Page 49 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

“How are we supposed to do that?” My panicked voice comes out low. “I can’t send the boys out for one.”

“We’ll have it delivered. We’ll do an online grocery order and have it added in there.” She’s pulling out her phone, tapping vigorously on the screen while I stare at my floor trying to wrap my head around what is happening.

It can’t be. It’s gotta be stress. I’m on the pill. It’s just stress. Yeah, that’s it.

Everything will be fine.

***

Everything is not fine.

Daphne and I sit on the oversized tile of my bathroom floor, eyes glued on the pair of pink lines staring back at us. All three sets of them.

Holy shit,” she breathes out.

My shaky hand reaches for one of the sticks, picking it up and holding it in front of my face.

A baby.

Mav and I are going to have a baby.

Oh my God, he’s going to lose his shit. A million different scenarios run through my head involving me, Mav, and Nicky, most ending with one of them shooting the other.

My eyes well with tears as the little white stick slips from my fingers, clattering as it hits the floor.

“Hey.” Daphne shoots forward, pulling me into her embrace as I quietly sob into her shoulder. “I’m not gonna lie to you,” she whispers, “this situation is entirely fucked, but we will figure it out. Even if those two assholes can’t pull their shit together, you and I will make this work. Auntie Daph’s got this shit.”

“You think I should keep it?” I pull back slightly as she loosens her grip so I can meet her gaze.

“I think—” she brushes back my hair “—that you should do whatever you want, babe. This decision is yours and yours alone. You want to go take care of this? I will concoct the most elaborate scheme imaginable to distract these assholes so we can get to the doctor. But my best friend just told me she’s pregnant.” Her face splits into a wide grin as a giggle escapes her. “A baby? My first reaction would never be to ask you if you’re getting rid of it. No judgment if you do. Lord knows I wouldn’t be ready for something like this. But until you say those words, I’m not going to sit here and act like the extension of the person I love most in this world is an abomination.”

I nod, leaning my head against her shoulder once more. Everything’s moving so fast, spinning. My grip on her tightens as I attempt to steady my breathing, desperate to anchor myself.

“I can’t tell him yet, Daph. Not right now. He needs to stay focused. If he finds out—”

“He’s going to say fuck this shit, take you and run,” she interjects.

“No, it’s gonna freak him out. Throw him off his game. Somebody tried to kill him, Daphne. I need him one hundred percent focused, not distracted by one more reason his life may be falling apart.”

She scoffs, putting some distance between us as she sits cross-legged in front of me. Her eyes pin me with a look of incredulity. “If you think for one second that man would have any other instinct than to run off with you into the sunset with the knowledge that you are growing his child, then you have officially lost your shit. Maverick loves you, Joanna. I didn’t know men could feel that way about a woman until I saw the way he is with you. Honestly, my only advice in this situation is if you decide not to keep it, don’t tell him. Because once he knows his baby’s in there,” she points at my stomach, “I don’t think even a bullet from Nicky could stop him.”

She gathers up the little white sticks from the floor before padding over to the waste basket to discard them. Bunching up some toilet paper, she stuffs it on top to mask them from view.

“Wait.” She stops, turning back to me while gesturing to the trash. “Before I take this out, do you want to keep one?”

I sit, still positioned on the floor, my hand instinctively coming to my stomach to rest.

A baby. A perfect combination of me and Mav growing inside. Daph’s right, that could never be an abomination. Though I’m still scared, a slow smile spreads across my face as I begin to rub small circles against the fabric of my hoodie.

“Yeah.” I look up at her, my smile growing wider as our eyes connect. “Yeah, I think I’ll keep one… for the baby book.”

Her face breaks out into a massive grin. “A baby Bishop,” she laughs. “Please film when you tell him. I cannot wait to see that big bad gangster break down and cry like a little bitch.”

We erupt in a fit of hysterics when all of a sudden the bathroom door kicks open. I roll to the side, the heavy wood splintering with a loud crack as it narrowly misses me, slamming into the wall behind. Daphne drops down, momentarily shielding herself from the shock as I roll over to be met with a familiar pair of eyes, though I’m unaccustomed to them burning with the level of hatred they currently possess.

“A baby, J?” His chest is heaving, his fists clenched. “You let that piece of shit defile you like that?!”

I stare at him wide-eyed, my mouth agape at the realization that my entire family is about to be ripped apart.

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