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“What man?”
She goes silent.
I wait.
“Is my sister there?” she asks, sounding suddenly years younger than Helena.
“What man, Amelia?”
“No one. Just a new friend I met in the city. It’s not like what you’re thinking.”
“What am I thinking?”
“Can I talk to my sister please?”
“What am I thinking?” I ask again.
No reply.
“I hope you’re not doing something stupid, Amelia. If you need money, I’ll send some before we get there—”
“I don’t want you to come. And I don’t need your money. I don’t need anything from you but my sister. Is she locked up somewhere? Is that why I can’t talk to her?”
There’s a knock on my door and Remy pushes it open. Dr. Price is standing beside him.
“Hold on,” I tell Amelia.
“I think you should go upstairs,” Dr. Price says.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s waiting for you.”
I nod, stand up. “I’ll be right there,” I tell the doctor.
She nods and leaves the room.
“Helena’s safe and sound. I don’t need to keep her locked up. Are you going to be at this number for a little bit?”
“Yes. I’ll be here. Look, don’t tell her…let me tell her everything, okay?”
“You just stay put, understand?”
“Yes.”
I hang up the phone and climb the stairs to Helena’s room. She’s sitting up in her bed and the color has drained from her face.
I tuck the phone into my pocket and go to her.
“What’s going on?”
She looks up at me.
“I’m pregnant.”29Helena“Pregnant?”
Pregnant. To hear the word out loud, it’s strange. Foreign.
“How?” he asks.
“How?”
“You had the shot.”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m that one percent.”
“Fuck.”
He sits down on the edge of the bed.
I can guess what he’s thinking. I’m thinking the same thing.
“They can do a paternity test in a few weeks.”
Sebastian nods.
I cover my face, take a deep breath, exhale.
“Can we talk about something else? Please? I can’t do this right now. I have to wrap my brain around it.”
“Yeah.” He looks at me. “We can talk about your sister.”
“Amy?”
“That was her calling.”
“How did she get your phone number?”
“It’s the phone you used to call her. That wasn’t Gregory’s. It was mine.”
“How…is she okay?”
“She sounds fine.” He reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Here. Call her back. I saved the number. I’m going to go get some air.”
I nod, take the phone and watch him go, then call the number back and a moment later, Amy’s on the line and I’m too relieved to be angry. I don’t tell her my news but that’s only because I’m having a hard time believing it myself just yet. And I need to make sure she’s okay.
She’s apparently in Philadelphia. Sebastian has the address. And she’s found a job with a modeling agency.
“But how did you get an apartment? A phone? You need money for those things.”
“Oh, the agency fronted it,” she says, but she says it too quickly, almost tripping over the words and I think she’s lying.
“Amy?”
“Look, I have to go. It’s okay, Helena. I’m fine. I have everything under control.”
“Are you sure? This whole thing seems too good to be true. I mean, the apartment, a phone, and clothes?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll be working to earn it back. But, are you okay? Sebastian sounds really bossy, Helena.”
“Bossy?” I almost laugh.
“Yeah. I only talked to him for like two minutes and I can tell.”
“Bossy is an understatement. But he’s fine. Things are…different now.” I put a hand on my belly.
“You sound different than the last time. Better.”
“I am better.”
“Do you think he’ll let you come visit me?”
“I think I can convince him we need to take a trip to Philadelphia. Have you talked to mom and dad? Told them where you are?”
“I don’t want to talk to them. They’re not just going to let me go.”
“You’re twenty-one years old. You’re an adult. It’s not up to them.”
“You know how they are.”
“Yeah, I know. Maybe at least send some word that you’re safe.”
“Like they care about our safety.”
“Just do it, okay?” Sometimes I feel like a big sister, like I’m years older than her. It’s always been that way with us.
“Have you called them, Helena? Told them off? Told them to go to hell for what they did to you?”
“No.”
“Do you hate them?”
“No. I don’t know. Things turned out differently than I thought they would. Sebastian…I love him.”
“Helena!”
“I know. It’s crazy. But, well, all of this has been crazy.”
“You’re in love. With him. A Scafoni. Oh my God.”
“I’m worried about you, Amy.”
“I know and I’m sorry for making you worry, but I need to do this my way. I need to come to terms with everything. Okay?”
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Okay. I understand.”
“Thanks, Helena. You can call me anytime now, okay?”
“I will and same. Take care and I love you, sis.” I feel tears warm my eyes.
“I love you. And you be careful.”
We hang up the phone and I go into the bathroom and wash my face. I look at myself in the mirror, lift my shirt a little to look at my belly. It’s still flat, but it’s early. Just four to six weeks, the doctor though. My breasts are already a little fuller and tender. I hadn’t even noticed. But then again, there has been a lot going on.
