Ties That Bind

~*~ 8 Months Later ~*~

The last place Cecelia thought she would be, she was. Nothing against Orlando but she was loving her life in Chicago. Of course she missed it here. It was home. Family and friends were here. But shit happens. And she knew the only place she could go was home.

She made a very stupid mistake. She slept with an ex and now she was having a child. Was she ready? Absolutely not. But once she found out she quit her job, broke her lease, packed everything and booked a flight home.

She really did not want to live at home again, so out of the kindness of their hearts Penny and Mark offered to let her live in their pool house while she searched for a place. Of course this meant everything she owned was in storage. And it has been for the last four months. She's gotten use to being here. And so have they. But she recently found a house. Only problem it was an hour away.

“So,”she sighed as Penny walked in. “We’ve gotta talk.”

“What happened now? It’s not twins is it? You didn’t just find another baby on the ultrasound?”

“Are you trying to jinx me?”she let out a gasp. “I've heard about women not knowing they were having twins because one was hiding.”

Penny laughed,”Alright I’m not trying to.” She plopped down next to her. “What do we need to talk about?”

Cecelia looked over at her. Her bright blue eyes staring at her intently. Her magenta hair seemed to glow in the sunlight streaming through the sliding glass door.

“I need a favor,”she said.

“Uh what kind of favor?”A crease formed between Penny's eyebrows.

“Help me break it to Mark that I've found a house an hour away.”

“Like it's set in stone you're getting it?”she asked.

“Yeah. Mom and dad took me to see it while you guys were gone. I paid the down payment on it two days ago.”

“Jesus Ce, it's an hour away?”

“It's the only one I really liked. It's close to the water. Kinda small but it'll be perfect for Ariel and I.”

“He's touring soon. Can you wait until after? Because I don't know how he's going handle knowing his baby sister is an hour from everyone with his niece.”

Cecelia sighed,”I would love to. But she'll be here in a few weeks. I need to get her nursery ready.”

Hiding the fact that she was pregnant with Matt's child was hard. She barely went in public now that she was bigger. And even if she did she wore baggy clothes and had a large bag to hold over her stomach. He didn't know. She had planned to tell him. But never did. And well hearing or seeing from his fans that she was would not go well.

“What else aren’t you telling me?”she studied Cecelia's face.

“Alice called. She said they were all going to be going through Florida soon. She wants us to have dinner with them.”

“Is Matt included in this dinner?”

Cecelia shrugged,”I think so. I don't know.”

“When is this dinner?”she asked.

Another shrug,”She said she would text when she knew more details. But it'll be after Ariel comes.”

“Oh. And he doesn't know about her yet,”she frowned.

“This isn't news I could have told him in a text,”Cecelia sighed. “And the only way I could have told was to go there.”

“Okay. We can have the dinner here. I don't plan on joining Mark until after Thanksgiving.”

“Thanks. You're the best.”

She smiled,”Like you would ever doubt that one. Though if he shows his ass I will punch him. I owe him a punch anyways.”

“Just don't aim for the face. He's an ass but he's still hot.”

“Of all the guys you could have dated and had a kid with,”she shook her head.

The guys were still at home. She isn't sure why. Unless his rehabbing didn't go as planned. So Cecelia guessed they may all be traveling and doing things they couldn't because of the touring schedules. The door opened and Mark stepped in.

“There's Chinese in the kitchen,”he smiled.

“You gotta help me up,”Cecelia held out her hand.

He helped her to her feet. And the girls trailed behind him. Penny eyed Cecelia.

“So hear her out before you flip your lid,”she said.

“About what?”

“I've found a house,”Cecelia smiled.

He opened the door and let them by before following,”That's great sis! I've seen a few listings in the neighborhood. Which one did you pick? Was it the white and brick one down the street?”

“It's not in Orlando,”Penny turned and grabbed some plates and glasses from the cupboard.

“Oh, where is it?”he asked.

“On the coast. An ocean side town. It's an hour from here,”she looked anywhere but him.

“No.”

“What do you mean no? It's already a done deal. I put the down payment down on it two days ago.”

“Dad and mom know about this?”he asked.

“They took me. It's perfect. Kinda small but great for just the two of us.”

He grabbed the offered plate from Penny,”No.”

“I'm a grown woman with a kid on the way. You can't tell me no,”she snapped.

“I did. If it's about not being able to afford a place around here I can help you.”

“It's not about that. I don't need a monstrous house for just the two of us. I want to be on the water.”

“An hour from here? With my niece and that's usually the area that gets hit with the hurricanes first?”

She opened her mouth and closed it. He was right about that one. Being on her own it might be harder should they need to evacuate.

“We can get your down payment back. I'll help you find something small, a bit more inland. But still close enough it won't take an hour to get there,”he smiled softly. “Okay?”

She nodded,”Yeah. Okay.”

There was no arguing with him about the safety of them. So she agreed because he had their safety in mind when he said no.