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“But he told her, right? That he was crazy about you and wanted to be with you? He set the record straight.”
“Not exactly.”
“So, what exactly did he do?”
“It doesn’t matter!” I snap. “I know the truth.”
He shakes his head with exasperation. “No, I don’t think you do. You wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped you in the face!”
“What makes you the expert on relationships? You creep around in the dead of night and climb into women’s beds!”
“Women who don’t turn me away!” he points out.
“Tell me something real, Nyx.”
“I just did, but you don’t wanna hear it. Andi, Nate doesn’t love you. If he did, if it was real and true, he’d be with you, but instead, he came home with another woman. He didn’t write back to you, he didn’t call to see how you were coping after your brother . . . he doesn’t love you!”
I stare down at my fingers as they dig into the dirt. My eyes sting with tears again, and I wish to God I’d worn sunglasses today. “I think you should stop calling round at night,” I eventually whisper.
When I get home, Dad is passed out with an empty bottle in his hand. I laugh to myself, but it’s empty and sad. Removing the bottle, I place it on the table, then grab a blanket and lay it over him. The place is a mess, so I begin to clean up.
Beth appears at the kitchen window as I’m cleaning dishes, and I jump in fright. I go outside and find her sitting on the patio. “Why did you say all that last night?” she asks.
“Because I thought it was true.”
“How can you think you had sex with someone when you didn’t? And if you thought that, why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
I sit down too, and she shifts away from me. “It was after Beck’s funeral. I was a mess, and so was Nate. We got drunk and shared a moment. I thought it was more.” I sigh. “Maybe I wanted it to be more and imagined it. But I’m pregnant, so something happened that night with someone.”
“You’re a fucking car crash, Andi,” she hisses. I twist my fingers together. I don’t have any tears left, but if I did, her comment hurt enough to make them fall. “I know you’ve suffered,” she continues, “and I am so sorry everything worked out so shit, but you have to get your life together. My family has been good to you, and you repay us by trying to ruin Nate and Rebecca’s life. He’s happy with her. He’s in love, and you can’t just go around accusing him of getting you pregnant in the hope he’ll leave her and be with you.”
“That’s not what happened,” I whisper.
“Your obsession with my brother is weird. You’re twenty-two. Find someone else to bring up your baby, because you can’t have Nate.” She pushes to her feet. “Stay away from him, Andi. I mean it.”
When I get up to my room, Nyx is laying on my bed with his hands behind his head, looking relaxed. “You look tired, Andi.”
“You came early,” I point out.
“I thought you needed it. You were a little neurotic earlier.” He winks and grins, showing me that he’s joking. “Now, get your butt into bed.”
I change in the bathroom, and when I finally crawl into bed beside him, Nyx places his hand over my stomach and snuggles behind me. I’ve never told him about the pregnancy. It’s the one thing I kept secret from everyone because I wanted Nate to know first. But he always places his hand there, so he must feel the way it’s perfectly rounded, even though it’s still small.
“Beth hates me,” I whisper.
“No, she doesn’t. She’s just upset you hid shit from her.”
“What if she never speaks to me again?”
“She will.”
“How will I pay the rent? I’m gonna lose Mum’s house.”
He inhales deeply into my hair. “You’re not losing it, your dad is. Besides, you can make your own dresses.”
“I don’t have any equipment. I used Cruella’s.”
“Be positive, Andi. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
