“Out! All of you. How dare you,” the nurse scolds, authority lacing her tone, but still she keeps a levelled voice.
“You will never! Never! Hurt her again,” Lucy grinds out, wiping her tears and stepping in front of me.
“What the hell is going on?” he spits, trying to look past Lucy.
I have to face him. Tell him I’m pregnant. I have to.
“Can you give us a minute? I promise I will keep calm,” I tell the nurse and nod at Lucy.
She dips her head to the side, her eyes shining.
“You have a minute,” the nurse tells Mason. “If I can hear you from out there, you are out. The lot of you. Never in my forty-four years have I seen anything like it!”
She leaves the room, and Lucy follows her, shutting the door slowly behind her.
Mason rushes me. “What happened? Scar wouldn’t tell me, she said she couldn’t.” He goes to grasp my hand, but I pull it away. “Baby, I’m sorry. I woke up in a hotel. I cut my head. I think I fell. I don’t know what happened last night.”
I pull the photos from under me, placing them between us. Not being able to look at him, I turn my head to look out the window.
My teeth are clenched so hard they hurt, and it does nothing to hold back the pain that threatens to bring me down.
“You’re pregnant?” he asks. “I… fuck. I’m the dad? We are pregnant?”
The ache in my heart becomes too much, and the first tear rolls down my face.
“No, I am pregnant. And of course, it’s yours.” My voice cracks as I utter the words.
I need to keep calm. I have to.
“Oh my god.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “And you’re okay?” He takes my hand again, and I pull away. “The baby?”
“Healthy.”
Leaning over, I pull my bag from the end of the bed, reaching in and pulling out the envelope. I thrust the images into his chest. “Here. Congratulations.”
My chest starts to rise and fall as he stands motionless at my bedside, the photos held tight in his hands as he observes them.
“What? I don’t understand. This isn’t me.”
“Don’t!” I scream, making him jump. “Don’t you fucking dare lie to me!”
“I’m not. Nina, this isn’t me.”
“Get out,” I say, deathly quiet.
His face hardens, panic flaring in his eyes. “No!”
“Get out! Get out of my life and stay the hell away from me. I hate you! I hate you so much it hurts because you have me now, you have me trapped for life, and I can’t leave. I hate you, Mason Lowell, with everything inside me.”
“Don’t say that. Let me fix this. This isn’t real.” He screws up the picture in his hand.
“Yes, it fucking is, Mason! It’s real. She is real. Thatisyou.”
“I don’t understand. Give me a chance to figure this out, and I can explain.”
“Explain what? How you fucked a prostitute? Because if the picture wasn’t clear enough, the fact you never came home last night is explanation enough. Done! I am done!” I yell, my tears falling uncontrollably. “A stripper? You might as well have fucked my mother.”
“No, I didn’t sleep with anyone. I woke alone.” He tries to hold me, but I shove him off. “Stop! Please, I don’t want to upset you. Nina. You can’t leave me again.”
