Back Where I Belong

Chapter 23

Zoey's pov (a month later)

"We need to know now, Zoey. Are you going with us to Australia or not?" Ashton questions.

"I don't know. I haven't made up my mind yet," I tell him. I've been dreading this moment. I have to decide whether I want to spend a month with my brothers, but away from my boyfriend and best friends.

"Bryana's going if that's any help," Luke calls from across the room, not looking up from his phone. Bryana was going. That means I'd have someone to take me to the doctor's for my checkup. But that also means that she'd be grilling me about the baby and why I haven't told my brothers yet.

I wasn't going to be able to hide it for much longer. I'm already starting to get a teeny tiny baby bump. It's not very clear at the moment, but it'll be obvious within a few months, if not weeks.

"Zoey? You still there?" Michael asks, snapping his fingers under my nose.

I hesitate, then answer, "Yeah, I'll go. But can I only go for half of the month?"

Ashton nods, "No problem." I thank him, then go up to my room to pack.

"You're worse than nicotine," I sing to myself as I fold a white Panic! At The Disco shirt before lying it down in my suitacase. My phone's ring tone cuts my music off.

"Hey baby. How are you two doing?" Peyton asks, his face popping up on my screen after I hit the answer button.

"We're good. How about you?" I ask, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Tired. My mom got a little worse last night. But she's still okay," he promises, "Why do you have a suitcase out?"

"Peyton, I'm going to Australia for two weeks. I leave in tomorrow morning," I tell my boyfriend.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm going to be in Arizona with my mom for the next two weeks. That works out perfectly!" He exclaims, a grin on his face. I smile and laugh.

"So how's the album going?" Peyton asks, reclining back on his bed.

"Good. I'm supposed to be talking to Jenn about the duet later," I reply. I wrote a duet for my album and I wanted Peyton to do it with me. We just have to get Jenn's approval.

"Yo Peyton! You ready to go to the hospital?" Jace yells somewhere in the background.

"Hi Jace!" I shout.

"Hey Zoey! How's it going?" Jace questions, his head popping up on the screen.

"Good," I reply.

"That's nice. I have to steal your boyfriend now. We have to go see his mommy," Jace says. I laugh and watch Peyton smack him in the back of the head before the call ends.

I drop my phone back onto my bed, then go back to packing my suitacase.