Chapter 34
Lainey
“Anna? Does your offer still stand?” My voice shakes as I clutch my phone tighter. The quiet of my apartment feels deafening, the emptiness pressing against me from all sides.
“Of course, hon. Is everything okay?” Anna’s voice is warm, soothing, but the question makes my chest tighten.
“No.” I take a shaky breath, but it’s no use—the tears spill over, hot and relentless. “It’s not.”
There’s a pause before Anna’s voice returns, sharper now, edged with protective anger. “What happened? I haven’t heard from you since you told me you were pregnant. Did… gosh, I don’t even know his name. The baby daddy. Did he tell you he doesn’t want to be involved?”
“His name is Zach. Zach Darling,” I finally admit, my voice trembling.
Anna is silent for a moment before she asks incredulously, “The hockey player from the LA Knights?”
“Yeah. The same one,” I reply, a small, bitter laugh escaping despite the heaviness in my chest.
“Doesn’t he have a reputation?” she presses, her tone skeptical.
“He’s not like that if you get to know him,” I say, but even as I defend him, my voice falters. Tonight’s events replay in my mind, unraveling any confidence I had in that statement.
“Okay,” she says, her tone shifting to cautious understanding. “So, did Zach tell you he doesn’t want to be involved with the baby?”
“He did, at first,” I say quietly. “But he changed his mind. I guess. Tonight, he told me to move out.”
“What the fuck, Lainey,” Anna spits, her voice rising with outrage. “Do I need to come there to kick some ass?”
I let out a weak laugh through my tears. “No, Anna. It’s fine. It’s just… complicated.” The word feels hollow, inadequate to describe the storm of emotions swirling in my chest. Complicated doesn’t capture the way Zach looked at me tonight, or how it felt to hear him say I wasn’t what he needed.
“Where are you right now?” Anna asks, her voice softening. “Isn’t tonight Chloe’s wedding?”
“Yeah, it was. We sent Chloe and Wyatt off already. I’m back at my apartment.” I don’t mention the leak that’s still under construction, the one that forced me to move in with Zach in the first place. If I did, Anna would insist I come straight to her, and I can’t burden her with this—not tonight.
The truth is, I didn’t know where else to go. I wasn’t going to ruin Chloe’s wedding night by showing up at her door in tears. And Janelle… she was having a good time at the reception. Maybe she went home with someone. Either way, I couldn’t bring myself to disrupt her fun.
Anna yawns, and guilt prickles at the edges of my sadness. I glance at the clock and realize how late it is. “Oh gosh, I forgot about the time difference. It’s late for you. I’ll let you go.”
“It’s fine,” Anna says, but I can hear the weariness in her voice.
“No,” I insist. “Go back to sleep. I’m going to talk to Janelle in the morning, get everything situated with work, and I’ll probably be there in a few days.”
Anna exhales loudly, clearly biting back more questions. After a moment, her voice softens. “You’re sure you don’t want to talk about it, hon? I don’t want you bottling your feelings up. You did that a lot after Mom passed.”
The mention of Mom hits like a punch to the gut, and I blink rapidly, trying to hold back another wave of tears. “I miss Mom,” I whisper.
“I miss Mom too,” Anna says softly. Her voice breaks just enough to remind me that I’m not alone in my grief. “She’d be so proud of the woman you are today, Lainey. You’re caring, loving, and you always go out of your way to be there for everyone. You take care of everyone.”
The words are meant to comfort me, but they cut deeper than she realizes. It’s true—I’ve spent my whole life trying to take care of everyone else. For a moment, I thought Zach and I were building something real, a partnership where we could take care of each other.
“It’s time you take care of yourself, hon,” Anna continues, her voice firm but kind. “You deserve everything. And I mean everything.”
I let out a shaky breath, her words settling over me like a warm blanket. She’s right. I have to keep moving forward—not just for the baby, but for myself. My hand moves instinctively to my belly, cradling the life growing inside me.
“I’m going to be okay,” I whisper, more to myself than anyone else.
“You will,” Anna says, the conviction in her voice so strong it almost steadies me. “You’re stronger than you think. But you don’t have to do it alone. Joshua and I can’t wait to see you.”
A small smile tugs at my lips. “I can’t wait to see you too. Give Joshua a big hug for me, okay?”
“I will. And, Lainey…” Her voice softens, filling with love. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I reply, the words heavy with gratitude. “Good night, Anna.”
“Good night, hon. Call me if you need anything.”
The line goes quiet, leaving me in the silence of my apartment. I sit there for a moment, holding my phone in one hand and cradling my belly with the other. The weight of everything presses down on me, but Anna’s words echo in my mind.
Take care of yourself. You deserve everything.
I stand in the middle of my apartment, packing up the last of my things into a small suitcase. The apartment is quiet, save for the occasional rustling of clothes and the soft hum of the phone pressed to my ear.
“Are you sure about this?” Chloe’s voice is laced with concern, her tone soft but insistent.
“Yeah, Anna is expecting me,” I reply, zipping up the bag and glancing toward the clock. There’s still time to finish getting everything ready before I leave, but her question lingers in the air, heavier than I expected.
“I’m going to miss you like crazy,” Chloe says, her voice cracking slightly.
I smile, though my chest tightens. “Chloe, you’re leaving for your honeymoon, anyway. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Florida is far, Lainey,” she says, ignoring my attempt to brush it off.
“It’s only a five-hour flight,” I remind her, though I can tell the distance is weighing on her more than the time.
She lets out a sigh. “What time is your flight?”
“Six,” I answer, sitting on the edge of my couch and picking at a loose thread on my jeans. “It gives me enough time to handle everything here before heading out.”
“You’re leaving without saying goodbye to me in person?” she exclaims, her tone shifting to playful indignation, though I can hear the undercurrent of real sadness in her voice.
I laugh softly, shaking my head even though she can’t see me. “You’ll be at the airport with Wyatt. Your honeymoon flight leaves earlier, remember?”
“Not the same,” she mutters. “I wanted a proper goodbye.”
“You’ll survive,” I tease, but my voice softens as I continue. “We’ll FaceTime as soon as I get to Anna’s, and you can tell me all about your honeymoon.”
“Does Janelle know you’re leaving?” Chloe asks suddenly.
“Yeah,” I reply, standing to double-check my bag. “I talked to her earlier this week. She wasn’t thrilled, but she understood.”
Chloe hums, still not fully appeased. “I don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to like it,” I say gently, trying to inject some lightness into my tone.
“Fine,” she huffs. “But you’d better text me when you land. And send pictures of Joshua. That kid is too cute.”
“Deal,” I reply.
As I hang up, the quiet settles over me again. I glance around the apartment, taking in the boxes stacked in the corner, and the little reminders of the life I’d started to build here. My hand instinctively moves to my belly, cradling the small bump.
“It’s time to go, baby,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
I grab my suitcase handle, rolling it toward the door. The sound of the wheels against the floor is loud in the stillness, a stark reminder that everything is about to change.
Just as I reach for the doorknob, my phone buzzes in my pocket with a flight update. I glance down at the screen, the words blurring for a moment before coming into focus. Gate updated.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. When I open them, I glance back at the apartment one last time.