My brother's best friend

Chapter eighteen

Amanda, Dwayne and Taylor are seated on the Greene's sofa while Carter and Tyler flank them. Levi is sitting on the floor between Amanda and Dwayne's feet. They look like a real family. A twinge of pain shoots through my heart at the thought. Where do I fit in then? Levi also called Will and he is on speaker. "Can someone just say something?" Will asks, irritated.

Daniel and I are seated on the two armchairs, his hand still holding mine. Apart of me wants to take my hand back, I don't want to give everyone the wrong impression that we're together, because we're not. He's with Abby. The other part of me is happy for the slight physical touch that reminds me he's here and he's supporting me.

"Linds, and I have some big news." Daniel starts. I see Amanda's face light up. She and mom always dreamed of having a Greene-Moore grandchild, so I assume she'll be happy with the news. Although I know my parents wouldn't have been happy with how it happened, they might have been happy about the baby later on.

I don't know how old school Amanda and Dwayne are, but I have a feeling they might be easier to tell than my parents. Dwayne is still keeping his best poker face, waiting for Daniel to continue. Taylor looks like she's about to burst with joy, "You're together!" She squeals with joy, jumping up from the sofa.

I pull my hand from Daniel's, "No, we're not." I ignore the hurt look on his face. I didn't mean to sound so horrible, but they should know the truth. Taylor sinks back into her seat, looking like a deflated balloon. Amanda looks similar to her daughter, deflated.

"What is going on?" Will yells from the phone. "We're having a baby." Daniel says he sounds bitter. I look over at him and see he's stuffed his hands in his pocket and I know he's pulling away from us and the situation. Why did I have to be so horrible? I could have said it gently, ease them into it.

Then everything happened at once. I hear Will yelling on the phone and all I heard between all the curse words was that he's coming over right now. I hear someone sob and turn to see Amanda crying on her husband's shoulder. I hear Daniel asking her to stop crying and be happy for the Greene-Moore baby. Dwayne seems to look through me, disappointment clear on his face. Carter and Tyler seem to have their own silent conversation.

"I'm going to be an aunt!" Taylor yells, hugging me and jumping up and down. "We can buy clothes and we can have-" I ignore Taylor's excited squeals and try to focus on Levi. He hasn't said anything.

"Levi?" I ask, softly. Taylor stops talking and I wait for my little brother to say something. "I don't know." He says before heading to his room, shutting the door behind him. I look over at Daniel, hoping he could give me advice.

Dwayne and Amanda are talking to him, quite intensely. I decide to go after him. I knock on the door before opening it. In the far corner of the room, Levi is rocking back and forth with his legs pulled to his chest. I shut the door and walk over to him slowly. I sit down next to him and place my hand on his arm.

I wait patiently as his rocking slows down. He finally stops and turns slightly to face me. "Are you happy?" His voice is soft and I thank the stars I have at least one brother who isn't driven by fights and parties. "I am. It's not how I planned it, but it's good." I smile, trying to reassure him.

He nods slowly. "And Daniel? He's helping you?" He asks, still in a soft voice. "Yes, he's helping." I reach out and touch his hair, "I am going to be fine, Levi. I have all of you." He smiles before nodding.

A frown settles on his forehead. I drop my hand and wait for his question. "What about Abby?" My heart clenches at the mention of her. But I put on a brave face, "She and Daniel can continue their relationship if they please. It'll be up to her."

"So, he doesn't love you, but he's helping with the baby?" He asks, his head tilted to the side slightly. I shake my head, "He does love me, Levi, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to help me. He just doesn't love me the way he loves Abby." I explain, ignoring the ache in my heart.

"When do you think Will is going to be here?" He asks, a playful smile on his lips. I shrug, "But maybe I should get Daniel out of here. I really don't want to see them fight. Not over this. Not over something that should be celebrated." I get to my feet and head to the door.

"Linds, have you taken a look outside the door, it's not like anyone else is celebrating." He says before I leave. It's true. Only Taylor was happy about the news. It reminds me of the day I told my parents I'm engaged. Mom was the only one that looked slightly happy, and she was faking it. At least I know Taylor isn't faking.

In the living room, The Greene family is all huddled together, speaking softly. Again the question of where I belong now flashes in my mind. I push it aside and look away from the family circle. On the mantle of the fireplace, I spot a picture of mom and dad. They were holding each other and looking at the camera as the photo was taken. I swear I can see the disappointment in their eyes.

"Let's go." I hear Daniel behind me. I turn around to face him, "Are you alright?" He shrugs, "Let's just get out of here before my best friend comes to kill me. Carter says he'll keep him here for the night." For a moment I thought he's going to take my hand and lead me out the door but he just turns away and heads to the door. I follow behind, slowly. I hear Taylor saying goodbye in a chirpy voice. I wave in the general direction before shutting the door behind me.

I pour coffee into Daniel's mug and hand it to him. "It wasn't that bad." I smile at him. He snorts, "My mom started crying, Lindsey, and she's always dreamed about this." I shrug, "They just need time to process it." He shakes his head, "They really aren't happy. They'd rather us just date then have a baby. I don't think mom will stop sobbing anytime soon."

A silence fills the room and I wish things have happened differently. But they haven't. These are the cards that we were dealt and now we play with them. "I want to show you something." I hold out my hand for him to take and wait a second for him to take it. He doesn't, but gets up and waits for me to lead the way.

We head up the stairs and I lead him to Levi's old room. It's mostly empty now since he's moved his things bit by bit. The only things left are a desk and chair and the bed frame. "What am I looking at?" Daniel asks, sounding irritated.

"I thought we could turn this into the nursery." I say softly, stepping into the room. "See, it has a nice large window looking out at the garden." I open the curtains to reveal a slightly neglected garden on the other side of the window. "And the crib can be set up here," I point to the wall on the right, then to the left one, "and the changing table here." I open the closet, "There's more than enough space in the closet for all the baby things we'll need." I go back to him, standing in front of him. "What do you think?"

He looks around the room then back down at me, "It's brilliant." He picks me up off the ground and spins me around. He sets me down in front of the window, "And here we'll have an old rocking chair." He declares, standing next to me. He slips his hand in mine and I know my Daniel's back.

"It'll be perfect." We watch as birds fly through the sky.