The Birds And The Bees (The Baby Project #1) (REWRITING)

C.21~ Love The Way You Lie

Christmas day was calm and quiet.

To my relief, Xaiver felt a lot better, or at least that's what he led me to believe. He assured me that nothing was wrong, even though I knew everything was wrong.

He was keeping everything so bottled up that it was starting to worry me. And by the time New Years Even rolled around, I finally had the courage to bring it up.

"I found the note in the kitchen." I whispered, "About Yale, about Mae." I could see his eyes flicker with an emotion that was gone to quick for me to take in. He was sitting in the middle of the room, Lily curled up on his lap, playing with a rattle that my mom had bought her for Christmas.

"Bea. . ."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I was talking more about Yale then Mae. I could understand why he wouldn't want to mention Mae to me. He was still trying to take it all in, to let the truth sink in.

"I'm sorry, Bea. I. . . I should of. I just. . .didn't know how to tell you. I didn't think they'd accept me. I. . . I'm sorry, okay?" He looked distraught as Lily crawled off his lap and on to the blanket beneath him.

"Xaiver, I want you to know you can trust me. You can tell me anything. I'm here for you, no matter what." I whispered, scooting closer to him, "I'm excited about you getting into Yale, that's great. We can work things out and. . ."

"I'm going to go take a tour of the campus Monday morning. I need to be alone for a while. It's not you, Bea. I promise. I. . . I just have a lot on my mind." He avoided eye contact as he spoke.

"So you expect me to just admit I'm in love with you then let you leave?" I growled, "That's bullshit, Xaiver. How do I know you'll come back to. .."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! Why wouldn't I come back? I have Mae, my family. I have you and Lily. Beatrice. I love you too." The words left his mouth before he could stop them, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he hadn't meant to say it aloud. I opened my mouth to respond but he had already stood up and was heading toward the front door before I could say a word.

"Bea?" I looked up from where I sat on the floor in front of Lily, meeting my brother's dark eyes.

"Yeah?" I muttered. He sat down on the ground on the other side of Lily, smiling at me over her head.

"Do you remember when we were ten and we made a pact that no matter what happened in our life, we would always be there for each other?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded, feeling a smile tugging at my lips despite my depressed mood.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"Well, I know you have shit going on in your life right now, with Xaiver especially. But I kind of need your help." He reached behind his head and scratched his neck. It was a nervous tell of his.

"With what?" I questioned.

"I asked Rachel to Homecoming." My eyes widened at his words.

"Rachel as in Rachel Barnes?" We had grown closer over the last month and a half, even with us being on winter break right now, we would occasionally text. She had pushed Brett away once she realized that he was Lily's father and he hadn't told her.

"Yeah. We went on a date a couple days ago and. . . and I think I kind of like her." I could see red tinting my brother's cheeks.

"That's great," I said honestly, "What do you need my help with?" He scratched his neck again, his cheeks growing redder.