"It's all right."
Placing his hand on her shoulder, he shook his head again. "It was too much. You were Lauren's age when Grandma died, and from then on, you held down chores and babysitting, basically being the mom from then until you moved out a few months ago."
"In the beginning, I was scared you'd feel like Mom did, that we were all a burden, and want to leave us too or worse, somehow send us to live with her."
"Never. I'm sorry you overheard her say that. You girls are my joy. I know I missed out on a lot. That's my fault. I really thought that working so much and being able to give you all the lessons and sports camps and classes and cars would make up for Mom leaving. I wish I could go back in time. I'd do a lot differently. But the only thing I can do is go forward and be more present for you all now. I want to come to one of your games and watch you entertain the crowd."
Her sensitive stomach shrunk and knotted. Maybe she'd finally feel better if she shared her news. "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be doing that... Dad, I'm pregnant. And I can't stop throwing up. I can't do the job they need me to do if I'm too exhausted and weak to perform."
"I can't believe my baby is having a baby." He hugged her, and then guided her to a chair. "How far along are you?"
"Still early in the first trimester."
"Have you talked to you obstetrician about the nausea?"
"She started me on a different pre-natal vitamin today."
"If it doesn't work, there are lots of treatment options. Your mother had bad nausea with every pregnancy."
"I don't want to be anything like her." She recoiled at the thought. "Dad, I'm scared. What if I resent this baby the way Mom resented me? I don't want to, but what if it's somehow ingrained?"
He sat beside her. "I'll tell you something. Every single one of you is a blessing to me. I really believe that your mother thought so too. There's six years between you and Amanda, and then the rest of the pack came very close together—four more kids within a five-year span. It was a lot to handle. If I'd done a better job, your mother might not have left. Deep down, she resented me, not you. I'm the reason she left."
She may have been relieved to share the burden, but felt worse for her dad. He'd been all alone since Mom left, too. She wasn't sure what to say to ease the guilt and regret in his voice and on his face. She patted his hand. "I think we all would have been a handful, regardless."
"I didn't realize you were seeing anyone. Is the father someone I know?"
She shook her head. "His name is Liam. He's the other mascot. I screwed up things there. It's a mess. He's pretty upset with me right now. And he doesn't know about the baby yet."
"So, you'll work it out. If you love each other and want to work at your relationship, you can fix anything. And if things don't work out, you won't be alone. You'll always have your sisters and me. You know you can always come back home. You took care of all of us for a long time. It's time we take care of you."
"Thanks, Dad." She hugged him, happy to cling to the promise that she could count on him. For the first time in a week she didn't feel like she was in this all alone.
Knowing she would have support from her family, she wasn't as scared about facing the future.
But, she still needed to talk to Liam and somehow fix the mess she'd created.
SAVANNA
SAVANNA CURLED UP ON one end of Claire's couch, mug of tea in hand. "I haven't seen any news alerts about a man falling to his death while BASE jumping, so I guess Slade's fine."
Claire sat on the opposite end, cross-legged, sipping her ginger ale. "You could text him. Make sure he's okay."
"No. I lost that right when I ended things." She picked at the fringe hanging off the throw blanket on the back of the couch. "I..."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Sighing, she dropped the blanket. "I didn't think I had a choice. All I could see was him rushing off to do this crazy, dangerous stunt without taking my fears, my feelings for him into account. I know I worry a lot, but I've made a conscious effort to be better. I even pause to consider the positive aspects instead of immediately imaging the worst possible what-ifs. But things like this... with him... I love him and I don't want to lose him to a horrible accident from an adventure gone wrong. But then I ended up losing him anyway."
It hurt. An ache in her stomach that reached into her soul.
She sipped her tea. How would she handle seeing him at the next Wishes Granted event? Her chest tightened at the thought. Desperate for a distraction, she gestured to Claire. "Let's talk about something else. Your coloring looks better. And you're keeping down that chicken and pasta."
"Yay for me." Smiling, Claire lifted her soda in mock toast. "I'm feeling better. Not back to normal, but not like I'm going to fall over anymore."
"So what happened with Liam? When I called, you said you guys had a fight about the job?"
"He's so angry. And I don't
