Page 105 of A Kingpin's Weakness
Her hug was warm, but I couldn’t shake the storm inside me. She hugged Seth too; polite and gentle.
“What got you in such a good mood?” I asked, her eyes soft with concern.
“Nothing,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Just surprised to see you.”
“I’m going to be staying here for the summer,” I said, trying to make it sound casual too, but Seth’s look told me I’d just dropped a bomb on him. Should’ve thought that through before he started pouring shots on the damn yacht.
“Well, I’m gone,” Seth said, his voice tight, bitter. He kissed me, quick and cold, and then was out the door before I could say anything.
I stood there, heart pounding and rage simmering, wishing I could wipe the whole night clean, but knowing I couldn’t.
“He just found out you’ll be staying here and not with him.”
“Yeah.” I kept my voice low, like admitting it out loud might make it all too real.
Jo watched me, her eyes soft but searching.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as I collapsed onto the couch beside her my body heavier than my heart.
This was one of those moments I needed a real mother-daughter talk. But in the past, Jo was either faded out, or wrapped up chasing some man’s attention, leaving me feeling like I was on my own.
“Are you high?” I asked suddenly, eyes narrowing like I wasn’t sure what kind of mess I was walking into.
“No, Stormi.”
My voice cracked, and before I could stop it, the words spilled out like a broken dam. “I think... I think I’m pregnant.”
I leaned in, the tears I’d been holding back for hours breaking loose. My body shook with the weight of it all; the fear, the hope, the anger, the shame.
Jo didn’t say a word at first, just pulled me close, wrapped me tight like she was trying to hold all my broken pieces together. This was new. I would even say foreign but exactly what I neededin this moment. For once, it wasn’t about men or distractions. It was just me and her, and that was all I needed.
“Stormi, no. Don’t do that. Stop cryin’. It’s gonna be alright.”
I shook my head, voice cracking. “Is it really? ‘Cause I don’t feel alright.”
She reached over, grabbed my hand like she was holdin’ on to me and herself. “Yeah, you grown now. You got your own grind, a career, a good man who loves you.”
I laughed bitterly, the pain sharp in my chest. “A good man. The same one I caught tonight, pourin’ drinks down some other chick’s throat. Don’t tell me about good.”
Jo’s eyes darkened, heavy with memories. “Girl, be glad you never caught his dick down another woman’s throat. I got stories, real ones. Some that’d break you if you heard ‘em.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “That’s why I don’t wanna bring a baby into this mess, into a family already broken.”
She softened, her voice low but steady. “Stormi, outta all the bad I did, all the bad done to me, I swear, you came out different. You came out good.”
I looked up, tears spilling down my face. “Why you crying?”
Jo wiped her cheek, voice thick. “’Cause I’m proud. You ain’t sittin’ here crying ‘cause you’re scared to be a teenage mom or ‘cause some no-good got you pregnant. Nah, you might not have planned this baby, but if I know anything, I know you gon’ be an amazing mom. You raised yourself and Noah. Just imagine what you gon’ do for your own child. And that man? He gon’ be there every step.”
My throat tightened. “Will he, though? They all leave. Every damn time.”
Jo’s eyes locked on mine, fierce and sure. “Nah, baby. The cowards leave. The real men? They stay. They fight. They show up.”
“Was my father a coward?” I asked, my voice breaking, but I needed the truth; no more secrets.
Jo’s hands trembled, twisting the hem of her shirt like she was trying to hold herself together. She wouldn’t look at me.
“Jo, you owe me the truth,” I said, voice shaking but sharp like a knife. “I’m tired of being left in the dark.”
