I’ve barely hit answer before her voice comes barreling down the line. “I told you so!”
“That’s the last time I text you to keep you updated in my life,” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Leading with ‘she’s pregnant’ would have been a better way to go, actually,” Thea snaps.
I freeze. “How do you know that?”
“As soon as you drunk texted that you were on probation, I tried to call Snow and I got redirected to a nurse who, upon learning I was your sister, was more than happy to tell me.”
“Which nurse?”
“I don’t reveal my sources.”
“Thea, that’s an insane breach of?—”
“I don’t care! We’re still at theI told you soportion, okay?”
“I don’t have time for this.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me! You texted me so I’m here like a good sister should be.”
“And I don’t want to listen to your bullshit.”
“I’m—look, Xander. I’m not bullshitting, but are you seriously telling me you didn’t see this coming?”
“Not like this. Or at all. I was working something out.”
“Oh, yeah? What was it?”
I glance at Tiger’s sleeping form in despair. “Okay, I don’t know. But I was thinking about it and we were keeping everything under the radar, so it was fine.”
“Until she got mangled in a car wreck.”
“She wasn’t mangled.”
“Whatever. Y’know, I want to know how she thought she could hide a baby.”
“It’s resting far back so she’s barely showing as it is.”
“And you didn’t notice while you two were…?” Thea clicks her tongue.
“No! And even if I did, why the hell would I call attention to it?”
“Trying to be a gentleman, huh?” Thea sighs. “Man, this is so fucked. Are you going to lose your job?”
Slowly, I sink down onto the couch. “I don’t know. Snow works under me but not as directly as some others. But I don’t think that matters.”
“Don’t they usually pay the chick off in these situations?”
“She hasn’t done anything wrong. If anyone should be punished, it should be me.”
“So, you are going to lose your job?”
My head ends up in my hand with a groan. “Fuck, I don’t know. Maybe. There’s not a lot I can do.”
“It’s kind of sweet, in a way,” Thea hums. “You care so much about her, you couldn’t even cut into her with a scalpel.”
“It wasn’t about that. I was in shock. For a second, I thought I was going to be a dad, and then the more I realized the truth, the more I knew she deserved better care than me. I was unable to think straight. That’s it.”
