Page 61 of Mom Com

“So am I,” he says. “I’m surprised they even let Benny on the team.”

To which Benny yells, “Dude, my dick can throw better than you.”

“Jake, it’s important,” I try again.

He shrugs me off, turning once again to his friends and catching the ball. Panic starts to set in. It took me four full days to leave my house, my bedroom really. And pulling up to this school, looking for Jake’s truck, waiting for Wilder’s car to leave before I’d get out, took everything I had. My resolve is wearing thin, my upset materializing before I can stop it.

I wipe my eyes, turning around and trying to hide my face as I walk away. And worse still, I can feel his friends watching me.

But before I reach the edge of the field, Jake jogs to catch up with me.

I stop, looking up at him and sniffling, wishing I’d just stayed in my bedroom where I could be messy without any observers.

“So, what’s this important thing you need to tell me?” he says, a little concern seeping past the hard edge he had a minute ago.

I fidget with my coat, working up to it. “Can we go somewhere?”

He shakes his head. “I’m giving Benny a ride home. But it wouldn’t matter anyway because I’m busy today.”

I exhale, folding my arms around myself. In my head, I pictured marching up to him and telling him I was pregnant flat out, but in real life, it feels nearly impossible.

He looks from me to his friends and back again. “Maddi?”

And while I understand why he’s not enthused to spend time with me, I also wish there was a little bit of residual kindness to buffer this moment.

“I’m pregnant,” I say quietly.

The pink stain the cold air left on his cheeks nearly disappears. “Wait, what?”

“I’m pregnant,” I say again, and this time the word backs up on me, sending a wave of tingles through my sinuses.

“Fuck, really? I mean, are you sure?” he says, and it’s like a punch to the gut. I didn’t expect him to be excited about it or even happy. But his panic only makes me feel worse, like somehow, I did this to him, instead of it being a mutual decision.

“I’m sure,” I say.

He pushes back his hair with both hands and walks a few feet away in a loop before turning back to me. “And you think it’s mine?”

For some reason, I never saw this one coming, which I suppose again makes me not only a cliché but a giant chump. And now I’m mad. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Come on, Maddi, you know you and Wilder never got over one another. I saw you two at the booth together last weekend.”

I want to strangle him, just grab him by the neck and thrash him about like an alligator. “I said I was pregnant, not a lying cheater. I don’t know why I expected something better from you. Something less bro-y, but I guess that’s just who you are.”

His expression hardens. “Did you think I was gonna be happy about this? Jump for joy and go out and buy a stroller because my ex-girlfriend who dumped me suddenly shows up and tells me she’s pregnant?”

The ball bounces off Benny’s chest a half second after Jake stops speaking like he didn’t even try to catch it. Great. Now his friends know, and the whole school is sure to follow. Can this moment get any more perfect?

“Really, Jake?”

“It’s not my fault you came to tell me on the goddamn football field,” he fires back, which only makes me angrier. I turn around. Screw this. I did what I had to do and now I’m leaving.

He grabs my arm as I walk away, but I slip out of his grip.

“Don’t touch me,” I say, so worked up I might actually explode.

And he doesn’t. He just lets me walk away.

Jake gets out of his truck and closes the door. “Actually, what I meant was why did your dad leave the bakery to Wilder?”