

“Really?”

Her smile looks a little forced but it’s there nonetheless. “I need to drink out my frustration.”

I begin to smile. “Cool. I like drunk Cassie.”

She gives a small smile but it fades pretty quickly. “Just don’t let me get too drunk, okay?”

I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. “You got it.”

* * *

“So are you going to be at the house for dinner?” I ask into the phone, checking over my shoulder before switching lanes.

“I’ll be there by five. I’m just leaving the pediatricians but then Emma and I coming back to the house. What did you want to do for dinner?”

“Whatever. I could barbeque.”

“Awesome. So I just talked to Chris.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. And he’s back on Friday so Emma and I will be out of your hair then.”

“You know I don’t care that you guys are staying with me. It’s been so much fun.”

“Yeah except you haven’t had your house to yourself for weeks. First Jordan and then Mom and now me and Emma.”

“It’s been two weeks since Mom left and I had the house all to myself then. And I’m not going to make you stay by yourself in your house while Chris is away on business. You know I love having you and Emma around.”

“I’m sure you and Justin hardly enjoy having a crying baby around all the time.”

“Well I don’t care at all and if bothers him that much he can easily go back to his very own house instead of being at mine all the time.”

“Ooo, do I sense some resentment in your tone, C?”

I shake my head and then realize she can’t see it. “No.”

“He does seem to be over an awful lot of the time.”

I conceal a sigh. “Sometimes I think he’s under the impression we live together, which isn’t going to be happening anytime soon.”

“Is he that hard to live with?”

“It’s not that. I’m just really not ready to take that step and live with him. It’s been like nine and a half months.”

“By nine and a half months Chris and I were engaged.”

“That’s because you’re insane.”

“I am not,” Elodie says, pretending to be offended. “When you know it’s right why prolong everything?”

Elodie and I can be such opposites with stuff like this. I can’t even wrap my mind around her mind frame sometimes. “It worked for you but that really doesn’t work for me.”

“You should listen to your younger, wiser sister, C.”

I roll my eyes and press my foot on the brake as I near a four way stop. “Uh huh. I think I’ll fend for myself on this.”

“Whatever. I’m getting into the car so I’m going to hang up on you now.”

I smile. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

I get off the phone just as I pull into my driveway. Justin’s car is already sitting there, which has become the norm lately. It’s not that I mind his company but sometimes it’s nice to just come home to an empty house and not have to talk to anyone or be sociable. I’ve said that to him before and he says that just because he’s there doesn’t mean that I have to entertain him. But when I have people in my house I can’t just let myself go and do my own thing. He doesn’t get that.

The house is silent when I walk into it and I don’t say anything to let Justin know I’m here. Maybe he’s sleeping or something and if that’s the case, I can go have some time to myself before Elodie and Emma get back to the house.

Kicking off my shoes, I make my way upstairs, leaving a trail of my things on the ground. I may have some neat freak in me but sometimes leaving stuff laying everywhere is highly satisfying.

My coveted alone time is quickly shattered when I go into my bedroom and find Justin sitting on the edge of the bed. He’s leaning forward staring across the room with his forearms resting on his thighs and he doesn’t look at me when I enter. Everything about him seems off and I stop and stare at him for a second.

“Is something wrong?”

He finally turns his head to look at me and his eyes have a slightly dazed look to them. “Cassie.”

“What?”

He holds up his hand and for the first time I realize he’s holding something in it. “You left this sitting on the counter in your bathroom.”

I stare at the box in his hand for a second before it clicks what exactly he’s holding. I open my mouth to speak but before I can get anything out, he’s already standing and speaking.

“I freaked out at first but then I started thinking about it.” He looks at the box and then tosses it onto the bed. “I’m not freaking out anymore.”

I open my mouth to stop him but he puts his fingers over my mouth, halting my words.

“I don’t really get how it happened since we’ve been careful but things happen for a reason, right? And you know how much I love you and nothing’s going to change that. And if you’re pregnant then we’ll figure it out from there.”

I push his hand away from my mouth and stop him before he can go any further. “Justin, stop.”

“I’m just saying that-”

“Seriously, stop. That’s not mine.”

His eyebrows draw together and he looks completely confused. “But-”

“Elodie’s been feeling sick the past couple mornings and she thought there could be the chance she’s pregnant again. So she asked me if I’d get her a pregnancy test while I was out today. It’s her, not me.”

His mouth drops slightly at my words and a mixture of emotions pass over his face. “You’re not pregnant.”

“No,” I breathe out with a laugh. “Not even close.”

He scrubs his hands over his face and a big breath of air escapes him. “Wow. I was really going over possibilities in my head there.”

I smile a bit and go into my closet to change my clothes. “Maybe next time you should call me before you get all worked up over nothing,” I call out to him.

“Maybe next time you shouldn’t leave a pregnancy test just sitting out right on your bathroom counter,” he retorts.

I smile and pull my shirt over my head and then go back into my room. I quickly check my appearance in the mirror and then head towards my door. “I can’t believe you thought I could be pregnant. That would not be good.”

I’m halfway down the stairs when Justin comes out of my room and catches up to me. “Why would that not be good?”

I give him a look. Is he crazy? “Because I don’t want to be pregnant.”

“What, you never want to have kids?” he asks, following me into the kitchen.

“I didn’t say that. But neither of us are ready to have a child right now.”

“Why not?”

It takes work to suppress a groan. Why is he pursuing this subject? “Because we’ve been dating for like nine months, Justin.”

“Yeah but it’s not like we’ve been just messing around. We both love each other and if it turned out you were pregnant it shouldn’t be a bad thing. If we love each other than what’s the problem?”

I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation. “I don’t want to have a baby right now, Justin,” I state using a tone that suggests he drops the subject. He doesn’t.

“What if you’re pregnant right now?”

“I told you that test was Elodie’s!” I say, my exasperation growing more and more the longer he drags this out.

“I know that. But what if you actually are and you just don’t know it yet.”

This conversation is getting more and more bizarre and irritating the longer it goes. “Seriously.”

He raises his eyebrows at me and leans back against the counter behind him. “Seriously. Then what would you do?”

“Justin, I’m not pregnant. I would know.” I pull some potatoes from the pantry and let them drop on the counter. “Stop talking about it.”

“Why does it bother you so much?” he asks and I can see the challenge in his eye. He never just lets things go. He has to push and push until you either give in or are just too exhausted to continue arguing. “Why can’t we just have a grown up conversation about this?”

“Because we’re talking about nothing! We’re talking about an issue that’s not even real.”

“But it could be one day so why can’t we just talk about it now?” He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at me. “Why are you so against having a baby with me?”

“Oh my gosh,” I mumble, dropping my head into my hands. Did he seriously just ask that? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry and this conversation. “Justin.”

“What? Is it because that’s too much commitment or something? Do you not want to have an attachment to me like that in case something went wrong?”

“You’re sounding like more and more of an idiot the longer you talk. You realize that, don’t you?”

He rolls his eyes. “You need to-”

“Shut up,” I interrupt him when I hear the front door open. “We’re not talking about this anymore.”

He looks towards the doorway and then back at me. “I’m sure Elodie can give us some privacy for a few minutes.”

Elodie would be more than happy to give us privacy but that’s not what I want. What I want is for this conversation to be over with and never brought up again. “This is a ridiculous thing to talk about and I don’t want to discuss it anymore. Just leave it alone.”

“We’re just ignoring it then?” he asks with raised eyebrows.

“Yes,” I force out. “We’re ignoring this conversation that never should have manifested into a conversation in the first place.”

He opens his mouth to say more but Elodie breezes into the kitchen with Emma before he can.

“Traffic was surprisingly good,” she says, passing Emma to me and then going over to the sink to wash her hands. “I don’t know how we managed to avoid rush hour. Are you staying for dinner Justin?”

He finally pulls his eyes away from me to look at her. “That was the plan.”

“Great. There’s still some of that apple crisp in the fridge for dessert.” She smiles over at him. “That is if you didn’t eat it all this afternoon.”

He smiles but it looks forced. “I think there’s still some kicking around. I need to get that recipe from you though. That stuff kicks ass.”

“It’s our grandma’s secret recipe but I can probably part with it for you. I don’t think you’ll go blab it to the newspapers or anything.”

His face relaxes a bit. “I’ll try and refrain.”

Elodie couldn’t have come at a more perfect time because she keeps conversation going with Justin and prevents him from pulling me back into our previous argument. If only she could be around all the time because I have a feeling that Justin isn’t too keen on ignoring this whole pregnancy discussion. Maybe it’s just some weird reaction to finding the pregnancy test and he’ll forget about it by the end of the night. I can only hope.