“Are you the father?” her mom asked. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Uh,” I said, my brain trying to process what was happening. Clearly, Jada hadn’t told them about the pregnancy yet.
“Well?” she asked. “Are you?”
At a loss for words, I said, “Um, I’m not sure.”
“How can you not be sure?” Jada’s dad asked. “Did you have sex with my daughter?”
I wasn’t one to lie, so I said, “Yes.”
“Then you’re the father,” she mom insisted.
“Maybe, but I might not be,” I admitted.
That was when Jada walked through the front door.
“Jada!” her dad yelled. “Get over here.”
Jada’s eyes widened when she saw me, but she obeyed, taking a seat next to me on the love seat. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
Her mom spoke before I could answer. “What does Ben mean when he says he might not be the father of your baby?”
I watched a defiant look cross her face. Jutting her chin out, she said, “Exactly what it sounds like. He might be, but he might not be.”
“I just don’t understand.”
“It’s simple, Mom,” Jada said. “I have four boyfriends back at the ranch, and Ben is one of them. I’ve had sex with all of them so there’s a one-in-four chance he’s the dad.”
Jada’s mother looks as if she was about to pass out and her dad looked like he wanted to punch me.
“This isn’t the life we wanted for you, Jada!” her mom said. She began to sob. “You were supposed to have a normal life with one husband.”
“Mom, Dad, I like my life, and I love each of my boyfriends. My life is perfectly normal to me. I’m not doing anything wrong.”
Rhona pointed at me and said, “You need to get the fuck out of here.”
I turned to Jada.
“Jada?” I asked.
She gave me a wane smile. “I’ll handle it, Ben. It’s going to be okay.”
Jada
After Ben left, a storm ensued. Mom’s voice was so hoarse as she screamed that I could hardly understand anything my parents said. But I wasn’t going to apologize for my life, a life that I loved.
I thought I’d be angry with Ben for spilling the beans, but I couldn’t be. I knew he hadn’t meant to cause any harm. Besides, I had a week to tell my parents about my relationship and pregnancy, but we had so much else going on, I chose to put it off.
No, that wasn’t right. I’d chickened out and now I was facing the consequences.
“You’re going to have an abortion,” my mom said. “You’re moving back to Las Vegas and you’re getting an abortion.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not going to happen. I live in Montana now and I’m having this baby.”
“Like hell you are,” Dad said, finally speaking up. “You’re going to listen to your mother. You always have in the past, Jada. You know she’s only looking out for your best interest.”
“Mom might think she knows best, but she isn’t me. She can’t know what’s best for me,” I insisted.
With that, I stormed out of the room, locking myself inside my old bedroom.
Once there, I pulled my new phone from my purse, wishing once again that I had Ben and the guys’ numbers memorized just so I could hear their voices.
When I was walking off the plane the night I arrived in Las Vegas, my phone slipped from my hand, bounced off the ground, and was lost to oblivion. When I reported what happened to the airport, they told me they’d look into it. After I called and asked for an update, they told me they didn’t know what I was talking about, so I decided to just go to the store and buy a new phone.
My phone vibrated in my hands. I nearly threw up when I saw the name on the screen.
Sadie.
She’d had the same number since we were teenagers, giving me plenty of time to memorize it. It was the first number that I programmed into my new phone.
Hey sis! the text read. I just wanted to let you know I’m okay. Please don’t worry, ok?
The text sounded like Sadie, but anyone could have picked up her phone, read through her texts, and figured out I was her sister.
I needed confirmation that I was really Sadie, so I texted back.
Please call me, Sadie. I need to hear your voice.
I didn’t know how long passed, maybe an hour, before a call came in. Sadie was calling.
I answered on the first ring.
“Sadie?” I cried. “Sadie, is it really you?”
“It’s me,” she said. “I can’t talk long.”
She didn’t sound like she was under duress, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Are you really okay?” I asked.
She chuckled. “I’m more than okay, Jada. I didn’t want you to worry so I decided to text you.”
“I’m glad you did,” I admitted. “We’ve all been so worried. Mom and Dad called the cops and asked me to come back to Vegas.”