“No. It’s over, so it doesn’t matter.” The words come out hard, but I stand my ground and maintain eye contact.
Vince rocks on his heels and looks to the left. “Good. So what do you have to tell him?”
“Something that’s none of your concern.” He narrows his eyes, but I don’t care.
“Tommy’s in a bit of hot water right now, sweetie, so you might want to be a little bit more forthcoming.” The way he says it makes my heart stop. I don't want Tommy to get hurt because of me. My mother's words ring in my head, it's all because of you.
“I’m pregnant.” The words fall from my mouth, and his eyes widen in surprise as he looks at my stomach. I feel the need to explain, so I blurt out, “It’s early. I can’t be any more than a few weeks along.”
“So it’s been going on for a few weeks, huh?” he asks.
“About that, yeah.” I answer him and he nods his head. His eyes stay pinned on me, like he can read my thoughts. He’s judging me. And along with me, Tommy.
“Are you sure it’s his?” he asks me with an odd expression.
“I don’t fuck around.” I bite out the words with a little anger and instantly regret it. He hardens his expression and stares back at me. “Yes,” I say.
“Why?” he asks me, without any indication of what he’s referring to.
“Why what?” I look at him with confusion. Surely he isn’t expecting me to tell him why women get pregnant. In my case it’s because I’m a fucking idiot who got lost in a man’s touch and wasn’t thinking straight.
“Why’d you go after him?” he asks me.
“I didn’t. It just happened. We didn’t mean for this to happen.” It strikes me that Tommy may be in deep shit. Really deep shit. “He tried to end it, more than once.” I breathe in deep, remembering how he left me, how he never showed and sent me a text. Each time he tried to break things off I knew it was for the best, but it still hurt.
His brows raise in humor. “So he was that good, huh?” He huffs a small laugh and I give him a sad smile in return. That’s all I can offer.
Vince puts a hand on my back and hesitantly gives me a pat as he says, “It’ll be alright. I’ll have him call you.” His comfort is awkward, like he doesn’t want me to cry, but he doesn’t know what to do to make me stop.
“He’s gonna be okay, right?” I ask him, before turning to walk away.
His eyes narrow, and I shake my head and wish I hadn’t said anything. “I shouldn’t ask questions. I take it back.” He looks at me for a long time and I just want to hide.
“My wife didn’t learn as fast as you. She’s got a real problem with being nosy.”
I look at him with a bit of worry.
“You know she tried to kill me once?” My mouth falls open in a little shock and I’m not sure what to say. “It was a horrible effort, really. But I’m just saying, shit can start out rough and end up alright.”
I stare back at him, speechless.
He smiles at me as he says, “Everything’s gonna be alright. I trust you’ll see that soon.”
Tonya
I'm still shaken up as I park my car. It's different to say I’m pregnant out loud. It makes me feel more vulnerable than I ever have before. It almost hurts, admitting the insecurity that I may be on my own and Tommy may truly want nothing to do with either myself or our baby. I take a look at my apartment building and I have to squint. Something's different. My heart pounds in my chest. The light, it's too dark. My breathing halts as I realize the street light is broken. Something's wrong. No, I'm just freaking out. It's okay. It's just a light. I tell myself that over and over as my eyes dart from my left to my right.
Something deep in my chest is telling me something is wrong. Something is not right.
I'm not safe. I hear my sister's voice screaming at me to run. “Run!”
Warning bells ring in my ears and I quickly turn the key in the ignition. But it's too late.
The window smashes and something hard crashes into my skull, splitting the skin on my forehead. I scream out and try to put the car into drive, but large hands reach in and grab my body. Blood drips down my face as strong hands wrap around my neck. I try to scream; I try to fight. The seat belt digs into my skin and holds me down as I hear the doors being unlocked. I open my eyes and see a large man wearing all black open the passenger side door and reach across the console. He's older, and his skin is tanned and wrinkled. His lips are thin and his eyes are deep set and dark. I try to move and get away, but I'm pinned in place by the man I can't see reaching in through the window.