Page 42 of Summer’s Echo
The house was unusually quiet. My sisters were visiting my aunt in Chicago, and Mum was taking full advantage of the peace with a day of self-care.
I’d called her earlier to make sure she was cool with Summer coming over, and of course, she’d given me her standard lecture about behaving.
I nodded and agreed, promising like the obedient son I was.
Misbehaving wasn’t really an option, anyway.
Summer wouldn’t let it be. Yeah, we’d kissed and touched here and there—mostly in the basement when we were “watching TV”—but we hadn’t gone all the way since her birthday.
Eight weeks, four days, and about nine hours ago.
Not that I was counting or anything. I wanted to—damn, did I want to—but I wasn’t about to push her.
That night had been everything to me, and I’d wait as long as it took for her to be ready again.
The doorbell rang, and I practically floated down the stairs.
My excitement to see Summer was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it.
It had only been a few days, but my pussy-whipped self missed her like crazy.
When I opened the door, there she was…just so damn cute.
She had on this simple blue T-shirt dress that fell just right, her thong sandals showing off freshly polished toes, and her braids were tied into a messy bun that somehow looked perfect.
No makeup, just her fresh, natural beauty shining through.
“Hey, Sunshine,” I greeted, pulling her into a hug.
My lips found hers in a soft kiss because, honestly, I couldn’t resist. The fact that this girl—Summer Knight—was mine still felt unreal.
“Hey,” she replied, her tone flat, holding a bag that I hoped had Sonic in it. I grabbed her hand, leading her upstairs, but she hesitated at the bottom of the staircase, giving me a look like I’d lost my damn mind.
“I thought your mom wasn’t here,” she said.
“She’s not,” I reassured her with a grin. “She said it’s cool. I just want to show you the stuff I got for my dorm room.”
She nodded but still looked skeptical, like we were sneaking around. Once we made it upstairs, I kissed her temple. “We’re good. I promise.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reached and pulled her to stand between my legs, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“What’s wrong, grumpy?” I teased, nuzzling my face into her stomach. “Did you bring me something good?”
Instead of cracking one of her usual jokes, Summer stayed quiet.
Too quiet. I pulled back, focused on the contents of the bag, which she’d silently dumped onto the bed.
My grin vanished. Lying there, scattered across my neatly made bed, were three different pregnancy tests.
My throat went dry, my heart drumming as I stared at the boxes.
When I looked up, Summer was already watching me, her jaw tight from fear and tension.
“Sun…” I croaked. “What…?”
Her lips parted, but no words came out. The silence between us stretched, heavy and stagnant.
“Summer, what is this?” I asked, the thud in my heart beating like a chorus of bass drums.
She shook her head with a slight shrug, uncertainty written all over her. “My period hasn’t come,” she finally said.
“I–I thought you said you were cramping. That’s why I couldn’t come over the other day,” I said, confusion and concern thick in my voice. I studied her, searching for any understanding, but she refused to meet my eyes.
“I lied,” she blurted, her voice trembling.
“I was hoping…praying for cramps. Praying that it would come, but it didn’t.
It–It hasn’t. Echo, what am I going to do?
” Her words came out in a rush, uneasy and unfiltered, her eyes finally locking onto mine.
A storm of dismay swirled in them, threatening to drown us both.
Panting roughly, she was on the brink of a panic attack. I didn’t think; I just reacted. Closing the gap between us, I wrapped her tightly in my arms, pulling her into my chest.
“Baby,” I whispered, stroking the back of her head, “you’re not in this by yourself, okay?” I tilted her chin gently, needing her to understand. “You’re not alone, Summer,” I repeated over and over until she gave me a shaky nod.
I glanced at the tests spread out on the bed, staring back at me like ticking time bombs. The unopened boxes sat silently, their presence loud and rambunctious, like they were waiting to detonate. She wanted to do this together, that much was clear.
Swallowing hard, I looked at Summer. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her t-shirt dress.
Her shoulders were stiff, her eyes darting anywhere but at me.
It was rare to see her like this—so unsure, so vulnerable.
It made me want to wrap her in my arms again and shield her from whatever truth we were about to uncover.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “It’s probably nothing, but we have to find out.” My voice was steadier than I felt, the calm tone surprising even me.
Clasping her hand in mine, I led her to the Jack and Jill bathroom that my brother and I shared.
The air in the room felt heavier than we’d ever experienced together.
The mundane, boyish details of this space felt at odds with the gravity of the moment.
Samir’s Iron Man toothbrush and a slightly damp towel hanging on the hook.
My own razor sat in its holder, a tool I’d only started using a few months ago when the faintest stubble had shown up.
Summer wouldn’t let me leave. She peed on all three tests, right there in front of me, the tension between us as evident as the tile beneath our feet.
After cleaning herself and washing her hands, we sat on the bathroom floor, leaning against the tub.
I held her close, my knuckle brushing gently along her cheek in a rhythm meant to calm her—and maybe me.
Those four minutes stretched into an eternity, each second laden with instability.
In that span of brutal silence, my mind played tricks on me.
Instead of despair, I started building an imaginary life with my Sunshine—attending the same college, renting a small apartment, and raising our baby side by side.
The load of it wasn’t light, but the idea of it didn’t terrify me.
It felt almost…possible. Then, the timer on my watch jolted me out of my daze, as if telling me to wake the hell up and get real .
Summer’s face told a completely different story.
She wasn’t constructing mythical futures in her head.
She looked utterly wrecked—terrified, as if her world had already crumbled.
Her knees were drawn tightly to her chest, her body rocking faintly like a leaf caught in a relentless wind.
Peeling her off my chest, my body stammered a little before standing.
Her gaze stayed fixed on some invisible point, refusing to follow me as I turned to the tests.
I swallowed, but the mountain building in my throat wouldn’t move.
It was a visceral punch to my gut, stealing the air from my lungs. Two pink lines. On all three tests.
Summer was pregnant.
“Summer…” I croaked, the scratchy tone of my voice frayed with remnants of the boy on the verge of becoming a man.
I reached for her. She didn’t move. I bent, scooping her up like I could somehow carry both her and this crushing new reality.
Her petite frame folded into me, trembling, her tears soaking my shirt.
Together, we stared at the tests, hoping for a miracle that wasn’t coming.
The lines remained as bright and clear as the new truth we were being forced to accept.
“Hey, look at me,” I whispered, cupping her face. “Summer, look at me.” She lifted her tear-streaked face reluctantly, her eyes glassy with despair. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
She shook her head, tears falling harder now, her voice broken. “No, E. It’s not.”
Her sob hit me like a wrecking ball, and I couldn’t hold back my own tears. We stood there, locked in this debilitating bubble of grief and angst like a boulder crushing us both.
“Echo! What is going on?” My mother’s voice cut through the air like a blade, pulling us violently back to the moment.
Her footsteps stopped abruptly in the doorway.
Her sharp, questioning eyes darted from the tests on the counter to Summer, then to me.
“Is she pregnant?” she asked, her voice rising into an almost shrill pitch.
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it almost impossible to speak. I held Summer tighter, as if shielding her from the monsoon that was yet to come. “Yes, Mum,” I said, my voice wavering, taking on that awkward pubescent crack.
Her reaction was immediate. “Echo. No!”
The anguish in her voice echoed through the small space, a siren marking the magnitude of the moment. Summer buried her face deeper into my neck, trying her best to hide in me. I tightened my hold on her, bracing us both for what came next.