Page 37 of It Happened Back Then (Nilsson Family #3)
I can’t move.
My hands grip the mattress like it’s the only thing keeping me from flying apart, and she repeats the words that now echo through my brain. “I’m pregnant.”
Those two words hang in the air, but I still don’t move. I’m frozen to the spot as I stare at her, my lips pressed into a tight line, heart pounding in my chest.
She’s shaking. I should hold her, I want to, but my head is spinning.
“Does that change your mind?” she asks again, voice so low I barely recognize it.
And it does. God, does it change my mind. But I don’t know how yet. All I know is my brain is spinning, my heart’s in my throat, and my gut is screaming something between fight for her and how could she not tell me?
I force myself to breathe, “We’re pregnant?” My voice cracks with fear and disbelief.
She nods but says nothing, and that’s what breaks me.
I run my hands through my hair, scraping my fingernails over my scalp until it stings. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because I was scared !” she yells. “Because I didn’t know what you’d do! Your dad already made it clear what he thinks of me. I could hear him telling you I trapped you. And I was afraid that’s what you would really think of me.”
My eyes narrow as her words sink in, confused on why she’s bringing up my dad. “Don’t put this on my dad. This is us . You and me. And for the record, no , I don’t think you trapped me. But obviously you don’t trust me enough or you would have told me the truth sooner.”
Her eyes well with tears. “I just found out a few days ago,” she responds softly. “We weren’t talking. I was avoiding you. I thought this would push you further away. I didn’t want this baby to be the reason you stayed if you really wanted to go.”
My heart hurts. I want to scream at her, You don’t get to decide what I want. I can’t believe she kept this from me; she took that test alone, and why? Because she thought so little of me that she believed I’d walk away just to protect some version of us she made up in her head.
“Where am I going, Blossom?”
Her eyes are red. Her hands tremble. She’s holding everything inside like she might break down if she lets go.
“Peach,” I whisper. “I don’t want to leave. I did that once, and I came back. For you. ”
The moment I use her nickname, her face crumples. The dam breaks. She starts to cry, and my heart just fucking shatters.
I drop to my knees in front of her. My hands reach out before I can think, pulling her into my arms, burying my face in her neck, in her hair, breathing her in like she’s the only thing keeping me alive .
“It’s always been you,” I murmur. “Nothing else has ever felt this right.”
She sobs harder, clutching the back of my shirt like she’s drowning. “I’m sorry,” she chokes out. “I should have come to you. There’s just so much and?—”
“Shh,” I whisper, holding her tighter. “None of that matters now. You’re here. We’re here.”
I pull back just enough to see her face, brushing her hair behind her ear, wiping her tears with the pad of my thumb.
I study her like it’s the last time I’ll ever see her because I need to memorize this.
All the years that got us right to this moment flash before me.
High school, me leaving for college, coming back to visit, the interview, moving back to Bluemoon—it all led to right now.
And then the full weight of the situation hits me like a mac truck.
“I’m going to be a dad,” I murmur, like the words are too big to say out loud.
She nods, smiling through the tears. “You are.”
And just like that, the anger melts away and the fear I had vanishes. All that’s left is her. Me. Us. Three of us.
I pull her into me again, this time slower, with more certainty. I press my forehead to hers, whispering a thousand silent promises I don’t know how to vocalize yet. We’re bound now, and I don’t know what comes next.
But I know for damn sure I’m not walking away.
Not now.
Not ever.