He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Fuck them. Lie down, love.”

You don’t have to tell me twice.

A little over a week later, I’m hauling ass from my internship back to my dorm to relax before practice starts in a couple of hours. So far, I’ve been able to conceal my symptoms from everyone, but today the morning sickness hit me hard.

Kai and I went to the doctor to find out how far along I am and make sure everything is okay. I’m six weeks pregnant, so in June of next year we’re going to welcome our little one into the world. Holy shit.

I’m seconds from walking into my room when my dad calls.

“Hi, Dad. Can I call you later? I really wanna chill before practice.”

“Actually, I want to meet up for lunch. I’m in the area.”

A chill runs down my back. “You’re in Houston? How come?” My dad never comes to visit me at school, and I never come home except for winter and summer break.

“For business. Meet me at Little Kitchen in twenty minutes.” Since when does he want to meet me for lunch? We never hang out. My stomach drops with the thought that maybe he knows about the baby. No, there’s no way he could know. Kai and I purposefully went to the free clinic so that I wouldn’t have to use his insurance. It’s not like we’re planning on hiding the pregnancy from him forever. I was just hoping to hold it off for as long as possible. For Thanksgiving, I’m going with Kai and his family to visit Auntie Patrice. Six months ago, she had a whirlwind romance with a personal chef and decided to sell her business and follow him to Atlanta. She now has an even more successful dog grooming business there, and the two of them are dog parents to two Goldendoodles. We’re planning to tell his family then. For my dad, I thought why not wait until we’re back home for Christmas? I don’t think he knows because if he did he would’ve gone off on me by now. He wouldn’t be holding back. “Liv?” he interrupts my spiraling thoughts.

“Yeah, um, it’s just I really did want to take a nap before practice. The internship wore me out today.”

“Liv, come on. I want to see you while I’m in town.” It’s funny because the words suggest that I’m being given a choice here, but the tone lets me know that there’s only one correct answer. I guess I’m not getting that nap after all. I just hope my morning sickness stays under control until I’m back in the safety of my own room.