12. Hailey
CHAPTER 12
hailey
Father’s Day brunch at my parents’ house is slightly uncomfortable. I haven’t been in the same room with Graham and my dad since everything started happening between us, and to say the air is thick with discomfort would be an understatement. Graham seems to be taking everything in stride, falling easily into the conversation the two of them share. I, on the other hand, am trying to breathe through the waves of nausea from a lovely little mix of nerves and the smell of eggs benedict. Mental note: stay away from eggs.
Hannah sits relaxed in her chair, Liam’s arm draped over her shoulder, and my heart flutters. I love my sister, and seeing her finally get her head out of her ass and realize Liam is endgame makes me incredibly happy. I’m only slightly jealous that she gets to be with her person.
Graham must make a joke because my dad’s head falls backward as a deep belly laugh releases just as guilt rushes through me. This could very well ruin the relationship they’ve had for over twenty years.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself long enough to get through brunch, I glance in their direction for a moment just as Graham looks my way, giving me a quick wink, his lips twitching at the corners ever so slightly—just enough for me to know that he’s holding back the smile he reserves for every time I walk into a room.
My heart settles slightly. Food gets passed around and I fill my plate with a warm Belgian waffle and fresh fruit, skipping the egg and meat options because even the thought of them sets off a ripple effect throughout my body and I’m already on edge.
We all eat in comfortable silence, my sweet niece sitting to the right of Liam and clearing her plate like a champion eater until she’s had enough of sitting still. She’s already lasted longer than I thought she would have.
“Mila, if you’re finished, do you mind taking Charlotte to play in the backyard?”
“I don’t mind at all, Mrs. Cynthia,” she says to my mom’s request before facing Charlotte, whose eyes are lit up like a Christmas tree. Mila is so good with Charlie, and I wonder how she’d take the news of becoming a big sister. If that’s what Graham wants. If I find the courage to tell him.
“Excuse me, I’m just going to run to the restroom,” Graham excuses himself, my eyes tracking his every movement. He follows behind the girls as they skip off through the house, the room a little quieter until we all hear the back door shut and muffled giggles filling the air.
“So, any of my girls want to tell me who this belongs to?” my wicked witch of a mother sneers, waving a positive pregnancy test in her hand as if the goddamn thing was a spoon instead of a piss-coated stick—even if it does have a cap on it.
Everyone in the room freezes, and my heart lodges in my throat, bile rising slightly. I thought for sure taking the test at my parents’ house was a safe bet since I live at Graham’s, especially if I buried the damn thing under bathroom tissue in the wastebasket. I should have known better. Rookie mistake that is going to severely cost me.
All eyes in the room move to Hannah, Liam looking at his wife with stars in his, because of course Liam would be happy if Hannah got pregnant, he loves being a family man.
“Beauty, are you pregnant?” Liam whispers, but the quiet stillness of the room makes his words echo for all to hear.
“Oh, no, no, no,” she says as she frantically shakes her head. “We’ve been so careful, and my implant is still good. It’s not me.”
“Lo?” Hannah’s head whips to our sister, her eyebrows lifting in question. I wring my fingers together in a bruising grip under the table, having to really fight the nausea rolling through me right now.
“No. Absolutely not. Sorry to our parents if that’s what they’re expecting, but I have zero interest in being a mother. Ever.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Graham walks into the dining room, the tension thick and heavy, my nerves completely gone, leaving me just a shell of nausea and fear. I can feel the heat rise on my cheeks, my hands clammy, and I don’t know if my body is going to pass out or throw up. There’s a good chance it’s both. In fact, yes, for the love of god, please let me pass out, that would save me from this embarrassment and shitstorm that is sure to combust my life and Graham’s. I stand abruptly, needing some air, the room suddenly too small.
“Everything okay?” Graham asks as he walks back toward his seat. I’m thanking whatever is in my corner right now that Mila isn’t here to witness this explosion. That she’ll be shielded from this.
My mom waves the pregnancy test around in a flippant way as if it’s obvious.
“Someone’s pregnant, and apparently it isn’t Hannah, who we’d all expect to be this early into her marriage, all things considering.”
Liam releases a growl that reverberates through his chest for everyone at the table to hear. My eyes focus on the condensation dripping down my water glass, the little clear drips bubbling and slowly starting their descent. My ears are ringing now, and surely that’s not normal. I sway slightly on my feet, my hand resting on the back of my chair to stabilize myself.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, just let it go,” Hannah says to Liam in an effort to calm him down.
“It’s not Harlow, so that leaves . . .” everyone in the room looks my way, but the only pair of eyes I feel are Graham’s, forcing mine upward to meet his.
“Hailey?” he asks, his eyes squinting, his head tilting slightly to the side as he looks down at my belly, as if I could possibly be showing this early, and it would answer all of the impending questions. I close my eyes and nod my head slightly, admitting what everyone has already figured out.
To my surprise, Graham takes quick, measured steps in my direction, forgetting our current company, and places one of his large hands on the side of my face, the other on my lower abdomen, immediately enveloping me in his warmth and comfort.
“Honey, you’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” I reply hesitantly, my eyes flitting back and forth between his, trying to read his expression.
“Happy Father’s Day?” God, I’m a nightmare. Who says that? Graham chuckles and pulls me into a deep hug, his lips pressing to the top of my head. The room erupts in an uproar that pops our little bubble, my eyes going wide with panic.
“What the fuck is going on?” my dad nearly roars from across the table where he stands abruptly, his chair flipping backward behind him.
“Whoa, Dad! Easy!” Hannah shouts as Liam stands up and walks to get between my dad and Graham.
“Jay, we should talk, and not like this,” Graham rushes the words as he steps in front of me, the hand on my belly pushing me behind him.
“The fuck we will, Graham! Are you fucking my daughter ?”
I flinch at his crass words in front of our family about me. Even if that’s exactly what Graham has been doing.
“Jay, we’ve been friends a long damn time, let’s talk in private.”
“Answer the goddamn question! Is that your baby inside my daughter?”
Graham meets my dad’s eyes straight on, his voice steady when he speaks. “Yes, it is.”
“She’s half your fucking age, Graham! What the fuck have you done? Hailey, was this consensual?”
“Whoa, Jay, I get you’re pissed, but don’t fucking go there. Don’t say another word that you’ll regret,” Liam warns, his voice coming out in a tone I’ve never heard from him before—strong and domineering, one he must reserve for moments like this.
“He’s been fucking my little girl! He’s fucking dead to me!” I wince at his words, my heart sinking into the bile currently churning around in the pit of my very sensitive stomach.
“How long, Hailey?”
I move around Graham to face my father’s wrath, my eyes flicking to Hannah, who’s standing, bracing her palms flat on the table, her face full of sympathy. Jesus. Is this how she has felt all these years with our parents? She needs a hug. Hell, I need a hug and we aren’t even through this yet.
As I step next to Graham, his hand leaves my body and slides down my arm, clasping my palm. What’s left of my heart squeezes tightly. Wiping away my tears, I clear my throat of the knot currently threatening to choke me.
“Not long after I moved in with him. I pursued him. Graham fought it and tried to let me down easily, but I was persistent.”
“You’re a goddamn child, Hailey! You didn’t know what you were doing, he’s a forty-two-year-old male, he knows exactly how wrong this is!”
I see red. I don’t know where the courage comes from, but I finally find my voice. I won’t stand here and allow anyone—especially my father—to twist this into something sick and wrong, to make Graham out to be a predator.
“STOP right there, Dad. We’re done here. I have sat back for over twenty years and watched you and Mom rip apart Hannah, and now, the moment I am not your perfect little girl, you jump at the first chance to do the same to me. Say whatever you want to me, but I won’t stand here and let you make Graham out to be a monster. He’s the most caring, loyal, loving man I’ve ever met, and you could learn a damn thing or two about parenting from him. If he’s half the father to our baby as he is to Mila, they will always feel loved and cared for. This is our life, I’m an adult, and it’s not for you to judge.”
Taking a deep breath, I look up at Graham, whose eyes are already on me, glassy with unshed tears, and all the love and admiration in the world.
“Please take me home.”
“Yeah, honey. Let’s go.”
Graham pats Liam on the back and gives Hannah a nod as she reaches out and pulls me into a huge hug.
“I’ve got you. I’ve been through this at your age, but it seems like Graham is happy, and that’s not something I had on my side. I’m here for you no matter what. We’ll bring Mila home later, let her stay with us while you two go talk things through.”
I kiss her cheek as I pull away. “Thank you. I’ll need you.”
“Get out of here before Dad tries to break Graham’s face.”
With that, Graham and I walk out of my parents’ house and down the driveway to his car. The drive is spent in silence, and as we pull up to Graham’s beautiful two-story home, I climb out of the car, feeling like my entire world has just shattered when all I want right now is to be happy for the life that’s growing inside me.
Once we’re inside, I expect Graham to take a few moments for himself, at a minimum to decompress. I can’t imagine the weight he is feeling. He and my dad have known each other a long time and have been friends for longer than I’ve been alive.
Not wanting to add to his stress, I slip off my wedges and head toward my bedroom when Graham grabs my wrist, pulling me into his big body.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I assumed you would want some space.”
“Not from you. Never from you. Fuck, honey, is this why you’ve been so quiet?”
Guilt washes over me.
“Graham, I just ruined everything, I can’t blame you if you’re mad at me, or disappointed.”
“I don’t give a shit about anything but you right now, honey. My baby is really inside you?”
My eyes flutter closed at his words, my heart beating rapidly behind my ribs.
“Yes. I didn’t know how to tell you. I was so scared of all of that,” I confide as I wave to the door. “I was at my parents’ house and thought it was a safe place to take a test. I even hid it under the trash, but I clearly underestimated what a psychopath my mother is.”
“I’m so sorry you’ve been carrying this worry alone, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Graham, you don’t have to do that. This isn’t the 1800s, you haven’t ruined me and aren’t obligated to stay with me.”
“Have I not been clear enough with how I feel about you, Hailey? I’m not great with words, but I thought I was showing you.”
A tear escapes my eye and before I can wipe it away, his big hand cups my face, thumb swiping across my cheek in a soft caress. This man has such a hold on me, and my heart is teetering at his words as I hang on to hope.
“Baby, I’m sorry if I’ve left you confused over where we stand. We’re in this together, because I want you and no one else. My baby being inside you? That’s just the icing. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
Graham bends and lifts me then, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carries me through the house to my bedroom, kicking the door behind us. He strips us both of our clothes in unhurried motions. Laying me down gently on his bed, he climbs between my spread legs, lifting them onto his elbows and folding me under him. He doesn’t waste any time sinking in deep, filling me completely. We both moan as the pleasure spreads through us.
“God, honey, you feel so good. I love you, Hailey. I should have told you sooner.”
Oh, god. Tears escape my eyes as I look up at him.
“I love you, Graham, so much that I feel like my heart could burst.”
He captures my lips with his, kissing me while he makes love to me, a slow rock of his hips, our hands clasped together over my head. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and to have him love me in return is truly a dream come true.
We fuck slowly and intimately until our orgasms rise together, crashing over that sweet, euphoric cliff and into pure, intense bliss. Graham gathers me in his arms after, keeping his dick inside me, just as he always does, and I lay wrapped up, cocooned in his comfort and safety, where my heart beats to the rhythm of his.
“You’ve made me so happy, Hails. We’re going to tell Mila, and then I’m moving you out of this room and into mine. I already can’t sleep away from you, the last two nights were hell, and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to give you your space because of our agreement but I also wanted to be close to you.”
“You came in here?”
“Of course I did. We haven’t spent a night apart in weeks, where else would I go?”
His words are true, and I guess I knew deep down he would sneak in here, which is why I put the scrunchie on.
“I just needed time to process. I was on the pill, and I just wasn’t careful enough.”
“We weren’t careful at all, honey, but I’m glad it happened. So fucking glad. I can’t wait to see Mila as a big sister, and I hope, boy or girl, they look exactly like you.”
I release a rough exhale in relief. I was prepared to figure out how to do this on my own if I had to in order to protect Graham from the fallout. But I wanted this alternative.
“What about my dad?”
“He’s angry, Hails, but he’s not like your mom. In fact, I don’t get the appeal of her at all for someone like him, but to each their own. They were young when they got together. I don’t understand their relationship and they don’t have to understand ours. But I know Jay, and he loves you. He’ll come around.”
“They haven’t for Hannah.”
“We’ll take it day by day. We’re a team, honey. I’ve got you, and there’s nothing you need to navigate without my support.”
“You don’t know how much I needed to hear those words.”
“Damn, honey. I love you so much. It feels so good to finally say that out loud.”
I couldn’t agree more.