page11 (1/2)

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find him myself!”

My father started for the front door, and I raced after him in a panic

“Don’t!” I grabbed his forear over me

“Why not? He should be here with you, telling us he’s the one responsible for this!”

“Erik -” my mother started but I cut her off

“He doesn’t know” The first tear slipped overeht, and filled to the bri

With pinched brows, and a taut expression, my father looked at my mother and then back at me “Do you think he’ll stick around once he does know? He is no more prepared to be a father than you are a mother, Jade He’ll run the moment he finds out, and then what?”

“Then I’ll love her enough for the both of us!” I cried “Reid can make his decision once I tell hiainst my still flat belly – “will be loved by me”

I will love her I already do

We had yet to find out the gender, but I had a feeling in

“So you’re going to throay your future, your dreams for this child?” My father barked “You can’t be that reckless! You’re not ready to be a parent!”

I straighteneda parent?” I asked through gritted teeth “You’re never here”

My fathers’ face remained stoic, but his reaction to h his eyes, contrition shining the brightest

“This was not part ofin love with my best friend,” – e, and I will adjust With or without yours and moms help”

I turned on my heel, and ran up the stairs My mother called afterto ot to my bedroom

My oing to college and living away froht purple, with the white furniture ht -sized canopy bed with dark purple bedding As a girl I loved spendingout with Reid

Our parents were best friends - Reid’s father had gone to college with ether every Sunday when they weren’t away on business, and our mothers were always in contact, whether it was at soirlfriends

We’d been interwoven into each other’s lives fro undone At least that’s how it felt

I took out my phone, and saw several missed calls, and texts,myself to return them, or call him back I knew I’d have to see him soon, but until then I could pretend that I wasn’t scared of how things were going to change after I told hi to feel guilty for altering the course of his life, and I could pretend that the fear of losing hi to drown me

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I woke up feeling better than I’d felt in weeks It was a strange sense of calm, and I reveled in the lack of inner turhter co into a light silk robe, and freshening up in the bathroo at the breakfast bar, a cup of coffee in her hands, s at my two friends Kennedy smiled when I walked in, while Grady looked at me pointedly and huffed in disapproval

“Took you long enough,” he said His rin, and he pushed away fro for you to wake up for two hours already”

“What are you even doing here?” I asked, looking between him and Kennedy “You’re supposed to be in Cabo for the rest of the week”

Kennedy stepped up to o where you go,” she said happily Her blonde hair was hanging loose over her shoulders, and her skin was perfectly sun-kissed

“How are you feeling?” Asked my mother She watched ht her