Waste My Time by Kelsey Clayton

Alec snorts as he laughs,throwing his head back and guffawing. It doesn't surprise me. I expected this kind of reaction from him. Still, I roll my eyes and smack him lightly in the chest.

“Shut up,” I chastise playfully. “It was a cute attempt, if a little insane.”

He chuckles some more. “Come on. Don't tell me you're falling for that crap.”

I shrug my shoulders, because part of me is. At least he's making an attempt. It would be worse if he wasn't trying at all. If he was completely indifferent and just took the out I gave him. But he's not. He may not be making the smartest choices, but he's trying.

“I don't know,” I mumble.

Alec sighs heavily as he gets ready to deliver what I know will be a lecture. “Ken, he doesn't deserve you. He lied to you for months and snuck around with his ex, doing God knows what.”

As he reaches out and goes to grab my hand, I quickly pull it away in surprise. “What are you doing?”

He smiles and looks down at his lap, then back up at me. “Do you remember in fifth grade when I used to follow you around like a lost puppy?”

“Yeah. Everyone swore you had a massive crush on me.”

“That's because I did,” he confesses. “How could I not? You were gorgeous and funny and made me want to spend all my time paying attention to you and only you. I was hooked.”

It's sweet. It is. But it's coming from the wrong person. Everything that he's saying he felt about me is exactly how I feel about Easton. And even though I know Alec would be the right choice—the better choice with the shit Easton has been pulling lately—I can't find it in me to make it.

“I thought I got over you when you moved away, but after running into you here and getting close again, I realize that my feelings for you have only grown since then.”

I can't help but look at him like he's crazy. “Do you know what else is only going to grow? My belly. With a baby. That isn't yours.”

He snickers like it's not something he hasn't already figured out. “It's not a deal breaker for me.”

Ugh. The last thing I wanted to do today was deal with one of the people who I've considered a good friend lately trying to take things to another level. Why is it that when a woman is single, it's automatically assumed that she isn't choosing to be? I didn't leave Easton to be with someone else. I left him because I needed to put myself first.

“Alec, I—”

“You don't need to give me an answer right now,” he cuts me off. “Just consider it.”

I'm about to tell him that I don't need to consider it. That it's not going to happen. But then he gets up and grabs the Xbox controllers and hands me one, completely changing the subject, and I feel like I'm actually being let off the hook for once.

So I let it happen.

I'M SITTING IN MY dorm, studying for finals that are only a little over a month away, when there's a knock at the door. My shoulders sag as I wonder what Easton has up his sleeve this time.

A vacation he planned.

A house on the wrong side of town he bought.

But as I open the door, I'm faced with my little brother. He leans his six-foot-four frame against the wall opposite of my room, radiating the same confidence he always has. Our parents claim he took all of it for himself in the womb, because his twin sister has absolutely none of it. She's the girl you'll find hiding in the library at a party, reading a book.

“Ryker,” I say in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

He puts his arms out for a hug, and I go willingly. “I wanted to see my big sis and tour the campus. See what the big deal about these digs are that you gave up Ivy League.”

“You couldn't have called first?”

“And miss the chance to surprise my favorite sister?”

The corner of my mouth raises. “I'm telling Quinn you said that.”

His jaw drops but I can still see a hint of a smile hiding there. “Traitor.”

Girls in the hallway of my dorm start to whisper to each other as they check out my brother. It's not surprising. According to all my friends back home, he's got eyes to die for and a body that puts Zeus to shame.

Vomit.

It's honestly the thing about home I've missed least since being at college.

“Let's get out of here before the wolves descend and sink their claws in,” I tell him as I loop my arm with his and pull him down the hallway. “How did you even get past security?”

“With this smile?” He shows me to prove his point. “I can do anything.”

“You told him you're my brother and trying to surprise me?”

He chuckles like he's been busted. “Yep.”

I'M ON HIGH ALERT the entire time I show him around campus. It's like I'm just waiting for Easton to jump up with yet another grand gesture that makes me want to crawl into a cave and never come out. All I can hope is that he sees Ryker before he makes matters so much worse.

Him being here is a reminder that I should really tell my parents—something I've been avoiding since I found out about the pregnancy. Thankfully, the cold temperatures justify wearing a sweatshirt, so it's not hard to hide the small bump that has been forming.

We're on our way to the football field when excited screams of my name sound from behind me. I turn around to see Tye and Amelia jogging toward us, and my heart sinks.

Oh fuck.

I mentally pray to God that the pictures on my wall have been enough for these two to recognize my brother next to me, but I doubt it by the way they're squealing as soon as they get over to us.

“We've been looking everywhere for you!” Amelia tells me. “So, I was bored, and Tye had the brilliant idea to go downtown and go shopping. We tried to call you, but you must have been busy.”

She looks Ryker up and down like he's someone I'm hooking up with, and she's not happy about it. I mean, if the situation were reversed and it were my brother, I'd probably be the same way.

“Amelia, this is—”

Shaking her head, she cuts me off. “I don't need to know his name. He won't last. Let me finish my story.”

A groan echoes from the back of my throat, and I look over at Tye for help, but she's too busy finding this situation amusing to care.

“So, we found this little boutique near the movie theater,” she continues. “It's so cute and has the most adorable baby clothes.”

I cough to try to cover the slip of information but it's totally obvious to everyone but Amelia. Even Tye tries to nudge her, but her mouth keeps going—letting out everything I've been trying to keep in. And Ryker? He's focused on every single word that leaves her loose lips.

“You need to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl as soon as you can, because now I'm super excited to shop for my little niece or nephew.”

Ry turns to me with a fire in his eyes that threatens to strike me dead. “You're pregnant?”

I glare at Amelia and turn to my brother. “I was going to tell you.”

“He got you pregnant and then fucking ditched you?” He's all but yelling at this point. “I'm going to kill that son of a bitch.”

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have told him that Easton and I broke up. Especially when everything is so unknown and up in the air. But he called me one night when I was upset and there was no lying to him about it. When you grow up with someone, they learn how to pick up on things—like when you're full of shit.

“Excuse me,” Amelia sasses. “That's my brother you're talking about.”

“Yeah?” he asks, completely unamused. “Well, let him know that Ryker Lehigh is out for fucking blood.”

“Lehigh?” Her mouth opens and closes. “You're...”

“My brother,” I answer for her, pressing a finger to my temple.

“Shit. I thought he was just another Alec, trying to get in your pants.”

“You slept with Alec?” Ry shouts.

I throw a hand over Amelia's mouth so she can't say anything else. “No, I haven't slept with Alec! Are you crazy? Now stop screaming before the whole campus thinks I am.”

Releasing Amelia, she starts to apologize, but I shake my head to stop her. I focus all of my attention on Tye while grabbing my brother's wrist so he can't storm off.

“I'm going to take him back to my room to fix this mess,” I tell her. “Can you please make sure she doesn't start a whole-ass riot to make sure guys know I'm off limits?”

“Yeah, of course.”

As I'm pulling Ryker away, I call back, “And warn Easton.”

Ry says nothing as we walk all the way back to my dorm room. It's obvious he's mad at me, and I don't blame him. He just found out something huge about his sister from someone he's never even met before. I'd be pissed, too, if I were him.

As we get to my floor, I turn the corner toward my room, and everything in me goes cold. There’s no opportunity to reverse course as Ryker sees what I saw—Easton knocking at my door. He yanks himself from my grasp and books it down the hallway.

“Easton, run!” I scream, but there's nowhere for him to go.

Ryker grabs him by his shirt and throws him against the wall. “You knocked up my fucking sister, you piece of shit?”

“Ry!” I shout, but it's not like he's listening to me.

People come out of their dorms and fill the hallways to watch as my brother lands a punch directly to Easton's jaw. He winces from the pain, but makes no attempt to fight back, even as Ryker punches him again, this time right in the mouth.

“Ryker, fucking stop!” I shriek again, and this time, it works.

With one last blow to the stomach, Ryker lets go, and Easton hunches over in pain. He stares down at him, not even acknowledging the crowd that has formed.

“You're going to marry her,” he orders. “Do you hear me?”

Easton tries to catch his breath again. “I tried. She told me no.”

Ryker turns his attention to me, but I'm not having it. There are more pressing matters to attend to, like the fact that Easton is dripping blood all over the hallway floor.

I grab one of the girls who was checking out my brother earlier and push her into Ryker. “Alicia, meet Ryker. Ry, Alicia here is going to show you the football field.”

“I am?” Alicia asks, confused yet interested.

“You are,” I confirm. “Run along now.”

Ryker is obviously not amused but still lets Alicia lead him down the hallway as he stares at her chest. I know this shit is far from over, but at least with him occupied, I can tend to Easton.

I shove the key into the lock on my door and open it, ushering Easton into my room. With a grip on his shirt, I pull him into the bathroom and sit him down on the closed toilet. He follows my orders to the letter as I wet a paper towel and start cleaning off the cut.

“Ouch,” he hisses when I apply some peroxide, but it's halfhearted.

I roll my eyes. “Don't be such a baby.”

That seems to hit just the right spot because he stares up at me, watching me like I'm the most mesmerizing thing he's ever seen. He carefully lifts his hand and lightly places it on my lower stomach.

“We're having a baby,” he breathes.

The action makes my heart stutter, and I bite my lip to try to contain myself. It's the one thing he's done that seems like he gets it. Like it's not the worst thing to happen to him since his drug addiction. Like he actually feels something for the little alien I’m already head over heels in love with.

But it's too much. I can't bring myself to deal with his hot and cold right now. I just can't. Too much has happened in the last twenty minutes.

“You didn't fight back,” I say, changing the conversation.

“What?”

I shrug and apply some ointment to another cut on the bottom of his jaw. “With Ryker. You didn't fight back.”

He cocks a brow at me like even questioning him about it is insane. “Ken, he's your brother. What else did you expect?”

I don't answer that, because lately, I don't know what to expect from him. He's so all over the place, it's hard to keep track. One minute he's fine, and the next he's proposing to me in a way that could be found in the “don't” section of The Do's and Don'ts of Marriage Proposals and buying a puppy, like we don't have enough responsibilities right now.

But still, it goes back to him and the fact that he's trying. He's putting in an effort, and he's not giving up, no matter how hard I push back. There's something to be said about his determination to not leave me alone with this baby.

Our baby.

I sigh as I toss the ointment back into the drawer and kick it closed. Leaning against the wall across from Easton, I cross my arms over my chest and hope to hell I don't regret this.

“I have an appointment next week at the OB/GYN,” I tell him. “Come with me if you want to.”

He breaks into a face-splitting grin, one that he can't contain no matter how hard he tries. “Really?”

“Really.”

Resting his head in his hands, he exhales slowly like he's just been given the best present in his life. “I'll be there. I promise.”

I'll believe it when I see it.

Maybe that's harsh of me, but I won't let my guard down around him anymore, until he proves that it's safe to do so. I can't. I won't allow myself to be hurt again at the hands of him. He does too much damage.

I walk back to the door with Easton in tow, a silent message that I want him to leave. Just as I open it and he goes to step out, he stops.

“Thank you,” he says with the most conviction I've ever seen come from him. “For giving me another chance, even though I know I don't deserve one.”

He doesn't.

That much is true.

But that doesn't mean my heart hasn't stayed firmly in his possession, even when I wished it wasn’t.