And it’s going to stay that way.
CHAPTER9
BY THE NEXTmorning, Max still hadn’t answered any of my calls or texts. At work, I was tired and distracted.
He finally called around noon. I stepped out onto the building’s small fourth-floor balcony to take his call.
“Hey, Savannah. Sorry I missed your calls last night. I ended up falling asleep pretty early. You sounded really upset in your voicemail. Is everything okay?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay as calm as possible. “No, not really, Max.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
Try to sound rational, I coached myself. Max wouldn’t take me seriously if I sounded unhinged.
“Well, I’m pretty upset about what Madison posted on social media yesterday.”
“Oh … I haven’t been on socials in a couple of days. To be honest, I don’t really look at that stuff all that often. What did it say?”
“She posted an announcement to the whole world that you two are going to be parents, and that her and your baby—‘Baby Hunter’—is due November eighth.”
“Okay …”
“Max. She’s implying it’sherbaby.”
Max let out a big whoosh of air. “Hold on, let me take a look.” I heard scuffling noises in the background. Then, “Well, that wasn’t a great way for her to phrase it.”
Seriously?Not quite the reaction I’d been hoping for. “Look, Max—I’ve been hesitant to bring some of this up, because I know the best thing is for the three of us to get along. But I’m kind of at my wits’ end here. Ever since I said I didn’t feel comfortable with Madison being at my doctor’s appointments, she’s been really cruel to me.” Tears filled my eyes, but I worked hard to keep my voice steady. “It goes beyond just being overly helpful. She’s treating me like I have no idea how to care for the baby, and accusing me of doing a horrible job, and basically saying she’s going to need to step in and take over.”
“Savannah, please calm down. I know you’re upset. But try to understand that she’s just excited. She’s looking forward to helping with the baby.”
“No, Max,” I said, keeping my tone firm. “It may have started out that way, but things have changed. Do you know that she ambushed me at my friend’s bachelorette celebration Saturday night, and criticized me in front of everyone for being out at a club, and putting my baby’s safety at risk? She accused me of partying too hard, even though I was drinking mocktails. She was super aggressive, and it was very embarrassing.”
Max sighed again. “I know she can get a little worked up sometimes, but that’s just her personality, Savannah. She’s just trying to do the right thing.”
Then I told him about the balloon delivery that had cost me the promotion at work, and the anonymous texts I’d received that had all vanished into thin air before I could show them to anyone.
“Sorry—Madison sent you a very nice gift to your office to congratulate you, and you think it was a prank? And what does Madison have to do with some anonymous texts?”
I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration. “The texts said I’m out of control and don’t deserve my baby—exactly what she said to my face at the club. Ithadto have been her, Max.”
“Can you forward me these texts so I can see them?”
I cringed. “I would, but I told you—they disappeared off my phone after I saw them.”
He was silent for a moment. It was hard to gauge what he was thinking without being able to see his face—but I didn’t have a good feeling about it. My mind raced.Is he just annoyed by my complaining? Resentful of my accusations about his precious girlfriend? Or, by some miracle, is he actually hearing me when I say Madison is being cruel and legitimately threatening?
“Savannah … I’m not sure how to ask this. But … are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound well. Have you been sleeping? Are you taking care of yourself?”
Oh God. Option four—he just thinks I’m crazy.
Despite my efforts to stay calm and in control of the conversation, tears burned behind my eyes. “No, I haven’t been sleeping, Max. There was a weird person outside my apartment last night, and someone is sending me threatening texts and photos. Not to mention, my credit card is maxed out with fraudulent charges, so money is extremely tight right now. Would you be able to sleep?” I decided to keep the fact that I suspected Madison of having something to do with the credit card fraud to myself for the moment.
Max’s voice softened. “Okay, okay, calm down, Savannah. Everything’s going to be alright. I don’t want you to get all worked up and put stress on the baby. Just take a deep breath, maybe make yourself a cup of herbal tea, okay?”
I bit back words of anger. I had a right to be upset, and if I heard one more “calm down” from Max, I might actually lose it. But he was right—I didn’t want to put stress on the baby.
“I will try to calm down,” I said. “But the one thing that will help me stay calm is for you to talk to Madison. If she’s so concerned with this baby’s health, then she needs to stop doingthings to upset me and stress me out. As much as she wants to help, she’s hurting me, Max. And whatever hurts me hurts our baby. Do you get that?”
