Molly's POV
"Calum will get over himself," Ashton assures me as I paint his nails. I got bored halfway through the movie we had on, and his old nail polish was chipped. "And I know Luke was wrong to try to talk to Calum earlier when you told him not to, but he was just trying to be a good older brother and look out for you."
"Yeah but-"
"I'm not done," Ashton cuts in, "He knows that you're feeling overwhelmed with all the shit going on right now. He just thought he could get through to Calum and help make your life a little easier. Don't be too mad at him for too long. Okay, Molly?"
I groan, "Fine. I'll talk to him again later when he gets back. Happy?"
"Thank you Molly," Ashton giggles, "So how's your baby?"
"Fucking annoying," I answer honestly, "I love her and everything, I swear. But I'm so fucking tired of being pregnant."
"Then why'd you get knocked up?" I glance up and see the sarcastic smile on his face.
"Calum sweet talked me," I answer, "and then we had a condom malfunction." His nose wrinkles, making me giggle.
"Thanks for that."
"You're the one who asked!"
"I wasn't expecting you to actually answer, Molly!" Ashton laughs, being careful to not move his left hand as I paint the nail on his pinkie finger.
"Well you should've thought that through," I joke, putting the black nail polish down. I grab the glitter top coat and unscrew the lid, "Any other questions?"
"Are you happy it's a girl?" I look up from his hand, kind of surprised. I was expecting something else sarcastic. Ashton watches me.
"Yeah," I finally answer, "I am. I was kind of hoping for a girl. I mean, I would've been just as happy with a boy, but I'm glad it's a girl." I go back to putting the glitter over the black polish.
He nods, "Calum is too."
I whip my head up again, "What?"
"He and I talked the night you guys found out. You went home with Luke, while Calum took me home. You know, after the Inferno prison explosion?"
My voice cracks, "What'd he say?" I go back to staring at his nails, trying to keep my hopes down. I avoid looking at his face, knowing I'll probably cry if I watch him talk about this.
"He said he was hoping for a girl, so that she'd be like you. He was pretty nervous about the possibility of her having powers. He didn't really want to talk about that. But he kept saying how he knew he was gonna be so protective over her, and that you would one hundred percent take her side when she got older and was trying to date or stuff like that. I don't know. Calum seemed to have thought about your daughter's future and was so excited about it. He couldn't stop smiling."
I sniffle, my smile growing, "Why can't he talk to me about that instead of being distant?"
Ashton shrugs, "Who the fuck knows? Just, don't rush him, okay? Calum is so excited about your guys' daughter. He just needs to wrap his head around the fact that she might have powers." I sigh and nod as I put glitter on his last nail.
~
"Luke?" I call, pausing my show on Netflix.
"Yeah?" He shouts back. I scramble out of my bed, tossing my phone down on my pillow. I rush out into the hallway, making sure to close the door behind me so Petunia won't get out, see Luke, and leave me. I spot my older brother right outside of his bedroom door.
"Luke," I call, moving across the hall to him, "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier."
"Yeah, whatever Molly," he replies, his hands shoved into his pockets. "Are you done?" I recoil in shock. This doesn't sound like Luke.
"I just, I'm just angry, Luke, and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." I need to make sure this isn't Inferno.
"I'm not gonna keep doing this, Molls. You treat me like shit then apologize and just expect us to be okay. I'm tired of playing this game. I know that I promised you I'd be here for you throughout your pregnancy while we were up on the trail, but I'm not gonna if you keep acting like a bitch." My heart sinks as I realize that this is Luke. Inferno wouldn't know about the talk we had.
My throat burns, "I'm sorry. I'll, I'll be better. I promise."
"I'll believe it when I see it, Molls," he shrugs before he turns and leaves, heading into his room. The door slams shut. I bite down hard on my lip, trying to stop myself from crying as I turn and head back into my room to snuggle Petunia.
