Chapter Nine
Laynie
“Hi, Mum,” I let out softly as I walked home from the store. My fingers tremble as I hold the phone to my ear, the faint sounds of birds chirping surround me. Wind blows through the bare trees, burnt leaves drifting to the ground as I pull my jacket tighter to my chest.
She chirps back, “Hi, sweetie. Is it cold there? It’s stunningly beautiful up here. You should see the sky today. I never knew it could be this blue.”
My pulse picks up as I smile faintly. I bet she’ll paint it when she gets the chance. She won’t be able to stop herself.
“It’s completely opposite here.” My eyes lift to the grey sky that smells of rain.
“Well make sure you stay inside. I wouldn’t want you to get a cold or something. There’s nothing worse.”
My feet fumble as I swallow. I can think of something worse.
I decide to bite the bullet. Macie was right. There’s nobody else in the world who could understand me like my mum.
“Mum, there’s something that I need to tell you…” I say, a slight wariness in my tone.
She must sense my nerves, because I can feel her demeanor shift on the other end of the phone.
“What is it, Laynie girl? Did something happen?” Her words are warmer than they have been in months.
It makes a tear form in my right eye as I sniff, my throat constricting as I pull my keys out and unlock the front door to my childhood home.
“Something happened.” I close the door behind me and drop my grocery bag on the side table. It’s silent, which means Sadie is out, and that gives me a bit of reprieve. Freddie appears at the end of the hallway, tail swishing. The moment I see him, my heart cracks. “I did something stupid.”
Falling to the floor, my legs slide out, my butt hitting the floorboards as I let myself cry for the umpteenth time this week. Freddie trots over, face rubbing against my leg.
Mum’s voice sharpens. “Laynie, we all do stupid things. Are you hurt? Did you hurt someone? Is the house okay?”
My throat croaks as I shake my head and squeeze out, “It’s not the house. It’s not anyone else, I—” I hiccup, my body trembling as my fingers dig into my thigh, trying to ground myself to keep my anxiety from tearing through me. “Mum, I—I’m pregnant.”
There’s a numbing silence on the other end. My pulse rushes through my ears, pounding like a washing machine.
Mum coughs out, “How far along?”
“Ten weeks.”
Another beat of silence before she asks the one question that ruins me, “Is it Grayson’s?”
The cry that rips through my chest is loud enough to shake the house. Tears pour from my eyes like waterfalls of heat as I hang my head against my knees. Freddie attempts to help me, meowing and pawing at me, but I can’t bring myself to move.
“I wish it was,” I manage to hiccup through my sobs.
Mum sighs, not in a disappointed way, but more to say yeah, I wish it was him too. I wipe my nose clean.
“Who is the dad, then?” she asks once I’ve calmed down enough to not choke on my inhales.
“Sadie’s friend. He lives in Sydney.”
She hums quietly, and I feel the disappointment pouring through the speaker. “Your dad and I will be home in a few days.”
I shake my head, the house blurry around me as I grit out, “No. You’ve planned this for so long, and—”
“Laynie, we aren’t going to keep caravaning around while you deal with this. Did you really think we would?” Kind of. “We will still be a few days, but we’ll be home soon, pumpkin.” I have never been more grateful to have my mum. “I’ll tell your dad tonight. He’ll understand.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, clinging to my phone. “Are you mad at me?”
She gives a small scoff, making my brows pinch. “It would be a bit hypocritical of me to be mad at you, wouldn’t it?”
It would. “I guess.”
“Is this why Sadie is with you?” she questions.
My chin dips. “Yeah. She came as soon as I told her, which I know I should have told you earlier, but—”
“As long as you have someone there with you, that’s what matters.”
Despite her loving words, I feel the sinking in my chest. My parents love me, I know that, but they’ve never been as close as I’ve wanted them to be.
I’m not their priority, and it stings a little, but I can’t tell them that.
Not after all their encouragement for me to go out of my own and start my business.
“Thank you, Mum.”
“We’ll see you soon. I love you, Laynie girl.”
I smile. “I love you too, Mum.”