"Are you freaking kidding me?" screamed Lindsey so loudly that he had to hold the phone away from his ear. "Our baby girl is pregnant, she's crying and upset, and you can't come down because you have a fucking date? Once again, your whore is more important to you than your own daughter."
Matthew's control snapped. "How dare you!" he hissed. "For you to call another woman a whore is the most hypocritical thing you've ever said, given that high priced call girls don't spread their legs as often as you do. And for you to call Sasha - the finest, most decent person I've ever known - such a disgusting term is beyond belief. So shut the fuck up about her, Linz, because you aren't even worthy of breathing the same air as she does. As far as Hayley is concerned, you know damned well that I've been there every single time you've called. I fail to see how waiting until the morning to deal with this is going to make any difference."
"Why don't you tell her that yourself, Matt?" jeered Lindsey. "Here, Hayley. Your father wants to talk to you."
He was caught completely off guard, not having anticipated that Lindsey would wash her hands of the matter and hand the phone off to Hayley. And there was no way he could prevent the tug on his heart when he heard his daughter's tearful, choked-up voice.
"Daddy?" she whispered, sounding far more like the little girl of six who had once followed him everywhere than the sullen sixteen year old of late. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. And I'm so scared. Can you please come over? I really need you right now, Daddy."
Matthew scrubbed a hand over his face in abject frustration, quietly cursing his ex for intentionally placing him in such a despicable position. "All right," he agreed reluctantly. "Give me a few minutes to make a phone call, and then I'll be over. And be prepared, young lady, to give me some answers. I want to know how this happened, who the father of this baby is, and what your intentions are. Don't think for a minute that you're going to dodge my questions. I'll see you soon."
Angrily, he tossed his phone on the bed after ending the call, wishing instead that he could throw it against the window. With jerky motions, he stripped off the suit and tie he'd taken such care in selecting, tossing the discarded garments carelessly on the bedroom floor. As he re-dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, the ballet tickets caught his eye again, and the reminder of what he had to do next made the gorge rise in his throat. Reluctantly, he picked up his phone and placed the call.
"Hi," greeted Sasha. "I'm almost ready. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this evening. "
Matthew wondered helplessly what rotten thing he had done in his life to warrant this much misery. "I know, sweetheart. Believe me, I was, too. And you're going to hate me forever, but I'm going to have to back out of our date tonight. I'm so sorry, Sasha."
There was silence for several seconds on the other end, before she replied. "Oh. That's - well, kind of heartbreaking, for lack of a better word. Should I even bother to ask or just assume this has something to do with Hayley again?"
He was taken aback by the terse, almost angry tone of her voice, given that he'd never once seen or heard her getting upset. But he figured that even someone as tolerant as Sasha had her limits, and cancelling their plans this evening - the ones she'd been so excited about - might have pushed her just a bit too far.
"Yeah, it's about Hayley," he admitted tiredly. "It seems that she's pregnant. Lindsey found out accidentally and all hell is breaking loose right now. I tried to put this off, honestly I did, but she's sixteen years old and crying her eyes out, and I'd feel like the worst father ever if I didn't go sort this whole mess out tonight."
"Pregnant?" asked Sasha in disbelief. "She's just a little girl, Matthew. I mean, obviously she's old enough biologically to get pregnant, but emotionally - wow. I can't even imagine how upset you must be right now. What are you going to do?"
"Hell if I know," he acknowledged. "But I told Hayley that I expect answers - plenty of them - and I think she knows I mean business. Meanwhile, I feel like a heel - once again - for canceling on you tonight, Sasha. I know how much you were looking forward to this evening."
"I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed, Matthew. There was something really important I wanted to talk to you about over dinner, too, but I suppose that will have to wait. You'd better go see what the situation is with Hayley."