Page 52 of Lumi
Her eyes had gone from sparkly to glassy, and she looked to the floor. I felt like a piece of shit.
“I want to stay here. The breakfast ye made looks tasty, and ye’re the most breathtakin’ lass I’ve ever seen, but if Siobhan is pregnant with my child… ye understand, don’t ye?”
Lumi gave a curt nod, but her lips pressed together. I could tell she was holding back tears.
“Please don’t be mad at me, princess. I hate to go like this, but what choice do I have?”
I wanted Lumi to say something, but she backed away from me until she reached her bedroom door and slammed it shut.
“Lumi, don’t. We should talk about this. Can we meet up later?” I asked through the door.
I could hear her slide down to the floor on the other side, but there was nothing but silence and then a single sound.
“Click.”
In a symbolic act of self-protection that I couldn’t blame her for, Lumi effectively blocked me out by locking her door
“I’ll call ye later, all right?”
There was still no answer, and I ended up leaving Lumi’s apartment with the feeling that I’d just committed a crime.
That night, I sat in the darkness, staring at the positive pregnancy test and listening to Lumi’s voice telling me to leave a voice mail.
“Lumi, it’s me again. I wish ye would pick up yer phone. I went to yer place, but ye didn’t answer yer door. We need to talk about this in person. I want to see ye and tell ye what’s going on, but since ye’re hiding from me, I’ll let ye know that Siobhan and I are havin’ a baby. It changes everythin’ for me. I hope ye understand that.
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t love ye. Ye’ll always be special to me, Lumi. Always! Now, more than ever, but I never promised ye more than a night. It’s all I had to give, and I’ll cherish that night for the rest of my life.” With my voice raw from my emotions, I whispered, “Please don’t hate me, but this has to stay a secret. Can we pretend it never happened?”
