Most people would find that frustrating, but it makes me want to know her better. I want to understand why she keeps herself so guarded, and I want to be someone she trusts enough to let in.
“That is a surprise, but what made it such a long day?” Wyatt asks, as he continues eating.
I push a piece of lasagna around my plate with my fork.
“Well,” I say slowly, “after the signing, she stood up and almost fainted.”
Blair’s head snaps up. “What? Is she okay?”
“I walked her across the street to the minute clinic,” I say. “Ryan had another meeting and I offered to go with her.”
“That was nice of you,” Blair says softly.
“Yeah.” I stare at my plate, mind half on the food, half on the storm I’m about to unleash. “They ran some tests.”
Wyatt stops chewing. “And?”
I swallow. My fork trembles just slightly in my hand. My chest tightens. How do I even say this? There’s no preparation for moments like this. No script. No way to soften it.
I set my fork down and look up at them. At my best friends sitting across from me, completely unaware that the next bit of info is going to shock them.
“It turns out she’s pregnant.”
Ruby bangs her hand on the highchair tray, the only sound in the room, completely oblivious to the bomb that just dropped.
“Did she know?” Blair asks, her voicecareful.
“No. She had no idea.”
“Oh my god.” Blair presses her hand to her mouth. “She must be freaking out.”
“I bet she is,” Wyatt adds quietly. “She just signed the biggest deal of her life.”
“Yeah,” I say. My stomach twists. “She’s terrified about what this means for the show.”
“Did she tell you who the father is?” Blair asks.
Here we go. I take a breath, and my hands grip the edge of the table. “It’s me,” I say. “I’m the father.”
Complete silence.
The weight of it settles on all of us. Blair’s eyes go wide. Wyatt’s face goes through about fifteen different expressions in three seconds. Ruby throws a Cheerio. It bounces off the table and lands on the floor. No one moves to pick it up.
“I’m sorry,” Blair says after a long beat, her voice calm and direct. “Did you just say you’re the father?”
“When did you sleep with Natalie?” Wyatt blurts.
“Wyatt,” Blair hisses, swatting at his arm. “What he meant to say is we didn’t realize you and Natalie were dating.”
“We’re not,” I say. “We, uh… We hooked up at my Fourth of July party.”
Blair’s mouth forms a small oh. Wyatt drags a hand through his hair, processing.
“And it gets worse,” I add, because apparently my mouth wants all of this out at once. “Ryan is her father.”
Blair’s fork slips out of her hand and clatters onto her plate. The noise is loud enough to make Ruby jump. Under it, I still hear her very clear, very quiet, “Holy fuck.”
Wyatt just leans back in his chair like someone hit him with a wave. “Wow,” he says finally. “Okay. So you slept with Ryan’s daughter, who you did not know was Ryan’s daughter, and then had to sit through a contract signing with both of them, pretending you don’t know her biblically. And she’s pregnant.”
