Forever Yours (Book 4 of 4) (Justin Bieber Love Story) ✔️

Chapter 26: Long Time Coming

~ 22 Weeks Pregnant ~

SERRINA

My thumb gently moved up and down my stomach as the baby kicked away, the little flutters making me smile. It had been almost a week since Justin had come back and things were finally starting to calm down. Connor has managed to make Amelia move on quickly, but after her blowup Krystal was a mess. She missed two days of school before she was okay to go back and even then, her attitude had shifted from the happy girl she was to a sad, sullen kid. Braxton was holding everything in. He was trying to be a rock for his sisters and I didn't know what to do for him.

A gentle knock on my door pulled me out of my thoughts and I tugged down my shirt so my stomach was covered. I sat up and sighed, "Come in."

The door creeped open and Braxton poked his head through, his body slowly slithering it into the room behind him. Connor was closely following the boy who had become his shadow and they walked in quietly. Braxton sat down at the end of my bed, an uncommon thing for him, and then crossed his legs. Connor sat beside me at the headboard and reached over, holding my hand and giving it a hard squeeze.

I frowned and looked between them, confused, "Is everything okay?" Braxton wouldn't make eye contact with me and Connor was breathing slowly, like he was holding in tears. Panic filled my chest, "What's going on?" I sat up straighter and tried to pull my hand away from Connor but he held me tight. I tugged again and he tugged back and gently shook his head.

"Just wait." He said and looked up at me. I now noticed that his eyes were puffy in a way that showed me he had been crying, but there was a big smile on his face, "Be patient. It's a good thing." Then his gaze moved from me to my son, who was still staring into his lap, "Whenever you're ready bud." There was a tone in Connors voice I had never heard before and I could only assume it was adoration or love.

I was only confused for a second after that before realizing what was happening. My breath caught in my throat and all the panic I had felt disappeared and was replaced with an overwhelming love for the little boy in front of me.

Connor must have noticed my realization because his death grip on my hand relaxed and he began to rub delicate circles into my palm with his rough thumb.

"Everything okay?" My voice was softer and my hand reached out to him. He didn't take it at first, but I wiggled it in front of him and he reached out. His hand was warm and a little sweaty, for a reason that was obvious to me now, but I couldn't have cared less.

He still didn't speak. Braxton was never this quiet, but I knew he had a lot going on in his head. He was searching for the words and he was having a difficult time finding the right ones. I scooted a little closer to him and Connor let my hand go. I saw his bottom lip pout a little and then he shrugged, "I don't know." He sniffled a little and rubbed his cheek into his shoulder to wipe away a tear, "Im scared." He wasn't talking to me, he was talking to Connor.

I glanced over my shoulder at Connor but he wasn't watching us and he wasn't going to interrupt. He had his head lowered and his eyes closed.

"You can tell me anything, Braxton." I turned back to my son and lowered myself a little bit so I was making direct eye contact with him, "I'm not going to be mad."

He sniffled and wiped his tears away on his shoulder again. He opened his mouth to talk and then let out a sob and stopped himself, shaking his head and saying something under his breath. I had never seen him so scared or vulnerable before and it made my heart ache.

"Do you want me to guess?" I asked. I waited for him, which had felt like an eternity, to nod, and then sighed, tears now falling down my cheeks too, "Are you gay?" The words left my lips like they had been sitting there for weeks and a weight that I didn't know I was carrying lifted from my shoulders.

I had know it was coming for a while now.

His sobbing got harder as he nodded and looked up at me, "Are you mad?" Then he saw I was crying and every piece of me shattered, "Do you hate me?" I began sobbing and shaking my head.

I took his face in my hands and gently shook my head, "Honey, nothing you could ever do would ever make me hate you." Then I sniffled and kissed his forehead, "I will love you no matter who you love. Okay?" And then Connor was squeezing my hand again. I was doing a good job, I was giving something that his mother never gave to him, "You're always going to be my baby boy." When he still didn't reply I opened my arms and he didn't hesitate to crawl into them. I held him to my chest while he cried, while I cried, while Connor cried.

When he finally moved away from me my body ached from being in once place for too long, and the baby was fluttering away, happy that I was moving. Sitting in one place for too long wasn't easy on my body anymore.

"Octavia," he whispered. It was so quiet I almost didn't hear him, but then he cleared his throat and sat up, "We should name her Octavia." He placed his hand on my belly and the fluttering went crazy. His eyes lit up and he laughed a little before taking his hand away.

I smiled at him and nodded, "That's a pretty name."

He smiled too and then hugged me again before launching himself into a brand new conversation, moving on from the previous one and shifting us into a lighter note.