A (Fake) Boyfriend For Christmas

Chapter 10: And To Think...

Chapter 10: And To Think...

"I'm pregnant."

I froze. I was half expecting her to laugh it off and say it was a joke, but she stood there rubbing her belly. I thought when karma hit, it'd give you a satisfying feeling.

I felt no such thing seeing tears escape her eyes. I actually felt bad for her. The day she unremorsefully slept with my boyfriend, the rest of her life had changed.

I caught a glimpse of James as the color drained from his face. Instead of the pink tint that colored his cheeks, his face resembled a ghost. He didn't move a muscle; his arms were frozen at his sides.

I noticed that his shoulders were still as if he wasn't breathing and his eyes were focused on a scared Vanessa.

"You're-you're-you're-with my..."

He was struggling to get his words out. I couldn't blame him. I, myself, was still trying to wrack my brain around her having a baby with my ex-boyfriend.

James was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack as the mental image of a mini him was definitely wrapping itself around every inch of his brain. Vanessa's two words caught the attention of her mom whose jaw was dropped to the floor and her eyes were bulging out of her sockets. 

"You're what?"

Vanessa was too busy bowing her head and shaking her shoulders to make eye contact with her mom. Ms. Campbell turned her around and curled her arms around her daughter's waist, kissing the top of her head to cease her heart-wrecking sobs. Even though I was still mad at her, I couldn't help but feel awful for her. 

Mom cleared her throat. She, herself, was tearing up listening to Vanessa bawl her eyes out. "Maybe you and Vanessa should talk it out in your room." She moved her eyes from the coffee table to me, subtly gesturing for me to take her to my room.

Before Ms. Campbell sent her upstairs, she broke the embrace and whispered something that I couldn't make out from where I stood by the stairs. With a kiss on the forehead, she let her go and Vanessa followed me upstairs.

We took a seat on the edge of the unmade bed. Neither of us wanted to speak first. In the meantime, all we could hear were the noises of the party.

I stuffed my hands between my legs and zoned out straight ahead. I noticed that there was a thread on her black sweater that she was fiddling with.

Awkwaaard.

Eventually, Vanessa broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

My eyes shifted to see her still playing with that thread. She stopped speaking, making me think she didn't say anything at all, but she continued.

"In middle school, when my parents were going through the divorce, it was a really rough time for my mom and I." She finally dared to look me in the eyes.

Her blue irises were surrounded by red which was accompanied by puffiness. "My mom caught dad cheating on her with another woman in his office. Not his secretary which goes against the cliché." She let out an awkward chuckle.

I couldn't imagine the pain Ms. Campbell felt.

My dad was always loyal to my mom. He only had eyes for her and during the early years of their relationship, he mentioned that plenty of attractive women attempted to seduce him to which he rejected and walked away.

I guess some wives weren't that lucky.

"Naturally, mom filed for divorce. I didn't want to live with my cheating dad. It'd feel like I was siding with him, so when it was brought to court, it was easy to confirm that I wanted to live with Mom. That didn't make dad happy. He took everything. Every dime we had."