Page 116 of Daddies' Holiday Toy
I’ve only now started coming into my own and figuring out where my future is headed.
And now…
Now I’m…
The word won’t come, even in my own mind.
If I say them out loud, or even think about them, it becomes real in a way I can never take back.
Pregnant.
Which one? Would any of them want this? Would any of them stay?
Mallory rocks me slightly, her palm smoothing over my back in slow circles. “You’re not alone. I’ll be right here with you. No matter what you decide. It’s going to be okay.”
I wish I could believe her.
But right now, all I can feel is the terrifying truth settling into my bones: this isn’t something I can undo.
This is happening.
And I don’t know how to survive it.
26
LIAM
Holly:Hey, we need to talk. Can you come over tonight?
That was the text from Holly I got a little over an hour ago.
Short, and so unlike her it might as well have come from a stranger.
No barrage of emojis, no over-the-top exclamation points, no cheesy bakery pun about “spilling the tea” or “whisking me away.”
It’s been sitting in my messages, burning a hole through my screen, while I scramble to figure out how to respond.
It’s not like she hasn’t texted me about serious things before, but there’s always…softness.
Even when she’s annoyed, there’s something playful under it. But this?
This feels like I’ll be walking into a room set with a live grenade ready to blow.
Does she want to end things?
My heart thumps at the question.
I hope not.
But if she does, I’ll respect her choice. After all, this arrangement is supposed to benefit her the most.
I’m lucky enough she’s decided to let me participate at all.
I’m halfway through trying to find some way to ask if everything’s okay when Reece’s name lights up my screen.
Reece:You get a message from Holly?
A part of me is a little relieved I’m not the only one who got it. Another is worried that it is actually what I think it is: her breaking things off with all of us.
