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Until I saw him again, however, I needed to do something far scarier than simply raise a baby on my own.
Tell my dad.
Chapter 11
Monroe
I helped Mom set the table for dinner, but I didn’t know if I could stomach anything she had cooked. It seemed morning sickness was no joke, and I was going to be one of the unlucky ones who got hit hard by it.
On top of that, the baby apparently didn’t like how nervous I was, and I could already feel the sweat beginning to bead on my upper lip as I fought the nausea that caused my stomach to toss like an angry sea during a storm.
“How were classes today, honey?” Mom asked as she placed the salad on the table and went back for the rolls and baked chicken.
“Oh, you know,” I said with a shrug as I took my place at the table. “I saw a few of the people I graduated with, but no one wanted to talk to me or sit with me. The professors were all decent, though.”
“Good, good,” she said distractedly, picking up her phone to check it for the third time in as many minutes.
“Is something wrong?” I asked cautiously. She’d been acting spaced-out since she got home, and I couldn’t help worrying it was because of Lyric Thornton opening a new ink shop close to campus. Was Daddy’s business in trouble and they just hadn’t let us kids know the full extent of how bad it really was?
I’d been so lost in my own miserable world that I hadn’t given it much thought when my parents sat the three of us down and told us someone was trying to buy in to Daddy’s business. They brushed it off like it was nothing when they explained a new shop was opening up and told us not to worry.
But I wasn’t so sure if we should be worried or not. Maybe Lyric was there to cause trouble for Daddy. It wasn’t that I was concerned my parents would lose their livelihood, because I wasn’t blind to the fact that the shop was not their primary source of income. But I knew Daddy loved that place and would be lost without it.
And if they were already upset over what was going on with work, it wasn’t going to make what I had to tell them any easier.
What was I going to say? “Oh hey, I know you are stressing over other things right now, but you’re going to be grandparents. So, yeah, there’s that.”
More than that, what the hell was I going to tell them when they asked about Gian? Should I just get it out of the way and tell them who the baby’s father is? Confess everything, including the fact that he’d been protecting me over the years? Yes, that would be in his favor, but the fact that he was nowhere to be found at the moment would probably cancel out the good in my dad’s eyes.
I heard Daddy’s motorcycle pull into the driveway, and my nausea doubled as my anxiety climbed higher and higher.
Just do it, I scolded myself silently. Tell them about the baby, and worry about everything else later.
With that plan firmly in mind, I went to wash my hands and splashed some cold water on my face in the hope of alleviating some of the nausea trying to kick my ass. By the time I got back, Daddy was sitting at his place at the table, and Mom was seated beside him.
“It’s just us tonight, sweetheart,” Mom said as she scooped mashed potatoes onto her plate.
At least I had that in my favor, I mused as I sat down and folded my hands in my lap. Having Maverick and Mila there to hear my confession wouldn’t have made what I had to say any easier. Maverick was likely to freak out just as badly as I feared Daddy would, and I knew Mila would guess exactly who the baby’s father was before I even got out all of what I had to say.
My parents dished food onto their plates, passing me the serving platters as they went. I took a little salad and chicken, but I knew I wasn’t going to eat a single bite and didn’t even bother to pick up my knife or fork.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Mom asked as she took a bite, her brow furrowed as she narrowed her eyes on me.
Daddy’s gaze jerked to my plate, and his nostrils flared. “You need to eat, Monroe.”
“I’m not feeling well,” I admitted. “Actually… Um… I need to tell you two something.”
Daddy dropped his fork onto his plate, his dark eyes zeroing in on me like a predator. But his voice was soft when he spoke. I hated when he was calm like he was right then. He was at his most dangerous when he was like that. And it wa
sn’t that I was scared of him hurting me, but more of not knowing how he was going to take the news of being a grandfather—and how he would kill Gian if he got his hands on him. “What is it, sweetheart? Are you sick? Do you need to go to the doctor?”
“No, no,” I rushed to assure him. “It’s just an upset stomach.”
“Is there a bug going around campus?” Mom asked with concern. “I realize it’s only the first week of school, but germs travel fast and I’m sure half those boys still don’t wash their hands like they should.”
“It’s not a bug,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I’m…pregnant.” The last word came out barely above a whisper, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion.
But several long moments passed with no reaction, and I forced myself to look at my parents and release the breath I’d been holding. Mom sat there with her mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide yet sparkling. Daddy, on the other hand, was pale as death, his hands balled into fists on the table and his eyes so wild he looked feral.
