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“Really? Because this whole ‘meet the parents’ thing doesn’t sound like she knows that.”
“Her parents want to meet me. What am I supposed to say? No?” Trust me, I wanted to. The last thing I want is to meet Alli’s parents. Talking to any girl’s parents in this situation is scary as fuck, but talking to a girl’s parents I have no plans to be with? Makes me sound like an asshole and I’m not looking forward to being that person.
Leighton lets out a sigh and stares at the door, and I wonder if she’s preparing herself to leave. “Just brunch?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you like…spending the day together like some big happy fucking family?” She stands up and crosses her arms and I take note of her toned legs that I regret won’t be wrapped around my waist anytime soon.
“Baby…it’s not like that.”
She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “But it is like that. You and…her and this baby. You’re a family. A family I’m not a part of.”
I’m off the bed instantly cupping her face in my hand. “You’re my family.”
She pulls out of my grasp, a sad smile finding her lips that shatters me. I can almost hear the words swirling around her brain. The “well, actually…” The thought that even though she knows she’s a huge part of my life, that this is part of my life I accidentally excluded her from. That she’s only family by proxy. That Alli will have a difficult time accepting her as family. And while Leighton doesn’t give a shit, eventually she’ll give up the fight because Alli is the mother and Leighton is not.
“Sure, Everett,” she sighs, defeatedly.
I pull into the parking lot attached to Sorority Row and let out a sigh as the anxiety unfurls in my chest. The throbbing that started at my temples has somehow moved to my chest, making it tight and almost impossible to breathe easily. Despite my protests, I’m now picking Alli up because one of her sorority sisters “needed her car super last minute.” As much as I want to tell her to take an Uber, begrudgingly I told her yes when she begged me to pick her up. I take a deep breath, trying to alleviate the pressure when my phone chirps with an alert. Part of me is afraid to open it, knowing that people are day drinking at Leighton’s. She told me to come over after, and quite frankly, I can’t wait until I can use alcohol and a drunk Leighton to erase what I predict will be a difficult day.
I make my way out of my car, wishing I could take a shot to calm my nerves when Alli comes out of the house. She’s wearing a navy sundress and flats underneath a white sweater, with a sun hat on her head making me wonder if this is all a ploy and we’re actually doing that cliché fraternity-sorority trip to Foxfields. An occasion that has all of Greek life looking like Ralph Lauren models, pretending to watch horses race in between chugging Veuve Clicquot champagne straight from the bottle.
On the outside, Alli is a polished debutante that has been groomed for this all her life, making her a legacy at CGU and inevitable president of her sorority when the time comes. She waves at me, and as soon as I’m within arm’s reach she pushes herself into my arms. “Thank you for doing this.” She squeezes a beat too long and when I try to pull away, I notice the look in her eye. Hope.
Well, fuck. What is she thanking me for, exactly? As much as I don’t want to go through the awkward formalities of meeting the parents of the girl I accidentally got pregnant, I know it needs to be done. “Ummm, yeah…sure.”
“You’ll have to let me know when yours are in town.” I freeze, thinking about how that would go down. Especially since I’d want Leighton there.
Not to mention my parents are angry and disappointed. I don’t think I’ve seen the full extent of their fury and won’t until a paternity test is complete. Evidently, they’re as skeptical as the rest of us. Particularly my dad but probably because he’s a lawyer and rarely believes anything without proof, especially once he gets the full uncensored story about Alli’s and my relationship and Leighton’s involvement with the demise of it.
I don’t respond because the idea of her meeting my parents is another formality I don’t want to think about. “Do you want to come in? I’m almost finished getting ready.”
I think about just saying I’ll wait outside but I figure that having a bad attitude isn’t the way to get out of this alive, so I agree and make my way inside behind her. “Do you want to come up?” she asks as she stands at the bottom of her stairs, that look of hope still in her eyes and my eyes flash to hers angrily.
“No, Alli. I don’t, and I’ve been clear about why. I want to be cordial, but don’t mistake that for anything else. We are not together, and I suggest you not try and pretend we are because I’m not going to play along.” My posture is rigid, my fists clenching at my sides, not because I want to hurt her or anyone, but because I’m frustrated. And angry that Leighton had predicted this. She’s been nervous over the fact that Alli may try to use this as a way to get me to choose her, and that she’d try and put on a show for her parents.
She blinks her eyes several times, and I note the glistening in her eyes. “Can you at least pretend that you like me? I didn’t do this to make your life hard, Everett. We are both in this situation and turning on me isn’t helping.”
“Neither is flirting with me or whatever it is you’re doing.”
“I wasn’t flirting. I asked if you wanted to come upstairs because my sisters are in the kitchen drinking and I didn’t want them to bother you because news flash: they’re not your biggest fans.” She scoffs. “But fine, wait here.”
I run a hand through my hair. Fuck. Get a grip, Everett. I need to stop acting like all of this is an act brought on by a woman scorned.
Even if she is.
