Chapter 2: The Receipt
Nobody touched the phone.
It kept vibrating.
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
The name *DEREK* glowed against the black screen like a warning.
My father stared at it.
Vanessa stood perfectly still.
Isaiah was beside me now.
I could feel his shoulder against mine.
He whispered, “Nia?””
“I don’t know.””
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“Who is Derek?””
“He’s nobody.””
The phone vibrated again.
Dad's eyebrows lifted.
“Nobody calls this many times.””
“Marcus, please.””
“Who is he?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“He’s someone from work.””
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was so obviously another lie.
“Since when do people from work call you four times in a row?””
Vanessa shot me a look.
“You stay out of this.””
“This started because you accused me of being pregnant.””
“Enough.””
Dad's voice was quiet.
That was worse than yelling.
Vanessa looked at him.
“Marcus—”
“Answer one question.””
She waited.
“Who is Derek?””
“He’s a friend.””
“What kind of friend?””
Vanessa's eyes flickered.
“I already told you.””
“No,” Dad said.
“You gave me three different answers.””
She opened her mouth.
Dad held up the receipt.
“And this doesn't explain itself.””
Vanessa glanced at the paper.
Isaiah leaned toward me.
“I knew something was weird.””
I whispered, “What do you mean?””
“I saw her buy the test.””
My eyes widened.
“When?””
“Yesterday.””
“You were with her?””
He nodded.
“She said she needed medicine.””
Vanessa heard him.
“You were supposed to keep that to yourself.””
Isaiah looked at her.
“You lied to Dad.””
Her jaw tightened.
“I didn't lie.””
“You told him you were buying vitamins.””
Dad turned sharply.
“You told me you were buying vitamins?””
Vanessa's face tightened.
“I said I was picking up a few things.””
“No,” Isaiah said.
“You said vitamins.””
“Isaiah.””
“What?””
“You're fourteen. You don't understand adult situations.””
He shrugged.
“I understand receipts.””
For one second, nobody spoke.
Then Dad looked down at the receipt again.
“Two pregnancy tests.””
His voice was barely audible.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Two?””
She didn't respond.
Dad's fingers tightened around the paper.
“You bought two tests.””
“I needed them.””
“For Nia?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you give them to her?””
“I was going to.””
“When?””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“I don't know. I hadn't decided.””
I stepped forward.
“You searched my room before you even gave me one?””
She looked at me.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
“From making a mistake.””
“I didn't make a mistake!””
“You don't know that.””
“I know whether I'm pregnant!””
My voice echoed through the kitchen.
Dad looked at me.
I could see doubt still sitting behind his eyes.
That hurt more than Vanessa's accusation.
“Dad,” I said, “look at me.””
He did.
“I haven't slept with anyone.””
Vanessa made a disbelieving sound.
I turned toward her.
“Don't.””
She crossed her arms.
“I'm just saying—”
“You're not just saying anything.””
I looked back at Dad.
“I haven't.””
He studied my face.
Then his shoulders dropped.
“I believe you.””
The relief came so suddenly my eyes burned.
“Thank you.””
“But then,” Dad continued, “we have a bigger problem.””
He held up the receipt.
“Because somebody bought those tests.””
Isaiah nodded.
“And the empty box is in Vanessa's bag.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You're making this into something it isn't.””
“Then explain it,” Dad said.
“I already did.””
“No.””
His voice hardened.
“You accused my daughter of something you now admit you bought the evidence for.””
“I didn't say I bought the test that's positive.””
Silence.
I stared at her.
“What?””
Vanessa realized what she had said.
Dad did too.
“You bought two,” he said slowly.
“But you're saying you didn't buy the positive one.””
“I—I meant…”
“Where did the positive test come from?””
“I don't know.””
“You said you found it in Nia's room.””
“I did.””
“Then how did it get there?””
Vanessa rubbed her forehead.
“I don't know.””
I watched her carefully.
She wasn't just nervous anymore.
She was calculating.
Her eyes kept moving around the room.
Door.
Counter.
Phone.
Bag.
Dad.
Isaiah.
Me.
Like she was looking for an exit.
Then Isaiah spoke.
“There was something else.””
Vanessa's head snapped toward him.
“What?””
Isaiah reached into the pocket of his green hoodie.
He pulled out his phone.
“I took a picture yesterday.””
Vanessa went pale.
Dad looked at him.
“A picture of what?””
Isaiah unlocked his phone.
“I didn't know it mattered.””
He turned the screen toward Dad.
The photo showed a pharmacy parking lot.
Vanessa's car was parked near the entrance.
And in the reflection of the pharmacy window, a man stood beside her.
Tall.
Dark jacket.
Baseball cap.
His face wasn't perfectly clear.
But he was close enough to Vanessa that their shoulders were almost touching.
Dad stared at the image.
“Who is that?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Isaiah zoomed in.
Then he looked at Dad.
“I think that's Derek.””
Dad's eyes lifted.
“Where did you get this?””
“I took it when you called me.””
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa told me not to tell you she was meeting somebody.””
Vanessa's voice rose.
“I never said that!””
“You did.””
“I said I was running an errand!””
“You told me not to mention the man in the parking lot.””
Dad's face went still.
He looked at Vanessa.
“You met Derek yesterday?””
“It wasn't like that.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means you're misunderstanding.””
“Then explain.””
She shook her head.
“I can't.””
Dad laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You can't?””
“I don't know how.””
“You've got five minutes of my life I've spent listening to lies, Vanessa. You better figure it out.””
She stared at him.
Then her phone vibrated again.
This time, a message appeared beneath Derek's name.
*Derek: We need to talk before he finds out.*
Dad saw it.
So did I.
So did Isaiah.
Vanessa grabbed the phone.
But Dad caught her hand.
“What does he mean,” he asked, “when he says ‘before he finds out’?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Marcus…”
“Who is he talking about?””
She said nothing.
Dad released her hand.
Then he stepped away from her.
“I'm asking you one last time.””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“Derek isn't my friend.””
“I know.””
“He isn't my coworker.””
“I know.””
“And he isn't…”
She stopped.
Dad waited.
Vanessa looked at me.
Then at Isaiah.
Then at the man she had called her husband.
“He's the reason I bought the pregnancy tests.””
The words landed like a glass breaking.
I couldn't breathe.
Dad's face emptied of emotion.
Isaiah whispered, “What?””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
And then Derek called again.
This time, Dad reached for the phone.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“Marcus, if you answer that call, everything changes.””
Dad looked at her hand on his arm.
Then at her face.
“Maybe it should.””
His fingers closed around the phone.
May you like
And just before he answered, another message appeared on the screen.
*Derek: Tell Marcus the baby is mine.*