Page 339 of Nobody's Girl

“Laura, I know this is a shock to you and you had not planned on any of this, but it is your future now. Accept it and be happy. Don’t shut Kyle out. He’s a great father.”

She turns her head to look at me with a quizzical look in her eyes. “Did you just say that he is a great father, Ally?”

Oh, no! Did I say it like that?

She can’t hear about that right now.

“I mean I know he will be one. That’s what I meant. Laura, maybe he was going to ask you to marry him anyway.”

“The hell he was, Al! He’s still all about you. I could see it in his eyes when he said you would be upset. Can you tell me why you would be upset?”

“I’m not upset. I don’t know why he would think that. I will set him straight, though. This baby and you are his future. I’m only a small part of it. You and your children will be his world,” I tell her.

“No, we won’t. We will always be second to you and that isn’t enough for me. I’ll always be your guardian, Ally, but I won’t always be with him. I can’t short change myself like that. Maybe someone else can, but not me.”

“He loves you, Laura. I wish you would stop thinking you’re second to me in his eyes, because that’s not true,” I tell her. “I wasn’t going to tell you this right now, but I have to, so maybe you can see where he’s coming from.”

She looks at me. “What is it? Is it that the two of you have been sleeping together? Since I’ve been gone you have, haven’t you? I can see it. Does Eden know?” she asks.

I nod. “It’s not how you think it is, though.”

“Ally, this is really low. How could you do this to Eden? I knew Kyle had that dream about you. I never thought he would talk you into it. I feel like I’m in an alternate reality.”

“That is how it happened,” I tell her. “In an alternate reality is where we’ve been living, once we fall asleep. He and I dream the same dreams, somehow. We think it’s so we can see how life would have turned out if Eden and I had never happened.”

Laura looks at me in disbelief. “So you haven’t been together in the physical sense of it?” she asks. “Only in your dreams?”

I nod my head yes. “The only thing is, it feels real. Even now, it feels like something which has really happened. That’s why he thought I would be upset. He and I had a baby together in our dream the night before last. I have been a little bit sad that she’ll never really exist. In our dream marriage, he was a great father. He loved that baby so much and he will love this one even more,” I explain to her.

“This is completely whack, Al. I don’t see how this is going to make me change my mind. I mean, he’s married to you, having kids and shit in his head. So I get the daytime Kyle and you get the nighttime Kyle?” she asks me.

“I hope our dream life is over, since we both know this path is the right one and the best one for all of us. This baby will be loved so much, Laura. You don’t have to worry. Just have faith,” I plead with her.

“I don’t know, Ally. I won’t be deciding anything right now. I want to go back home, to Cloudcroft,” she tells me.

“What, Laura? No, please don’t do that. You’ll never come back. I know this is a very different situation and one which could never have been predicted, but you belong with us. You and he really do belong together. Please stay with us for a while, please,” I beg her.

“I need to call my mother, Al. Can I use your phone? I don’t know where mine is,” she says.

I hand her my cell phone. “Do you want me to leave the room while you talk to her?” I ask.

“I’m not telling her I’m pregnant yet. I’m only a couple of months, so you never know what might happen. I might lose the thing,” she says, and I feel like she hopes she will.

“I’ll let you have some privacy. I’m going to get something to eat in the cafeteria. I’ll bring you something back,” I say.

“I really want pancakes, Ally. They brought me breakfast at like six this morning and I’m starving.”

“Got it, Laura. I love you, and Junior too,” I say, then I walk out the door, closing it behind me.

I stop as soon as I walk out and fall against the wall.

How do I feel about this? Why does this have to happen so fast? How is Kyle taking this? Why can’t life be simpler?

“How is she?” Eden says as he walks off the elevator, noticeably alone.

I walk to him, taking his hand and pulling him back into the elevator. “Did he tell you?” I ask him as we go down to the cafeteria.

“Yes. So she told you, then?” he asks.