Tied - Part Three (The Tied Series) (7 page)

My meeting with Patrick that evening was cut short. Ironically, he had to get home to watch his kids. I met him in Grand Central Station so we could talk for a few minutes while he waited for his train.

The landmark building always stressed me out more than it should have. It seemed like there was a constantly flowing sea of people moving smoothly in every direction, and I was always swimming upstream. For me, walking through the wide halls was like trying to follow a rhythm but constantly missing a beat. Constantly getting pushed, bumped, jostled.

Patrick swam through with no problem.

“Have you told him?” he asked right away. We’d settled on a bench near his platform and shared a black-and-white cookie. I wasn’t hungry but I was glad to have something to do with my hands.

“No,” I said, “I want to wait until I see the doctor. I have an appointment in a couple days.”

“Good.” He patted my knee. “No need to panic before then. And no need to panic after. You have options.”

I scoffed. “Like what? Move back in with my mother?”

“Options that include not having it. Not keeping it. And so on.” He sighed. “Of course I know you too well. Those aren’t really options at all.”

I rested my hands on my abdomen - still flat, of course, but I could imagine what was going on. What was growing. “Afraid not.”

The train’s wheels shrieked as it pulled into the platform. “You should go,” I said, “Thanks for meeting with me.”

“Sorry it had to be so short. You can call me when I’m home, but Katherine…” He rose and stood before me, looking down with a stern expression. “You’re strong and you know it. You’ve got this. You’ll figure it out, and you know I’ll be here to help.”

“I know. Thank you.”

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. That was a little more affectionate than normal for him, and I blinked back up at him. “Everything will work out,” he said.

I watched him go. He sounded a lot more confident than I felt, but I took his words to heart. Whatever happened, I had him at my back. And Alexa, I reminded myself. Which included Mallet.
And hopefully Lockett. Hopefully.

CHAPTER 7

I wandered through the days leading up to my doctor’s appointment in a daze. Round and round my head spun -
I should tell him. I should tell my sister.

Instead, I wound up spilling to the last person I should have told.

“Sorry I’m late!” I was working at the library two days before my appointment when I saw Whitney again. Her son was the last one left at the end of the day and I volunteered to wait with him until his mother showed up.

“It’s no problem,” I said, “Brandon was a pleasure.”

“Mmm, no need to be nice, I know what a devil he can be.”

“Mom! I was good! Tell her!” He tugged on my skirt.

“He was very good,” I said, “We finished up all of his homework, right?”

“Even the math,” he said, grinning a gap-toothed grin.

I watched Whitney help him into his jacket. “How do you do it?” I blurted.

“Do what?” she asked, straitening back up.

“I’m sorry, I just assumed that you’re a single mom…”

“Oh!” She laughed. “Not exactly. Brandon’s father is in the picture. It’s tough coordinating our time, though.”

“And you look so perfect on top of all of that!” I said, gesturing at her shiny hair in particular. “I don’t mean to be nosy,” I said, “I just wondered. It seems so hard. Holding a job, taking care of him, still making time for the fights...”

She shrugged. “You make it work. I have help. My mother lives closeby.”

“Are we gonna see grandma tonight?” Brandon asked. Whitney ruffled his hair.

“Why do you ask?” she asked me, raising an impeccable eyebrow. I looked away, and she gasped before I could conjure up a good reason -
for a friend! For a parent of a student! Anything!
“You’re pregnant!”

“Shh,” I said, glancing around us.

“Oh, my God. Did Lockett knock you up?” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Wow. Just… wow. It is his, right? Does he know?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” I whispered, “Please don’t say anything. He can’t even walk right now, he is not going to be happy about this.”

“Girl, this is the gossip of the year,” she said, pulling out her phone.

“Whitney!” I hissed.

Brandon pulled at her arm. “Miss Gardner says gossip isn’t nice,” he said. “She says its bullying, Mom.”

She relented, sliding the phone back inside her expensive bag. “Okay,” she said, smiling at her son. “You’re right.” She turned back to me. “He is a good boy. That makes it a little easier, too.”

“Please don’t say anything,” I said, “I haven’t even had an official doctor’s appointment yet. I’m going to tell Lockett right after, but until then…”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she said, holding up her hands. “Say goodbye to Miss Riley,” she said to Brandon.

“See you later!” He took off ahead of his mother, racing for the front doors.

“Oh, God,” she said, “Later, Katherine. Let me know how it turns out. I’ve been through this if you want to talk sometime.”

I clenched my fists as I watched her go. I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake thinking that we could have been friends, or at least friendly. Did she really want to help? Or was she just planning to fish for more gossip?

No. She’s a good mother, I shouldn’t be so suspicious
. I usually gave people the benefit of the doubt, she should have been no exception.

I did feel guilty for spilling to her before telling my own sister.
She’s next
. Maybe she’d join me at the doctor’s. Lockett couldn’t even if I did tell him, but I didn’t want to go alone either.

○●○●○●○●○

“I’m pregnant.”

I expected disappointment. Shock. Even mockery.

I never expected my rough-edged punk sister’s eyes to fill with tears.

“Katherine!” she exclaimed, her jaw dropping. “Are you serious?”

“I think so,” I said, my own eyes filling up. “Don’t cry! If you cry then I’ll cry.” I wiped my eyes. “Will you come with me to the doctor’s? We should be done before you need to leave for work…” We were both home and the office was close-by. I’d waited too long and should have told her earlier instead of springing it on her minutes before I had to go, but it wasn’t until the last possible moment that I was able to work up the nerve.

“Of course!” She shook her head with disbelief. “I can’t even process this.”

“What are you thinking?” I asked, cringing.

“On the one hand it’s a shitty situation,” she said, “There’s no getting around that. Shitty all around. Lockett’s ankle, money, this apartment… on the other hand, it’s a baby.” She smiled though her eyes watered. “Is that dumb? I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask you what you’re going to do.”

“Keep it,” I said. That part was never a question in my mind.

“So I’m gonna be an aunt!”

“Don’t get too excited, yet,” I said, “I only did the drug store test.”

“Then come on, let’s get your gut looked at and find out for sure!”

I laughed with relief. I wasn’t sure I could count on my sister to not judge me, seeing as how I tended to be pretty damn judgmental toward her, but she was on my side. She was actually excited. I hadn’t expected that reaction.

Either way, just knowing that she was behind me helped in a big way.

The doctor’s office was just a few blocks away so we walked it in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Luckily the tidy little waiting room didn’t seem to busy, and the receptionist assured me that I’d be seen soon.

“Have you told anyone else?” Alexa asked when we settled into the uncomfortable green-cushioned chairs. I filled out the forms with a trembling hand.

“Just Patrick,” I said. She didn’t need to know about Whitney. That was a slip-up. I should have gone to Alexa first above everybody.
Except my boyfriend
.

“Lockett has no idea?”

“No,” I said quietly, “He’s got enough on his mind.”

“Katherine.”

“I know. Soon. Let me confirm it first, at least.”

“I don’t think I need to ask if it’s his, right?”

I frowned. “How can you even say that?”

“Eh.” She shrugged. “Everyone says it. People are gonna say it.”

She was right but it didn’t make it sting any less.

I left her in the waiting room when a nurse finally called my name. She had me pee in a cup before shutting me inside an examination room, alone.

I paced back and forth. The room was too bright, too sterile. Some of the posters on the walls showed all stages of pregnancy. I averted my eyes.
Confirm first. Don’t get ahead of yourself. One thing at a time
.

Lockett should have been there, I realized. We were a couple. He’d said it, or at least, he’d let me call myself his girlfriend.
He should be here
. Pissed, happy, scared, no matter.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the doctor burst into the room. He was a kindly-looking older man who introduced himself as Dr. Warren.

“Katherine Riley,” he said, staring down at the papers in his hands. “The urine test was positive. We’ll run a blood test just to triple confirm, but you are pregnant.”

I leaned back against the exam table, crinkling the waxy paper. “Oh.”

“We offer a variety of services here,” he said. “At this stage all we can do is start you on some prenatal vitamins and make an appointment for an ultrasound in about two weeks or so. Does that sound agreeable?”

I nodded numbly as the reality crashed around me.
It’s real. This is happening
. I rubbed my arms. “Would you like a nurse to fetch the young woman you arrived with?” the doctor asked.

“No, I’m fine,” I said, then nodded. “I’ll do like you said. The ultrasound. The next appointment.”

“We’ll take good care of you here, Miss Riley, let me assure you.”

“Thank you.”

I was in a fog when I finally stepped back out into the waiting room, clutching pamphlets and a bottle of vitamins. It was a little more crowded now and I didn’t spot Alexa right away - but she saw me, and she jumped up and crushed me in a hug.

“Come on,” she said, “You need ice cream.”

“I need a time machine.”

“And you need to tell your boyfriend.”

My stomach lurched at the prospect. “I know.”

But I didn’t tell him that evening, despite Alexa’s glares on her way out the door to go to work.

I didn’t tell him that night, though I slept in his bed, and I didn’t tell him when we kissed, or when we made love to each other with our mouths and hands.

“You seem stressed,” he said, holding me tight against his bare chest. My body was abuzz with the afterglow of an amazing orgasm - they were always amazing with him. His own breathing was heavy behind me. I hadn’t done such a bad job myself, either. I was just grateful to distract us - to shut away the world with him.

“I am a little stressed,” I admitted. “Worried about you. And I promised to visit my mother this weekend.”

He groaned. “Leaving me?”

“Just for one night.” I stroked his arm, tracing the ink that marked him. “You’ll be okay, right?”

“Yeah, of course. As long as I’ve got the internet, I won’t starve.” He kissed my neck, his stubble rough against my flushed skin. “Is that all? Everything good at work?”

“Which job?” I asked, grinning.

“The ones that pay.”

“They’re good,” I said, “The school told me I should be optimistic about September.”
Will I be showing by then? Oh, God…

He read my sudden tension as something else. “You’ll get it,” he said, “And you’ll be amazing.”

“What about you?” I rolled over to face him, meaning to push him a little into telling me how he was feeling. But his hazel eyes drew me in, and I kissed him instead.