Page 41 of Snowed In with My Best Friend's Dad
The next issue was Lindsay and Brett. At some point, I wouldn't be able to hide my pregnancy. What would I tell her? For a moment, I wondered if Oliver would pretend to be my baby's daddy, but that was nuts. The biggest worry was what if Lindsay told Brett that I was pregnant? Would he know he was the father? Could I persuade him that it was someone else’s? I should’ve never admitted to being a virgin.
The solution would be to move back home and hide my pregnancy from Lindsay and Brett. My heart ached at letting go of Lindsay’s friendship, but it had to be done.
I spent the next week executing my plan. I made arrangements to take online versions of my classes and do my teacher internship closer to my dad's house. I packed up my things, which wasn't much since Lindsay had furnished everything. I basically rented from her.
It was cowardly of me, but I waited to leave until she was off with Liam. I left her a note telling her I was sorry, but I had to leave.
In my old car, packed with everything I owned, I headed home. On the way, I stopped at the cell phone store to get a new number to cut all ties.
I arrived home, knowing my father would take me in and support my decision to keep the baby, but I was also sure he'd be disappointed at my irresponsibility. He’d tell me to make the baby’s daddy pay his share, but I was ready to tell him I didn't know the father. That he was an anonymous hookup at a New Year’s party. He’d be shocked and disappointed about that as well, but it had to be done.
I parked in the driveway and lugged my bag up to the house. I knocked and then opened the door. "Hey, Dad. I'm home."
15
Brett
January was always a hopping month in both of my businesses as people made New Year’s resolutions for better health. By February, business was nearly back to normal as they abandoned their goals. Now mid-February, life was back to normal, or as much as it could be after my encounters with Miranda. The woman was proving hard to forget. The worst was the guilt over the way I treated her on New Year's Eve. The things I said... I would have liked to apologize, but seeing her wasn't a good idea. The fact that she took off without letting Lindsay know where she was going told me she didn’t want to be found.
Aside from all that, life was back to homeostasis. Even Lindsay had found time to visit tonight. I was making her spaghetti, and of course, it brought back memories of Christmas at the cabin with Miranda.
The front door opened and then shut. "Dad?”
"In the kitchen, Linds."
She entered carrying a bottle of red wine and headed to the drawer to get the corkscrew. Her movements were abrupt, as if she were pissed at my cabinetry.
“Is everything okay?" I asked as I stirred the sauce.
“I'm pissed at my roommate. Or should I say, my former roommate.” She continued to scrounge through the drawer.
I tensed, not wanting to ask about Miranda but knowing I needed to if I was going to be a good father. "What happened?"
"She just left. Poof. Gone." She let out an exasperatedugh. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Miranda or her inability to find the corkscrew.
I nudged her aside, finding the corkscrew and taking the bottle from her to open it. "What do you mean, she just left?"
“I mean, I came home one day, and she was gone. Her phone is disconnected. She’s gone.”
Worry grew. Had something happened to her? "Did you call the police? When did this happen?”
"About a week ago, and no, I didn't call the police. She wasn't kidnapped. She packed all her things, left a note that basically said she had to leave, and she moved out. No advance notice. No reason. No nothing." She took the wine I handed her.
"Did you have a fight?"
"No!" She looked at me in exasperation. Then she shook her head. "I don't know what to think. I mean, maybe she had a breakdown or something. If that’s the case, then I’ll feel like a shitty friend for not noticing that she was cracking up and being pissed.”
"A breakdown?" What the hell? Miranda struck me as a strong woman. Then again, she’d endured a lot in her life and I was truly despicable to her.
"She’s been acting differently ever since the new year started.”
My gut clenched as the guilt burned. This could be my fault.
"At first, I just thought she was gung-ho about the last semester of school. She's studious like that, and don't say anything about my not being studious."
I held my hands out in surrender and pursed my lips shut.
"Anyway, she was even more so this semester. All she did was go to class and study. I warned her that she couldn’t live like that without burning out, and I thought she realized I was right when she said she was going to spend the weekend resting. But when I finally got home, she was gone. And I haven’t been able to find her on campus.”
