The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel - By Katrina Kittle Page 0,42
him to pick up if Gabby didn’t.”
But, to my surprise, he did.
His “Hello?” was cautious.
“I need to speak to Gabby.”
“Oh—I thought . . . I . . . she . . . she’s not here, Dr. Anderson.”
“Tyler, this is an emergency. Put her on.” My hard, icy voice surprised me.
“She’s not here. For real. I’m sorry.”
My head whirled. “Where is she?”
“I . . . I don’t know, Dr. Ander—”
“Tyler. I’m not kidding. This is urgent.”
“Honest to God. I don’t know. She won’t even talk to me.”
I froze, but inside my brain I scrambled for a toehold.
“She broke up with me.”
The room slanted again. I shut my eyes. Nope—that was worse. I opened them and took a deep breath. “I didn’t know that,” I said, willing my voice to soften. “I’m sorry. Why?”
He didn’t hesitate. My question opened the floodgates. The poor kid was dying to tell. “She wouldn’t even give me a reason. She just kept saying she had to. She said she was breaking up with me because she loved me, but if you really love someone, then how—”
“Is she pregnant?”
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Had I said that out loud? Why? Why?
Helen stood, her face horrified.
“Uh,” Tyler said, making the word last several seconds. “I, uh. I . . . uh, no. I don’t think . . .”
Tyler was smart, but I’d thrown him too much to say the simple no. His answer told me what I’d long suspected, but at least I knew now that what I’d witnessed at the clinic was not her telling him she was pregnant. Now I knew I’d probably witnessed the actual breakup.
Max leaped up and scratched at the door as car lights flashed across the room.
Helen went to the window. “She’s back,” she said.
Thank God, thank God. “Tyler, I’m sorry,” I said. “You know it’s been stressful here. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I need to go now. I’m sorry I called so—”
“Is she okay? Do you want me to help look for her?” His voice was so hopeful, so worried.
“Actually, she just pulled up the drive. So, I should go, but I’ll—”
“Do you want me to quit?” he asked. “At the clinic?”
“What? No! God, no!” I couldn’t lose him and Zayna. I wanted to beg, Please don’t quit, but then I thought how awful it might be for them to work alongside each other every day.
Poor kid. I wanted to hug him. “I’m so sorry, Tyler. Breakups are . . . breakups suck. I don’t want you to quit, but I’d understand if you needed to.”
I heard the car door. Max began to spin his greeting circle.
“I love my job,” Tyler said.
“Then it’s yours as long as you want it.”
I wish I knew the right words to comfort him. His voice about broke my heart. I managed a good-bye and hung up the phone just as Gabby walked in.
Helen busied herself with cleaning up our food mess.
I wasn’t sure how I’d play this. I wanted to corner her and force a confession out of her, but getting this right was too important. I needed to gather my thoughts. I didn’t want to scream at her. I didn’t want her on the defensive, like I’d been with Mimi. The issue was too fragile. If she hadn’t been at the party and she hadn’t been with Tyler, then where had she been?
I hugged her. “How was it?” I asked, feeling like a bitch for trapping her.
She shrugged, her eyes glittering. “Awful.”
Helen squeezed Gabriella’s shoulder, then passed us to enter the kitchen and give us privacy.
“You wanna talk about it?”
She shook her head and went upstairs. She didn’t slam her door, but when she closed it, the sound echoed through the quiet house.
Helen appeared in the kitchen doorway. “I’m gonna go,” she said. So much for our slumber party, but she knew what I needed to do. “But I’ll be back in the morning to soak Satan.”
“Thank you.”
She stepped close and whispered, “You don’t really think she’s pregnant, do you?”
I shook my head. “I misinterpreted something, I think.”
Helen exhaled. “Thank God.” She hugged me and said, “Good luck.”
I was going to need it.
MAX LED ME TO GABRIELLA’S ROOM. I KNOCKED. WHEN she didn’t answer, I opened her door. She was lying on her back in bed, surrounded by books and papers. She had her iPod on, so I flicked the lights to get her attention. She pulled the buds out of her ears.