Chapter 2 - FOURTEEN YEARS
Michael backed away from the table.
“No.”
Rachel remained silent.
He shook his head.
“No, Lauren wasn’t pregnant.”
Diane stared at the wall.
Michael noticed.
“Mom.”
She said nothing.
His voice cracked.
“Mom, look at me.”
Slowly, Diane turned.
Michael looked almost young again.
Not thirty-eight.
Not the husband who had sat silently while his mother slapped me.
He looked like a frightened son waiting for his mother to tell him the nightmare wasn’t real.
“Lauren wasn’t pregnant.”
Diane lifted her chin.
“No.”
Rachel spoke through the phone.
“I have a hospital billing record.”
Michael flinched.
“What hospital?”
“St. Catherine’s.”
Diane snapped, “Those records prove nothing.”
Rachel’s voice sharpened.
“They prove Lauren Carter received prenatal care seven months before the first payment was made.”
Michael gripped the back of his chair.
I stared at him.
“You knew about this?”
“Not until recently.”
“How recently?”
He didn’t answer.
That hurt more than I expected.
“How long, Michael?”
“Six weeks.”
My laugh came out hollow.
“Six weeks?”
“I was trying to verify everything.”
“With my sister.”
“Yes.”
“Every Thursday.”
“Yes.”
“And every Thursday you came home and told me you were working late.”
His eyes filled with shame.
“Yes.”
Emma stood near the hallway.
I had forgotten she was there.
Her face was pale.
I immediately crossed the room.
“Sweetheart, go upstairs with Aunt Melissa.”
Michael’s cousin Melissa rose without hesitation.
Emma looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
I kissed her forehead.
“I will be.”
She glanced at Michael.
Then Diane.
She had seen enough adults lie in the last ten minutes to know my answer wasn’t entirely true.
Melissa took her upstairs.
When Emma disappeared, I turned back.
“You had six weeks to tell me.”
“I wanted certainty.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You wanted control.”
Michael looked wounded.
I didn’t care.
“You decided what I could handle.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“Your mother just hit me while you watched.”
I pointed toward the stairs.
“Our daughter saw it.”
My voice broke.
“Stop telling yourself silence is protection.”
Michael lowered his head.
Diane suddenly laughed.
“You’re making this about yourself.”
I turned toward her.
“You made it about me the second you put your hand on my face.”
Diane folded her arms.
“Lauren left Michael because she wanted money.”
Rachel interrupted.
“That’s not what the documents say.”
Diane’s expression hardened.
“What documents?”
Rachel paused.
Then said, “The agreement you signed.”
Michael stared at his mother.
“What agreement?”
Rachel answered quietly.
“The agreement paying Lauren to leave Chicago and never contact Michael again.”
This time Michael didn’t look shocked.
May you like
He looked shattered.
*
