Page 57 of His Christmas Gift

“She hasn’t been feeling well,” Dean said to my family, trying to stick up for me.

“A glass of champagne won’t hurt her. Move your hand, Autumn,” my father told me, waving his hand at me in an agitated manner.

“I’m not drinking,” I said sternly, narrowing my eyes at my father. I wasn’t going to do anything to endanger my baby. Even if it was scary, I had to start being a good mother now. That meant not giving in to social pressure.

“Autumn!” my mother hissed at me as murmurs sounded up and down the dining table from my other family members.

The frustration got me. I snapped.

“I’m pregnant!” I shouted, making everyone immediately fall silent in shock. When I realized what I had just done, my eyes widened. I wasn’t supposed to say anything. I didn’t mean to say anything!

“You’re pregnant?” Dean asked as he turned to look at me, looking overwhelmed with surprise and confusion.

I looked around the table as the sound of my heart thudded in my head. Everything was falling apart, piece by piece, and I couldn’t stop it. I gave up. I shouldn’t have gone on this trip with Dean. I should’ve dealt with my parents’ disappointment and judgmental comments.

“Don’t worry about it, Dean. We’re not even really together,” I said, shaking my head. The only thing that was real was my pregnancy and my panic.

“Not really together?” my father repeated as he shared a confused look with my mother.

“Autumn…” Dean spoke, looking hurt by my words.

“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. I didn’t want to hear anything from anyone. In a room full of people, I felt utterly alone. “This is done with.”

Dean started to reach for me, but I stood up abruptly. He gave me a pleading look, ignoring the questions from my family members.

I wanted to throw myself into Dean’s arms, to let him shield and comfort me, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t be around anyone right now. Everyone was looking at me like I had just admitted to committing some sort of crime. Sure, I was a liar, but things weren’t supposed to go this far.

I gave Dean one last look before storming away from the table. At first, I was going to go to the car and go back to the hotel, but I knew that Dean would just follow me there. I needed to hide somewhere, but I wouldn’t be able to get far as tears streamed down my face.

I hurried down the hallway toward my childhood bedroom, throwing open the door before shutting it and locking it behind me. I pressed my back against the white wood, peering at my old room through teary eyes. The dark red wall paint was the same. The white rug between my bed and desk was the same. There were even some of my old clothes in the closet to the left of the bed.

I didn’t know why they kept all of my things. They weren’t sentimental people, or they didn’t seem like they were. They could’ve easily thrown all of my CDs, books, and clothes away, but they were still where I last left them. They probably never came into my room anyway, and I didn’t want that to change right now.

I could hear Dean’s voice in the distance, along with my parents’ voices. I didn’t care to hear what they were saying. I wanted to shut everything out and fall asleep.

Maybe I would wake up and all of this was some crazy dream.

If only.

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