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“Right, so—” I glance over my shoulder, make sure no one is listening who shouldn’t be, then clear my throat. “In high school, me and Parks got pregnant.”
All their faces freeze.
“By accident!” Magnolia adds like that changes anything or makes it better. I throw her an amused smile.
“It wasn’t planned—” I give her a little nod. “I was seventeen nearly eighteen. She was sixteen. We were going to keep it. We lost it.”
“Fuck,” Henry says, blinking a bunch and looking between us.
She gives him a weak smile. Not telling my brother was hard for her sometimes, I could always tell. Unnatural for them, really.
“We lost it a bit along — about fifteen weeks. Parks had to get an operation. It was a bit of an ordeal.” I can’t help but look at her proudly. “We told you all we went to Cannes.”
“Oh, shit—” Jonah nods. “I remember that.”
Christian has his hands on his face, looks a bit sick as he glances up at me.
“Fuck man — if I’d known—”
“No, I know.” I nod. He doesn’t have to say it. “It’s good. We’re good.”
“Do you know whether it was a boy or a girl?” Taura asks delicately.
Parks smiles. “A girl.”
“A girl,” Jo coos, face all mush how you wouldn’t think a gang lord’s would be.
Henry’s pretty still and Parks’ eyes are on him, big and round.
“Are you angry?” she asks quietly.
His face is tight and he doesn’t say anything at first, just blinks twice.
“A bit.” He folds his arms, looking between us. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Parks glances over at me then back to my brother, her bottom lip turned down.
“It wasn’t really a very easy thing to say.”
“Right.” He nods once, still frowning, but picks up her hand with his. I feel jealous of him, if I’m honest. Touching her so freely, not having to jump through hoops and make up shit about chairs to do it.
“Oi, but this is inner circle shit. We’re not telling anyone.”
“—Please,” Magnolia tacks on.
“Only people in the world who know now are you all, Bridget and actually,” I flick my eyes from Jo to Christian, “your mum.”
“What the fuck?” Jonah frowns.
“It turns out when you run a particular kind of business, you have to know a particular kind of doctor who might be willing to look the other way for particular sums of money,” Magnolia says very delicately.
“Ah.” Jonah nods once and gives me a look over her head. Don’t know whether Jo’s ever known that she knows. “So just us, Mum and Bridge, then?”
I nod.
“No Jordan?” Taura asks curiously.
Parks shakes her head. “No.”
