Page 175 - It Ends with Us

His mother reaches for me and pulls me in for a hu g, and her

laught er is ev er ythi ng I need to get me thro ugh thi s moment . “Lily!”
she says, pushi ng me out to arm’s leng th so she can get a good look at
me. “Sweet ie, I don’t thi nk you’re a blasphem ous who re. You’re the
ang el I’ve been praying would land in R yle’s lap for the last ten yea rs!”
She ushers us int o the apartment . R yle’s father is the nex t to greet
me with a hu g. “No, defini tel y no t a blasphem ous who re, ” he says.

“Not like Marsha ll here, who sank hi s teet h int o my little girl when
she was onl y sev ent een. ” He glares back at Marsha ll, who is sitting on
the couch.
Marsha ll laughs . “Tha t’s where you’re wrong , Dr. Kinc aid, bec ause
Allysa was the one who sank her teet h int o me firs t. My tee th were in
ano ther girl who tasted like Cheet os and . . .”
Marsha ll doubles over when Allysa el bows hi m in the side.

And just like tha t, ev er y sing le fea r I ha d ha s vani shed . They ’re
per fec t. They ’re no rmal. They say who re and laugh at Marsha ll’s jokes .
I couldn ’t as k for an ythi ng better.
Three hours later, I’m lying on Allysa’s bed with her. Thei r parent s
went to bed earl y, claiming jet lag. R yle and Marsha ll are in the living
room, watchi ng sports. I ha ve my ha nd on Allysa’s stomach, waiting to

feel the baby kick.
“Her feet are right here, ” she says, moving my ha nd over a few
inc hes . “Give it a few sec ond s. She’s rea lly active toni ght .”
We rema in quiet whi le we both wait for her to kick. When it
ha ppens , I squea l with laught er. “Oh my God! It’s like an alien! ”
Allysa ho lds her ha nd s on her stomach, smiling . “Thes e last two
and a ha lf mont hs are going to be hel l,” she says. “I’m so rea dy to

meet her.”
“Me too. I can’t wait to be an aunt .”
“I can’t wait for you and R yle to ha ve a baby,” she says.
I fall ont o my back and put my ha nd s behi nd my bed . “I don’t
kno w if he want s any. We’v e nev er rea lly talked about it.”
“It doesn’ t matter if he does n’t want any,” she says. “He will. He

didn’t want a rel ations hi p before you. He didn’t want to get marri ed
bef ore you, and I feel a proposal coming on any mont h no w.”
I prop my hea d up on my ha nd and face her. “We’v e barel y been
toget her six mont hs . Pret ty sure he want s to wait a lot long er tha n