Page 54

We leave the doctor’s office, the world around me spinning like I’m on some sick carnival ride.

Triplets. I’m having triplets.

I clutch the ultrasound photos in my trembling hands, my mind racing a mile a minute.

How am I supposed to handle three babies on my own?

As soon as we’re outside, I collapse onto a bench, my breaths coming out in shallow gasps. Jasmine quickly wraps an arm around me, pulling me close.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she soothes, rubbing my back. “Breathe, Tasha. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay!”

Tears spill over, and I bury my face in my hands. “I can’t do this, Jaz. I’m so scared. How am I supposed to take care of three babies? I can’t even take care of myself right now.”

Jasmine’s voice is steady. “You don’t have to do this alone. Brody needs to know. He deserves to know.”

I shake my head with assurance, my throat tightening. “No, Jasmine. He’s already got his perfect life. I’m not going to mess that up for him. He said I was a complication. Well, I’m making things simpler for him by leaving.”

“But, Tasha… he’s their father,” she presses. “He has a right to be involved, to help. He has a duty to take care of them, at least financially.”

I look away, unable to face her. “I can’t, Jasmine. Not right now. It’s too much. I just… I can’t now.”

She pulls me into a tight hug, her breath warm against my ear. “Okay, okay. We’ll figure it out. But you don’t have to decide everything today.”

The drive back to Jasmine’s apartment feels surreal, like I’m trapped in a dream I can’t wake up from.

The city zooms past us in a blur of neon lights and billboards advertising everything from casinos to quickie weddings. I was excited to be here yesterday, but now it feels like the rug has been pulled out from under me.

Swinging between fear and the faintest flicker of hope, my thoughts are a tangled mess.

“I’ve got to work a double tonight,” Jasmine says as we pull up to her place. “I’ll be back late, so don’t wait up. Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge.”

She pauses, glancing at me with concern. “And hey, my credit cards on the counter. Get yourself something good to eat. Just don’t go over a hundred, okay?”

“Thanks, Jaz.” I force a small smile, nodding as she grabs her keys and rushes out the door. The apartment is quiet again, the silence pressing in on me.

As soon as the door clicks shut, all the strength I’ve been holding onto crumbles. It’s like the floor has fallen out from under me, and I’m free-falling into a dark abyss.

I drop to my knees, sobs ripping out of me in harsh, uneven gasps. The reality of it all slams into me: the pregnancy, the triplets, the fact that I’m alone in this.

“What am I going to do?” I whisper to the empty room. I clutch my stomach, feeling the swell that’s barely there. Tears, hot and relentless, stream down my face.

For the first time ever, I truly feel the weight of my decision to leave Brody behind.

And I’m not so sure it was the right one.

I sit on the edge of the bed, my phone trembling in my hand as I call my mom.

I don’t know why I’m doing this. Maybe I’m desperate for some kind of support, for someone to tell me it’s going to be okay.

But the moment her voice crackles through the line, I regret calling her at all.

“Pregnant?” she spits, her voice dripping with disdain. “Let me guess, you slept with your rich boss to get knocked up on purpose. You’re a gold digger.”

My heart twists painfully, but I swallow back the tears. I don’t even try to argue, there’s no point.

This is the woman who never believed in me, who’s always assumed the worst.

“Thanks for nothing, Mom,” I manage to choke out before hanging up. I stare at the phone, my vision blurred with unshed tears.