12 - Haley
12
Haley
Sara was asleep on the couch in my above-the-garage apartment when I got home. I gently woke her, and she sleepily said, “I want to hear all about it in the morning,” before retiring to the main house.
I checked to make sure Bran was sleeping, then got ready for bed.
But even though my body was exhausted from everything that had happened tonight, my mind raced.
Bran had never met his father. Lucas didn’t even know the boy existed until tonight. Yet both of them shared one unique quirk: they whistled while peeing.
How the hell was that possible? It’s not like there was a whistles-while-peeing gene that could be passed down from father to son.
Sara came over the next morning while Brandon was finishing up his breakfast. “Bran Bran, can you go play in your room? I need to talk to your mom.”
“Is it about the play date?” Bran asked.
I somehow kept my face totally blank. “No. It’s about something else.”
Bran thought about this for a moment, then hopped down from the chair and went running into his room.
“It most certainly is about your play date,” Sara told me. “Start from the beginning. I want to hear every detail about the threesome.”
I calmly sipped my coffee. “I promise to tell you all about it. But first, I have to confess something to you.”
Sara slowly settled her very pregnant bulk onto the couch. “I don’t like the sound of this. Is it bad?”
“Maybe.” I sat in the chair across from her, took a deep breath, and then blurted it out. “Lucas is Bran’s father.”
My sister stared at me. “I’ve had stomach cramps all morning, Haley. I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“I’m not joking,” I calmly insisted. “Bran is Lucas’s son.”
“That makes zero sense. You and Lucas broke up senior year. Spring of 2018.” She furrowed her brow. “Bran was born in late 2020.”
“It was my second year of college,” I explained. “I was home for winter break. Lucas hadn’t moved out to Detroit yet. His parents were gone, so I went over to his place, and…” I trailed off with a grimace.
“You lied to me,” Sara said, voice thick with emotion. “You said it was a random college hook-up.”
Even though I technically hadn’t lied, my guilt bubbled up inside me, white-hot. I leaned over and took her hand in mine. “I’m so sorry, Sara. I wanted to tell you, but I was ashamed. You have to understand.”
She shook her head. “ Maybe I can put myself in your shoes and see why you didn’t tell me the truth, because I definitely would’ve judged you for it. But I’m going to be mad at you for a while.”
“I don’t blame you. I should have told you sooner.” Her reaction wasn’t as bad as I expected, and it felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My sister was the first person I had ever told.
Sara let out a very long sigh, and rested her hands on her belly. “If I had known the truth, I would have given you very different advice last night. Does Lucas know?”
I shook my head. “Last night was the first time I’ve even told Lucas I have a son. But I lied and said that Bran is four.”
“I can’t believe it’s Lucas,” Sara said. “You’ve always been tight-lipped about how it happened. I pictured some nerdy college boy. Why didn’t you tell him?”
“Because Lucas hates children,” I explained. “Back in high school, he made that very clear. He used to talk about wanting to get a vasectomy as soon as possible.”
“I guess that didn’t happen,” Sara chuckled.
“But you can understand my position, right?” I pressed. I wanted validation from my sister now that she knew. “Lucas and I weren’t compatible. He had no ambition, no future prospects beyond working as a mechanic. He just wanted to smoke weed all day and watch cartoons while eating cereal.”
“You could have gotten financial help,” Sara said. “Child support.”
“In exchange for being permanently attached to Lucas Hollister,” I retorted. “Think about that. Being connected to your high school boyfriend forever . What would you do?”
Sara shivered. “Okay, you make a good point. I still wish you had told me sooner.” Her eyes cut up to mine. “Why are you telling me now? Are you thinking about revealing to Lucas that—”
“Of course not,” I interrupted. “There’s no point in telling him now. Last night was definitely just a one-time thing. I don’t want to see Lucas again.”
“So, the threesome didn’t blow your mind?”
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Bran was still in the other room. “Well, that’s the thing. It wasn’t a threesome. While we were getting started… Jordan Mayfield walked in.”
Sara gasped and leaned as far forward as her belly would allow. “NO. WAY. Start over. Tell me everything. And don’t you dare skip any details.”