Lily's POV

I open my eyes to see the spot where Kingston sleeps, empty. I shoot up in bed, worried. I calm down when I hear the sound of bacon sizzling. The sizzling sound gets stronger for one second, then I hear a crash.

¨Shit!¨ Kingston exclaims. That's probably my cue to get out of bed.

¨You okay¨ I say as I walk out of the bedroom and into the small kitchen area of our 2-bedroom apartment. He looking up from sucking the thumb that I assumed he just burnt and his face immediately lights up.

¨Hey babe¨ He says as he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me closer. This is weird. Kingston's never like this. And breakfast? That's not fruity pebbles or frozen waffles. I didn't know that he knew how to use the stove. Or the pan for that matter. I look at the pan flipped over on the floor. I take that back.

¨Why are you being so nice to me?¨ I question, still in his embrace. His eyes widen and I feel his tense up in the hug, like he thought I would've just assumed that this was his normal behavior.

¨Noreason¨ He says, his eyes still wide with panic. Okay, what the hell is happening. He's definitely hiding something. But before I could further question him, I feel something rise up my throat. Now it's MY turn to widen my eyes in panic. I run as fast as I can to the bathroom and vomit into the toilet, Kingston running behind me. He grabs my hair and holds it right above my neck.

¨Dammit¨ I mutter quietly to myself. I turn back and quickly look at Kingston before sharply turning my head back down to the toilet and barf my guts out- once again. I look at Kingston with an apologetic look on my face. He looks at me lovingly, as to say ¨It's okay¨ then exhales as he gets up.

¨I'll get you some medicine¨ He breathes and with that, exits the bathroom, leaving me to reflect on what had just happened in a matter of 15 minutes. I have been throwing up every morning at about the same time. I think Kingston's starting to get suspicious.

Kingston's POV

I'm starting to get suspicious about Lily. She's been throwing up at the same time every morning. At first, I just thought it was something bad she had eaten the previous night. But it's been getting more frequent and frequent. I might just have to confront her about it. I grab the Pepto- Bismol, a towel for her face and a band aid for my burnt thumb. I run back to the bathroom and place the bottle down on the floor next to her. She faintly smiles at me, I return the favor and lean over to kiss the top of her temple. She opens the bottle and puts 2 of the bubblegum- flavored chewable tablets in her mouth.

¨Are you okay¨ I ask her once she finishes chewing her tablets. She nods, not even looking up at me. I tilt my head in confusion. It's not like her to be this dismissive. Maybe to other people, but not to me. ¨Are you sure?¨ She nods even harder, looking up at me for a millisecond before dropping her head back down to the floor. ¨Lily, don't lie to me¨. She finally looks up and smiles, but something about it seems fake.

¨Kingston, I'm fine. Seriously¨ She says in a demanding tone. I sharply exhale.

¨Fine, whatever you say¨ I say as I put my hands up in defeat. Lily smiles in victory.

¨Thank you¨ She says, clearly surprised that I went down without a fight. She gets up from her sitting position above the toilet, flushes it, washes her hands and heads to the kitchen like nothing happened. I serve her her plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. She looks up at me and smiles. ¨Are these the floor eggs?¨ She asks referring to the eggs that I dropped in the pan earlier.

¨Nah¨ I say ¨Those can go in the trash¨. Lily looks behind me at the scrambled eggs on the floor and grins.

¨Well, they're not gonna walk themselves to the trash¨ She retorts. I playfully roll my eyes and get up to scoop the eggs of the floor and into the trash can.

Lily's POV

I watch my boyfriend as he dumps the eggs in the garbage and smile. He notices the look that I gave him and smiles back.

¨Why are you looking at me like that?¨ He asks as he gets the orange juice out of the fridge and pours himself a glass.

¨No reason¨ I say as I shake my head, still looking at him in admiration. He comes back with his glass and sits down. ¨I think I might head to Ozzy and Richelle's, he texted me last night saying that he needed help finding a gift for Richelle and her family¨. I nod.

¨Okay¨ I say, taking a sip of the coffee that he served me with my breakfast. ¨Wait, but it's Christmas Eve, why is he finding a gift for them now?¨. He flushes red and I raise an eyebrow. He nervously chuckles.

¨Ha, you know Ozzy, last minute shopping for his wife and in- laws¨ He says with a nervous laugh before stuffing a giant forkfull of pancakes in his mouth. I slowly lower the eyebrow.

¨Okay¨ I say slowly ¨The girls and I are going to Piper's to wrap some presents last minute¨. Now it's his turn to raise an eyebrow.

¨But-¨

¨Gift wrapping caddy, organization, we had this conversation last year¨ I retort before placing my plate in the sink. Kingston takes one last bite of bacon before following me to the sink. He plops down on the sink and grabs the remote while I walk into the bedroom to change into my outfit for the day. I eventually decide on a white wool cardigan and my skinny jeans, pairing it with my gold necklace that my Aunt Taylor gave me last Christmas. I put on some light makeup and comb my hair. No point in curling it, I'm already running late and Piper will get MAD if we get there past 11 AM. I grab a bag containing my unwrapped presents, my purse, my keys, my phone and my wallet, go over to the couch where Kingston is scrolling on Instagram and give him a quick peck. I slip on my coat and my black uggs.

¨Bye babe¨ I call out before unlocking and opening the front door.

¨Bye baby¨He calls back out. ¨Are you gonna take the Ford or the Mazda?¨ The gray ford was his and the white mazda was mine, but living together for 2 1/2 years, we basically share them.

¨Um, the Mazda¨ I look back at him confused. I always take my car when I'm going places without him, I have no clue why he's asking.

¨Okay, that's fine¨ He says. I slightly shrug and leave the apartment, closing and locking the door behind me. I go down 4 flights of stairs, from my apartment on the fourth floor, to the main exit. I go around to the parking lot that my building shares with the dentist's office next store and unlock the Mazda, hearing it ding, signifying it's open. I open the car door and check the time .10:52. Crap! I text Piper saying that I might be a few minutes late. I pull out of the lot and start the 15- minute drive to Piper's.

I arrive at Piper and Finn's house and ring the bell and hear immediate barking from their dog, Rosie. I hear running down the stairs and can vaguely see Piper's brunette hair thrown up in a low messy bun. About 4 seconds later, Piper opens the front door, looking slightly like she had just ran a marathon. She smiles while still attempting to catch her breath.

¨Come in¨She says, panting. She opens the door wider and I step into the house. Piper leadss me to to basement stairs door, Rosie trailing behind. When Piper opens the door, Rosie tries to come down. Piper gives her a stern look and Rosie turns around and walks back to her water bowl.

¨Where are the boys?¨ I ask while we go down the staircase.

¨Finn's getting ready to go to Ozzy and Richelle's house and Luke's taking a nap¨ She says, referring to her one year old son. I nod before my mind traces back to what she said about her husband.

¨Wait, Finn's going to Ozzy's too?¨ I ask. Piper shrugs.

¨Guess so¨ She says ¨Is Kingston going too?¨. I nod my head. It's very unusual for the boys to plan something with all of them and actually follow through with it. I guess Ozzy is really serious about these gifts. When we get down to the basement I see Summer, Amy, Kenzie and Richelle, along with Richelle's two daughters, Katie and Brianna and Amy's daughter, Savanna. They're all sitting on the couch, talking. Richelle's holding baby Brianna in her arms, occasionally silently gesturing Katie to stop doing something. Katie and Savanna look up innocently from the playpen that they were attempting to climb into. Amy was oblivious to everything that her five- year old was doing- probably because of that glass of wine in her hand. Kenzie scrolling on her phone, occasionally looking up to laugh at something that a semi- drunk Amy had said. Summer just going along with the conversation. This doesn't look like present wrapping. Once they hear Piper and I, they look up from their conversation and greet me.

¨Hey Lily!¨. I smile and sit next to Kenzie on the couch. Richelle hands a now sleeping Brianna to Summer and gets up to get herself a glass.

¨You want one?¨ She asks me, gesturing to the Prosecco bottle in her hand.

¨Oh, no thank you¨ I say. Confused expressions circle around the couch. Honestly, I would be confused too. I'm always down for some Prosecco, but right now I just couldn't.

¨But-¨ Summer started

¨It's too early for alcohol¨ I say, trying to get myself out from the hole I dug myself into.

¨It's 11¨ Richelle retorts

¨That's like saying 10 PM is too late for coffee¨ Amy says. Everyone turns to her.

¨10 PM IS too late for coffee¨ Kenzie says, matter of factly. Amy just shrugs her off.

¨You do you, boo¨ Amy says.

¨I have some presents that need wrapping¨ I say, in attempt to actually get something done. Laughter breaks out amongst the girls.

¨Please. We only said that as a valid excuse to come here and drink¨ Richelle says between laughs.

¨Although I will take those for you¨ Piper says before taking the bag of gifts and putting them beside her.

¨The house looks really nice¨ I say. That had been on my mind since I pulled up to their house. Piper and Finn didn't hold back when it came to Christmas decorations.

¨Thanks¨ Piper says ¨I had to tell Finn to cut back on the house light projectors and inflatable Santas on the front lawn. It didn't work with the interior¨. We nod. We all knew how serious Piper took her interior Christmas decorating.

¨Well it's about to be demolished by kids¨ Summer states with a laugh. Every Christmas Eve, A-troupe did a ¨little¨ Christmas eve party before spending Christmas day with their own families. This year was Piper and Finn's turn to host. Since Henry and Amy did last year. Not only would it be A-troupe and their own families- but some extended family too. Usually that wouldn't happen but Piper wanted to go all out. My mom, my dad, my aunt, Kingston's parents, Angie and Kingston's grandma were all coming along with some other people.

¨Don't remind me¨ Piper says with a chuckle.

¨Hey guys?¨

¨Yes, Lily?¨. An overwhelming amount of boldness overcomes me and I decide to just tell them. But my overwhelming amount of boldness didn't plan how I was gonna break the news.

¨Lily?¨

¨I have something to show you¨ I say before getting up and grabbing my purse. ¨This is something that Kingston and I made- or making I should say¨. I went through my purse before finding what I was looking for. I hold it up in front of them and wait for their reactions. I hear gasps immediately.

¨LILY?!¨

¨Are you serious?-¨. I nod.

¨I'm pregnant¨ I say, placing the ultrasound photo on the couch.