Page 118 of Body Shot

She’s pregnant.

How the fuck did this happen?

I have so many questions but right now I can’t think.

She’s pregnant and didn’t tell me.

She’s having my baby—I refuse to believe she cheated on me—and broke up with me?

I’m confused and scared and worried and mad.

“You look like you need to sit down for a minute,” Jeff says. “Come into the house.”

I want to protest but I’m propelled inside before I can say anything.

“We were at the hospital most of yesterday and all day today,” Laura says. “We came home to rest and get something to eat. Are you hungry?”

“No.” I shake my head as I sink into the nearest chair. “I don’t understand…why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“She didn’t tell us either,” Jeff grunts. “We didn’t find out until yesterday morning when Hana came running downstairs to tell us Claudia was bleeding and needed to go to the hospital.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s got a few things going on. Dehydration and malnourishment are the two big ones.”

“And the baby?”

“We don’t know.” He meets my eyes. “They can’t find any reason for her to be bleeding, so there’s nothing they can do to stop it. If she’s miscarrying, her body is going to do what it needs to do. They admitted her because she was so weak and dehydrated. I guess she hasn’t been eating. But as of when we left the hospital, she was still pregnant.”

I pull a shaky breath in through my nose.

Guilt and remorse whip through me.

We had a conversation about kids, and I’d told her I didn’t want them yet, that I wasn’t ready.

But she said she wasn’t ready either.

I thought we were on the same page.

How could she do this knowing—I immediately stop that train of thought.

I don’t know much of anything right now, but I’m positive she didn’t do this on purpose. There’s no universe where she wanted to be pregnant at this stage of her career.

She must have been horrified.

Confused.

Terrified.

Dammit.

“You really didn’t know?” Jeff asks after a moment.

“No. She told me she’d met someone at work that made her realize she might want to do some dating before getting as serious as we were getting. I had no idea.”

He scratches his head in confusion. “If I’m honest, I’ve never really understood my daughter. She’s so damn bright, really independent, and pretty stubborn to boot. I can’t figure out why she would keep this from you.”

“I need to talk to her.”

---