Simply Submissive (Secretly Submissive Sequel) (Finished)

6. The Quickening

Song: Ride Slow by Russ

"Hey, Tiger," Cole says, walking into their spare bedroom. It's the one I've been staying in for the past couple of days.

I laugh. "Tiger?"

He grins sheepishly. "I don't know. It was suppose to be encouraging."

"Well," I say nodding. "You won't be writing cards for Hallmark anytime soon, but it's a nice thought."

"I'm really happy you're here. Since Sage is on crutches, it's great that you're here to help out. Plus, we missed you. I even had a chance to go by and say hey to Noah and Damian after I got off work, and I picked some of your stuff up." He drops a bag onto the bed. "It was already packed, so-" He trails off, nodding awkwardly.

Kade pops into my mind, and I feel a lump begin to form in my throat. Don't cry. "His is he?" I murmur, looking down. Cole knows who I mean.

He clears his throat. "Kade wasn't there. Noah says that he hasn't been for the past day."

"Probably with whoever he cheated on me with. Sleeping around with her. Probably multiple girls." I speak, beginning to overthink, letting the tears build.

"Stop," Cole says, suddenly. I glance up at him, confused by the firmness of his tone. "I will not stand by and let you do this to yourself. Get up. Come with me."

He turns to walk out, and I laugh, finding it odd that he is being so demanding. Cole has always been an easy-going type of guy. I decide to stand and follow. He leads me to the living room where Sage is laying on the couch, rocking Easton. She smiles up to me.

"Hey, Iris."

I do my best to smile back, but my voice gives my true emotion away when I speak. "Hey, Girl."

"Iris, I need you to think about something, OK?" Cole says, standing beside Sage. "This is why I brought you in here. You live with me, Sage, and Easton now. Noah and Damian still care about you, and you have a little girl on the way that is going to love you harder than any other person on this earth someday. Kade is a dick. I know, but you can't just sit around and beat yourself up over this. You still have the four of us and two little babies that love you so much." He walks towards me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "You didn't do anything wrong. Kade did. He screwed up, and that's on him. Don't let it affect how you live your life."

I stand there, speechless. I've been so consumed ny my own self pity over the past couple of days that I haven't even realized that I have been ignoring everyone. I haven't been talking to Sage or Cole, and I have four unread messages from Damian and three from Noah.

"I-I'm sorry, Guys," I stutter, feeling the first tear fall. "I think I just needed a couple of days to adjust to the fact that I'm really going to be a single mother. I always told myself that I was going to give my baby everything I never had, and now-" My head falls. "I just don't know."

"If I could walk over there without crutches, I'd give you a big hug," Sage interjects.

I laugh, glancing up to her and wiping a few tears away. "I love you, Sage."

She gives me a sweet smile. "I love you, too."

"Thanks, Cole," I say, pulling him into a quick hug.

"No problem, Tiger," he replies.

I chuckle, pulling away. "You're crazy."

He rolls his eyes. "Love you, too."

We spend the day watching movies, taking care of Easton, and goofing off. The whole thing really takes my mind off of Kade, and it cheers me up a lot, knowing that I will always have a family in them.