Page 34 of Thrown Off Balance

“You know Sophia will have an extensive baby registry by tomorrow and we can all buy something off of it.” Creed smirks.

“You aren’t wrong.” I point in his direction. “I guarantee she already had two set up and was just waiting to find out the gender before she told everyone about it.”

“You’re wrong. She had three set up. One if they were having two boys, one for two girls, and one for a boy and a girl. I just asked her.” Wes chuckles as he takes the seat Peck was sitting in and leans back. His attention is focused on Jude and nothing else.

“Jax, what do you think about-”

“Dude! Enough! You’ve been so far down my throat since the moment we met. I feel like I can’t breathe around you! Maybe instead of sucking up to me, you should pay attention to your girl and realize she isn’t happy with you.” Jax stands from the table, letting his chair scrape against the floor.

All eyes turn to us and I'm sure everyone heard Jax snap. He’s not a quiet person in general and his voice tends to stand out a little more.

I glance over at Sloan and find her cheeks red as tomatoes. She definitely heard what Jax said. She’s staring down at her lap and trying to avoid everyone. She hurries to her feet and rushes out of the pavilion.

I quickly transfer Carter’s sleeping body to Wyatt’s arms and rise from my own chair. Jude starts to follow, but Dad stops him.

“So, Jude… How did you and Sloan meet?”

I don’t wait to hear the answer because I really don’t care. Instead, I race after the girl I’ve loved for as long as I can remember.

Searching the backyard, I don’t see her anywhere. It’s a huge area, but there aren’t many places to hide as an adult. We learned that when we used to try to play hide and seek every summer. There’s only one place she could be without leaving the backyard.

I hurry over to the playground and climb the old wooden steps to the three-story castle. When I peek inside, Sloan’s sitting with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest.

“Are you ok?” I whisper.

Sloan jumps at my voice and shakes her head without lifting it. She looks so much like the teenage girl I remember from years ago.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” she whispers.

“Ok… Is it ok if I sit with you then? We don’t have to talk.”

“Why are you being so nice to me Cody?” She lifts her head just enough for me to see her tear-stained cheeks and her red rimmed eyes.

“Because it kills me to see you hurting.” I slide across the floor until my back is resting on the wooden wall next to hers. “We can sit here in silence. After hearing Jude blabber on and on about hockey, I could use the silence.”

Sloan snorts with laughter before she sniffles again. “I'm sorry. He’s so awful.”

“He’s not awful, he just has no chill.”

“He was supposed to take me on a date tonight,” she whispers. “That’s why I'm so dressed up. When he showed up at my apartment, he said we were coming here. We fought about it and I finally gave in, but I told him after tonight, I wasn’t helping him hang out with you and Jax anymore.”

“Well, I'm pretty sure Jax isn’t going to tolerate him any longer. When I left to come after you, my dad might’ve made himself comfortable with Jude.” I wince, knowing there’s no way to guess what’s coming out of Dad’s mouth right now.

“Jeez, this is a disaster. I should just go. It was a mistake for me to even come.” She tries to scoot towards the little hole in the floor so she can climb down, but I stop her.

“Nah, you need a little breather right now. Take some time to gather your thoughts and figure out what you’re doing next.”

“You mean figure out how I'm breaking up with Jude?” She peeks up at me with a small grin, but there are still tears in her eyes.

“I'm not making any suggestions or remarks. You need to do whatever you feel is best. I'm not getting involved.”

We’re quiet for a few minutes, then I realize I could use her help with something.

“Can I show you something?”

“Of course.”