Page 11 of Open Secrets
The words tumbled out before I could stop them. “I’m pregnant.”
Not the plan. I had meant to ease him in, breathe, maybe even build up to it. But instead, it exploded out of me.
His head whipped toward me. “Pregnant. Like—with a baby?”
“No, with a chihuahua.” I said sarcastically, my hands gripping the wheel. “It’s yours.”
He blinked, nodding once. “Yeah, I got that. You wouldn’t drive four hours from Austin just to tell me you were pregnant with Chad’s kid.”
“Who’s Chad?” I snapped.
He stared at me, eyes bulging. “Does it matter? You’re… do you want to have this?”
“No,” I blurted, then shook my head. “I don’t know. I just—I’m nineteen, I’m in college. If my dad finds out—God, if your mom—”
His face paled. “My mom. Jesus. Mom.”
I tilted my head, dry. “If she found out we had sex on her rug…”
Lyle let out a helpless, shaky laugh. “She would burn the rug. With me still on it.”
I pressed my palms to my knees, my whole-body trembling. “Where’d you even buy the condom? At that tiny gas station with the Confederate flag in the window?”
He shook his head, lips pressed tight. “Forget that. We’re gonna have a—”
“A baby?” I finished, my chest tightening. “Are we?”
“You mean—”
I nodded hard. “I don’t want to be a mom. Not right now. And before you say adoption, neither of our families would ever accept that.”
His jaw flexed, the muscle ticking. “If we do this, we can’t tell anyone.”
“No one,” I whispered.
He looked away, eyes flicking to the window. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since the moment I found out,” I said, my voice tight.
“Do you need me to take you?”
I shook my head. “That would make it worse. Besides, there aren’t any clinics here. I’ll go to Planned Parenthood in Austin.” I hesitated, searching his face. “You can’t leave before boot camp, right?”
He shook his head.
“I’ll go,” I said softly. “I just wanted to tell you.”
His voice cracked just a little. “I’m glad you did.”
The silence stretched between us, heavy. Finally, he exhaled.
“There really isn’t a clinic in Galveston.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “Nope. You can buy roofies on every corner, but you can’t get healthcare.”
Lyle’s voice dipped low. “I miss you.”
I stared at him, unbelieving. “I know you miss me. That’s how we ended up in this situation.”
