Book 2: Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

The next evening, I invited practically everyone to see Jeremy propose to my mom, in secret of course. My mom had no idea what was happening and that everyone would be there. Jeremy took her out to a dinner with permission to be relieved of his duties for the night. All of the groomsmen and bridesmaid, along with Farah and her family were here waiting for them to be finished. We stood way back so my mom wouldn't spot us until she said yes.

Summer was handling this well and seemed excited. After our talk, she apologized to Jeremy who opened his arms to her. He's been waiting for her to come around and she finally gave him a chance. That would only make her even more spoiled than she was, but whatever works. We were all able to be happy and have a united front for once. That was all I could ever ask for.

Patiently waiting, while we were sitting down, my stomach started to hurt as I felt queasy. Jay was sitting right next to me noticing my change in demeanor. Even with Cyrus here, Jay kept himself close with his hand resting on top of my leg. If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to throw up, I would have moved. Instead, my head rests on his shoulder trying to hold down the barf that wants to topple out. His eyes peek down at me with worry.

"You okay gorgeous?" He whispered, squeezing my thigh. He made sure to be discrete with his concern.

I smile softly, keeping my head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I just felt sick for a second there," I admit.

That made him even more concerned. "Was it something you ate? Here drink my water," he says handing me his water bottle.

Chuckling, I take it having a few sips. It helped for the most part, but not enough. "Thank you," I say still feeling queasy.

I'm not sure what was making me feel this way. I ate normally today and even had a nice drink. It hit me out of nowhere quite frankly. All my body wanted to do was go home and sleep. What was taking them so long with this dinner? Another minute of this and I was going to spew everywhere.

Luckily, I got a text from Jeremy that they were heading out. Everyone gathered together with their phones out ready to see him pop the question. As they stepped out my heart raced in my chest as we watched patiently. We couldn't hear them, but when he got on one knee, just like my mother my eyes filled with tears. The happiness coursing through me was unmatched. When my mom nodded her head we all screamed.

She didn't expect to see us here and was thrilled once Summer and I ran up to them. They both embraced us followed by the others coming to congratulate them. It was a great night that needed to be celebrated even more than it was. My mother was newly engaged and happy too. Our family was starting to feel whole again.

Heading back to the Hadid home, we pulled out some drinks to celebrate the newlyweds. Light music played in the background as everyone mingled with one another. It was a nice change of pace considering the bachelorette party was this weekend. Hopefully, I'll feel better by then. That queasy feeling wouldn't stop.

Slipping away, I head out to the back porch to enjoy some air. Cold water trailed down my throat to try to ease the sickness. Why was nothing working?

"Hey," Cyrus's voice called out to me. He walked over with a smile. "What's a girl like you doing out here alone?"

Laughing at his horrible flirting, my eyes roll. "Just getting some air," I say.

He didn't think that was the full story by the way his lips pursed. However, he didn't pressure me. "It almost makes you think huh?"

"Think about what?" I ask.

He chuckles. "Getting married."

My parents getting engaged did make me think about marriage. It's such a life-changing experience. Someone you're tied to forever unless you decide to divorce. That happening to me one day certainly wouldn't be upsetting. The only one who would be upset with my thoughts would be Cyrus. My mind wasn't thinking about marrying him. I was envisioning marrying Jay instead.

I laughed it off. "You're already getting married, you goof." I remind him.

His eyes roll. "Please, Jenna is the last person I want to marry." He says before grabbing my hand. "You, on the other hand, you're what I want."

My cheeks flush. "You think about settling with me? Despite how your mom feels?" My heart raced waiting to hear his response.

His chocolate eyes capture mine like never before. "Autumn, you know I don't give a damn about what my mother thinks." His lips connect with my cheek. "I only want you."

Hearing him say that made me quite emotional. I'm not sure if it was him saying that or the moment in general. Whatever it was, it made me realize the damage being done behind his back. The longer I keep this information from him, the more it'll hurt him in the end. If he found out now, at least he'll have more time to process it. I'm not sure it was the right thing to do nearly two weeks before the ceremony. What choice did I have?

Taking a breath, I start to think about what I want to say to him. How does one drop the bomb that they've been sleeping with someone's best friend? Not only sleeping with him but dating him as well. That was not going to make Cyrus happy in the slightest. The smile he was bearing would disappear with a swiftness. There was no way I could continue to keep this secret from him though. It's now or never.

Gulping, Cyrus looks at me confused. Normally I'd respond lovingly but this time it was the opposite. My face fell to that of sadness, fighting back the urge to cry. My worst fear was breaking Cyrus's heart but holding on to this secret was killing me. Maybe this would be a reckless move but he needed to know. What's the point of waiting any longer than I have?

"Autumn, is something wrong?" He looked at me worried.

I nod. "I love you, Cyrus. I do but..." I trail off. "There's something you need to know."

Cyrus wasn't taking this seriously. He kind of just laughed it off. "Ok...what is it?"

Sighing, I couldn't figure out how to say this without it sounding crazy. He already suspected Jay and I of doing something together. Imagine what his reaction would be to finding out it's true. To realize that I've been lying to him this whole time. Jenna would sure get a kick out of this that's for sure. This is what she's been waiting for and now it's happening.

"Cyrus, there's no easy way to say this but..."

And before I could get it out, the glass door slid open to Jay peaking his head out of the door. He was looking for Cyrus, interrupting me telling him something important. I can't say if it was a good thing that it happened. I'm in no shape to tell him what has been going on. Though Jay could have overheard and put a stop to it as well. There's always that possibility and I can't say I blame him for doing so. His relationship would have been affected. Plus, it was my parent's engagement night. I couldn't possibly ruin that.

Jay scoping the scene, realized he may have interrupted something important. It wasn't that big of a deal since Cyrus wasn't taking what I said seriously anyway. He didn't seem that concerned. If we got to the point of me telling him his mood would have changed drastically. It's for the best that I try again another time.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asks both Cyrus and I.

Cyrus smiles. "Well, Autumn was..."

"Nope, not at all!" I stop him.

He looks at me confused but shrugs it off. "I guess not then."

I planned to tell him but Jay came at the perfect time. I'm sure I'll get another moment like this. For now, we'll let it be. The universe has a strange way of doing things and this was my sign to wait. As much as waiting would make it worse; it made the most sense. At least it did for now. I'm sure Jay would agree.

Jay looked at me before continuing with his thoughts. "In a few minutes, we're gonna take Jeremy out for some real fun!" He said very mischievously.

Cyrus and I both laughed. "Jeremy? He agreed to this?" I wondered.

Jay smirked. "Of course not, we're just taking him." He shrugged.

"He may put up a fight but I'm down," Cyrus said with a grin on his face.

My eyes roll playfully. "You guys are a trip." I conquer.

"You're just mad you're not invited." Jay sticks his tongue out at me.

My eyes roll playfully. Quite frankly I didn't want to be invited. Who knows what they're going to make him do and I wanted no part of it. Jeremy was going to be in for a rude awakening once he found out that they were trying to whisk him away. I'm not sure how my mom would feel about this, but we'll see. She's probably still on her euphoric cloud after being proposed to again.

Regardless, I'm happy they're still able to hang out as close friends. If I told Cyrus tonight this wouldn't be happening. Luckily he didn't ask me any more questions regarding what I wanted to say and just followed Jay back inside. The sick feeling not going away, I took one more deep breath before heading back inside as well.