“You didn’t fuck up, Raven. No one is mad at you,” she says softly.
“I’m scared,” I whimper.
“Oh, honey. It’s going to be okay. I promise,” she says lovingly.
“I don’t want to be like my mom,” I say. “I don’t want him to just be with me because of a baby. Mom and Dad did that and she was so fucking miserable that she ended up on drugs. All it took was a broken ankle and one prescription and I lost her,” I say as I cry.
“Your mom loved you, Raven. She might have been broken, but she fucking loved you. Iwantyou to be like her. In fact, youareyour mother. You are empathetic and you take on everything sothat no one else has to. If I had to choose between you being like your mom or your dad, I would choose her every single time. She was so much more than that drug addiction and you know that. The fear that you have about not wanting to turn out like she is coming from your father’s words, not reality. She was an amazing woman who was too broken for this world. You have support and we will never let you break. You hear me? My father is nothing like your dad. He loves you more than anything and I know that he fucking sucks at showing it, but he loves you. Despite being scared over your panic attack he looked so fucking excited when he told me you were pregnant. Do you know how rare it is to see him happy like that? You did that for him. You gave him part of his life that I never thought he would get again.”
“I shouldn’t have been so mean,” I cry.
“No, you should have. He deserved it. If he’s not treating you the way you feel you deserve to be treated. You had every fucking right to get upset at him. And if that’s what it took for him to open his eyes and realize what he was doing, then so be it. You are allowed to have emotions. I know that your father taught you to never look for help and never show weakness, but I promise you it’s much stronger to stand up and tell someone that you need help or change than it is for you to keep quiet and torture yourself.”
“Is he here?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she smiles. “Dad.”
She pulls me up to stand as Marc walks in. “I’m sorry,” I say tearfully.
“Ravy, it’s okay,” he says as he squeezes me in a hug. “Please don’t apologize. I didn’t mean it how it sounded.”
“I know you didn’t. I’m just so scared,” I say into his chest. He pulls back to look at me and smiles.
“Baby, do you want this?” he asks.
“I do,” I nod.
“Then everything will be okay. You will be an amazing mother and your father will get the fuck over it,” he says.
“I have to tell him about us,” I frown.
“We, and yes. It’s got to the point now where we don’t really have much of a choice.”
“Invite him here,” Sable suggests.
“Tonight?” I ask.
“Better now than to wait,” she shrugs.
“Okay,” I sigh.
“Are you sure?” Marc asks. “We can wait a little.”
“No. I don’t want to feel like I’m hiding you,” I say. “Can you call him?”
“Yeah,” he says with a small smile before pulling his phone out to call Dad. I stare at him as the phone rings. “Hey, man… Listen. Do you have some time to come to Raven’s apartment?… no, she’s okay. We just need to talk to you … no, it’s something we need to talk about in person … I’ll text the address… see ya .”
“Fuck,” I sigh when he hangs up.
“How far along are you?” Marc asks.
“Uhh… about eight weeks I think,” I say. “I’m two weeks late.”
“So… you know how babies are made… right?” Sable asks. “Did neither of you think to like… use a condom?”
“No,” I laugh.
“Well… Do I call the kid my sibling or my niece or nephew? Because I’ve always called you my sister, but now that would be weird,” she says.