Her older sister looks back at her with nothing but concern written all over her face. As much as Tinley held it together on the drive over here, that’s all it takes for her emotional dam to break again. The tears pour out of her and sobs rack her body as she allows her feelings to take over. Tara envelops her in a giant hug, and Tinley holds on as tight as she can. Some people go to their mom when they need support or to vent, rant over life. But Tara has always been that person for Tinley. Their mom wouldn’t even know how to be that kind of person for anyone let alone her own children.

After a few minutes, her sister releases her and, with nothing but sympathy in her eyes, says, “Come on. You can tell me all about it, starting with why you have that boot on your foot.”

It’s been a while since the last time she saw her sister, at least a few weeks, and her focus has been so consumed, she completely forgot she didn’t tell her about breaking her foot, or really anything else that’s been going on in her life, including her pregnancy. She’s not really prepared to open up completely and tell her everything, but since she isn’t exactly talking to Marek right now, she needs to talk to somebody.

She follows her into the ridiculously clean living room and the scent of lemon fills the air. Her sister uses a citrus cleaner on her hardwood floors and her entire house always smells so fresh and clean because of it. She can’t help but notice the slight waddle in her sister’s gait, which does nothing but add guilt to her burdened heart. She’s seriously impressed at how well she’s able to keep her house clean even though she’s about ready to burst. Tara is now in her third trimester, getting closer to the end of her pregnancy, and Tinley has been so wrapped up in her own crap that she hasn’t been there for her.

Tara stacks up a bunch of throw pillows against the arm of the couch and slowly lowers herself down. Leaning against the stack, she reclines back and releases a heavy groan as she lifts her legs up and relaxes. Giving her the space to really stretch out, Tinley chooses the recliner next to her and pushes her emotions down. Seeing her sister so incredibly pregnant and living such an adult life causes her to break out laughing. She should be much more settled than she is, and instead, her life is falling apart even more so than it was a few months ago. Of course, she only has herself to blame. She became complacent in her life and never did anything about it. With one little push from Tara and Dakota and she jumped full-force into a relationship with Marek. What did she expect when she went from zero to sixty with no concern for the consequences?

She finally stops laughing long enough to ask, “So, where should I start?”

Her sister reaches for the remote sitting on the coffee table and turns off the TV. Tinley hadn’t even realized it was on until Tara turned it off. She grimaces and turns her full attention to Tinley.

“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t just have a complete meltdown and go from bawling your eyes out to laughing hysterically. I’d rather not have to think about whether or not I need to commit my little sister. So, let’s start with your foot. What’s with the boot?”

Tinley cringes and glances down at the hideous thing. If there’s one piece of evidence that she hasn’t quite grown up yet, it’s that right there. Tinley and Dakota like to joke a lot that adulting is hard, but they both tend to be at least reasonably responsible. “Before I tell you what happened, do you promise not to turn all mommy judgmental on me?”

Tara sighs and rolls her eyes before replying. “I take serious offense at that dig. Mommy judgmental? What does that even mean?”

“It’s your thing. Now stop arguing. Just promise me you won’t get all high and mighty and tell me to grow up.”

“Well, you do—”

Shaking her head, Tinley says, “Nope. If you’re choosing to judge me or tell me how I don’t act my age, then forget it. I don’t need to tell you what happened.” Not that she really remembers much from that night anyway.

“Fine,” Tara says with a heavy sigh as she rolls her eyes, “No judgments. Just tell me what’s going on with you.”

“Dakota came home from work in a really bad mood. She refused to tell me what was going on, and honestly, I just wanted to get out of there. You know how cranky and bitchy she can get when she’s in one of those funks.”

Tara nods and Tinley continues.

“I sent a text to Marek hoping to finally see his house for a change, but he gave me the brush-off, which did nothing but irk me. Why wouldn’t he want me to see his house, you know? Anyway, my lovely roommate decided heavy drinking was in order for whatever she had going on, and I didn’t have a reason to disagree with her at that point. So, we went out and…well…I woke up the next morning with a broken ankle.”

“Basically, what you’re telling me is you went binge-drinking and can’t remember what happened except you mysteriously made it home, though I wouldn’t say one hundred percent safely—is that the gist of it?”

“Remember, you said no judgment.”

Her sister puts her hand in the air and replies, “Did I say anything judgey?”

When it comes to Tara, she’s always had a mom voice, even before she became a mom herself. It’s like she can talk to you in a way that makes you feel guilty and stupid, or heck, even make you spill your guts if you’re lying. It’s how Tinley always knew she would be a great mom because she had the personality down pat. That particular skill lets Tinley know exactly what her sister is thinking right now, and although Tara didn’t say anything to judge the situation, Tinley’s well aware that is exactly what is going on.

“It wasn’t about what you said. It was your tone.”

“We could sit here all day arguing about my voice saying something my words aren’t, but that would be stupid and pointless. I really don’t think the reason you look like you’ve been crying and came over here has anything to do with a broken ankle. So, what’s really going on?”

That’s where things get hard. Once she tells her sister everything and puts those words out there, it makes it all real. She’s not really sure if she’s ready for all of that, but she did come over here for a reason. Tinley can’t decide if it was just to vent or to find a voice of reason amidst all the shit going on. She’s really hoping there’s a silver lining somewhere and she just can’t see it yet.

Tinley pauses before taking a slow, even breath then jumping right in. “When I was at the hospital they had me take a pregnancy test before giving me an x-ray or prescribing any pain medication for my foot. I laughed them off because although my sex life has gone from nonexistent to pretty regular as of late, I knew there was no way I was pregnant…until the nurse came back with the results, which told me how wrong I really was.”

Tara instantly sits up on the couch and her mouth drops open. “What did Marek do? Did he turn you away and say he didn’t want a child? That bastard. I’m going to beat his ass. The little shit.”

As much as the situation sucks right now, her sister’s anger is rather comical. Tinley starts crying again, only this time it’s because she’s laughing so hard. “Calm down momma bear, there’s more to my story. I would really like to see you try to beat Marek up, though there’s no way Clark would ever let you attempt something like that while you’re pregnant, and no offense, but he’s not exactly the fittest guy around. Do you not remember what Marek’s arms look like? Not somebody your husband should try to go up against.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve made grown men cry before, and I’m not against doing it again.”

“Let’s hold off on beating anyone up for now, at least until I finish telling you everything that’s going on.”

She relaxes back against the pillows on the couch and motions with her hand for Tinley to continue talking.

“When I went into work today, I found out that Marek had called in sick. So, I decided to take him some soup and cupcakes to make him feel better. Like I said earlier, I’ve never been to his house, but I found out where he lives with a quick Google search.”

“Geez, such a stalker.”

If only that was Tinley’s only problem right now.

Rolling her eyes, she smiles at her sister and continues. “Anyway, I got to Marek’s house—which is adorable by the way—rang the doorbell, and you’ll never guess who answered the door.”

Her sister gasps and says, “Was it that snarky bitch Giselle? Was she trying to stake her claim again? Not like she would need to with how gorgeous she is.”

Tinley laughs while shaking her head. “No. It was a little girl about four or five years old. Her name is Luna…and she’s Marek’s daughter.”

This time Tara flies up completely and almost falls off the couch. “What do you mean his daughter? Who is her mother? Is it Giselle? That bitch. I bet it is.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t stay long enough to talk to him,” Tinley replies with a small shrug. She doesn’t add the fact that she had the same thought about Luna being Marek and Giselle’s daughter. There’s no denying how much of a resemblance the woman shares with the little girl.

Before Tara can say anything else, Tinley’s phone rings for the tenth time since she left Marek’s house, and she sends this call to voicemail like she has with each one prior. At some point, he has to just give up, and until that happens, she’s more than happy to wait him out—or she’ll get lucky and he’ll just fill up her inbox then won’t be able to leave any more messages. It’s not like she ever gets phone calls anyway; everyone she knows sends her texts these days.

Tara glances down at the phone in Tinley’s lap before returning her focus to her face. “Is that him?”

She doesn’t even have the energy to open her mouth for a response so she offers her sister a small nod instead. She feels so completely lost and confused. How did things get to be so bad so quickly?

The text comes across her phone screen, and Tinley can’t decide whether she wants to scream, cry, or shatter the damn thing against the wall. The defeat overwhelms her and she does the only thing she can think of.

Although she doesn’t really see how time can help the situation at all. How can her sitting on this information make things better? Marek lied to her, but maybe he’ll stop trying to reach out to her if he thinks there is still a chance? Just in case, she decides to send him a second text.

She doesn’t wait to see if he decides to respond or not. Instead, she presses the off button and watches as her screen slowly fades to black as it powers down. The whole day has been a giant disaster, and she doesn’t even know what she should be feeling right now. She’s angry at Marek for keeping such a huge secret from her and the potential other lies he could be telling her as well. She’s mad at herself for putting so much blind faith into another person and trusting with her entire heart, and she’s confused about the fact that she’s both terrified and excited about her unknown future. Never in her life has she had plans to be a mom, but now that there’s a tiny human growing inside of her, she wants to live that life more than anything. She had hoped it would include Marek, but now she has to prepare herself for doing it all on her own. She has no idea how that’s going to work out or happen, but she’s almost thirty, and it’s about time she finally grew up anyway.

Her sister releases a small sigh and places her hand on Tinley’s. “I love you, you know that, and I know you’re upset right now, but you can’t avoid him forever. There’s obviously a lot you both need to talk to each other about.”

“I know, but I need time.”

“And that’s fine. I’m your big sister and I will always support you, but this isn’t just about you anymore. While you’re taking your time, I want you to think about what you want, what’s best for not only you but for your baby as well.”

As if on instinct, Tinley’s hand gravitates toward her belly. She’s barely had enough time to get used to the idea of being pregnant and yet she has major decisions to make that affect not only her life but her unborn child’s as well. It all seems so intimidating, and she’s terrified that she won’t make the right choices when the time comes. But she’s a mom now, even if her baby isn’t born yet, and she needs to embrace that role to it’s fullest.

“Why don’t you go lie down for a bit? You look more exhausted than I feel, and I think a nap will help you calm down and maybe get a little more clarity on the situation.”

Now that her sister mentions it, she feels completely beaten down and tired. She nods her head and gets up from the recliner she’s sitting in. Her entire body sags and her eyes start to droop now that some of the adrenaline pumping through her body has left. This day has been very exhausting, and being pregnant probably doesn’t help at all. She offers her sister a sad smile and drags herself upstairs to the guest bedroom. Within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, she’s overwhelmed by sleep and it quickly takes over. For once she hopes for a dreamless sleep as she can’t imagine her dreams being anything positive.