Page 134 of Ink Me Three Times
I want to say some comforting words. Something that doesn’t make me sound like a selfish piece of shit. But the words get stuck behind my teeth. Because the truth is, I’ve spent so long running from anything real, I wouldn’t know how to hold it if it showed up and asked me to stay.
Last time I let myself care, it ended with me crawling out of someone else’s bed, heart split wide open. I swore I’d never let anyone get close enough to do it again.
I set my coffee down without tasting it. Miss the coaster. Don’t care. My hands are shaking, and I don’t even try to hide it.
Triplets.
She’s pregnant.
She doesn’t know…
A thousand thoughts crash through my head at once, none of them helpful. My jaw clenches. My throat closes. My chest starts to burn.
I try to breathe.
I can’t.
The smell of antiseptic cleaner and old coffee hits the back of my throat. There’s a crack in the floor tile by Ivy’s foot. I stare at it as if it’s the most important thing in the room because if I look at her, if Ireallylook at her, I might say something I can’t take back.
“How…” I manage, but my voice cracks. “How long have you known?”
“A few weeks,” she says, hugging her arms tighter around her body. “I wanted to wait. Say it when it felt safe.”
Timothy is quiet beside her, watching me like I’m a grenade.
“A few weeks,” I echo, repeating it to try and slow my pulse. “And you’re just now telling us?”
“I didn’t know how,” she says, voice cracking at the edges. “I still don’t. You’re all wrapped around each other, and then Trina showed up, and…” She stops. Swallows hard. “This isn’t easy for me either, Mitchell.”
I flinch at my name.
Coming from her, it hits different. Too real.
“And you’re sure it’s one of us?” I ask, even though the question makes me feel like a bastard.
She nods, slow. “Yeah. It’s one of you. And before you ask, no, I’m not sleeping with anyone else.”
Her words hang there, heavy.
I’m floating six inches above the ground, completely unmoored.
“Triplets,” I whisper again, more to myself than anyone.
“Yeah,” she says, eyes going glassy. “I was just as shocked. Still am.”
Timothy shifts beside her, finally speaking. “We’ll figure this out. All of us.”
I almost laugh.
Not because it’s funny.
But becausewesounds like a death sentence right now.
“I can’t… I mean, have you thought about what people are gonna say?” I snap, regretting it instantly. “Jesse’s gonna flip. You know that, right? This town doesn’t exactly keep things quiet.”
She doesn’t answer. Doesn’t need to.
Her eyes just go cold.
