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I gave her a tight smile, my stomach already swirling, but not from nausea. No, this was irritation. “Thank you. I’m excited too.”
————
After Angela left, I’d had plenty of time to stew in my own annoyance. I didn’t want to be angry at Hudson again, not right after we’d come out of an argument and made peace but come on. I hadn’t even told my parents yet. This was my pregnancy, not his. I got to decide when and how we would tell people, not him, and now that his mother knew, I would inevitably have to tell my parents sooner rather than later before the two of them talked. If I knew one thing for certain, I knew my mother would have my head if she found out from a friend rather than her own daughter. Hudson was interfering in my life, making this far more difficult than I needed it to be just because he, like our mothers, couldn’t keep his goddamn mouth shut.
I was on my feet the moment I heard the door open.
The look on Hudson’s face as I rounded the corner of the living room told me he knew just how annoyed I was. “Outside,” I snapped, pointing behind him at the open front door. Jamey was well and truly engrossed in his show, he’d be fine for a few minutes.
Hudson didn’t say a word as he turned around, his scrubs pulling annoyingly at the back of his thighs and showing far too much of the muscle beneath them. I followed him out, shutting the door a little too aggressively behind me, but fuck it, I was annoyed.
“Your mom stopped by today.” I crossed my arms over my chest as he turned to face me, all of that confidence and bravado disappearing.
“Shit.”
“Shit, indeed, Hudson. Want to explain to me how she knows I’m pregnant?”
He sighed as he leaned against one of the pillars of his front porch. “I’m sorry. I picked up Jamey yesterday from their house and it just… came out.”
“It just ‘came out’? Are you fucking for real?” I stepped toward him, getting into his personal space, and he didn’t flinch. “You didn’t even tell me. You didn’t even ask. This is my pregnancy, Hudson, not yours. You don’t get to decide when it’s okay to tell people.”
He glared down at me, his expression shifting from sheepishness and more towards irritation. He didn’t get to be fucking annoyed. That was all mine. “It’s my baby too, Sophie. You don’t get to make every single decision. I admit I should have told you and that I should have asked, but surely we should have discussed this already.”
“When have we had the time?” I challenged. “You found out last, what, Tuesday? And then we spent our time arguing. We’ve barely had a moment to even decide how we’re going to do this, let alone talk about when we’re going to tell people. You realize I have to tell my parents now, right?”
“You can tell them on your own time?—”
“No, I can’t,” I spat, jabbing one finger into his too-toned chest. “Your mother will tell mine. I don’t get to make that decision now because you took it away from me.”
His eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think?—”
“No, you didn’t. If you can’t let me do this on my terms then I don’t know if this is going to work.”
The little bit of remorse vanished from his face at my words, and immediately, I wanted to take them back. I knew I couldn’t. “Don’t fucking threaten me with that shit. I messed up, I know that, but you can’t be throwing that around every time as if it’s some trump card. I helped create that child growing inside of you, Sophie. I want to be involved. I want to be a father to it. I want to be in both of your lives. What more do you want from me? I can’t be perfect every moment of the day.”
“I want you to keep your fucking mouth shut until I say it’s okay to tell people. We’re still in the time frame where something could go wrong. I could lose it, or something could occur to where I’d have to terminate it. We don’t know yet. And all of this goddamn stress you’re filling me with is certainly not helping.” I took a step back, needing space again. I had to watch my words, I couldn’t let myself spit the venom that was bubbling in me. But the space wasn’t enough.
“I’m sorry about that. We need to sit down and talk all of this out, start to finish,” he offered. “I can order us takeout tonight, we can chat after Jamey goes to bed. Okay?”
I shook my head, taking another step back. “No, I need to go home. I need space.”
He sighed, his jaw hardening as he looked at me with pure exhaustion. “Sophie.”
“I need to go home,” I repeated. One more step back, and then another, and I was off the porch and closer to my own house. “I need time.”
Chapter 29
Hudson
Tuesday
Iglanced at the time on my phone, the clock creeping far too quickly for comfort. “Jamey!” I shouted. “Get dressed!”
I watched as he ran up the stairs at lightning speed, his pajama pants swishing about his ankles. I didn’t have time to take him to my mom's, he was going to have to come to work with me. I’d only had to do it once before and thankfully my coworkers took him in shifts, but I hated the idea of putting that on them without warning. If Sophie wasn’t going to come, it was my last resort.
“Daddy! Can I wear my superhero suit?” Jamey called from the top of the stairs.
“No, bud, come on. Just put on some shorts and a shirt. We gotta go.”
