At four-thirty that afternoon, Chase got off the late bus and rushed home to answer his mother’s latest text summons. He hadn’t seen Meg all day — not since their encounter with Bailey that morning. He wanted to be there for her, but Bailey’s words played on an infinite loop: “The more you try to be there for her, the madder she’ll get.” He just got her to admit her feelings.
He wouldn’t do anything to fuck that up.
“Hey, I’m home!” Chase rushed in. “We need to make this fast. Megan and Bailey are practically drawing blood so I have to—” He broke off when he saw both of his parents at the kitchen table. “Dad, how come you’re not at the store?”
“I was. I left early today so I could go to the doctor with your mom.”
Dad doesn’t leave the shop early unless someone’s… dying. Shit. The blood froze in his veins. His heart gave an extra-hard lurch in his chest. He fell into the nearest chair and for the official word — his world was about to end.
His mother smiled.
What the fuck?
“Honey,” she said. “Dad and I are having another baby.”
Another baby. The words ricocheted around Chase’s brain, where all other functions had come to an abrupt halt. Relief so profound, it hurt made him suck in a few shallow breaths. Another baby. Another freakin’ baby. Memories buzzed around his head — first, Dylan, then Connor and finally, the twins. The crying, the diapers, the sleepless nights. His dad had to be up before the sun to start the ovens, so Chase had pulled night shift when the twins had colic and before their arrival — with Connor. He was too young to help much when Dylan was born. He’d walked the floor with a crying infant on his shoulder so many times, he was sure he’d carved a trench in the floor. Another baby. Jesus, he’d be nineteen by the time this kid arrived.
“Chase?”
He jerked at the sound of his father’s voice. “Um. Yeah. Sorry. Uh, congrats, I guess.”
“You guess.” His mother repeated, the smile leaving her face.
Dad spoke next, using Father Tone — always guaranteed to piss Chase off. “Chase, considering this turn of events, you’re not going to be able to take that scholarship. We’ll need you around here—”
Chase’s clenched fist landed on the table. His mother jolted.
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said no. I’m not staying here to be your indentured babysitter.”
“Now, Chase—”
He exploded in a surge of fury that overturned the chair he’d been sitting in when he surged to his feet. “I SAID NO! Jesus, haven’t you people heard of condoms?” He left the house before they could respond, hit the ground running.
His world wasn’t ending… but his life apart was and all he could think was -- Megan.
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TMI-Deleted Scenes
Teen FictionWhen I wrote TMI, I alternated points of view among three central characters -- Megan Farrell, Bailey Grant, and Chase Gallagher. But I wanted the story to focus on the girls' friendship, so my editor and I decided to remove Chase's POV from the pub...
