There's No Way

Big Brother

[Camila's POV]

As soon as I saw the two positive pregnancy tests I started spiraling. How could she be pregnant? I mean, I know how. But why? Why can she get pregnant when she's not even trying and I can't get pregnant no matter how hard I try. I was brought out of my thoughts when I noticed Aaliyah begin to sob against my shoulder.

"What am I going to do, Mila? How am I supposed to tell everyone?" she choked out through her cries.

"Hey, it's okay," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. "We'll figure this out, okay?" Just then, we heard a car door shut in the driveway—signaling that Shawn had returned home from the gym.

"Oh my god, I'm not ready to tell him. He's going to be so disappointed, I can't tell him right now." She was completely freaking out at this point, and honestly I couldn't blame her. He was incredibly protective of her and this wasn't going to be news he took lightly.

"Do you want me to talk to him first?" I asked. Her eyes brightened up.

"Would you? I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course," I nodded. "Go wait in your room, I'll talk to him—okay?" She nodded and wiped her tears away with her sleeve before heading into the guest room. I took a moment to collect myself before stepping out of the bathroom. Shawn had just turned around the corner and began walking down the hallway towards our bedroom.

"Morning, cutie! Is Liyah still sleeping?" he said as he quickly kissed my cheek.

"Um, no—she's awake. She's just chilling in her room," I tried to say as casually as possible. He nodded and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. I anxiously sat on the bed waiting for him to come out, rehearsing how I would bring this topic up with him. Before I could come up with the perfect way to ease into the conversation he stepped out of the bathroom and into our bedroom.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Shit. I really am horrible at hiding my emotions. I sighed and turned my body toward him.

"I need to talk to you about something...kind of serious. Really serious, actually." Shawn immediately tensed upon hearing my words. I patted the bed next to me with my hand, encouraging him to sit down.

"What's going on, Camila? You're scaring me..." he said as I reached over and took his hand in mine.

"I'm going to tell you something, but I need you to not freak out. Okay?" Alright—probably not the best way to start this conversation. Anytime someone tells you not to freak out, it means you're definitely going to freak out. Shawn held his breath as he waited for me to go on. I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. "Aaliyah's pregnant." Shawn sat there completely silent. No change in facial expression. No change in posture. Hell, I'm pretty sure he didn't even blink. I waited for a few minutes before I genuinely got concerned that he had straight up malfunctioned. "Shawn? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said through a broken voice. He cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "Just to be clear, you mean Aaliyah as in...my little sister?" I sighed and gently rubbed the back of his hand in small circles with my thumb.

"Listen, I know this is definitely a surprise...but please don't be upset with her. She doesn't need an over-protective big brother right now—she needs a supportive one. She was literally sobbing before you got home because she was so scared to tell you...that's why I'm telling you instead of her." I tried to comfort him, but he was clearly completely in shock and had no idea how to feel.

"She's only seventeen..." he mumbled quietly. "Wait...who's the father?"

"She has a boyfriend—she just hadn't told anyone yet." He rubbed his hands over his face as he took everything in.

"Alright," he said calmly. "I might be crazy for thinking this, but...what if we adopt the baby? I mean, if you think about it—this could be a blessing in disguise." I sighed. To tell the truth, I had considered it too. But this wasn't our decision to make, it was hers.

"I know, I thought about that too...and if she decides she wants to put the baby up for adoption, then we'll bring up the idea. But until then, it's her decision. If she wants to keep it, she'll keep it. If she wants to terminate the pregnancy, then we'll let her do that," I explained. Shawn reluctantly nodded.

"How are you so...cool with all of this? I mean, after everything you've been through...how are you so rational about this?" he asked. I wasn't 100% sure of the answer myself.

"I...I don't know. Honestly, I've kind of been on the verge of an emotional breakdown since she told me." Shawn gave me a sympathetic smile before pulling me in for a hug.

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to her. Feel free to stay in here and be emotional if you need to be. I know this is tough for you, it's okay to let yourself feel everything, okay?" he said before gently kissing me. And for the billionth time, I found myself wondering how I'd managed to not only find the most perfect man in the world, but also have him be my husband.

——

[Shawn's POV]

I stood outside the door to the guest room for a brief moment, hearing a couple sad sniffles make their way through the door that separated us. I tapped a few melodic knocks on the door with my knuckle before hearing a quiet "come in". I slowly opened the door to see Aaliyah sitting on the bed, her cheeks red and blotchy from crying.

"Hey you..." I said as I walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. She was clearly terrified of what my reaction would be, which honestly broke my heart. I knew she was scared to tell me, but the last thing I wanted was for her to think that I was mad at her.

"I'm really sorry, Shawn..." she said quietly as tears streamed down her face. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, don't apologize. Everything's going to be okay."

"...you're not mad?" she asked curiously, pulling away from the hug to wipe her tears away with the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

"I'm not mad. Surprised and confused, but definitely not mad at you," I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder. It was quick, but I think I saw a soft smile flash across her face as I did so.

"What am I going to do?" she asked as more tears began to spill out. I sighed heavily. As much as I wanted to suggest my idea, Camila was right. This was Aaliyah's choice to make—not ours.

"Liyah...I can't tell you what to do; you have to make that choice yourself. Just know that whatever choice you make, Camila and I will be here to support you the entire time, okay?" She sniffled a few more times before hugging me again.

"I'm not ready to be a mom..." she said through sobs against my shoulder.

"You're only seventeen, nobody's expecting you to be ready to be a mom. You have other options," I reminded her.

"And if I pick one of those other options...you wouldn't be upset with me?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course not. This is your choice, Aaliyah. You need to do whatever is best for you, okay?" She stared blankly at the wall, clearly deep in thought.

"If, um..." she started nervously twiddling her thumbs. "If I do decide to get...you know, an abortion...would you guys help me do that before I have to go back home?" I swallowed hard. It took everything in me not to go on a full rant about just how lucky she really was or tell her just how jealous Camila and I were of a situation that was clearly causing my little sister a lot of emotional distress. I wanted so badly to tell her that she needed to have the baby so Camila and I could adopt it as our own, but I couldn't. This wasn't about Camila and I—this was about Aaliyah. Camila and I had other options, ones that didn't involve forcing my baby sister into something she didn't want to do.

"Whatever you need our help with, we're here for you," I said before quickly kissing the top of her head and hugging her tight.

A/N: Hi. Did you have a good day? I hope you had a good day. ♥️