“No. He will not raise this child with me.” She shook her head.
“Good to hear.” A surge of satisfaction coursed through me, but I also felt a pang of guilt. I wanted Caiden to know, to see the look on his face when he found out he had impregnated my sister.
I wanted to know if he would care or be concerned, anything that would show me he had a soul buried beneaththat bravado.
“Well, you need to tell Mom,” I said, my voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside me.
“That’s funny. You know she won’t like it,” Lillian replied, her tone laced with bitterness.
Our mother was not incredibly supportive these days. But surely, she couldn’t be heartless enough to turn away her knocked-up daughter?
“Let’s just hope that she’s having a good day.” It was an unpredictable game we couldn’t win, dissecting her moods. I didn’t think my own mother even knew what to expect when she woke up, especially when it came to her emotions.
We had a few more hours until our mother returned from work. In the meantime, I took Lillian to a late lunch, anything to distract us from the cloud hanging over us. It was all I could do for her at this point. Guilt gnawed at me like a persistent insect. If it wasn’t for the war between Caiden and me, this most likely wouldn’t have happened to my sister.
He denied it, but I knew that some part of him had slept with Lillian with the intention of getting under my skin. And it had worked.
“It will be different this time,” I said, trying to infuse some hope into the conversation.
“Hm?” Lillian hummed quizzically, tracing random shapes on the table with her finger.
“This baby. It isn’t going to end badly like it did when you were in college. We’ll figure this out.”
“I hope so.” Her voice was devoid of any hope as if her life was already over.
My heart broke for her. Lillian was still so young, just a few years older than me. She had so much potential to be the best version of herself. I wanted to make her see that this didn’t have to ruin everything.
“Easier said than done,” she replied, her gaze distant, as though she were already lost in the storm of uncertainty.
After we ate, I walked Lillian back to her apartment. Our mother’s car was in the driveway when we arrived, and both of us held our breath as we headed inside.
We gravitated toward the bedroom, our mother making a habit of retreating there after work, letting herself rot in her own misery.
I gave a silent nod to Lillian, feeling a prick of sadness as I knew we would come out of this in ruins.
Lillian pushed open the creaking door and stepped inside the room. The smell of cigars and trash immediately assaulted our senses. We walked along the carpet, which had once been a snowy white but was now stained brown and gray.
Mother stood by the stained window with ripped curtains, staring out into the distance as if she were in a daze. She didn’t even hear us walk in, only noticing us when Lillian slowly tapped her shoulder.
“Mom?”
She turned around, her eyes glazed and unfocused. There was a moment of silence as she processed our presence, and I could feel the tension crackling in the air.
“You’re back,” she stated flatly, her voice devoid of warmth.
Lillian took a deep breath. “I… I have something to tell you.”
“Get to it,” our mother replied, impatience evident in her tone.
“I’m pregnant,” Lillian finally blurted out, the words hanging in the air like a death sentence.
Mother’s expression shifted to one of disbelief, and the silence stretched painfully between us.
“Get out,” she said coldly, her voice sharper than a knife.
“Excuse me?” Lillian’s voice trembled, and I could see the hurt flash across her face.
“I said, get the hell out. I don’t want an irresponsible and disrespectful child living in my house.” She screamed, pointing her finger to the door.
