Page 71 of While You're There
“Did you know?” Jake demanded, cutting him off before he could get another word in.
“Did I know what?”
“Did you know that Chandler was pregnant?”
Rhett felt himself physically recoil at the accusation disguised as a question.
“No, I didn’t fucking know. You think I would keep something like this from you? From Tori?”
Jake lifted his hand to the back of his neck as he assessed him. He was looking at him like he was searching for some sort of tell. “I don’t know what to think,” he finally replied. “I don’t know what to believe with you half the time these days…” He blew out another long breath. His comment dripped with disappointment. Rhett had never felt so small standing before his best friend.
“I didn’t fucking know,” Rhett growled out again. “I swear to you, bro. I haven’t talked to Chandler in weeks. I don’t even know when it happened.”
“After our last party, when you didn’t come home for weeks and weeks,” Jake supplied with a pointed look. Leave it to him to have already figured out the math.
“I mean, yeah. I guess. I know based on the timing that the baby is mine. Or was mine. Fuck. There’s no doubt on the timing of things. I just never thought…” he trailed off before his voice could crack. He averted his eyes to the floor and shook his head in shame. It was all too much. It was like each time he tried to wrap his head around what was happening, another realization burst into his consciousness that sent him even deeper down the path of self-loathing. He had fucked up so hard.
Jake’s tone was softer as he pulled Rhett out of his own thoughts. “Hey. Bro. You’re okay. I was just making sure I understood what’s happening and where things stand. I believe you didn’t know. I’m so sorry this is happening.”
Rhett released a full breath as relief flooded his lungs. Jake believed him. He didn’t know that was something he needed until now. He couldn’t control anyone’s judgment of the consequences of his actions, but he needed them to believe he didn’t know anything about this until tonight.
“Thanks. It’s… It’s just been a lot. And it’s not over. Listen, I’m not sure how much Tori told you, but I might need to stay down here for a few days…”
“Consider it handled. Anything you need me to do, anything she needs… I got you, bro.”
Rhett bit down on the side of his cheek to keep himself from tearing up. It had been such a long, emotional night already. Knowing that Tori was going to be taken care of and that he didn’t have to worry about her right now gave him a sense of temporary relief.
“Are you going to be okay if I take her back to Hampton? I know this whole situation sucks, but maybe you should…”
“You have to take her home,” Rhett insisted. “She doesn’t deserve to just sit here and have to deal with the consequences of all this. She’s all I can think about already, and that’s not fair to any of us.”
“So if you don’t want her mixed up in this, then why is she here?”
He stilled at the question. He dreaded what his answer would reveal. He was ashamed of the admission he didn’t feel ready to admit.
“We went out to dinner tonight.”
Truth.
“I had a few drinks.”
Truth.
“Then when we got home, we were hanging out in the sunroom. I set up my computer at the bar because we had an emergency at work today. Tori was sketching, and we were just hanging out.”
Truth.
“I didn’t know anything about this until I heard from Chandler around ten p.m.”
Truth.
“By then I’d had several drinks. I thought we were in for the night.”
Truth.
“Once I realized I had to get to Columbus, I asked Tori to drive me.”
Lie.
