FORBIDDEN TIES {My brother's best friend}

Chapter 9

     I slowly opened my eyes to find my entire family staring back at me with concern etched on their faces. What the hell just happened?

"What happened?" I asked, pushing myself up from the couch.

"You fainted," Mom replied, her voice tinged with worry.

"Oh... I had a dream that Mom was pregnant again," I explained, glancing around at my brothers.

"That... isn't a dream," Reggie interjected, his words causing my eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets.

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed, turning to Mom for confirmation.

"We're as shocked as you are. Just look at Anya," Blue chimed in, drawing my attention to our youngest sister, who looked both pale and shell-shocked.

"What? Mom... aren't you, like, too old for that?" I blurted out, unable to hide my disbelief.

Mom rolled her eyes. "I'm 42," she stated matter-of-factly, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it.

"Isn't that a bit... risky?" I pressed, my mind still reeling from the news.

"It's not uncommon for women my age to have children," Mom replied, her tone firm. "And besides, your father and I have been talking about this for a while now. We're both healthy, and we're excited about the prospect of expanding our family."

I nodded slowly, trying to wrap my head around the idea. The thought of having a new sibling was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

"So... what now?" I asked, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside me.

"Now, we celebrate," Dad chimed in, a wide grin spreading across his face. "We're going to have a baby, and that's something to be happy about."

"I will stop giving birth at 30," I declared to Mom, who just shrugged in response. My gaze then shifted to Dad, who seemed genuinely happy about the news.

Wow, he's going to be a dad again... that's wonderful.

"Congratulations, Dad," I said, unable to resist mocking him a bit.

"Well, thank you," he replied with a chuckle.

"I think the child is going to be a boy," Blue chimed in confidently.

"In your dreams, it's going to be a girl," I countered, equally confident in my prediction.

"The boys will win this time," Grey added.

"That's what you said last time, and it turned out to be Anya, so..." I pointed out.

"Let's make a bet," Blue suggested.

"$10,000," Grey proposed.

"How am I supposed to get that money if I lose?" I protested.

"You're so confident that you're going to lose?" Blue teased.

"No, no, it's just... in case something happens," I quickly amended.

"All you have to do is ask Dad for the money. You know he won't say no to you," Blue reasoned.

"Are you guys seriously discussing this in front of me and your father?" Mom interrupted.

"And I'm not going to give you that money," Dad chimed in, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Let's see about that," I murmured, smirking.

"Deal," Blue said, shaking my hand firmly.

Everyone else seemed fine with the news, except for Anya, who looked absolutely terrified. When Mom was pregnant with her, I was excited, especially when I found out she was going to be a girl.