“Sit.” He motions at an empty bench. “How have you been?”
“Pregnant,” I blurt out, instantly regretting my outburst. I should’ve warned him gently. After all, this will change his life forever.
Austin rubs his freshly shaven jaw, pausing momentarily to shift his gaze onto me.
“I guess congratulations are in order?”
“It’s yours.”
The second it leaves my mouth, his smile wavers, and slowly, his eyes widen in disbelief. Even the color of his skin pales, almost as if he’s seen a ghost.
“Mine? Are you sure?” he stammers, shaking his head unknowingly. “We used protection. We weren’t that stupid.”
I shrug, unsure how to explain how it happened. Austin is the doctor here. Surely, he must know more than me. Yet he’s looking at me to answer him.
“We did, but maybe there was a hole in the condom, or you were drunk, and it wasn’t placed right. I don’t know how to answer that, Austin.”
He stands up, pacing the area in front of me. “How do you know it’s mine?”
Folding my arms beneath my chest, I raise my brow with an icy stare.
“Because I’m four months along,” I snap in frustration from his assumption. “And you have been the only man I’ve slept with in six whole months.”
“So, you’ve only had sex with me in the last six months?”
“Yes,” I concur, my annoyance quickly morphing to anger. My nostrils flare on their own accord as my pulse begins to race. “You know what, Austin? I came here to tell you the truth, and understandably you’re upset just as I was when I found out. But right now, I don’t appreciate being called a whore.”
“I’m not calling you a whore, Ava,” he proclaims, his tone low. “You were single and had every right to do what you wanted. But, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrogated and made you feel that way. This is a lot to take in. I’m just about to start my second year in residency, we’re not together, and I’m with someone.”
“Lane?”
“Yes, Lane.”
“She’s nice, real cute.”
“She doesn’t deserve this,” he tells me.
The bouncing emotions exhaust me, and when I’m tired, my patience wears thin. It sounds like he cares more about her feelings than mine, and I’m the one carrying his baby!
“You’re right, she doesn’t deserve this, but you know who has it even harder? Me. She doesn’t have to be pregnant for another five months then give birth. She doesn’t have to be a single mother and hey, let’s not forget about the biggest issue here,” I fume, knowing my face has turned bright red from my unflattering temper. “She doesn’t have to tell her family, especially her sister that she’s knocked up by her ex-fiancé, who she slept with on New Year’s Eve.”
Austin remains silent, burying his face in his hands. Then, after minutes of no communication between us, he finally lifts his head. “How is this going to work?”
“Look, like you said, you’re almost a second-year resident. I don’t need your help, Austin. I can do this on my own.”
“You don’t need my help?” he exasperates, drawing back with an unrelenting glare. “So, what? I’m supposed to have a kid and never see it?”
“See it, don’t see it. All I’m saying is that I can do this on my own.”
“And all I’m hearing is that you don’t want me around.”
Austin turns his gaze toward the building, refusing to look at me. “I need to go back.”
And just like that, he walks away. Out of sight, but definitely not out of mind.
This turned out to be a disaster. But what did he expect me to say or do? Beg him to be a father to a child he never asked for? Demand he supports me, or worst yet—be in a relationship with me? No matter what I say, it all sounds wrong.
Right now, I’m the woman who has ruined his life.