Louis POV
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My eyes averted from my phone when I caught sight of Jo slowly stepping down the steps, one at a time while staring down at them. I got up and reached out to offer her my hand. She slapped it away.
"I know how to walk. I'm not even seven months yet. What are you trying to say?"
I reached out again and helped her further down the steps, "How was your nap?"
"Glorious. I would've liked to have held onto something, but I survived."
"I told you your pillow is being washed and I didn't feel like being kicked out of my sleep today. It'll be back in the bed by the time you go to sleep tonight, baby."
She sighed, "Yeah."
I sat her on the couch and she stretched out onto her back, groaning. I grabbed her feet and gently began massaging them. Her eyes closed and she hummed in contentment.
"I love you."
My lips twitched, "I love you too. Are you hungry?"
"No, I just want to lie here with you for now," she whispered, running her hands up and down her stomach. I leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to the revealed skin on her stomach from her shirt riding up, making her smile.
Before I could speak, Carter came running down the stairs and rushing out in our face, "Okay, okay I've held it in long enough. I have a confession."
I sighed and sat back against the couch, "And what's that?"
He mumbled something under his breath.
"Carter, speak up. Stop with the mumbling, honey," Jo spoke.
"I said. I might've failed one of my exams and it dropped my grade to a low D.." he spoke quietly.
"What do you mean you failed your exam?" I boomed, making him cower backwards. "Which exam?"
"Biology."
"You're great at biology, Carter. What happened?" Jo asked calmly. I ran my hand over my face several times.
"It.. It was the day after the night Grace broke up with me. I couldn't.."
"How many times have we said school first, relationships second?"
"Yeah, but dad—"
"But nothing," I cut him off.
"Louis, give him a break," I felt my leg nudged with her foot and I looked to her, incredulous. "He was heartbroken that night."
"Heartbroken isn't going to sale for getting him into a good college, Josie. He was supposed to be studying, not texting with his girlfriend."
Her eyebrows drew in, "Do you hear yourself right now? He's fifteen! He's in the ninth grade."
"Ninth grade is the most important year, Jo. Do you know what a D does to his GPA?"
"He's a smart boy. He can raise it back up!" She pushed herself to sit up so she could glare at me correctly.
I looked to Carter to see him staring at the ground, silent. "Go to your room, we'll talk about this later."
"So you're just going to let this go?" I asked the second he left the room.
"Louis, it'll be fine. I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this."
"Why? Because I'm not going to act like this is good for him. He needs to know what his priorities are, Josilyn. If his parents aren't going to tell him, who is?"
