Page 26 of Shattered Hearts

Blinking, I swallow loudly; the feeling of a stone being shoved down makes me shiver as I wipe my nose. “I don’t want her to do that.” I scrunch my fingers as I fight back a heavy sob. “I don’t want to ruin her holiday. The first one she’s had in years. They were so excited to go in their caravan. You should have seen their faces, Mace, when they drove it home.”

Macie shakes her head, glossy copper hair shining in the dim sunlight as my lip quivers. “You’re not ruining anything. Don’t think like that. She’s your mum. It’s what she’s here for.”

Her hand reaches out, tucking hair from my face behind my ear. I offer her a small smile that quickly turns into a sob. Pulling me against her, I let go of all the tears. The weight presses down on me until the point that I might be flattened.

“I’ll be right here, and your mum will be too.”

Sniffing loudly, I nod and wipe underneath my eyes. I’m really glad I bought that waterproof mascara when it was on special a few weeks ago.

“Okay. I’ll call her and tell her,” I whisper warily, guilt riddling my insides.

“Good. That’s step one.”

I frown at her hopeful face and ask the question I immediately regret, “What’s step two?”

“You tell Grayson.”

Chapter Nine

Laynie

“Hi, Mum,” I let out softly as I walked home from the store. My fingers tremble as I hold the phone to my ear, the faint sounds of birds chirping surround me. Wind blows through the bare trees, burnt leaves drifting to the ground as I pull my jacket tighter to my chest.

She chirps back, “Hi, sweetie. Is it cold there? It’s stunningly beautiful up here. You should see the sky today. I never knew it could be this blue.”

My pulse picks up as I smile faintly. I bet she’ll paint it when she gets the chance. She won’t be able to stop herself.

“It’s completely opposite here.” My eyes lift to the grey sky that smells of rain.

“Well make sure you stay inside. I wouldn’t want you to get a cold or something. There’s nothing worse.”

My feet fumble as I swallow. I can think of something worse.

I decide to bite the bullet. Macie was right. There’s nobody else in the world who could understand me like my mum.

“Mum, there’s something that I need to tell you…” I say, a slight wariness in my tone.

She must sense my nerves, because I can feel her demeanor shift on the other end of the phone. “What is it, Laynie girl? Did something happen?” Her words are warmer than they have been in months. It makes a tear form in my right eye as I sniff, my throat constricting as I pull my keys out and unlock the front door to my childhood home.

“Something happened.” I close the door behind me and drop my grocery bag on the side table. It’s silent, which means Sadie is out, and that gives me a bit of reprieve. Freddie appears at the end of the hallway, tail swishing. The moment I see him, my heart cracks. “I did something stupid.”

Falling to the floor, my legs slide out, my butt hitting the floorboards as I let myself cry for the umpteenth time this week. Freddie trots over, face rubbing against my leg.

Mum’s voice sharpens. “Laynie, we all do stupid things. Are you hurt? Did you hurt someone? Is the house okay?”

My throat croaks as I shake my head and squeeze out, “It’s not the house. It’s not anyone else, I—” I hiccup, my body trembling as my fingers dig into my thigh, trying to ground myself to keep my anxiety from tearing through me. “Mum, I—I’m pregnant.”

There’s a numbing silence on the other end. My pulse rushes through my ears, pounding like a washing machine.

Mum coughs out, “How far along?”

“Ten weeks.”

Another beat of silence before she asks the one question that ruins me, “Is it Grayson’s?”

The cry that rips through my chest is loud enough to shake the house. Tears pour from my eyes like waterfalls of heat as I hang my head against my knees. Freddie attempts to help me, meowing and pawing at me, but I can’t bring myself to move.

“I wish it was,” I manage to hiccup through my sobs.