Ryan stirred. “Did I win?”
Claire frowned. “Of course not, stupid. ‘Did I win’,” she said, mocking Ryan’s deep voice. She rol ed her eyes, and then her face brightened.
“Stand up, Nina.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
I stood, and Claire took a defensive crouch. In the next moment, Jared was between us. “You have lost your mind!”
“Just one time!” Claire begged. “I bet it won’t even hurt her!”
“What are we talking about, here?” I said, my eyes dancing between the two of them.
“I’ll do it,” Jared said.
“Do what?” I asked. Jared led me to the center of the room, standing directly in front of me.
“What is he doing?” Ryan asked Claire.
“Sssh. Pass out again,” she said, impatiently waiting for something to happen.
My eyebrows pul ed in. “What do you plan to do?”
Jared steadied himself and squared his shoulders. His eyes darkened, and then he lowered his chin. In the next moment his body relaxed, and he threw his head back. “I can’t,” he sighed, looking at the ceiling.
“What a wuss!” Claire laughed.
The front door opened, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the painful shrieking of my mother. It never came.
“Uh…what happened here?” Bex said. I opened my eyes, seeing Bex stood frozen in place in the doorway, a half-eaten apple in one hand.
“Nina pul ed me off Ryan,” Claire said, her voice trembling with excitement.
“Okay. So what are you doing, Jared?” Bex said.
“Nothing,” Jared replied, clearly embarrassed.
“He’s going to test the theory,” Claire said.
Jared shook his head quickly. “No, I’m not.”
I crossed my arms. “And how were you going to do that, exactly?”
Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just going to throw it. I wasn’t going to….”
“Punch her?” Bex said.
Jared frowned at Bex, and then looked at me apologetical y.
“What?” I wailed.
Jared held out his hands. “I wasn’t going to land it! Just to see if you would catch it.”
Claire puffed, unimpressed. “I was going to punch her,” she mumbled.
My mouth fel open.
Bex walked casual y across the room, stopping a couple of feet from me. Jared reclaimed my attention when he reached for me again. “Come on, Nina. You don’t think I would punch my pregnant wi—”
Before Jared could finish his sentence, Bex’s fist hurled toward me with lightning speed. My body reacted, and suddenly his fist was in my hand.
“I’m not holding back,” Bex grunted, stil pushing his fist toward my face.
Jared’s eyes widened. He tried to talk, but the only result was his jaw flapping about.
Bex relaxed and lowered his hand, and then bent down to kiss my forehead. “She’s been like that for months. You couldn’t tel ?” he asked Jared.
“I uh…I could tel something was different. I assumed it was the baby.”
“It is the baby,” Bex smiled. “Bean is sharing angel juice with Nina. I haven’t taken it easy sparring with her for weeks.”
“What?” I said.
“What?” Jared repeated.
Bex rol ed his eyes. “Remember that time she threw me on my back?”
Jared’s eyes dashed to mine. “She real y did that?”
Bex frowned. “It hurt, too. I just didn’t say anything because I assumed you knew, and this was one of those things you didn’t want to talk about.”
“He is so like that.” Claire said.
Jared was instantly angry. “You were sparring with her on your level? She’s pregnant, Bex. Are you insane? What if you hurt the baby?”
I looked down at my protruding bel y and gingerly rubbed it with my fingers. “Bean is giving me abilities?”
Bex shrugged. “Bean’s ful -on angel, Nina. You’ve got more power than we do, I bet. That’s why you could hover during your dreams and climb the wal s and stuff. You were pregnant then, weren’t you?”
Ryan laughed once. “What? She’s Spider-Man, now?”
“That’s what I said!” Bex beamed. “Love Spider-Man.”
Jared frowned. “You should have said something.”
Bex laughed once without humor. “She’s your Taleh…not to mention your wife. I thought you knew!”
“You didn’t think I’d mention it if I had?”
“No! That doesn’t sound like you at all !” Bex snapped.
“He’s right,” Claire said. “Being forthcoming isn’t your strong suit.”
Jared turned on his heels, crossing his arms. His biceps bulged over his hands. “I guess you knew, too?”
“Obviously not!” Claire said. “It was my idea to punch her!”
“Wel , let’s brag about it,” I said flatly.
Silence overcame the room while the new knowledge set in. Jared’s eyes bounced around different points on the floor while his brain processed a mil ion thoughts a second.
A loud bang sounded from across the room, fol owed by a vibration in the floor. Claire was lying on her back, looking up at Ryan with a shocked expression.
He smiled. “I told you I wouldn’t give up.”