“Chloe,” I said.
“Are you guys fighting again?” Jordan asked.
“You can call it that. That’s what happens when one of the people in the relationship lie about something really fucking important, right?”
“What?” Jordan asked. “What are you talking about?”
“Chloe,” I said. “She lied. About something big.”
“Like what?” Jordan asked. “What could make you slam around your precious cast iron like that?”
“Why don’t you ask Hannah?”
“Because I already asked you, Matt,” Jordan shot back. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Chloe’s pregnant,” I said, shooting my eyes over at Hannah. “And not only is she pregnant, but she lied about it and tried to hide it from me. I found her positive pregnancy test tied in a bag in the bottom of the trash can in the bathroom. Then when I confronted her with it, she tried to say it was Hannah’s before admitting it was hers.”
“Are you serious?” Jordan asked. “Chloe’s pregnant?”
“Apparently,” I said, then turned back to Hannah. “Was it you? Were you the one who told Chloe to lie? Were you the one who told her to blame it on you if I found out?”
“No,” Hannah said. “I just bought the test for her, that’s all.”
I shook my head and went back to the cutting board.
“Hey, maybe not with the sharp knives right now,” Jordan said.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” Hannah said.
“You know what?” I asked. “I’m not even mad at you. Seriously, I’m not. I’m hurt.”
“I think everyone can understand that,” Jordan said. “This is a huge deal.”
“You’re damn right it is,” I said. “But for her to lie to my face…”
“Look, you need to go talk to her,” Hannah said. “She needs to talk this through with you, one way or the other. No more hiding things because they’re uncomfortable.”
I nodded and gripped the countertop. The anger was still there, no matter how much I tried to deny it, but it wasn’t directed at anyone specifically. Maybe some of it at Chloe. Mostly it was just being converted into shock and disappointment that she would keep it from me. That I didn’t get one of those cool memories of us finding out together. That I wasn’t even clued in that it could be possible.
“You’re right,” I said finally. “I need to talk to her. That’s why I need you to take my apron and call the line cook on schedule for tonight and see if they can come in early.”
“Go,” Jordan said. “Get out of here.”
“I’ll be back before we open,” I said and rushed out.
Silently, I cursed myself for not taking the car. If I had, I would have been home in less than five minutes. As it was, I had a little walk to get to the complex of townhouses and small apartment buildings that made up my home. I passed by the bank of mailboxes outside and noticed that her car wasn’t where I remembered it being parked.
Running up to the door, I shoved the key inside and turned the knob. As soon as I was inside, I could tell it was empty. Panic gripped my heart as I called out her name over and over.
She never answered.
34
Chloe
I felt shell-shocked by Matt’s reaction. Not that I expected him to jump up and down and be excited by the news or even to take it particularly well. But I wasn’t expecting him to act like he had. Even if he was upset, I thought he would at least be able to sympathize with me. He would understand he wasn’t the only one who was surprised or taken aback in this situation, and that we were in it together.
Apparently, though, we weren’t. His reaction told me in no uncertain terms I was on my own. He couldn’t even stand to stay in the house with me after he found out. He would barely even look at me.
I shouldn’t have lied to him. I knew that. It was stupid and impulsive. The words just kind of fell out of my mouth when I opened it without any plan as to what I was going to say. Him finding the test and coming at me like that had hit me so hard I couldn’t think straight. If I had been able to, I would know that it made no sense to lie to him. Not only was it just exacerbating an already difficult situation with dishonesty, but it was ridiculous.
It wasn’t going to take a tremendous amount of sleuthing for him to find out it wasn’t Hannah’s pregnancy test. Jordan was his brother. He could just pick up the phone and ask. It didn’t even occur to me when I said that if he did do that, it could cause a major issue between my cousin and her husband. The entire situation would get completely out of hand so fast that I would have ruined everyone’s relationship in less than a day.