Page 57 of His Secret Virgin
“Am not!” I whined. But deep inside I knew Valerie was right.
I’d been babied by my parents my whole life, and while I’d done a lot of growing up in the last few months, I was nowhere near mature enough to raise a baby on my own. But I had absolutely no idea what to do about my predicament...
“But I can’t call him and just tell him to solve all my problems. I can’t put this on his shoulders. It’s the woman’s responsibility to make sure she’s covered when it comes to birth control. I’ve always felt strongly about that. And I didn’t even think about it for even one second. It’s my fault, so I’ll figure out how to deal with it. I’m sure there’s a hotline I can call. I’ll just go get a motel and make the call and get out of your hair.”
Val didn’t move. She held me there by my shoulders. “You will not do any such thing, and you’re not in my hair. Look, Emma, you’ve kept yourself alienated your whole life. You never ask for help, even when you need it desperately. I don’t know why you do that, but you’ve gotta stop.
And cut out that nonsense about it being the woman’s responsibility—it takes two to tango, and if he didn’t want a kid he should’ve thought about that too. You’re not alone in this. There’s a baby growing inside of you now. And if you don’t take care of yourself, then you won’t just be hurting yourself anymore, you’ll be hurting him too.” She pointed at my stomach. “Now, I know you don’t want to hurt little junior there.”
“No, I don’t.” I put my hand on my stomach. “I wonder if it’ll be a boy or a girl? I wonder if one is easier to take care of than the other? Do you think Christopher will ever forgive me for this?”
“I’m sure he already has.” Val sat on the bed next to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “Give the man a call, Emma. Give him the chance to step up and do what’s right. If he doesn’t do what’s right, then we can go from there, but you have to give him a chance. You said he’s got daughters. He’s a father already. I doubt he’ll want this child to go through life without him.”
“But I’m so embarrassed. And I’m ashamed, Val,” I admitted. “I’ve lied for so long about where I’ve been going on the weekends; I’ll have to explain all those lies if I came clean about everything.”
“That’s usually what coming clean involves, Emma—revealing all your lies.” She laughed lightly. “You won’t be the first or last person to get caught in a lie.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have to get caught in it. I can just go away and live my life without my parents. Lots of people have done that,” I said.
“As if your parents wouldn’t hunt your ass down, Emma.” She let me go and stood up. “The reality of your situation is that you can run for now, but they will catch up to you. Your parents will find out about this baby. And one day they will find out that Christopher Taylor is that baby’s father. Now you can grow up and tell them about this to their faces, or you can hide like a little kid—the kid they think you are.”
She was right, and I knew that. But I couldn’t ask Christopher for help. “Then I’ll tell them. But I can’t do it yet. I’ve got to let some time pass. I’ve got to give myself some time to accept this.” I was teetering on the edge of insanity as it was; I couldn’t go to my parents just yet.
Val’s phone made a dinging sound, and she pulled it out of her pocket. “I’ve gotta go to the bathroom.”
Valerie had lots of friends. I knew if I stayed around that I’d get in her way. I needed to leave. I needed to get to a motel and find a hotline so I could get the help I needed.
She meant well, I knew that. But she just didn’t understand the relationship I had with my parents or my relationship with Christopher. Valerie’s advice, while spot on, wouldn’t work for me. I was wasting her time and energy.
Patting my tummy, I whispered, “It looks like it’s just going to be you and me.”
Valerie was all smiles as she came out of the bathroom. “How about a bottle of water, Emma? You should drink lots of water. I think that would be good for the baby, and you’ve cried so much, you’re probably a little dehydrated.” She went to the minifridge and pulled out a couple of bottles; walking back toward me, she held one out for me.
I took it and then unscrewed the lid. “Valerie, you’re a great friend. I’m going to get going and find a motel. I want to take a long bath and just relax. I appreciate your advice, I really do, but I’ve got decisions to make, and I need to be on my own to make them.”
She sat down on her bed. “Did you bring a bag with you?”
As I drank the water, I thought about what she’d asked and nearly choked on it. “Damn! No. I didn’t bring anything, other than my purse.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. How much money do you have?”
“A few thousand in the bank. I’ve got my bank card and my credit card with me.” I thought about the cost of buying new clothes, paying for a motel, and filling my gas tank. And then I realized that I had the company car. “Damn! Damn! Damn!”
Val got up, turning her back to me. “You didn’t drive your car here, did you? You brought the one the company lets you drive, didn’t you?”
“Okay, Valerie. Here’s what I’m going to need you to do.” I put on my thinking cap. “Drive my company car back to Manchester. Go to my house and pack up everything of mine that you possibly can. You’ll have to do this in the middle of the night while my parents are sleeping. I’ll give you the code to the security system. Park the company car in the garage and bring my old car back here to me, then I’ll have my car and my things.” It was the perfect plan.
“Sure, I could do that for you, Emma.” She turned back to look at me. “But what good would that really do in the long run?”
A knock sounded at the door, and she went to answer it. “I’ve got a much better idea.”
I couldn’t think of a better idea, but I was willing to hear hers. She opened the door as I got up to go wash my face.
“Emma?” a deep voice called out to me.
I didn’t have to turn around to know who was at the door. And I knew things were out of my hands now.
How could she?
