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I knock once and Mom opens the door in seconds. Her face is tear-stained and before I can say anything, she pulls me into her arms and holds me. Dad is standing behind us, his hair is disheveled. He’s wearing lounge pants and a T-shirt and he just looks tired.
“I just want you to know we aren’t mad. Whatever happened wasn’t your fault,” she assures, and then she pulls away and takes my hand to a seating area with two couches. There is a coffee table in the middle covered with food, but I don’t have much of an appetite.
“What did Andrew say?” I ask.
“Take a seat,” Mom offers and then she sits beside me. Dad sits on the opposite couch.
“He said you two dated. That he hurt you and he feels terrible about what happened,” Mom states.
“Don’t make excuses for him, Flynn. My parents treated me like shit but that didn’t mean I went around making poor choices,” Dad cuts in. I’ve heard the stories about my grandparents. Grandad died when I was young, but he wasn’t much of a parent to Dad. Neither was Grandma.
“I’m not making excuses, Myles,” Mom says. “Let’s hear what Patty has to say.”
“I had a huge crush on Andrew, and he knew it. We started dating secretly and it got serious,” I begin.
Dad hisses. His fists are tightly squeezed. He sits with his back straight, not leaning on the couch. I hate to have upset him or let him down this way.
“Myles, relax,” Mom insists.
“I want to kill the bastard,” Dad fumes. My stomach turns.
“I’m really sorry, Daddy,” I say and tears begin to fill my eyes.
“I’m not angry with you, sweetie. I’m angry that all this happened under my nose and I didn’t see it. I feel like I failed you.”
“You didn’t fail me at all. I did a good job of hiding because I knew it was wrong of me to want Andrew, but I couldn’t help my feelings either,” I explain.
“Love is complicated,” Daddy sighs. “I’m sorry, sweetie. You have all my attention.”
“Things got serious between us,” I continue. “I knew if anyone found out it would cause a big blowup in the media, and it was the last thing I wanted for you, Daddy.”
“Sweetheart, you’re the only one who matters. Your mother, you, and your brother are my world,” Daddy declares.
“I felt like I was disappointing you, but I couldn’t fight my feelings. Andrew and I were in love. I-I.” How do I tell them this part?
“You what?” Mom asks. Andrew clearly didn’t divulge this part because Daddy and Uncle Oli would have kicked his ass, or maybe they did anyway.
“I got pregnant,” I say quickly.
Mom gasps and Dad has a sharp intake of breath as well.
“The pregnancy didn’t develop the way it should have. We didn’t know at first, and Andrew said we would get married and he would come to you and explain,” I continue.
Mom’s palm comes up to her chest.
“When we went for our first ultrasound, Andrew came along. The doctor told us the pregnancy was ectopic and Andrew looked relieved. I was so upset and he looked. . . happy.” I shrug as tears roll down my cheeks.
“Oh, baby,” Mom whispers as tears run down her cheeks too. I look over at Dad and he’s crying as well.
“Andrew said it was better this way because we shouldn’t be together. That he was messed up and wasn’t a family man,” I explain. “I’m really sorry I kept it from you guys for so long. I thought it was for the best. I made a mistake. I had to live with the consequences.”
Mom takes me in her arms and cries with me. Daddy stands and wraps both of us in his arms and cries too.
I don’t know how long we all cry for when Daddy says, “Sweetheart, you were young and you followed your heart. You should never feel bad about doing that. Andrew is messed up.” Both my parents pull away.
“He told us you two had an affair and he broke your heart. He said he knew what he did was wrong, but that he did love you. His father was abusive. He used to hit Andrew and his mother, and he really wanted to be with you but he was terrified,” Daddy shares.
“No, that isn’t right. Andrew said his father was never in the picture,” I explain.
