My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 5

(Ruby's POV)

I make my way over to the sofa and sit down. I'm trembling all over. Even though I told him I was prepared to do this alone, I don't want to. I'm terrified he's going to reject me and the baby. I look up at him, he looks so scared. I shouldn't have told him.

Ryan sits down beside me and takes my hand in his. I smile up at him and squeeze his hand gently. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," he says, completely taking me by surprise. He sighs and looks down at our entwined hands. Wait, what?

"Ryan," I whisper. "Don't be sorry. You didn't know. If anyone should be sorry it should be me."

"Why, why didn't you tell me?" he asks softly.

"I-I don't know. I was scared," I admit.

"Why? You know I wouldn't leave you alone with this."

"You were going to the army," I tell him, not being able to look at him. "You were so excited. I didn't want to take that from you. I couldn't take that from you, it was your dream." We sit in silence for a couple of minutes.

"How's Matt with all of this?" he asks.

"Um," I start.

"Oh, I see. He hates me, doesn't he?"

I look up into his mesmerizing green coloured eyes. They're one of my favourite things about him. His dark brown hair, which is shorter than the last time I seen him, is standing up in all different directions on the top of his head. It's a sort of disheveled look which I adore, especially on him. The five o'clock shadow that he's supporting gives him that rustic cowboy look; rugged, but incredibly good looking.

"No, Ryan. He doesn't hate you. When he found out he was beyond angry and wouldn't talk to me for weeks." Ryan opens his mouth to say something, no doubt to apologize for my brother's behaviour towards me, but I hold up a hand to stop him. "You don't have to apologize for Matt's reaction. He's okay with it now, trust me. He just wants to punch you though." I giggle softly at the look on his face.

"He just wants to punch me," he repeats faintly. "Well, that's promising." He pauses for a second. "What about my parents? Do they know? I mean, do they know that you're having my baby?" His face lights up with a breathtaking smile when he says those words.

His smile is apparently contagious because after a few seconds, I find myself beaming up at him. "Yeah, they know. They're over the moon. I'll warn you now though, your Mom is overly excited about her first Grandchild. She's even more excited than my own Mom, which I didn't think would be possible." I laugh softly before continuing. "I'm convinced that they're on a mission to make sure that our baby is the most spoiled child ever. You should see the amount of stuff they've bought."

Ryan smiles down at me, our hands still entwined. I glance down at them. "Ryan."

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course. You can tell me anything."

I look up at him nervously before returning my gaze to our hands. "I didn't think you were going to come back while I was pregnant. I was," I pause, not really knowing how he'll feel when I tell him my fears.

"You were what, Ruby?" he asks gently. I sniffle, scared to admit the truth to him. "Hey," he says, placing his fingers under my chin and lifting it up to look at me. He wipes a stray tear off my cheek. "You can tell me anything. Don't be scared."

I wipe another tear away and smile weakly at him. "I was scared that I'd have to raise this baby on my own. I mean I know I'd have both my parents, your parents and Matt, but it wouldn't have been the same."