Jasmine
OnThursdayafternoon,Iran to the grocery store, a list in hand that my mom had left me that morning. I was in the produce section when I spotted them. Lucy and her mom were together, walking the store. But that wasn’t what bothered me. She was wearing a dress. And not just any dress, but one that was tight on her body, revealing every imperfection. Since Lucy had no imperfections, she’d normally have no problem pulling it off. Except for, of course, that her belly had popped.
On any normal person, one could easily assume that maybe she had eaten too much. But Lucy was not a normal person. No, she barely had an ounce of fat on her body, and it was obvious that her normally flat stomach was no longer so. No, she was very clearly pregnant.
I watched as she rubbed her belly, wandering the store with her mom, sociably greeting other pack members as they shopped. I quickly turned my carriage, and flung myself down a different aisle, trying my best to avoid them. It was not a large store, so it would not be easy. As a severe sickness come over me, I made the decision to abandon my grocery cart and sprint out of the store. Maybe I could come back later.
I jumped into my car and sped home. All this time, I’d been dealing with a ticking time bomb, and it wouldn’t be long before it exploded. My mom was closely connected to all the busybodies in the pack, and if Lucy had become open at all about her pregnancy, it wouldn’t be long before it got back to her.
I decided to text Luke, especially after he’d asked me to go to him for help whenever I needed it.
Me: Hey, are you around?
I waited and didn’t see a reply after a few minutes. Then I remembered he had class on Thursdays. I decided to busy myself with cleaning. I did my laundry, vacuumed the house, scrubbed my bathroom. I thought about doing my homework, but I couldn’t stomach it.
At four forty-five, I started dinner. I then remembered that I had never returned to the grocery store, but I made do with whatever ingredients I could find in the fridge and pantry. I dug some frozen meatballs out of the freezer and put together a large batch of spaghetti and meatballs. We still had some salad ingredients left, so I was able to put together a pretty good salad. I added hardboiled eggs and crumbled bacon to spruce it up.
My parents walked in just as I was putting the final touches on the meal. I quickly looked over at my phone where I finally had a response from Luke.
Luke: Sorry, I was in class. Heading home now.
As soon as I saw my parents’ faces, I knew they were in a bad mood. It was like I could see the future, and I had already predicted what was going to happen once they got home. My dad went to reach for the liquor cabinet. They never drank—ever! The liquor cabinet was literally only there for when other people came over. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey followed by a glass. I watched as he poured a drink. My mom just walked over to the kitchen table and slumped down in her chair.
My dad stood, staring at me, sipping from the glass. He finally spoke. “Your mom got some interesting text messages at work today from her friends.”
“Oh, what about?” I played dumb. Inside, I was crumbling.
He took a sip of his whiskey, then looked at me. “Is Lucy pregnant?”
I stared at him, knowing the answer would have to come out. Finally, I whispered, “Yes.”
“Fucking Artemis!” my dad yelled. I’d never heard him swear in my life. I cringed. He then seemed to compose himself and asked, “So, what are Luke’s thoughts on all this? Is he still committed to his relationship with you?”
“I think so,” I replied.
“But you’re not sure?” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Maybe it’s just not meant to be,” I replied, the first thing that came to my mind after contemplating everything I’d discussed with Blake the prior day.
“Fucking Artemis,” he said more softly this time and shook his head, taking a gulp of his whiskey.
My mom got up and ran to my father. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll call my brother and nephew. They’ll take care of this. There’s no reason to worry.” She put her arms around him, rubbing his arm.
“No!” my dad yelled, shocking both my mom and me. “That’s insane. And threaten our beta? It’s one thing to threaten someone with no rank or title, but the beta of our pack?”
“They’ll just talk to him, honey. Just a conversation. Pack to pack.”
“No, I won’t allow it. I’m not taking his choice away. He has a right to choose for himself.”
“Why? Do you regret this?” My mom swung her arms, gesturing around her.
“No, I don’t regret it at all.” He took another sip of his whiskey.
“Then what’s wrong?” My mom glared at him. He glared back, locked in a staring contest.
“What’s going on? What are you talking about?” I asked, looking between the two of them.
My mom turned to me and said, “Don’t worry about it, honey. These are things that happened long ago and don’t concern you.” Then she turned to my dad. “I’m calling my brother right now.”