“And…?” my mother says, the tears gone as she glares at me.
“And well, we exchanged numbers, and then you know I had this whole thing where my phone got stolen. I didn’t have her number, and well, I changed mine,” I explain. My uncle Matthew puts his fist against his mouth to either stop the smile or maybe he’s going to punch me in the face.
“Michael Horton,” my father says with clenched teeth.
I close my eyes. “I didn’t know until I picked up Emma and Mia at school and came face-to-face with her.”
My mother springs off the couch. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She looks at me, then looks at my dad. “What the hell is wrong with him? Didn’t you teach him the whole condom thing?”
My father just looks at her shocked. “First off, we had this talk with him together.” He points at my mother. “And second, I think he’s smart enough to know what to do with his penis.” He looks at me. “You did know what to do?”
I get up. “Of course we used protection, but it’s like…” I run my hands through my hair. “It’s not a hundred percent.”
“You know what is a hundred percent?” Matthew says, leaning forward. “A baby.”
“Your wisdom sometimes is just groundbreaking,” my father says to him sarcastically. “Why are you even here?”
“Enough!” my mother shouts and then looks at me. “Where is she?”
“She’s at her house,” I tell them.
“You need to go and get her, and we need to meet her,” my mother insists, her voice tight.
“Mom, really,” I say and look at my father and my uncle, who both shake their heads.
“Yes, really,” she hisses. “You dumbass. You left a woman pregnant with your child for four months.” She holds up her hand with four fingers.
“Actually,” my uncle says, “I think it’s more like five months.”
“I’m going,” I say, getting up and walking toward the door. “What if she doesn’t want to?”
“You convinced her to have sex with you,” my mother says, folding her arms. “You better convince her to come and meet us.”
Chapter 18
Jillian
“I don’t know, Julia,” I say to my sister on the phone. “All he said is to expect something in the next two hours.” When he left, I ate a bite and then got up to go get dressed. I was slipping on a pair of black capris and a gray T-shirt that used to be loose and is getting tight on my belly. I pin my hair on top of my head to keep it out of my face.
“What the hell could it be?” she asks, and I shake my head, picking up a strawberry and popping it into my mouth. “Do you think he would come to you with his dick in a box?” I roll my eyes and groan out. “What? Justin Timberlake did it.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s his dick in a box,” I tell her, omitting that I would not say no to his dick in a box. I put the lids on the containers, leaving some on the stove and putting some away in the fridge for later. “His parents are flying in today.” I clean up the kitchen, trying to keep my head from thinking about the fact that Michael is probably sitting down with his parents right now, telling them about the baby.
She gasps out. “What?”
“Yeah, apparently, he called them yesterday to tell them about the baby and asked them to come in.” I shake my head, wiping down the counter and then walking to my bedroom. I grab the six pillows off the bed, starting to fix it, but the minute I put my head down, I get dizzy, so I sit on the bed.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asks, and I just look at the floor.
“I don’t want them to think that I go home with every man I meet,” I say, wiping away the tear that escapes. The fact that these people will be the grandparents to my child is huge, at least for me. I want my child to be loved, regardless of my relationship with the father. I put my hand on my stomach, vowing to make sure that this child is never a burden.
There is a knock on the door, and I get up. “Oh my God,” my sister says as she hears the sound. “Is that your surprise?”
“I have no idea,” I respond. Walking to the door, I open it and see two guys standing there.
“Jillian,” one of them says, and I just nod. “We have a delivery for you.”
“Um,” I say while Julia yells at me to ask. “What is it?” I look at one man and then the other.
“It’s a king-size mattress,” the other man says. “We are going to pick up the old one at the same time.”