“As I said, this wasn’t how I wanted to tell you. I was going to tell you when we went golfing, but then it just didn’t seem right.”
My eyes widened. We golfed a week ago. She kept this to herself for a week!?
“How long have you been hiding this from me!?”
She frowned, shaking her head. “I wasn’t keeping this from you. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Is that what the dinner for tonight was for? Making me think that this could work!?”
She looked like I slapped her and took a step back. “No, I…” She stumbled for words. “I wasn’t planning to tell you tonight. I…”
“So when were you planning on telling me?”
“I don’t know,” she said, with a sigh. “I don’t know when I was going to tell you.”
I frowned, suddenly seeing the future that would unfold. I didn’t want it. This was exactly what I had been trying to avoid.
“You’re sure you’re pregnant?”
She nodded. “I took several tests. Jade was kind enough to bring them to me.”
And there it was. She told my sister, who told Brandon.
“You told my sister?”
“I need someone who would think straight.”
“Oh yeah, run to the person who hid her child for years.”
“Why are you yelling at me?”
“Because this was not supposed to happen, Nora! We can’t have a kid! I told you that I didn’t want any children.”
“And yet you didn’t wrap it! This is not all on me, Kaleb. It takes two to make a baby.”
“Fuck,” I turned around, storming into the kitchen. I didn’t even know what I was looking for, but I needed something to take the edge off. Nora followed me. “Kaleb, I know that you’re scared about this and that you think you’re like your dad, but this is us. We’re going to be okay.”
“Stop,” I growled, opening the cabinet and finding my scotch. I poured myself a drinking, needing to think about what to do.
Nora looked at me, confused, her eyes flicking between the scotch and me. “Kaleb.”
“We’re not doing this,” I snapped at her. “I was very clear! I told you that I didn’t want kids. I didn’t want this life.”
“And what about now, Kaleb? It’s done.”
I didn’t know. I just knew that this wasn’t supposed to happen. Nora and I were supposed to go our separate ways after this, but now we can’t. It was one thing to fake a relationship, but another to let this happen.
“This was a mistake. I should have never thought this would work.”
I could see tears build up in her eyes. “Is that so?”
I took a swig of my drink. “Yes. All of this was a bad decision.”
I watched her eyes switch, filling with anger now. She grabbed the bottle and hurled it at the wall. The glass shattered, and the liquor splattered everywhere. I heard Charlie skitter across the floor, running away. Nora grabbed a mug sitting next to the sink and threw it as well. I stepped back out of the way as I watched her hands curl into fists. “I should have known you would react this way!”
“You got feelings!”
“I always had them!” she screamed back. “And you did too! You pulled me into bed! Don’t you dare act like this is all on me! You were the one who pulled me in, and now you’re trying to push me away when things didn’t go your way!”
