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“You’re having a little boy.”

My hand immediately covered my mouth.

I laughed as tears filled my eyes.

“Oh my God.”

Carter was going to have a little brother.

The thought made me cry harder.

Not because I was sad.

At least not completely.

This baby hadn’t done shit wrong.

Neither had Carter.

Neither had any of the kids wrapped up in the fucked-up mess the adults around them had created.

I wiped underneath my eyes.

“A boy,” I whispered again.

The tech printed a few pictures before continuing with the measurements. She clicked around the screen for another minute before glancing at the information beside her.

“I just want to make sure we have everything updated. The baby’s father⁠—”

My stomach tightened.

She looked at me.

“Is he involved in the pregnancy?”

“He’s dead.”

Her face immediately changed.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Except it wasn’t.

But what the fuck else did people say when somebody apologized for a death?

Thank you?

Don’t worry about it?

There wasn’t really a right answer.

She looked back toward the computer.

I turned my head back toward the screen.

Xavier Lawless.