“Astrid, why did you send that text?” Mom asks, waving her phone in my face.
“Um...” My sweater suddenly feels way too tight, or maybe it’s my skin pressing in on my ribcage, making it hard to breathe. I glance around at all the inquisitive gazes turned toward me. “It was an accident.”
“You accidentally sent out a list of baby names?” Aunt Terry says.
Leena springs to my side. “Let’s all just chill for a sec—”
“Do not tell me to chill,” my mom says. “Astrid, look at me. What is this?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
“Astrid, are you pregnant?”
My tongue feels too big for my palate. I’ve been able to lie by omission these past few weeks, but I can’t bring myself to say no when someone I love asks directly.
I nod in lieu of responding.
Mom’s jaw hangs open like it’s no longer attached to her face.
Aunt Terry sighs. “Well, that explains a lot, actually.”
“It doesn’t explain anything,” Mom snaps. “How did I not know you were seeing someone?”
“I wasn’t...” My voice cracks. “I mean, I haven’t been.”
“How long have you known?”
“A c-couple of months.”
“A couple months? You’ve been pregnant for months and you didn’t think to tell me?”
I sense Finn’s solid presence against my back.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” he says, wrapping his arm around me.
“Would you all stop telling me to calm down. My teenage daughter is pregnant!”
“No,” Aunt Terry says, “Finn’s right, Elaine. We should all just take a breath and sit down and talk about how this all happened.”
Mom aims an accusatory gaze at her sister-in-law. “Did you know about this?”
“Of course not.” Aunt Terry balks. “This is the first I’m hearing of it, too.”
“Who knew about this?” Mom scans the room with laser focus. “I can’t imagine she didn’t tell you, Leena. And Finn? You don’t look especially shocked by this news. Did Astrid tell you she was pregnant?”
“She didn’t have to,” he says.
“Why the hell not?”
His arm tightens around me, his signal to brace for what’s coming. I hold my breath.
“Because I was there when it happened,” he says.
My mom squints at him, puzzled. “You were there?”
This is so far away from how I wanted everyone to find out about us.
“I’m the father,” he tells them.