CHAPTER TWELVE THEO
CHAPTER TWELVE
THEO
“You said there was something you wanted to talk to us about?”
My palms are sweating and I carefully wipe my hands on my napkin, swallowing the last bite of my taco. I lift my eyes, my gaze meeting my mother’s from across the table. “Yes.”
My father slowly leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is it?”
“It’s about Lucy…” I clear my throat, releasing a deep exhale. “She’s pregnant.”
My father closes his eyes and my mother leans forward, grabbing her glass of water. “How is she doing?”
“She’s doing alright. As well as she can.” I shrug, wiping my palms on the fronts of my pants this time. “The plan was for her to come so we could all talk about it.”
“You said she had to work, right?”
“Yeah.” I nod, glancing between both my parents. “So, things are a little more complicated than just her being pregnant.”
My dad is silent, his eyes trained on my face. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”
Well, shit. He beat me to it… even though it’s a lie. I look back and forth at my mom and my dad. His eyes are narrowed, dark clouds shadowing his irises. My mom’s face contorts, the color draining, as if she can’t believe the words she’s hearing.
I can’t look at them both like this. I have to tell them the truth. If there’s anyone I can trust to keep it between us, it’s them.
“No.” The word falls from my lips. I rake my hand through my hair. “Shit. I mean… It’s not, but we’re telling everyone it is. I need you guys to promise me you won’t tell anyone… not even her parents.”
My mom’s brows lift and she freezes. “You’re going to do what?”
“I’m going to pretend the baby is mine,” I admit, my voice unwavering. “I’m going to help her raise the baby.”
Her expression doesn’t falter. “Theodore…”
“She’s alone, Mom. She’s scared and I can do something about it.”
Her chest rises as she inhales deeply, slowly shaking her head. “This isn’t just ‘something’. This is your entire life.”
“I know.”
“This changes everything. What about your career? You’re gone all the time.”
I look at them both. “You guys did it. Having kids didn’t affect Dad’s career.”
She swallows roughly. “Are you ready to be responsible for a child?”
“I can’t let her do this alone, Mom.”
Dad finally speaks, after sitting in silence, watching me. “Does the real father know?”
“Yeah.” I look at him. “He doesn’t care.”
He exhales through his nose, heavy and drawn out. It’s almost as if that were the answer he was expecting.
“Who is he?”
“Riley,” my dad murmurs her name under his breath, reaching for her hand. “I don’t think that’s any of our business.”
“I think it is if our son is stepping in instead,” she fires back at him.
He backs down, immediately relaxing in his seat. If there’s anyone who has a handle on Nash Simmons, it’s my mother.
“It was some guy she met one night. A drunken, one-night stand. He’s washed his hands of the whole situation.”
My mom’s eyebrows tug closer together, her expression softening. “What about you?”
She knows how I’ve always felt about Lucy. She knows how watching her date other people has been slowly killing me inside. She knows something like this is going to change me on a personal, soul level.
My heart hammers in my chest. “I’ll figure it out.”
“That’s not an answer, Theo.”
I run my tongue over my top teeth. “It’s the only one I’ve got right now.”
There’s a moment of silence before my dad’s voice breaks through it.
He looks at me—I mean, really looks at me.
“I get it.” He glances at my mom, his thumb rubbing the side of her hand.
“When I met your mother, I walked into a similar situation, as you know. I had a choice and I chose to stay. I chose to be there for her and for you.”
It’s not news. They’ve always been honest with me about it, from a young age. There was no big reveal, no dramatic moment. They normalized it, but it didn’t change anything for me. Knowing he wasn’t my biological father never made things different between us.
He’s always just been my dad.
My mom wraps her other hand around his. “Nash…”
He looks at her and smiles before looking back at me. “I understand why you would do this for Lucy. Not only because of the way you’ve always felt about her, but also because of who you are as a person. You’re a good man, Theo.”
My chest tightens around his words. The corners of my eyes burn, and I blink the sensation away, although I don’t miss my mother lifting her hand to brush some tears away from her cheeks.
“There’s something you need to understand, though, if this is the choice you’re making.”
I swallow hard. “Okay.”
“This doesn’t work as a nice gesture. Sure, you’re doing an amazing thing to help your best friend, but this isn’t a favor. You don’t get to play the role of a father. You guys may be selling a story that you are the father, so there’s no pretending. You either are one, or you’re not.”
His words hit my chest like a ton of bricks.
“I know I’m not your biological father. You’ve always known that, but that was never the point. The point is, I showed up every day, for everything. There were no days off, there was no opting out of being involved in anything.”
My mom sniffles, swiping her eyes again. My dad leans forward slightly, squeezing her hand before moving it onto the table.
“That is what made me your father. If you do this, that is what it takes. You will be responsible for raising another human being. For showing up day in and day out for that baby and for Lucy, whether the two of you are together or not.”
The muscles in my jaw are tight and my chest constricts. “I know.”
“Do you?” he asks, his gaze unwavering. “No one is going to praise you for doing it. It’s going to be hard and exhausting sometimes, but you do it anyway.”
I suck in a deep breath, holding it before exhaling. This is everything I’ve needed to hear and everything that solidifies my choice. I’m not changing my mind now and I won’t be changing my mind in the future.
“Yes, sir.”
He holds my gaze a moment longer before he nods. “Good. You’re not alone in this. Your mother and I are here for whatever you need, whenever you may need it.”
Mom reaches across the table for my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We support whatever your decisions are. We are always here, Theo.”
I squeeze her hand back, feeling some of the weight ease from my chest. “Thank you, guys.”
“We love you,” Mom says, smiling as she sits back in her seat. “We love Lucy, too.”
“You guys are going to be great parents,” Dad adds, his voice soft with a tenderness he doesn’t always show. “We’re proud of you for doing what you think is right.”
I nod at them both, sitting back in my own seat. “Can we keep this between us, though? I don’t want Lucy embarrassed or anything, so it’s just better if we’re all on the same page with the same story.”
“Yes, of course,” Mom says, nodding. “Whatever you need us to tell everyone, we will.”
“Whatever you and Lucy need,” Dad iterates as he picks up his fork, piercing the last piece of steak on his plate, popping it into his mouth. His eyes are on mine with nothing but understanding.
I swallow hard and suck in a deep breath. “Thank you, both.”
Having their support and being able to tell them the truth lifted the weight a bit. It feels a bit easier to carry. I made a choice to take on the weight of this and its mine to bear.
Mine to carry.
They’re mine to keep safe.