“Not a problem. Couldn’t pass up a moment to see my sister.”
Jesus, Mr. Sunshine over there, cool it with the peppiness, bro.
Penny smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Rather, it’s washed away and replaced with a knit in her brow.
She clears her throat. “Well, I kind of have something to tell you, and this is hard for me, so just bear with me as I attempt to find the words.”
Mr. Sunshine turns into a ball of concern as he leans forward and places his hand on her desk. “Is everything okay? Did they fire you? Who do I need to talk to?”
That would suck if she was fired, just because I know how much she loves this job, but on a positive—and I know this will make me sound like a total dick—that would mean that maybe I could get over this, well whatever this is that I’m feeling.
Call me a bastard, but fingers crossed she got fired.
“No, nothing like that,” she says as she twists her hands together. Damn it.
And then, she quickly glances at me and looks away.
Shit, don’t look at me. Why did she look at me? There’s no need to look at me like that, like we have something hidden between us, which I know we do, but she doesn’t need to make it known.
Wait . . .
Is that why we’re all fucking here? Is she going rogue?
Is she . . .
Oh fuck, is she going to tell Lawes about our night together?
No, she wouldn’t do that. Why would she? She didn’t want Lawes to know. There would be no reason for her to communicate that with him. Right? Plus, Posey is here. She wouldn’t say something that intimate with Posey around, the bologna-loving brute.
“Then what’s going on?” Pacey asks. “Did you post something that you shouldn’t have? We’ll defend you, don’t worry.”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Maybe if you actually let her speak, she’ll tell us,” I say before I can stop myself. I’m a goddamn bundle of nerves. I need Pacey to shut up so I can find out why we’re here.
Lawes pins me with a seething gaze—he doesn’t appreciate my outburst. I slowly melt in my chair, holding my hands up, not wanting to stir the pot any more.
“You know what, I don’t think this was a good idea,” Penny says while pushing away from her desk. “I’ll, uh, I’ll figure out a better time to do this.”
Okay, fair enough.
She is not in the mood to divulge whatever it is she needs to say, fine by me. Let’s pack up and get the hell out of here.
I start to rise from my chair when Lawes pushes me back down by the shoulder. “Penny, it’s okay. We’re cool. Whatever it is you called us up here for, we’re here to listen. What’s going on?”
Her eyes travel from Lawes, to Posey, and then land on me before she looks back at her brother.
On a deep breath, she finally says, “I called you here because I have to tell you that, uh . . .” She wets her lips. “I, um . . . I’m . . .”
“You’re what?” Pacey presses her.
“Well, you see, it all happened so fast . . .”
Oh my fuck, what is she going to say? She is going to tell him. I can feel it . . . she’s going to tell him about our night.
Why?
“What happened fast?”
I sink lower and lower into my chair, trying to cover my eyes. Maybe if I don’t see Pacey, he won’t see me.
“Uh . . .” she stumbles.
“Penny, just tell us.”
“Fine,” she squeaks. I wince, hold my breath, and then . . . “I’m pregnant.”
Pre . . . pre-what? My body shoots up, I uncover my eyes, and my heart lodges in my throat as all of the blood drains from my head and pools at my ankles.
Did I just hear that fucking correctly?
Did she say . . . gulp . . . pregnant?
“Wait . . . what?” Pacey asks as he pulls on his ear. He chuckles and says, “Jesus Christ, I thought you just said you’re pregnant.”
Yeah, that’s what I heard as well. Maybe I heard her wrong too.
Please, Jesus, I hope I heard her wrong.
“I did,” she says, and once again, I’ve lost all feeling in my legs, my arms, every goddamn piece of my body as I attempt to comprehend what she’s saying. “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Pacey asks, blinking a few times as if that will help him understand better. “As in there is a child in your stomach?” He points at her.
“Yes.” She winces.