When he comes back out, he still has the pillow covering his crotch as he sits down on the bed.
“Boner?” I ask.
“Yeah, and I’d rather you not be able to stare at it.”
“You’re confusing me with Taters. He’s the one who likes to compare.”
Pacey drags his hand down his face. “Just tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“I don’t really know. I sent her flowers, because she was feeling weird earlier, and I thought they’d cheer her up. When I didn’t hear from her, I called, and she answered in a whispered tone. Told me her parents were there and then started talking about how she was telling them she nicknamed herself and sent her own flowers. Honestly, I couldn’t fucking follow, and then I heard her parents, and she hung up. I came here because I wasn’t sure if you’d heard anything.”
“Nothing. Should I call my parents?”
“Can you?” I ask in desperation. “I’ve tried calling Penny several times, and she’s not picking up. I’ve also tried texting. It’s been silent.” I push my hand through my hair. “She’s been terrified to tell your parents, man. I’m worried she’s not doing well.”
Pacey is already scrolling through his phone, looking for his parents’ info. He presses a button and then turns it on speaker. It rings a few times, and then the phone is picked up. My heart jumps in my chest.
“Hey, son,” a male voice says over the phone.
“Hey, Dad,” Pacey says nervously. “Uh, how are you?”
“Doing okay, just listening to your sister have a nervous breakdown is all. You? Get to your hotel, okay?”
“Fuck,” I mutter as I start to pace.
“Yeah . . . Eli told me that you guys were there. I’m assuming you found out?”
“We did. We found out a lot of things. I forgot how much your sister can ramble. I’ve heard some things a father should never hear about his daughter. Is Eli with you right now?”
Pacey looks over at me. “He is.”
“Ahh, tell him I don’t think I’ll be able to look him in the eye after the monologue your sister gave us about his birthday night.”
Jesus fuck!
I grip my hair with both my hands now. “Is she okay?” I mouth.
“How is she, Dad?”
“Uh, still crying. Mom is holding her. We’ve been back and forth with emotions. I think your mom is going to stay with her tonight, and I’ll head back to the hotel. She seems to be going through a lot.”
“Yeah, Eli was saying she was scared to tell you. Are you . . . mad?”
He pauses and then says, “No. This sort of thing happens. You’re all adults, and sometimes you can do everything right, and something still goes wrong. I’m just more upset that she’s taken so long to tell us. She just started her second trimester. That’s a long time to go through something of this magnitude alone.”
“She hasn’t been alone,” Pacey says quickly. “Eli has been there.” Color me shocked, he’s defending me. I know we’re on our way to reconciling, but I didn’t think I’d be hearing him defend me anytime soon. “And Winnie has been filling in as well as Blakely.”
“Which I’m very happy to hear, but she should have told us. Mom could have helped her with some things. Been someone to talk to who has been through it before. You should have encouraged her, Pacey.”
Guilt washes over Pacey as he says, “Yeah, I haven’t necessarily handled everything in the best way possible. Anger sort of took over, and it’s taken a lot of conversations with Winnie to realize I was being a tool.”
Looks like I owe Winnie a present.
“But I promise, I’m better now.”
“Good. You know you two can come to us with anything, right? We don’t want you to fear us.”
“I think she was more embarrassed than anything,” Pacey says.
