Page 43 of Whispered Sins

“I’m pregnant.”

There was silence on the other line. I looked at my phone, wondering if we had lost connection. We hadn’t.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Pregnant? Wow,” said my mom unenthusiastically.

“Um, and your boyfriend or husband…” started my dad.

“The dad isn’t in the picture actually,” I replied, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

I could have sworn I heard my mother mutter something under her breath. Something like “Of course, he isn’t.”

“Addison…how are you going to do this?” asked my dad. At least there was a hint of concern in his voice.

“I’m figuring it out.”

“By calling us…” said my mom. I could hear the sneer in her voice.

This had been an incredibly stupid idea on my part. Did I really expect them to be happy for me? Did I really expect them to help me?

“I just thought—”

“We’re not millionaires, Addison,” said my mom.

“I know that. I just thought…”

“Thought what? You could call up your parents, who you cut out of your life, and ask for help with your mistake?” She laughed sarcastically.

“Nancy…” my dad warned. I could tell he was torn.

“Don’t ‘Nancy’ me. She’s not getting a dime out of us.”

“Maybe we could—”

“No, John. We could not.”

They continued to bicker, completely forgetting I was on the phone at all. I shook my head and ended the call.

“How didthatgo?” asked Monica, peeping over the countertop.

“As you’d imagine,” I said.

“I’m sorry, Heart.”

“Me too.”

Chapter 16

Daniel

On the drive back to Manhattan, I stared at the ultrasound in my hands. I knew nothing about babies, but I assumed the little white blob in the bigger black blob was the baby. My baby. Our baby. My heart felt like it had somehow grown as soon as that girl handed me this piece of glossy paper. I could only imagine what Addison felt. Heart. Whoever she was.

Heart seemed more fitting. Part of me wanted to earn the right to call her that.

God, I had been a total asshole when she gave me the most important news of her life. Of our life.

We hadn’t even talked about anything yet, but my uncertainty around me being the father or not had diminished completely. Staring down at the little white blob, I knew it was mine. He. She. Whichever.

---