Chapter 75: Already Paranoid

Chapter 75: Already Paranoid

Andy

My dad’s car wasn’t in the garage when I finally worked up the courage to come home.

I had been driving in aimless circles for hours, replaying that disastrous conversation with Maddie until the words blurred together.

The empty driveway felt like a small mercy. At least I wouldn’t have to walk straight into the disappointment I knew was waiting.

I was wrong.

The second I stepped inside, I heard laughter. My father’s. The warm, easy kind he almost never used anymore.

He and Julia were standing near the living room window, heads bent over something small.

“He’d follow me everywhere in his little sailor costume,” Dad said, thumb brushing across the surface of an old photograph. He turned it toward Julia so she could see better. “He was like four here.”

“Such a little angel,” Julia murmured, smiling. “Just like my Leo. He’d follow Solomon everywhere. First word he ever said was ‘dada.’”

The name hit me like a slap. Leo.

My fists clenched so hard the knuckles cracked. Heat rushed up the back of my neck. Both of them turned at the same time and saw me standing in the doorway.

“Andy!” Dad’s face lit up. “There you are. Julia and I were just talking about you.”

“Hi.” My voice came out thinner than I wanted. I wiped my palms down the front of my pants, trying to get rid of the sweat.

He held the photograph out like it was something precious. “I found this while I was cleaning out the attic. Do you remember when we took it?”

I glanced at the picture—me, tiny, grinning in a ridiculous sailor outfit—and then back at my father’s open, hopeful face. The ignorance in that smile made something twist hard in my chest.

I couldn’t keep this from him any longer.

“Dad… there’s something I need to tell you.”

The light in his expression dimmed. He looked at Julia, then carefully slid the photograph into his wallet. “Is something wrong? Is this about Ivy? Poppy left to go see her too.”

Of course he assumed it was about Ivy. Everyone always assumed it was about Ivy. He knew exactly what kind of man she was living with now—a volatile, possessive bastard who could go from calm to dangerous in a single breath.

I shook my head. “It’s not about Ivy.”

She was out there playing house with Leo while I stood here about to torch the last of my father’s respect for me.

“It’s about Maddie.”

Julia immediately started to rise. “I’ll give you two some privacy—”

“No. You can stay.” The words came out faster than I intended. “Please.” I needed someone who still looked at me like I wasn’t a complete failure.

Julia had been the closest thing to a real mother I ever had. My own mother had never managed more than half-hearted interest and long absences. Hating Leo didn’t change the fact that Julia had always been kind to me.

She sat back down. “What happened with Maddie? Is the engagement still on?”

I walked over to the couch and dropped onto it, elbows on my knees, head in my hands. “I don’t know. I doubt she still wants to marry me.”

“Why would you say that?” Dad asked.

I forced the words out before I could lose my nerve. “She’s pregnant. I’m so sorry, Dad.”

Silence slammed into the room.

Julia recovered first. “Is that… a bad thing? Aren't you two getting married soon?”

I shook my head without looking up. “It is. We planned to wait. Even after the wedding. We wanted time. Careers. Duty. Stability. Not this.”

Dad’s voice was quiet, but it cut deeper than shouting ever could. “You promised me you’d be careful. That you wouldn’t make the same mistake I did. That you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

Disappoint.

That single word had always been the worst one he could use. It landed now like a stone in my stomach.

Julia tried again, gentler. “I don’t think it’s that much of a problem, is it? They're both adults.”

“You don’t understand,” Dad said. The edge in his tone made her go quiet. “Andy made a vow not to repeat what I did. He broke it. He’s not ready to raise a child. He has his entire future ahead of him. This was never part of the plan. Not now.”

Julia fell silent. She clearly didn’t know the full history—the dreams my father had buried the day Dolly told him she was pregnant with me.

“What about enlisting?” Dad asked. “You can’t join the army while doing diaper duty, Andy.”

That was the real reason behind the promise.

My father had wanted the army more than almost anything. Dolly’s pregnancy had ended that future overnight. He stepped up because she couldn’t.

He raised me. He gave up the life he had pictured for himself. In return, I had sworn I would enlist after marrying Maddie.

Serve. Honor what he had sacrificed. Then come home and build the family I always dreamed of with Maddie. Now I had destroyed all of it.

“I’ll still enlist,” I said, desperate. “I still want to do it.”

Julia’s face softened with something close to pity. “Oh, honey… I don’t think that’s possible now.”

“You can’t,” Dad echoed.

“I can and I will.” I lifted my head. “I just need to convince Maddie to get an abortion—”

“What?” Julia’s voice cracked with horror. “An abortion?”

I nodded. “It’s what’s best for both of us right now. She’s being emotional. She won’t listen to reason. But if I can make her see it clearly, she’ll understand I’m looking out for her future too.”

Dad stared at me. “She doesn’t want to terminate it? She plans to keep it?”

“Yes. She’s stubborn. She’s doing this because…” I stopped myself just in time from saying Ivy’s name. This mess had nothing to do with her. “Because she wants the wedding locked in no matter what. I told her we needed to put the plans on hold. She didn’t take it well.”

Julia covered her mouth. “She’s blackmailing you with the baby?”

“Yes.” I hesitated, then forced the rest out. They needed to know how bad it had gotten. “She also threatened to falsely accuse me of rape today. All because I told her terminating was the smartest option. This pregnancy is bringing out the worst in her.”

Julia looked genuinely sick to her stomach.

Before anyone could respond, the sound of a truck engine cut through the quiet. Dad walked to the window and pulled the curtain back. “Poppy’s back.”

“She drove the truck?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He said, still watching. “Solomon’s place. She said Ivy asked her for a favor.”

Ivy again. Always Ivy. I can't escape her.

Julia rested a warm hand on my back. “Do you want me to speak to Maddie? Maybe I can help her see your side.”

“I don’t know. She’s furious with me right now.”

“I’ll talk to her,” she said firmly.

The front door opened. Poppy stormed in with a face like thunder. She didn’t greet anyone—not even Dad. She headed straight for the stairs.

“Stop right there, Poppy.” Dad’s voice cracked through the room.

She froze, then turned slowly. “Hi, dad.”

“What’s with the long face?”

“Nothing.”

I was already on my feet. “Did something happen at Leo’s? Is Ivy okay?”

She looked at me for a long second, then finally spoke. “Leo threw me out.” Her voice was tight. “We need to get Ivy out of that relationship. She’s not safe. He’s possessive and controlling.”

My pulse started hammering in my ears. “What happened, Poppy?”

“I saw bruises on her arm.”

The words hit like a physical blow.

Bruises. On Ivy. Put there by Leo.

I was moving before I fully registered the decision. The conversation about Maddie, the army, the ruined future—all of it dropped away. The only thing left was the image of Ivy’s arm marked by someone else’s hands.

Leo’s hands.

“What kind of bruises?” My voice came out low and rough.

Poppy’s eyes flicked to Dad, then back to me. “The kind you get when someone grabs you too hard and doesn’t let go. Upper arm. Finger marks. She was asleep, wearing nothing beneath the sheets.”

Dad’s face had gone pale. Julia looked stricken. Me? The image of that body flashed before my eyes. My throat worked up and down like I was thirsty. But I wasn't. At least not for water.

“He didn’t say anything about them?” I asked.

“He wouldn’t. You know how he is.” Poppy’s jaw tightened. “Leo stood in front of the stairs like a guard dog the entire time I was there. He wouldn’t let me wake her. He barely let me leave the bag. When I turned on the light to check on her, he lost it. Threw me out of the house.”

I dragged a hand over my face. The anger that had been simmering since the moment I walked in the door finally had somewhere to go.

“I’m going over there.”

“Andy—” Dad started.

“No.” I shook my head hard. “I’m done sitting here talking while she’s alone with him. If he’s putting his hands on her like that, I’m getting her out.”

Poppy stepped closer. “You can’t just storm in. He’ll make it worse. He’s already paranoid. If you show up accusing him, he’ll double down.”

“Then what do you suggest?” The words came out sharper than I meant. “We just leave her there?”

Julia moved between us, hands raised. “Everyone needs to calm down. We don’t know the full story yet. Bruises can happen in a lot of ways. Maybe they argued. Maybe it was an accident—”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Poppy cut in. “I know what I saw. And I know what Leo is like when he decides something belongs to him.”

The room went quiet. I could still hear my own heartbeat.

I looked at my father. “I need the truck.” I grabbed the keys and headed for the door.

Behind me, Poppy called out, “I’m coming with you.”

“Wait.” Julia said. “I think everybody needs to calm down. Leo is my son. I know him more than anyone else. He has never put his hands on a woman. Ever.”

I didn’t argue. She was his mother after all.

“Give me a few days.” She said, “I think it's time I watched over my son myself.”

“You're going back?” Dad asked.

“Yes. Until Solomon returns.”