Page 63 of Ronny

“Mom has her. Christopher brought me some clothes.” I look over to the trash can where his blood-soaked clothes are.

There is a knock on the door, and my dad walks in with a bag of food. His face lights up when he sees me. “I brought you some food since you said you forgot to eat lunch.”

He opens the bag and hands me a sub, along with a bag of chips. “Thanks, Daddy.” He leans over, squishing me right in the middle between his body and Ronny’s. Dad kisses my forehead like he has my whole life.

I have been blessed with an amazing dad.

He reaches into the bag and hands Ronny his own sub. I hide my smile behind my food. My dad likes to pretend at times that he doesn’t like Ronny, but I know he loves him.

“Thanks, Dad,” Ronny jokes, and my dad scowls in mock anger.

I giggle with my mouth full of food, happy to have my two guys in the same room. “Did you get all of the girls?”

“We did, every last one of them, and they’re going to new homes.”

“Thank God. I feel so much better now,” I tell them both, feeling a weight off my shoulders. This is the most awful crime in my eyes, because as a social worker we are supposed to protect kids.

I wasn’t a part of it, but I still feel like I could have stopped it.

Not sure how much time has passed when the door is opened and Konrad walks in holding an iPad. “I have good news and good news,” he says, grinning way too happily.

We wait for him to respond. “You don’t have a concussion, but your blood sugar was seriously low and that’s what caused you to faint.” I feel properly chastised by the dad look he is giving me.

I look down at my lap and Ronny laughs at my expression, along with my dad. “Do you mind if your dad and Ronny stay here for the next part?” he asks.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Konrad looks down at the iPad once again. “Another factor is, you are pregnant. It’s very early stages and sometimes that can make women have low blood sugars or feel fatigue.”

Wait, what?

“Fuck yeah,” Ronny says loudly, pulling me around to hug me tight, while my dad looks like he is bewildered as he sits in the chair. His face doesn’t how any emotions.

“I can’t believe it, Madeline is going to be a big sister.”

“Congrats, you guys,” Konrad tells us. “You need to find an ob-gyn and I went ahead to write you a prescription for prenatals, so you can get started on them right away.”

It feels so weird to think that I have something growing inside of my tummy. A baby that I’m going to carry, have it grow inside of me.

Ronny kisses me all over my face, and my dad gags. “Please, stop that.” I laugh and turn to him when he gets up to give me a hug. “It’s not fair, my baby is having a baby. I don’t like it, but you can still come home with me and be my baby girl again.” My dad looks like he is seconds away from bursting into tears.

Konrad slips out of the room after I catch him setting the prescription on the counter by my bed. “I better not hear you telling my woman to leave me.” Ronny pushes my dad off me jokingly.

“Holy shit, I’m getting old. I’m a grandfather twice over.” My dad runs his hand over his face aggressively. I giggle at him and his actions.

All my dad ever wanted was for me to be happy, and at one point in my life I never thought I would have any of this.

“Let’s go home and see our baby,” I tell Ronny, then I give my dad one last hug as I watch him trying to blink away the tears.

15

OLIVIA

Madeline was sleeping in one of her little swings when we got back home. Bell runs to Ronny and me, hugging us both with tears rolling down her face.

“What’s the matter?” Ronny asks her, his arms wrapped around us. He barely let me walk inside of the house, insisting on carrying me.

“I was scared that something happened to the two of you and then I found out you are having a baby.” She looks at Ronny with tears in her eyes, hugging him even tighter.

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