Perfectly Toxic (Sterling Shore 9)

phone, I head outside, and I pull the piece of paper out of my pocket that has a number on it. I never planned to use this number, it was just in case anything went wrong with Bella in the hospital, but I’ve changed my mind.

Seeing the bond between Allie and Bella reminds me how it was forged. It pisses me off, but at the same time… No, it just pisses me off. But I’m not being selfish anymore, and this has nothing to do with me.

It has to do with Bella.

I’ve seen the way she watches my parents, and even though my mother is annoying as hell, I love her, and I see the envy Bella has.

A man answers gruffly on the third ring.

“Pierson residence.”

“Mr. Pierson, this is Ethan Noles. I just wanted to let you know your daughter was in the hospital, and she didn’t even feel like you should know.”

His breath catches, and a pained sound escapes him. “Is she okay?” he asks, sounding truly upset.

That’s the incentive I need to continue.

“She’s fine now, but it could have been bad. She also could have lost the baby. By the way, she’s pregnant with my baby, and we’re not married. But if you ever want to meet your grandchild, I suggest you find a medium ground between your values and the family you lost for them.”

Another pained sound comes out, and then something akin to sobbing is muffled in the background.

Now I feel like an ass. I expected him to be colder than this.

“She’s pregnant?” he whispers.

“Yes,” I answer warily. I was doing this for Bella, but now I feel like I’ve crossed a line, because he doesn’t sound like the icy bastard I thought he’d be.

“I’m having a grandchild?”

“Out of wedlock,” I point out. Marriage is a discussion we’ll have to have, but I doubt either of us want to get married for the wrong reasons.

Though I’m not sure how wrong the reasons would be… Bella’s mine, and I’ll never want anything else. Yesterday cemented how lost I’d be if I didn’t have her.

He makes more hoarse sobbing noises on the other end, and I really start regretting this phone call. I wanted to tell him off, listen to him cower when I lost my temper. Tears… I didn’t expect tears.

“Where is she?” he asks softly.

“In the other room.”

“I mean, where is she? I don’t even know where she lives, and she hasn’t answered our phone calls in so long.”

Well… Shit.

“She lives in Sterling Shore now. Um… I’d have her call you, but she’s—”

“We messed up. Not her. It’s our fault we don’t know she has our grandchild in her stomach right now. Her mother has lived with the guilt of forcing our daughter away for years. But Bella doesn’t forgive easily. She’s always been a stubborn, prideful girl, and she refuses to be hurt by the same person twice. We knew it, but… We lost her because of our own pride. Can you help me see my daughter?”

Ah, hell. He’s breaking my heart. Damn it, Bella.

“Um… I’ll figure something out. So does Bella know you regret what happened?”

“How could she? The last phone call we shared started with us apologizing, but it ended with us pointing out all the ways she’d failed us or would fail if she didn’t do exactly as we said, starting with cutting Allie out of her life. Her mother even told her she’d be pregnant and in a gutter if she kept up her ways. Bella has every right to hate us, but time has taught us how wrong we were. I miss my daughter.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

How many ways can this go wrong? Too damn many.

“So you’re the baby’s father?” he asks me when I grow quiet. “How far along is she?”