“April—” The phone beside me beeps with a text message from my sister, Ava. My eyes quickly read the message.
Ava:I thought it’s best this came from me, and you didn’t stumble on it during scrolling.
There’s a screenshot that appears next. My eyes zoom in to get a better look. It’s Cole with his arms around Madaline. I remember her from English class. She wasn’t a mean girl or anything. She was nice, chilled, and caused no trouble.
It’s the arms around her that my eyes fixate on. It’s the protruding belly. The room temperature rises, making me anxious and uncomfortable. My vision blurs, but I widen my eyes to focus so I can read the post’s caption.
We are finally ready to announce our baby girl is due just before Christmas. I never expected to love someone so deeply, but I can’t wait to meet you soon.
The bile rises in my throat. My head shakes from the sheer shock. I cover my mouth, rushing to the toilet before I empty my stomach into the toilet bowl with a loud cry. April rushes up behind me, rubbing my back while pulling my hair from my face.
My sobs become louder, the hurt rippling through me like a hurricane destined to destroy everything in its sight. The walls of my chest tighten, making breathing hard, and my breaths come out like chokes.
“What have I done?”I cry, unable to control the pain consuming my whole heart.“It could have been us.”
“Alexa, what happened?”
The words refuse to come out, the pain crippling me to the point of despair. How was I to know he would want this? The Cole I knew only wanted to pursue his football career. Not once did he give me any inkling of a future with children. If anything, he didn’t want anything standing in the way of him chasing his dreams. Football … all he wanted was football.
“I can’t go back,” I sob, shaking my head repeatedly. “I can’t go back and face him.”
“Who, Alexa?”
“Cole, my ex. I can’t go back home and face him. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see him.”
April doesn’t say anything else. Being the good friend she is, her silence is exactly what I need. My guilt is making enough noise. Screaming and forcing me to relive the nightmare I’d been trying to escape the last year while traveling.
“Alexa, right now, you don’t have to do anything,” April eventually says softly. “But going back home is inevitable.”
“I won’t go back and live under my father’s rules. He’s the reason this all happened,” I sputter angrily.
“Okay, okay.” April attempts to soothe my anger. “My door is always open. I say we go back to LA, and you stay with me. There’s plenty of room. Mom is always out spending Hunter’s money.”
“Hunter?” I ask through thin, strained sobs.
“Yeah, step-daddy. I call him Hunter since that’s his name, and it would be awkward to call him Daddy since he’s like ten years older than me.”
The corners of my lips slowly move up, but they fall right back down as quickly as they do.
“They won’t mind me staying?”
“The house is like eleven thousand square feet. Too big for three people, trust me, we never see each other, and it’s like a ghost town. There’s a guest quarter, and they won’t mind. As I said, they’re never home and wouldn’t even know you’re there.”
It’s not like I have a choice. There is no other option for me.
Going back home to live with my father would remind me of the mistakes I’ve made. As for attending college, why should I reward him for ruining my life?
The decision is made. I’ll go back to the States but under my own terms. April’s offering her home which I’ll stay in until I get a job and can take care of myself.
It can’t be that hard, I tell myself as I take a deep breath trying to control my emotions and get a grip on reality.
I’m Alexa Edwards. If there’s anything good my father has passed down to me, it’s my determination to succeed.
And I’ll do it exactly how I want to do it.
Without his help.
TEN