Page 76 of Mending Hearts

I shook my head, anger spewing out. Grady and Pasha shifted uncomfortably in their seats. “You never thought to ask yourself why she didn’t tell you, Laura? If Mia had so much faith in you as a mother, why would she keep those things from you?”

The bathroom door creaked open, and my heart dropped into my feet. I’d gone too far. The pimp thing was too much. Mia was so pissed she opted to reveal herself.

Laura’s back was to the bathroom, but when she turned, she gasped.

Mia wasn’t looking at Laura, she was focused on me. “Tyler, I think the baby is coming.”

She was so pale. A cold sweat broke out across my back. Her bright-pink leggings were dark until halfway down her thighs. My brain couldn’t process her showing herself to Laura, to the sight of her looking so pale and scared, to the darkness of her thighs. Was she bleeding again?

“Holy shit,” Grady breathed. “Your water broke.”

“Yeah,” Mia said. “My water broke.”

“You’re pregnant?!” Laura screeched.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mia

Iclosed my eyes, the activity swirling around me. My mother was freaking out, following Tyler around the house, railing over his betrayal. Pasha was rushing to the bedroom to get the hospital bag. Grady was hovering somewhere, paralyzed.

Join the club, Grady.

“I don’t want this.” I shook my head. Once the baby was out, there’d be no reason to stay. My old life echoed around me in my mother’s rage, incoherent, impossible to ignore.

“Mother, stop! Stop!” I screamed the last word, but I kept my eyes closed until there was silence. When I opened them, I stared at her. “You’re not helping, and if you can’t help, you need to leave.”

“I don’t understand how this happened.” Laura groaned, scanning my figure from across the room.

“Please, Mom. You had me. You know exactly how this happens.” Gingerly, I moved toward Tyler, avoiding her.

“Either the baby is really early, or I’m missing something. The timeline doesn’t work.” Laura shook her head. “Why would you—why would youwanta baby? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

Laura’s tone was surprising, not accusing but mystified. I couldn’t answer her because Ididn’twant the baby, had never wanted the baby, but Tyler did. And I wanted Tyler,so badly. Saying the truth felt like betraying him, bursting the bubble we’d built together in this town. He didn’t deserve to be hurt.

“Why did you keep me, Mom?” I’d never asked the question. Deep down, I’d been sure I wouldn’t like the answer. There hadn’t been a lot of love in our house. The words had been there, but I’d never felt them, never known what it felt like to have someone look at you and to know, beyond a doubt, they loved you. Now beside Tyler, I linked my fingers with his. Anytime my hand could slide into his, I drew on his silent strength.

Laura’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, and then she sighed. “Your father and your grandma Victoria said they’d help me raise you. They said I wouldn’t have to do it alone.” With her palms turned toward the ceiling, Laura’s face was filled with regret. “I did the best I could. I realize you don’t believe me. But I’ve been doing the best I can. I…I didn’t have a good relationship with my mom. Maybe part of me kept you out of spite, too. I don’t know. I was young. A bit of a romantic. And I loved your dad. But love is rarely enough.” She tucked stray strands of her hair behind her ears and stared at my hand linked with Tyler’s. “You can’t live off love.”

“I have bag!” Pasha declared, bursting back into the studio. “We hurry, hurry?” He made an ushering motion with his arms.

“There’s a camera crew out there,” Laura said, her voice quiet. “I don’t know why you haven’t told people you’re pregnant, but that would be one way for it to get out.”

I turned and buried my face in Tyler’s side. He wrapped his arm around me without a word and stroked my hair. “Side door,” I mumbled.

“We’ll take the exit toward the parking lot. Grady,” Tyler said, focusing on him, “can you look after the crew?”

“Yeah, I’ll go regale them with stories of my recording glory in here with Mia. I can bring them in and play them a track or two. Don’t worry.” He glanced at Laura. “They’ll earn their money and stay out of your way.”

“Pasha, let’s go.”

I kept my face buried and let Tyler lead me to the side exit of the apartment. I didn’t know if my mother was following us, but there was a heaviness directly behind me, like the air was weighed down. “Is she coming?”

“She is,” Tyler whispered into my hair. “Want me to get rid of her?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t explain the push-pull I felt when it came to her. He squeezed me to his side and kissed the top of my head.

“I got your back, Mini. You tell me what you want or what you need, and I’ll get it done.”

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