Page 57 of Doctor Grump

I sighed, knowing I probably deserved that. “This is not what I expected either,” I explained.

“Yeah, I get that,” she snapped. “You don’t have to keep rubbing it in.” She held her hand up to stop my response. “Look, just let me sleep, okay? We can talk about it in the morning.”

I nodded, walking out of there reluctantly.

I left.

I shouldn’t have, but I did.

And in the morning, she was gone.

23

PIPER

Iwon’t cry, I won’t cry, I won’t cry.

As I lay in bed that night, I berated myself for allowing the hurt to dig in so deep that it robbed me of my breath. I could feel the tears choking my throat, and I wanted to cry so badly, but I held it in. After my last boyfriend, I swore to myself that I would never cry over love again. It wasn’t worth the headache I got in the morning. And besides, I already knew there was a ninety percent chance that my relationship with Ian would not work out, and this would be the inevitable end.

It had been nice while it lasted, I told myself, trying to feel better.Even though the end had come a little earlier than I thought.

Still, the thought did not placate me, did not keep the sadness from nearly overwhelming me. So, I let my mind turn to anger instead.The bastard.I hadn’t missed the accusatory shots Ian threw at me when I told him about the pregnancy. As if I had somehow done it intentionally to trap him. As if. On one level, I understood that the news was a shock to him, and I understood why he would panic. But I had panicked too, and I never dreamed of telling him that it was all his fault.

But then again, I was pretty sure that in our relationship, I cared more for him than he did for me. I had fallen for him first. And deeper. Meanwhile, he probably only liked me well enough. As my sister always said, in love, the one who cared the most always loses, and this was my loss.

It hurt like fucking hell because now I knew that I had to let him go forever.

Ian had made it clear that having a child with me wasn’t his plan, and I wouldn’t stick around and be the woman he only felt an obligation toward. I would hate myself every passing day if he treated me like a burden. It would kill me because I loved him.

A tear leaked out of my eyes as despair loomed. I should never have let myself fall for him. Now I was facing the consequence of it. As angry and hurt as I was at him right now, I knew that in the morning, he could still convince me to stay. Ian was good with words and could rationalize just about anything, making me feel like I was the crazy one. He could lie to me and spin a story about how he would care for the child and me and grow to love me somewhere along the line. But I would be stuck in a relationship, constantly hoping for love from a man who only saw me as a duty.

That would be a nightmare.

Which only meant that I had to leave in the morning before he had a chance to see me.

So I left at 6 a.m.

It wasn’t particularly hard to get up that early, considering I hadn’t slept most of the night. My mind had been warring with my heart, which was trying to override my common sense. I wavered a few times during the night, but as soon as my alarm went off, I forced myself out of bed, packed up a few of my things, and left. I made sure to leave a note on my dresser in visible sight before I did. I also made sure to walk a few blocks before calling an Uber so as not to alert him of my departure.

For once, as I sat in the back of the Uber, I did not make conversation with the driver, letting the silence reign instead. I wasn’t in the mood for anything but deep thinking. Last night, I had thought briefly about where to go. I knew any of my friends would welcome me, but they would also want to know what happened between Ian and me, and I really didn’t feel like talking about it right now. They wouldn’t rest either until they dragged it out of me. And if Santiago caught wind of the pregnancy…jeez, that would be a shit show. I didn’t want the drama right now.

So, the only place where I could think of for me to lick my wounds in peace was home sweet home.

My mother could be nosy, but she would be satisfied with whatever lie I told her and would likely let me off with a simple “I told you so.” Plus, with my father still in the hospital, she was probably distracted and might not notice that something was up with me. Either way, with everything happening, I wanted to be with family right now. They needed me.

And I needed a new job.

We arrived while I was still lost in thought, and the driver had to try and get my attention several times before I responded. He also helped me with my bags, which I was grateful for. I tipped him heavily, apologizing for my lack of conversation throughout the trip, to which he winked and said, “No problemo. I could tell you have a lot on your plate.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I murmured, waving as he drove off. Then, I made my way up the driveway to the charming little bungalow at the top of the slight hill. My mother had always hated how small and “humble” our home looked in comparison to the rest of the family, but I loved it. The house was not small by any means, and while it might not be flashy, it had just enough Victorian decor to add a whimsical appeal.

The door was open when I got to it, which was odd. My mom was inherently suspicious, and she was always fastidious about locking the door behind us whenever we went anywhere.

Although, she’d had a lot on her mind for the past few hours and days, so it was to be expected.

“Mom?” I called out as I walked in. I came to a stop, getting the eerie sense that something wasn’t right. “Are you here?”

There was no answer as I slowly began walking through the home, seeing more signs of disarray. My mom was the extremely clean type, so it was strange. At first, I chucked it up to the hassle of getting to the hospital, but that was until I entered the living room.

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