Page 63 of Going Home

"How do you think I got pregnant, idiot?"

"I choose to believe it was immaculate conception."

"Is this what you want for your life, Gavin?" Felicity asks. "Do you want to ruin your life?"

His expression almost frightens her. Hell, he will be a damn good Drifter after all with a death glare like that. "Like this baby's ruining Gracie's life? Or are you talking about how I ruinedyourlife?"

Her jaw drops. "That's not what I said."

"That's exactly what you said," Gracie says and sits up.

"I love you, Mom, but you've become an intolerable bitch. You're hurt about what you found about Dad, and I get it. It was a fucked-up thing for him to do, but you don't want to see any other way except how you see it. Yeah, he slept with your sister and never told you, but he was also dumped by you right before Grandma was murdered. At sixteen, that's enough to make you want comfort. He shouldn't have lied, but you don't get to be like this because of it."

"But if he hadn't lied, we might not be here," Gracie says. "Or maybe that's what you wish, Mom. That you'd never had us."

Her son just called her a bitch while her daughter questions if she loves them. "I would never wish I didn't have you. Either of you. I love you both, but you don't seem to care about the level of betrayal this is for me," Felicity stammers.

"Well, yeah, but can you blame him? You're not exactly the best at reacting with rational thought or logic. This kind of proves that point," Gavin says.

"And since I take after you, I can tell you that Gavin's right."

"Not to mention the shit you've done and never told anyone besides Lex about," he says. "Stuff Dad never knew, and those are some pretty big betrayals that came out, too."

Looking confused, Gracie looks at Gavin. "Like what?"

Felicity stares with wide eyes as Gavin shakes his head at his sister. "Not important right now. What's important is that we acknowledge that Mom isn't a saint who can act like the world is against her like this. Dad's upset about what he learned, but he's not storming around and treating everyone like shit because of it. Not everything has to become this big, dramatic display and causing scenes every time he talks to people. That's kind of only you, Mom."

"Gavin, I'm trying to—"

"Project onto me. And Gracie. We get it. Your sister's dead, so you can't confront her and get angry about what she did. But that doesn't mean you can put all of your anger onto the rest of us. And, for the record, If I end up knocking Hailey or anyone up, I'll be there. Just like Dad was for you."

"He didn't have to be there. He didn't have to marry you, either, but he did. He loves you, but it really doesn't seem like you love him, Mom. Not as much as he does you," Gracie says. "And the way you're reacting to my pregnancy and comparing it to yours really comes off as though Gavin and I are the worst things to ever happen to you. Or at least Gavin. I think I was planned."

"No, you weren't," Gavin says, his eyes locked on his mother.

Felicity's jaw drops. Who the hell do her kids think they are to speak to her this way.

"At the end of the day, I choose to be like Dad. I'll take responsibility for my actions, and I'm going to own them. If I end up with a kid, I'm going to do everything I have to for it and the mother. And I don't see it as ruining my life like you seem to, but what I do or don't do in the bedroom at almost nineteen is none of your damn business."

"You live in my house—"

"You mean Dad's house. He paid for it. But I signed a lease for a two-bedroom apartment this morning. With the way things are going, Dad may be moving into the second room. You act like you have all this power, but the truth is, he's being gracious. He could just stop paying all the bills on the house and screw you over, but he's not."

Sighing, Gracie hops off the table. "Which proves he loves you more than you love him."

"Excuse me?"

"It was a shitty thing for Dad to do, but you're being mean out of spite. You used to be the bigger person, and you look really, really small right now."

Blinking, Felicity doesn't know how to react to this. Her children think she's being small? "I'm not acting out of spite."

"I heard what you said to Lex. That you hate her for keeping Dad's secret, but I don't understand how you can be angry with people who didn't want to hurt you. You know as well as I do that she told Dad to tell you more than once. And you're taking it out on Hailey. That's being mean for sport," Gavin says.

Gracie looks at the ground. "I'm being bullied at school for being pregnant, and I lost all except for one of my friends. You know who stands up for me? My brother's girlfriend who doesn't even know me. The one you're being mean to without knowing her. She's a senior, and she carries a lot of weight."

"I didn't know—"

"Because you're impossible to talk to!" Gracie cries. "You want to be mad. And the way you're acting is really making Gavin and I feel like you think you'd have been better off without us. Be honest, Mom. Is that what you think?"

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