Page 81 of Claimed by my Bestie's Dad

But now, I feel like an empty cavern that hasn’t had food in a long time.

We sit there in silence for a few minutes. I glance back at the shack, and grateful tears well up in my throat. “Ethan, this place is perfect. I want you to know that. I appreciate this so much.”

I bite my bottom lip and try to keep my emotions in check as much as possible. I can’t start crying right now even though the annoying urge to cry is hitting me. I have to tell Ethan. I have to tell him.

The mantra continues to pound through my head. I can’t keep waiting. And right now, I don’t even have the strength to stand up and walk back to the car.

The way he’s looking at me tells me he knows something is wrong. I don’t want to spoil this moment of him showing me the space, but…

I freeze, the words catching in my throat. I thought I could keep this secret a little longer, but I can’t. Not anymore. My heart pounds quickly. This is the moment. There’s no turning back.

“Ethan…” I swallow hard, trying to find the right words. “I need to tell you something.”

He rests his hand gently on my leg. “You can tell me anything.”

The kindness in his voice makes my chest ache. I’ve been so afraid of this—of telling him, of what he’ll think, of what this will do to us. But I can’t keep it hidden anymore. He deserves to know.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out. The dizziness intensifies, and I lower my head, unable to look at him.

The silence that follows is suffocating. I feel like I can’t breathe, like the air around me has thickened, and I’m drowning in it. For a second, I’m just sucking air into mylungs, hoping the dizziness will pass, barely able to think about how Ethan might respond.

I brace myself for whatever comes next—whether it’s shock or anger or maybe even rejection. All the possibilities run through my mind as I wait for Ethan’s reaction.

But I still can’t bring myself to meet his eyes. I just sit there, staring at the sand, trying to prepare myself for the worst.

39

ETHAN

I’m pregnant.

I sit there, staring out at the ocean, trying to let it sink in. Madison's sitting beside me with her head down, waiting for my reaction. She can’t look at me, and that alone tells me how scared she must be.

Pregnant.

It doesn’t feel real yet, but as I put together the things I’ve noticed in the last twenty-four hours, it makes complete sense.

She’s tired. She’s dizzy. She’s not eating much. Sure, she’s not wrapped around the toilet barfing, but not every woman reacts to pregnancy like that.

Pregnant.It echoes again. She’s telling me this because it’smykid. It has to be. Madison hasn’t been with anyone else.

I’m too old for this. I’m too old to deal with becoming a father. It’s not ideal at all.

I glance over at her, her shoulders hunched forward, her fingers twisting in her lap like she’s bracing for the worst. She must think I’m about to lose it, or worse, walkaway. But I don’t feel any of that. I don’t feel angry or betrayed or panicked. Instead, there’s this strange sense of clarity.

It’s like everything is sliding into place and making sense now.

“I’m not sure how it happened, and…I knew I had to tell you. But it’s hard. I…”

“Hey, just…give me a second.” I close my eyes and still try to absorb it. It’s taking me a moment, though. I’m really struggling with what this means for me. Selfishly, I’m thinking of myself first.

I see her nod out of the corner of my eye, silently assenting to give me more time. Pregnant. With my baby. My mind flashes to all the times we were together, the way we’d just let things happen, never really thinking about the consequences. But here we are.

I run a hand through my hair and finally turn to face her. I’ve come to a decision now that the shock of her revelation is starting to wear off. “Madison, look at me.”

She hesitates but eventually lifts her head, her eyes wide and filled with fear. The sight of her like that, so vulnerable, breaks something inside me. She’s been holding this weight on her own, too scared to tell me, and I can’t let her carry it by herself anymore.

“I’m not mad. I’m not upset. I’m… I’m just processing it. I mean…this kind of thing does happen, especially when someone is so…”

---