The Consequences of Forever (1) (21 page)

             
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said immediately.

             
“Neither do I. But we do need to talk. Sit down, please.”

             
I sat down on the couch facing the desk, and prepared myself. “I’m moving in with them,” I told him. “I can’t live here anymore.”

             
My dad nodded solemnly. “I know that, Lainey. I knew Julia was going to suggest that the minute she walked into the office, and I didn’t put up a fight. There’s no denying you’re better off with them, especially now.”

             
“Why, Dad?” I asked, more tears sliding by my blinking barrier. I wiped at them furiously. “Why did you do that to Nora?”

             
“It has nothing to do with Nora.”

             
“It has everything to do with Nora! You’re cheating on her, Dad.”

             
He sighed. “I couldn’t expect you to understand, Lainey,” he said, as if somehow the concept of infidelity was too great for my limited knowledge. I tried to imagine cheating on Adam, even being tempted to do so, and the image never came. I hated myself for a split second, for being like my father last June, for cheating on Scott the way I had, but then pushed the feelings away. That was a completely different situation. I hadn’t been committed to Scott the way he was to Nora. I didn’t love Scott the way he was supposed to love Nora. There was a different between an honest mistake and an immoral decision.

             
“You’re right,” I agreed. “I’ll never understand why you do half the things you do.”

             
“Neither will I.” An uncomfortable silence fell over us.

             
“She’s gone,” he said after a bit.

             
“Nora?” I asked, alarmed.

             
“No, Teagan. She packed her bags and left yesterday, right after…” He let his voice trail off. He didn’t have to finish the sentence for me to know what he meant.

             
“I would appreciate it if you never mention this to Nora, or Hannah, for that matter,” he continued. “It would be pointless now, to hurt them that way. I made a mistake, and it’s never going to happen again.”

             
“I won’t, but not because you asked me to. I don’t want to hurt either of them, regardless of what’s happened in the past few months.”

             
“Thank you.”

             
“How long has it been going on?” I asked, suddenly needing to know. Maybe what I had walked in on, maybe it had been the first time, a mistake. Teagan hadn’t left out of guilt, she’d left out of embarrassment. I wanted to believe that so fiercely, that for a moment I hoped he didn’t answer.

             
“I don’t think you want to know, sweetheart,” my dad said, sounding sad.

             
“How long?”

             
“The first month she was here.”

             
I said nothing to that. What could I possibly say? My father had been living a lie for the past three months. All those times he had been missing, especially right after I announced I was pregnant, he was with her, living a completely different life within his real one. I felt more betrayed than I ever had, in my life.

             
I stood up, preparing to leave. The silence was quickly becoming overwhelming, and there was nothing left to say. The family that I had come to depend on, that I’d hoped for for so long, was falling apart. My dad didn’t know the first thing about loyalty and faithfulness, my stepmother couldn’t stand to look at me, and my stepsister was angry with me, probably feeling abandoned. Oddly enough, that was what hurt the most; feeling as though I were abandoning the truest friend I’d ever had.

             
“I think you’ll be happier there, Lainey. I don’t know if that counts for anything, but I truly believe it.”

             
“You’re right about one thing,” I said softly, so softly I wasn’t sure he could even hear me. “It doesn’t count for anything.”

Chapter Eighteen

              “Do you want to wear something of mine?” Julia asked, poking her head into the guest room. I studied myself in the mirror, at the knee-length black dress I’d bought a year ago and never found a reason to wear. Dresses just weren’t my thing, but Hannah had conned me into the purchase, insisting “every girl needed a little black dress.”

             
“No,” I decided. “This should do. At least it fits.”

             
“Well, you look beautiful. I was more concerned about the look on your face.”

             
I sat at the edge of the bed and smiled up at her. “I guess I’m still trying to get used to my body. I feel like it hasn’t changed in years before this, so even the smallest bump feels strange.”

             
“Oh, I know. But you’ll get used to it, and once you do, it’ll get bigger and bigger until you feel like a balloon more than a person. Just wait for the second time around; with Adam, I gained more than sixty pounds. It was ridiculous.”

             
“But worth it,” I pointed out, and immediately blushed. It was weird to think of Adam as a baby, as being something to someone other than my boyfriend. I tried to picture this baby in eighteen years, and wondered if he and she would be in love with someone the way Adam was with me, or love someone the way I loved him. It was near impossible to imagine.

             
Julia beamed. “Well worth it,” she agreed, sitting down next to me and smoothing my hair back. “It’s crazy to think you’ve never met Greg before.”

             
What was crazy was how nervous I felt. Hours earlier, I was moving out of my house and into the Montgomery’s. Now I was wearing a dress I’d bought with no purpose in mind to a dinner where I’d meet the uncle of my unborn baby for the first time.

             
I pictured Greg as the intimidating type, because that was how he always appeared in Adam’s recollections of him. They were close as children, he’d always said, but that changed once Greg got a little older. He was twenty-one now, a junior at Princeton University, with every intention of following in their father’s footsteps. Adam admitted that he suspected their father favored Greg, but it didn’t seem to bother him too much. He and his mother were closer.

             
“I hope he likes me,” I admitted. I wasn’t sure how much more rejection I could handle.

             
“He will,” Julia reassured me. “He’ll have no reason not to.”

             
“Does he know?”

             
She shook her head. “I was going to tell him after we found out, but Ned thought it would be a better idea to wait until he came home. He didn’t end up coming down for Thanksgiving, so it should be an even bigger surprise for him.” She stood up and smoothed her dress over her thighs.

             
“Speaking of surprises, we really should be leaving now. Adam’s already downstairs waiting for us, and Ned called a few minutes ago and said he’s close to the restaurant.” She extended a hand to me, and I took it.

             
We headed downstairs, where Adam was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television. He looked less than happy. At his mother’s insistence, he’d gotten dressed up in yet another suit, though he’d won the battle of not having to wear a tie.

             
“Are you ready?” Julia asked, grabbing her purse off the coffee table. Adam glanced up and his eyes immediately rested on me. He smiled.

             
“You look beautiful.”

             
I looked down at the dress and then back at him, skeptical. “I don’t think so.”

             
“I do.” He stood up and walked over to me, embracing me. I relaxed slightly.

             
“Alright kids, time to go,” Julia said impatiently, but she was smiling.

             
We were headed to a restaurant I’d never been to before, but had heard plenty about. It specialized in seafood, provided by none other than Reeves Seafood Incorporated, and boasted the highest menu prices in all of Haven. To me, that was all the reason not to go, but when you were wealthy or at least borderline so, it probably didn’t matter much. Apparently it was Greg’s favorite restaurant in town.

             
Adam sat in the backseat with me, taking my hand and giving it a light squeeze. I knew he sensed how nervous I was, even though I didn’t fully understand why. My life had turned upside down more than once, and even though I’d lived at Bella Vista longer than I’d lived anywhere, it never really felt like home. At least, not the way I’d always imagined home should feel like.

             
When we got to the restaurant, the host informed us that Ned and Greg were already there, and led us to a table in the back, behind a large, fake waterfall. I stared at it for a few seconds, mesmerized, until I felt Adam tugging on my hand.

             
The family resemblance was undeniable; that was the first thing I noticed when we reached our table. All three of them had the same espresso colored eyes and dark hair, though Ned’s was beginning to turn grey at the temples. Greg was about an inch taller than Adam, but thinner and with less noticeably handsome features.

             
“Oh it’s so good to see you honey!” Julia exclaimed, embracing Greg immediately. A few people turned to stare, and he looked embarrassed. This bothered me, even though I knew I shouldn’t take it personally. Some people just really didn’t know what they had.

             
“You, too, Mom,” he said, patting her back lightly. She pulled away and studied him for a minute, as though she needed to commit his face to memory.

             
Greg turned away and focused his attention on Adam, and then me. He raised his eyebrows. “Hey, little brother,” he said. Julia moved away and took her seat, and Adam and Greg quickly shook hands.

             
“Hi, Greg. This is Lainey, my girlfriend,” Adam introduced us.

Greg’s eyes rested on for a moment, and I felt immediately uncomfortable, like he could sense everything I didn’t want him to know about me. I smiled nervously and he nodded, but made no move to offer a hand or a hug. I was perfectly fine with that.

              Adam pulled back a chair for me, and then sat beside me. A waiter came and filled the wine glasses already on the table with water, and Ned cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

             
“So, how did everything go earlier?” He asked. Ned had been away up north on a business trip all week, and had driven to pick Greg up, instead of having him drive down or take a plane, so he’d missed out on much of the excitement of my moving in.

             
“Everything went good,” Julia said. “We still have to pick up some things later on, but Lainey has enough to last for a bit.” She reached over and gave my hand a quick squeeze. “We’ll get her settled in.”

             
“What?” Greg asked, raising his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”

             
“Lainey has moved in with us,” Julia explained, turning back to her older son.

             
“When did this happen?”

             
“A few hours ago, actually.” Julia chuckled, but Greg didn’t look amused.

             
“Why?” He asked. “Aren’t you a little young to be moving your girlfriend in, Adam?”

             
Adam and Julia exchanged glances. “I’m guessing Dad didn’t tell you,” Adam remarked.

             
“Tell me what?”

             
“Lainey is pregnant, Greg,” Julia said, before Adam got the chance to. “She’s about fifteen weeks along right now, and we’ve decided it’s best for her to start living with us now, instead of waiting for the baby to arrive.”

             
“Are you serious?” Greg asked, his voice a little too loud. He didn’t look like an excited uncle to be, that was for sure. I reached for Adam’s hand under the table.

             
“Greg,” Ned warned, his voice low. “Don’t make a scene.”

             
“This is unbelievable,” Greg declared, ignoring his father. “I should have figured you’d pull something like this.”

             
“Pull something like what?” Adam asked, squeezing my hand too tightly. I winced and tried to pull it away, but his grip remained strong.

             
“Knocking a girl up before you graduate high school. How old is she, anyway? Fifteen?”

             
“Sixteen, and don’t talk about her like she isn’t sitting right here.”

             
“Well, all I can say is, don’t expect me to be buying this kid presents for Christmas and birthdays,” Greg said, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”

             
“I don’t expect shit from you, Greg,” Adam retorted. “I never did.”

             
“Boys,” Julia warned. “Stop arguing over this. Greg, you’re being very rude about this. I know having your brother becoming a father at eighteen isn’t something you might have pictured for him, but it happened and we’re dealing with it. And Adam, don’t talk to your brother like that.”

             
“I’d prefer not talking to him at all,” Adam said. Greg opened his mouth to reply, but seemed to think better of it, and just shook his head instead. Julia sighed, and Ned appeared focused on his menu.

             
“So I guess this rules college out, huh?” Greg asked. I assumed he had to have that one last little jab, and even Ned was starting to look a little annoyed.

             
“Yeah, but not all of us can be Princeton graduates like you, Greg,” Adam said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

             
“I’m not that surprised to hear the past part,” Greg admitted. “I never really figured you were heading there anyway.”

             
“Okay, enough!” Ned announced. “If I hear one more negative word out of either of you, I’m locking you both in a room together for the night and you can either talk it out or fight it out, but I’m done with it. Got it?”

             
Apparently they did, because all conversation and eye contact between them came to a sudden halt.

             
The rest of dinner passed by slowly, the conversation light and infrequent. I hated that silence seemed to follow me wherever I went, that families never seemed to get along when I pretended I was a part of them.

             
I was feeling worse about the situation by the time we were preparing to leave, but on the way out of the restaurant, Julia walked next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?” She asked, sounding concerned. “You barely said a word throughout dinner.”

             
I forced a smile. “I guess I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed,” I admitted.

             
“I’m sure you are. Today was a big day for you, and yesterday was maybe even a little worse. At least tomorrow is your last day of school before winter break, and then you can really get some much needed relaxation in.”

             
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I smiled, thinking of the week and a half of no school that lay ahead of me. Christmas fell on a Wednesday this year, so we only had one day this week, which was very mandatory since most teachers were waiting to hand out winter break assignments, and then we were free until the following Thursday. I’ve always enjoyed school, but after the last few weeks, I needed a break.

             
Greg drove home with Ned, and Adam and I drove back with Julia, who tried to start a conversation with Adam a few times, but was met with stony silence every time. Apparently his brother’s opinion mattered a lot more than he was willing to admit.

             
As soon as we got to the house, Adam started up the stairs, leaving me in the foyer, glancing nervously from each family member to the next. “Well, um, it was really nice meeting you, Greg,” I found myself saying, though I wasn’t entirely sure I meant it. He nodded, but didn’t bother saying anything back.

             
Julia gave me a long, warm hug and a kiss on the temple. “Sleep well, honey,” she said, smoothing my hair back. “Just remember, one more day and you’re free for nine.”

             
“Good night,” Ned added, and I smiled at him. I’d gotten to know him only a little more in the last month; he was almost always away on business, but apparently he waited until the holidays to start taking more time off. I wasn’t really sure where he stood on this entire situation, and I never felt secure enough to ask.

             
Adam’s door was closed, so I decided against stopping in and saying goodnight to him. He was clearly upset about everything that had happened at dinner, and I didn’t want to add to it. Deep down I was pretty sure none of this was my fault, that he and Greg simply didn’t have a good relationship, but there was still some doubt. It was hard to ignore the trail of dysfunction within families that seemed to follow me wherever I went.