The room went completely silent.<\/p>\n
I stared at Dr. Collins.<\/p>\n
Then at my mother.<\/p>\n
Then at my father.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The word came out before I even realized I had spoken.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, that\u2019s impossible.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins looked at me with sympathy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why you feel that way.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking about my entire life.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father stepped closer to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly are you saying?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins opened the file.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe genetic screening from Nicole\u2019s pregnancy revealed a connection between the unborn baby and Maya.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree. That\u2019s why additional testing was recommended.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother wiped her tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to believe it either.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Her silence answered.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long did you know something was wrong?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
She whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt like the air had been knocked out of me.<\/p>\n
Two weeks.<\/p>\n
For two weeks, she had been carrying a secret that involved my identity.<\/p>\n
And instead of telling me, she had accused me.<\/p>\n
My father looked at her in disbelief.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew your daughter\u2019s life was being questioned, and you still kept this from us?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to understand.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was sharper.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were trying to control the situation.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother started crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone kept saying that word.<\/p>\n
Scared.<\/p>\n
As if fear explained everything.<\/p>\n
As if being afraid gave someone permission to hurt others.<\/p>\n
I looked at Dr. Collins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does the test actually mean?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He sat down across from me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first possibility is that the screening was affected by contamination or a laboratory error. That\u2019s why we ordered confirmation.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the second possibility?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second possibility is that there is a biological relationship between you and the baby.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed nervously.<\/p>\n
Not because it was funny.<\/p>\n
Because my brain couldn\u2019t accept it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m seventeen.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been pregnant.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
My father looked at Nicole.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s face turned pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad walked away from the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to believe anymore.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched him.<\/p>\n
The strongest person I knew suddenly looked completely lost.<\/p>\n
Then Ethan quietly walked into the room.<\/p>\n
He had been standing in the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing awake?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan held a stuffed animal against his chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard everyone crying.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart broke.<\/p>\n
This was too much for a nine-year-old.<\/p>\n
I walked over and hugged him.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo back upstairs, Ethan.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Maya\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then nodded.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, he looked at Mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does everyone keep having secrets?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
After he disappeared upstairs, the silence returned.<\/p>\n
Then my father\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
A woman\u2019s voice came through.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t hear what she said.<\/p>\n
But I watched my father\u2019s face change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He grabbed the edge of the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He listened.<\/p>\n
Then slowly looked at me.<\/p>\n
My heart started racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He ended the call.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Finally, he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the lab.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe confirmation results are ready.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Dad walked toward the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to hear it over the phone.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Dr. Collins.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell us.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The doctor opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
His eyes moved across the page.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I held my breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results confirm that the baby is genetically related to you.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees almost gave out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, because the relationship is not what we expected.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My father frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins slowly placed the paper down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe baby is not related to Maya as a sibling.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The doctor looked at my father.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results indicate the baby is connected to Maya through a close family line.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Collins looked at the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
My father stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
The doctor took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe baby appears to share DNA with Maya because of a connection through her biological father.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody understood.<\/p>\n
Until he said the next words.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya\u2019s biological father is not who she was raised to believe.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at my father.<\/p>\n
The man who had taught me to ride a bike.<\/p>\n
The man who held me when I cried.<\/p>\n
The man I had always called Dad.<\/p>\n
His face was frozen.<\/p>\n
Because he knew.<\/p>\n
Before I did.<\/p>\n
My father whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cNicole\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother broke down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The room went completely silent. I stared at Dr. Collins. Then at my mother. Then at my father. \u201cNo.\u201d\u201d The word came out before I even realized I had spoken.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}