Wicked Little Lies- Molly

by Beth Prentice

  “That’s okay. I have time for you to explain it all to me. It’s the least you can do. After all, I am pregnant with your baby.”

  Matt closed his eyes and when he reopened them, I could see the pain they held. It caused my stomach to tighten with apprehension. After what felt like an eternity, he nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll tell you everything. But you need to be sitting down. Let’s go and I’ll make you a coffee.”

  I silently followed Matt, as Danny walked behind me.

  “Whatever happens, I’m here for you,” Danny whispered, squeezing my hand.

  Matt’s footsteps were heavy as we made our way to the kitchen. His eyes had taken on a distant look as if he was lost in thought

  “Thanks, but something tells me I need to do this on my own.” I turned to Danny.

  “No way. You need me here.”

  “No. I don’t think I do.”

  “Seriously?” he shrieked, and Matt jumped.

  “Ahuh.”

  “How about I just wait in the lounge room?”

  “No.”

  “The front porch?”

  “No.”

  Danny huffed, and dropped a pout. “That’s so unfair. I go to all this trouble to help you and right at the good bit you shut me out.”

  “I’ll call you later and fill you in with the details.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.” I dropped a kiss on his cheek, squeezing his arm as I did so.

  “If I leave you here, how are you getting home? I drove remember?”

  “I’ll take her,” Matt offered.

  Danny crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Fine. But you’d better call me the second you get home. I need to know you’re okay.”

  Matt gulped. I was unsure why. Danny was a great brother, but he was hardly scary. Matt towered over him by a good five inches.

  “I’ll call you with all the gossip as soon as I can,” I promised.

  “All right. But you’d better call if you need anything.”

  I smiled as Danny kissed my cheek then sulked his way to the front door. Only once I’d heard it close behind him did I turn to Matt.

  He had his back to me, filling the kettle and finding cups. I didn’t really want a coffee, my anxiety was already high enough, but I guessed it gave him something to do while he got his thoughts together.

  “Where have you been?” I asked, surprised by how steady my voice sounded.

  Matt dropped the spoon in one of the cups and spun to face me. “I told you.”

  “Yes, but we both know it’s a lie.”

  He looked like I’d slapped him. “I didn’t lie to you, Molly.”

  “Then what do you call it? Because you told me you were going to New York and we both know you didn’t go.”

  “I never said that I was going to New York.”

  “Uh, yeah. You did. Outside mum and dad’s house you told me you were going to New York and it was personal.”

  “I went to New Norfolk. In Tasmania. And it was personal.”

  “So personal you couldn’t tell me about it? Unless of course you are having an affair.”

  He sighed and rubbed his face with the palm of his hand.

  “I’m not having an affair. I would never do that to you. I thought you trusted me?”

  “I did!” Anger churned, pushing all anxiety aside. “Until you disappeared and wouldn’t return my calls. Then I find a woman in your house and her underwear under your bed. And explain the make up on your sheets!”

  “I honestly have no idea what that’s even about. I only got home this morning.”

  “I call BS on that. In fact, I have photographic evidence that you were in town yesterday.”

  His eyebrows disappeared under his hair that had flopped forward.

  “You were watching me in the park.” I stood and started to pace the room, anger mingling with frustration.

  His mouth slackened as his eyes widened. “Molly, I got in this morning.”

  Argh! This was so frustrating. “Why are you lying to me?”

  “I’m not lying to you. Sure, I have been avoiding calling you. But I needed to know the truth! I didn’t want to talk you until I knew for sure.” He stood and started to circle around me, unable to look me in the eye.

  “Tell me what?” I demanded, my teeth clamped together so hard they were starting to hurt.

  Matt stopped and dropped his head into his hands. When he lifted his eyes to me, they were filled with tears. “You know I’m looking into my family tree, right? I’ve wanted to find who my father is for some time now.” That was information I did know. “I repeatedly asked mum who he was, but she would never tell me. I guess she had her reasons for not wanting me to know. Since she passed, I figured it couldn’t hurt to track him down. Now I wish I’d never started the search.”

  “I know you wanted to find him. But what does that have to do with anything? And what do you mean you wish you’d never started?”

  Matt sighed, a good dash of hysteria pushing his tears aside.

  “How are you feeling, Molly?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck

  “I’m fine. Pissed at you, but okay otherwise.”

  “Good. Good. How’s your blood pressure? Everything okay with the...” He gulped. “With the baby?”

  “Ahuh. Matt what’s going on. Why won’t you just tell me the truth?”

  His hand shook as he ran it through his hair and he gave a few quick breaths. Spinning in circles, he finally settled on a chair and pulled it up alongside me.

  “Sit down and I’ll tell you everything. But you have to tell me if you start to feel unwell.”

  He was really starting to freak me out.

  “Just tell me already!”

  “Alright, don’t get yourself upset.”

  I blew out a frustrated breath and sat heavily on the chair.

  “Happy now?”

  He nodded but his eyes betrayed the lie. “I think I found my father.”

  “Well that’s great news!”

  Matt slowly shook his head, his shoulders drooped.

  “No, it’s not great. It’s worse.”

  “What could be so bad about that? Who is he?”

  He swallowed hard, taking my hand and squeezing it tight.

  “Promise me when I tell you, you won’t freak out.”

  “I’m freaking out already!” I yelled. “What is he? A mass murderer? A member of the mob? The anti-Christ?”

  “Worse.”

  “What could be worse than that?”

  “He’s your uncle, Molly. You and I are related.”

  Chapter Eight

  The world spun and I grabbed Matt’s arm for stability.

  “What?”

  “We’re related Molly. We’re cousins.”

  My mind blanked not able to comprehend what he was telling me.

  “But...but I’m pregnant. With your child.”

  Matt dropped his head to his hands and rocked back and forth. “I know.”

  “How long have you known?” I asked, as my entire body started to shake.

  “Only last week. Just before I went away. I wanted to find out the truth before I told you. This is pretty big.”

  “It’s not pretty big!” I yelled, standing and pacing across the room. “This is huge!”

  “I know. I know. I’m sorry. I wanted it not to be true.”

  “And you’re certain it is?” Was there any hope this could all be a nightmare?

  “I’m going to get DNA testing but I’m 99 percent sure.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I spoke to a friend of my mother. Actually, she was more like an auntie to her, being so much older than mum. As I grew up, I called her Grannie Annie because she was the grandmother figure in my life.” Matt’s eyes misted as he spoke, his memories of her obviously good ones.

  “She sounds special.”

  “She is, and I feel bad I’ve lost contact with her in the last few years, but she’s h
ard to understand on the phone. That’s why I decided to go to Tasmania to speak to her face to face about this. She told me about Darryl and how he was the only man mum ever loved, but when mum found out she was pregnant with me he dumped her. Annie was the one who convinced mum to leave Westport with her and move to a new town where she could restart her life.”

  “So, who exactly is Darryl?”

  “That’s what I wanted to know. Annie couldn’t remember his surname, but he shared a birthday with her late husband. Other than that, all she could recall was that he was born in Westport. I found a Darryl Altman born in Westport General on June 5th 1966.”

  “I know that name.’

  “You should. He’s your dad’s brother.”

  “Huh?”

  “Darryl Altman was born on June 5th 1966. His mother was Carol Fuller nee Altman.”

  My blood pressure took a dive and stars danced in my vision. My mouth dropped open as I considered his words.

  “Grannie Carol? How, how do you know all of this?” I asked, shocked to my core. “What if Annie was lying? What if this Darryl isn’t the same guy?”

  “I considered that too which is why I researched it.”

  Matt took my hand, his eyes searching mine. It was a dangerous place for him to be. He may have just given me the news we could be cousins, but that didn’t stop my heart from wanting him to hold me tight and tell me he loved me.

  “In 1966 the census showed three people lived in Carol’s house,” he continued. “Carol, a two-year-old—your dad, and a baby named Darryl. And before you say Darryl could be Charles child too, I found his birth certificate. It showed father unknown.”

  I dropped his hand and placed my elbows on the table, my head pounding with this new information.

  “So, you see Molly? I needed to know the truth before I told you what I’d learnt.”

  “But you wouldn’t answer my calls.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I didn’t trust myself hearing your voice.”

  “Does this mean you and I can’t be together anymore?” My voice shook on the last word.

  Matt closed the gap between us and kissed the top of my head. “I don’t know Molly. I just don’t know. I wanted to find out all the answers before I saw you.”

  Nausea hit me like a tsunami, and I rushed to the toilet. I wished I could go back a few weeks in time to where I thought my only worry was telling him he was about to become a father.

  Only when my stomach was empty and the dry retching stopped, did Matt help me back to the lounge. Placing his arm around me, he pulled me in close where I could feel his heartbeat through his shirt. I wanted to cry, but my emotions felt locked away in a part of me I’d never known existed.

  “Are you positive Darryl is your father though?” I asked, unwilling to let any hope die.

  “I’ve asked Carol if she’ll do a DNA test with me. It should confirm if she is my grandmother.”

  “You spoke to her?”

  “This morning. I explained everything.”

  “And she agreed to the test?”

  “Yes. Knowing you’re pregnant, she understood the importance of the truth.”

  “Matt. What will happen with the baby if it’s true?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t got that far.”

  We sat together for hours, digesting the truth neither of us wanted to accept. Only when the sun had set and the room had fallen into darkness, and a pain shot through my abdomen did I move.

  “Oww,” I cried holding my stomach.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know. I have some serious cramping.”

  “Have you eaten something you shouldn’t have?”

  “No, I gave up Brussels sprout days ago.”

  The pain intensified. “I think I’ll just go pee.” After all, if it was food related, I didn’t need to release it in front of Matt.

  “Okay. So long as you’re okay.”

  I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be okay again after the bombshell he’d dropped, but as I was confronted with the sight of blood when I went to the bathroom, I knew I probably never would be.

  Chapter Nine

  I’d spent far too much time at the Westport General Hospital for one week, but to be on this side of things was a whole lot scarier.

  Matt sat in a chair alongside me as Doctor Jensen explained to me what was happening.

  “So, as you know we’ve done the ultrasound, and it does show you are still pregnant. Which is great news!”

  Because of the early stage of my pregnancy the ultrasound wasn’t performed the way I’d been anticipating. To be honest it was quite embarrassing as I’d never had one done via my...well, let’s not relive that moment, hey? The awesome thing though was when I saw that tiny dot on the screen beating, I cried with relief.

  Adele, the nurse slash receptionist from Doctor Jensen’s clinic bustled into the room. “Excuse me, Lara,” she said, giving me a small smile. “I have those results you were waiting on.” Lara accepted the file that was held out to her, but before she could open it her phone rang. She checked the caller and then excused herself, stepping out of the room to answer it.

  Adele gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s good you have someone here to support you, Molly,” she said, acknowledging Matt.

  “Oh, this is Matt. The baby’s father,” I explained.

  He stood and held out his hand for her to shake. She accepted his gesture, her eyes quietly assessing him. “You’re that reporter from the news, aren’t you?”

  Matt nodded. It was a comment he’d heard a thousand times before.

  “I was watching your report on Paul Pritchard. It’s such a shame he passed away. Far too young,” she finished, her look pensive.

  Before Matt could respond the curtain pulled back and a nurse entered the cubicle pushing a cart which held all kinds of scary looking equipment.

  “Excuse me Molly, but Doctor Jensen wants us to monitor you while you’re with us.” As she spoke, she moved towards the bed I was lying on.

  “Sure. Whatever it takes for the baby to be safe.”

  “Hello Judy,” commented Adele, smiling at the nurse.

  “Adele Jensen,” she commented. “My goodness. I haven’t seen you for a long time.”

  “It’s been too many years.”

  “It certainly has. The last time I saw you we were working together in the maternity ward.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “It was. You’re no longer nursing, I hear.”

  “I do part time work for my daughter,” Adele explained, both ladies ignoring Matt and I. It was fine by me. Their chatter took my mind off what was in the manila folder Adele had handed Lara, and I had to restrain myself from reaching for it and having a read.

  Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long, as Lara re-entered the room in a hurry.

  “So sorry about that. I just have another emergency coming into the hospital tonight. Busy, busy.” She fussed as the nurse started to connect me to the monitors. “Now, where were we?”

  “You were about to open that folder,” I quickly added.

  Lara smiled before lifting the file and scanning the contents. Upon closing it, her expression was light. “Just as I thought.”

  “What was the bleeding about?” Matt asked before I had the chance.

  “Well, it appears that there are two gestational sacs in Molly’s uterus, but only one has a heartbeat. It’s quite common especially if twins run in the family. What we’ll do now is to wait another week when we’ll repeat the ultrasound. If the second heartbeat was just being shy and hiding behind its sibling, we’ll know then.”

  “So, there’s still a chance there could be two?” Matt asked. It was hard to tell if he was horrified at the thought or still in shock.

  “Yes. We originally thought Molly was seven and half weeks pregnant, but I’m going to say that you’re closer to six and half weeks. Which is great. It just makes your due date around October 13th. Let’s
hope it’s not a Friday,” she joked.

  That was no joke. Thanks to mum and Grandma Mabel, we had a superstition for everything under the sun. “Thanks.” I gulped.

  “Ummm, Doctor, could I ask a quick question.?”

  “Yes, Matt?”

  “It’s in, ummm, regards to the baby.”

  “Of course. What would you like to know?”

  He blew out a fast breath. “Well, ummm, what happens to the baby if Molly and I are cousins?”

  Lara looked like she’d been slapped. Adele’s mouth dropped open, and the nurse nearly choked.

  “Are you?” Lara asked, her jaw almost hitting the ground.

  “Ummm, there’s a good possibility.”

  “We didn’t know until today,” I hurriedly added. “I don’t make a habit of hooking up with my relatives.”

  “No. We had no idea!” added Matt. “My mother, Jemima, never told me anything about my family tree, so I’ve been looking into it, and I’ve just found out who my father is. His name’s Darryl Altman and well, we believe he’s Molly’s uncle,” Matt babbled, nervously wringing his hands together.

  “Oh. Okay. Ummm, let me see. Cousins, hey?” She gave a small smile, but I was positive a hint of hysteria lurked within it. “I’ve never had an actual case like this, but I believe the risks to the baby are nowhere near as high as they once thought it could be.” Her brows narrowed as if she was pulling information from the far corners of her memory. “There is an increased risk in birth defects, but we’ll keep a close eye on things.”

  That was a partial relief. One that I could see Matt shared.

  “What happens now?” I asked.

  “I’d like you to stay in overnight so we can monitor you. Nothing to worry about. I prefer prevention to a cure. I do want you to rest. No excitement, and no stress. If all goes well tonight, then you can go home in the morning. I want to see you in my surgery one week from today when I’ll do another ultrasound and we’ll see what’s happening. Mum—sorry, Adele,” she corrected herself, blushing. “Could you please make Molly an appointment to follow this up. Molly, if anything changes don’t hesitate to contact me or come back here. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I must attend to the other emergency.”

  Once they’d left and I was hooked up to the monitors, Matt moved to hold my hand, tears brimming behind his lashes.