Chapter Four #3
“Jack,” Mona said, her voice snapping me out of my reverie. “Let's go.”
We went.
I don't remember much of the walk to the car, just the familiar weight of Samantha in my arms and the gentle sounds of her sobs.
What I do remember is that Caroline walked beside me all the way, talking in a low voice to my babygirl while shielding her from the production crew with her body.
Mona started behind us but ended up in front, clearing a path like a battering ram through the Call Your Daddy offices.
Somehow we made it back to the car. The McLaren was right where I left it, though this time around Mona took the driver's seat without us needing to exchange a word, while I carried Samantha into the back and Caroline took shotgun.
“You're going to be okay,” Caroline was saying, her voice as soothing and rhythmic as the sound of waves lapping against the shore. “You have so many people who love you, babygirl. They're not going to be able to wait to show you how much they care about you...”
“I think I'm gonna throw up,” Samantha groaned.
I was a little surprised she hadn't right there in the studio. “I'm right here, babygirl,” I promised, rubbing the space between her shoulder blades.
“No, no, oh God,” Samantha whimpered, rubbing her eyes. “I just realized I have to tell everyone about this! They all have to know!” She wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. “Oh fuck, I don't wanna, Daddy. I don't wanna have to say it—”
“I'll do it,” I said, making a snap decision. “You can go right upstairs and then I'll tell them everything. You don't even have to be in the room.”
Samantha relaxed a touch. “I don't know if I wanna hide, either,” she whispered. “Fuck, I'm so scared...”
“Kiki is going to have a battle plan within an hour,” Caroline assured Samantha. “The second that woman hears about this, she is going to go to work in a way that's normally only reserved for your enemies.”
“I'll be right there with her,” Mona said, her eyes still on the road. “And it'll be thirty minutes, tops.”
I had little doubt on that score.
We sped off, heading back to the house. I held Samantha so tight, my mind spinning with so many different worries, that I barely noticed when my babygirl slipped her phone out of her pocket and began doomscrolling.
“It's a blood test,” she said, snapping me back to the present moment. “Just a basic blood test will tell if Mom passed this to me, or...” Her gaze flickered to her stomach and she swallowed hard.
Or if Samantha passed it to the baby, I thought.
Neither of us dared say it.
“Babygirl, you don't have to worry about that right now.”
Samantha was already shaking her head. “Yes, I do. I want to know, Daddy. I need to know. It says that once I take the test, I'll get a result in two to three weeks—”
“It won't take that long,” Mona said, her voice radiating deadly calm. “Not nearly. I'll make sure of it.”
I couldn't even imagine the strings she was promising to pull with those words.
“We need to know as soon as possible,” Samantha insisted, still scrolling on her phone.
“I'm not going to run from this. And I'm not going to spend the next twenty years of my life—of our child’s life—wondering if this is something we need to brace ourselves for or not.” She paused, her lips compressing. “And then I'll talk to my Mom.”
“Babygirl?”
“I can't face that right now,” she said, gesturing vaguely. “Not until I know. If I'm safe, if the test is negative, if...” again she trailed off, her gaze traveling downward, “then that's one conversation. But if it's positive, then...”
This time I was ready with the hug. Her voice broke on the word positive; by the end of the next, she was a fucking wreck.
“Okay, babygirl,” I said, holding her through the sobs. “Just... do me a favor. Put the phone down for now. Alright? It's only going to upset you worse.”
“I don't see how I could be more upset,” Samantha murmured into my collar. But she did as I said.
We rode in silence for a while.
I'd almost thought Samantha had cried herself into unconsciousness when I heard her voice. She spoke so softly that it was barely audible; even Mona and Caroline in the front of the car probably didn't hear it.
“Daddy?”
I leaned in close, forehead to forehead. “Yeah, babygirl?”
Samantha marshaled her courage. “What you said in there... was that all true?”
Which part? That I'd take care of her no matter what happened? That I'd handle the incredibly difficult talk we were going to need to have with the whole harem once we got home? That I would always be Samantha's Daddy, and she would always be my babygirl?
Then I realized I didn't need to pick one.
She meant all of the above.
I planted a kiss on her brow. “Always,” I said, meaning it with every fiber of my being. “Babygirl, that is the easiest promise I have ever had to make.”
Samantha nodded. “Okay. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Take me home,” Samantha said, closing her eyes. “I just want to sit in a dark room for a while, Daddy. And I want you with me.”
I'd be there.
I wasn't going anywhere.