Page 61 of Give My Everything
I guess I don’t have any room to judge. I spent my whole life being taken care of, having everything I wanted given to me, within reason. And then when my world felt like it was falling apart, I used money from my parents to fund a life of the most vapid, self-indulgent, unhealthy bullshit any girl could ever wrap herself in.
But I don’t do that anymore.
And I don’twantthat for myself.
Which is why this email is such a welcome surprise in all the muck and sludge I feel like I’ve been trudging through for the past few weeks.
“So tell me…”
My brother’s voice has the smile slipping from my face.
“…this…stomach flu…”
I swallow awkwardly, my tummy pitching over as I wait for the rest of his sentence.
“Is Lucas the one who got you…sick?”
It takes longer than I’d like it to for me to admit I understand exactly what he’s asking.
His eyes narrow, and I can tell.
He knows.
He knows I’m pregnant. And he thinks Lucas is at fault.
Part of me wants to laugh.
If you only knew, brother. If you only knew what really happened, you wouldn’t look like that.
Slowly, I shake my head.
As much as I want to resist this faux conversation about ‘the stomach flu’, there is also a part of me that wantssomeonein my family to know what’s going on.
I might not see eye to eye with them on everything, but they’re my family, my rock, the center of all that I know.
I’ve been hiding myself away from them for so long for a million different reasons. Having Dominic on the inside of what’s going on with me feels like a different kind of relief than I’ve felt in a long time.
“Is Ben?”
At that, I pause. If I’m honest with Dominic, there’s no taking it back. If he knows Ben isn’t the baby’s father, there’s always a chance someone will come along and figure out who the father really is. And that would be…
I blink, pushing that thought away. I want to lie to Dominic. I want to tell him what makes all of this easy.
But I can’t. So I shake my head again.
Dom’s nostrils flare, but he doesn’t say anything else.
“Alright, sweetheart. Scrambled eggs and juice and a few little croissants. I cooked up some bacon for you, too.”
Julia’s voice breaks through the moment, and a tray appears in front of me as she places two plates and a cup on the table.
“Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”
I nod, though I don’t look up to meet her eyes.
“Thanks, Julia.”
She disappears back into the house and I pick up one of the croissants, tearing apart the flaky dough and shoving some of it into my mouth.
