You're the One - Part 2 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 202: Call Me Mom

"Oh, a-am I?" I asked, feeling my face get hot, my heart now beating faster. She nodded, holding her stare on me, her smile growing.
"So, are you gonna tell us what Jake's got going on or do we have to wait?" Ronnie asked, wrapping her arm around me.
"Well, he didn't even tell me he invited you guys so.. I'll let him tell you." I laughed.
"So you know?" She asked eagerly. I bit down on my lip, nodding.
"Y-yeah. I think I know what it is." I said happily.

I looked over towards the venue as more of the fans started realizing that it was Ronnie and their mom outside.
"We can wait on the bus, I'm sure Jake will be back soon." Ronnie looked over, nodding as they followed me in, quickly shutting the door behind them.
"Do they.. always gather around the bus now?" She asked, sitting down on the couch. I sighed, shrugging.
"More recently, yeah." I said, sitting down next to her. "The award has really helped." She nodded, peeking out the window.
"Do they bother you too?" She asked. I shook my head.
"No, they don't really get the chance to, Jake doesn't like me going-" I stopped myself.

"Jake doesn't what?" Their mom asked.
"I.. um.. he just.. doesn't want me dealing with them. You know how he gets." I said simply, trying to play it off, hoping they would drop it. She nodded, holding her gaze on me. I jumped at the sound of the door opening, hoping it was Jake.

"Jess, I got you your-" Sam stopped at the top of the stairs, his smile growing. "What are you guys doing here?" He went over, wrapping his mom in a hug.
"Where were you?" She asked, looking over at the bag. He placed it down on he table, going over and hugging Ronnie next.
"Just.. out. I wanted to grab some snacks and such before soundcheck." He said simply, peeking over at me. I gave him a gentle smile, my cheeks burning. I could smell the oranges from here.

"I hope you're at least eating healthy."
"We're just fine, Mom." Sam assured her, taking one out of the bag. "See? Fruit." He laughed. She nodded, reaching up, gently touching his cheek.
"Alright, alright." She sighed. "So, how are you doing out here?"
"I'm fine, Mom." He laughed, rolling his eyes. He sat down at the table next to her, tossing one of the oranges to me. I smirked over at him.

I could feel her eyes on me while I ate, giving me a gentle smile when I looked back at her. My heart was beating faster, my stomach flipping, but thankfully was able to keep it down. I just wanted Jake to come back. Having to sit here without them knowing was killing me, and I would never forgive myself if I gave it away before he was able to tell them. It was bad enough my dad robbed him of that with his brothers.

The three of them talked amongst each other while I finished eating, keeping my eyes on the door. I hated how I was getting so used to him always being around.

"There you are!" Jake finally called out, making his way up the steps. I sighed, flashing him a wide grin. He instantly came over, leaning down, kissing the top of my head. As he went over to greet the rest of them, I noticed Sam staring, but ignored it. He eventually got up, making his way back to his bunk.

"So what's the big surprise?" Ronnie yelled. "Another award? That could've just been a phone call. We're all used to you winning them by now." He laughed, rolling his eyes.
"No, it's um.. much better than an award." He said softly, peeking over at me. My heart jumped.
"Alright then what is it?" She asked. "You're always so dramatic."
"Well, I was gonna tell you after the show. We could go get dinner and-"
"Oh, stop it, just tell us." She sighed, rolling her eyes. He bit down on his lip, peeking over at me. I nodded, trying to contain my smile

"Alright.." He said, getting up and going into the back
room. My heart was racing as they both looked over at me, their eyes wide and confused. I hoped at least for his sake they reacted the way he wanted. It was bad enough we didn't get that from my dad. I wanted someone to at least be excited for us.

When he came back, I could see he had the photo from the ultrasound in his hand.
"So.." He started, a huge grin escaping his lips. "It's still very early but.." He gently placed the photo down in front of them. There was silence. You could hear a pin drop.

"W-what is this?" Ronnie said, staring up at him wide-eyed.
"Jess is pregnant." He said, flashing her a toothy grin. And then, there were screams. Both of them pulling him in either direction, hugging him tightly, kissing him on top of the head.
"Oh my god.." His mom sighed, tears coming to her eyes. She picked up the photo, inspecting in closer.

"Oh, honey." She said softly, now looking over at me with a smile.
"Oh my god, I'm gonna be an aunt!" Ronnie yelled, wiping her eyes, pulling Jake into another hug. He hugged her back, holding her tight. I could see tears forming in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

"I.. I thought you.. didn't want kids." She asked.
"Ronnie, you can't say that." Their mom playfully slapped her arm. Jake shook his head, smiling back.
"No, it's okay." He laughed. "I.. I didn't.. until I did." I couldn't help but smile. He looked over, motioning for me. I went over, sitting down close to him. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me up against him, kissing my forehead.
"Oh my god, I can't believe you're having a baby." Ronnie sighed, taking the photo from their mom. She turned to me, giving me a gentle smile.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, me reaching out for my hand. I couldn't help but smile, feeling tears come to my eyes.
"I'm okay." I nodded. She held my hand tighter.
"Are you excited?" I nodded again, wiping my eyes.
"Oh, good." She sighed. "This is so exciting. Oh, my baby."
"Mom.." Jake groaned, playfully rolling his eyes. She giggled to herself, wiping her eyes.

"So, how far along are you?" She asked, turning back to me.
"They said 5-6 weeks when we went the other day." Her eyes got wide, my face getting hot as I could see her doing the math in her head.
"And they said.. everything was okay?" I nodded.
"Y-yeah. They.. they told us it's still too early to know anything but.. they said the due date is October 24th." Her smile grew as she put her hands over her face.

"Oh my goodness.." She said softly. "This is so exciting." I reached over for the bag, pulling out another orange. Her smile grew.
"Are you having any morning sickness? Any cravings?" She asked. I shook my head.
"No, I haven't really gotten sick yet which I'm thankful for.."
"Yeah, for me that started around the two month mark, and my cravings weren't really that bad either.."

I nodded, listening closely as she told me her stories of her pregnancies, what Jake and Josh were like when they were babies, how little she slept with Ronnie and how much of a kicker Sam was. I hadn't felt this happy in a long time; I don't think I had ever had conversations like with with my own mom. I was so lucky to have her.

"Yeah, with Ronnie I wanted ice cream all the time. The boys didn't mind cause that meant ice cream for them too, so they loved it. With Sam, it was the breads. I could never have enough pasta, toast, whatever I could get my hands on, and the boys, whatever fruit was around. The sweeter the better. I think it was more the smell than anything, but mainly citrus fruits. Oranges, Grapefruits, all of it. No wonder Jake is so sour." She laughed, reaching out for him. He scrunched up his face, playfully pushing her away. She peeked down at the orange in my hand, smirking back at me. My heart jumped.

"I.. I really appreciate anything you can tell me, I'm.. well, me and my mom.. we're not really-" She shook her head, reaching out for my hand again.
"It's okay." She said softly, giving me a gentle smile. "You can call me Mom now."