"Nah, you serious, Parker? We slept together, what... six months ago at least?" I said, my voice laced with disbelief.
Parker McKenna Posey. The last time I saw her was on the Fourth of July, 2015. And now, here we were, on January 1st, and she was telling me this?
"I know, Franklin." she sighed. "I didn't find out right away. I had a cryptic pregnancy, I didn't have symptoms, no signs. I only found out last month, but it took me some time to tell you."
I ran a hand over my face, trying to process what she just said. A cryptic pregnancy? This was crazy.
"A month ago?" I repeated, my tone getting sharper. "So you sat on this for weeks before letting me know?"
"I had to wrap my own head around it first." she said. "It's not like I planned this, Franklin. You think I wanted to call you with this out of nowhere?"
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor.
"So what now?" I asked after a pause.
She sighed again, quieter this time. "I don't know. But I knew I couldn't keep it from you forever. You deserved to know."
I shook my head, still trying to process it.
"Where you at right now?" I finally asked.
"L.A." she answered.
"Alright... we gotta talk about this properly." I said, my voice calmer but still serious. "I need a little time to process. I just... I need to think."
"I get it." she said. "Just let me know when you're ready to talk more."
I nodded to myself. "Yeah. I will."
I hung up, staring at my phone for a few seconds before putting it down.
Derrick was still sitting across from me, watching me carefully.
"That didn't sound like a normal call." he said.
I sighed, rubbing my face again.
"Nah, bro." I muttered. "It definitely wasn't."
I let out a deep breath, still staring at my phone before finally looking up at Derrick. He was waiting, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
"Man, that was Parker." I said, my voice low.
"Parker?" he repeated, frowning slightly.
"Yeah… Parker McKenna. We hooked up back on July." I admitted. "And now, she just told me she's pregnant."
Derrick blinked, then leaned forward. "Wait… what? That was seven months ago, bro."
"Exactly." I muttered. "She said she had a cryptic pregnancy. Didn't know she was pregnant until last month, and she just told me now."
Derrick let out a low whistle. "Damn. That's crazy."
Derrick leaned back, rubbing his chin. "So what you gonna do?"
"I don't know yet." I admitted. "But if it's mine, I gotta step up. Just… I never expected to be in this situation."
Derrick patted my shoulder before standing up. "If you need anything, bro, I got you."
"Appreciate it, man."
I leaned back against my locker, staring at the ceiling. My whole world just shifted.
Two hours later I returned home.
as I sat on the couch, staring at my phone screen for a moment before finally pressing the call button. It rang a couple of times before my mom picked up.
"Hey, Frank. How are you, my son? Had a good day?"
"Yeah, I'm good, Mom. How about you? Everything alright?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just a regular day. You seem like I don't know, did you get injured?"
I swallowed hard, running a hand over my face. "Nah I'm fine. But, uh… I got something I need to tell you."
There was a slight pause before she responded. "Oh? What is it?"
"I'm gonna be a father."
Silence.
Then, "Excuse me?!"
"Yeah… I just found out today. Parker, this girl I was seeing a while back, she told me she's pregnant. Says the baby's mine."
"Franklin, but…?!" Her voice was filled with shock, but not anger. More like disbelief.
"She said it was a cryptic pregnancy. She didn't even know until last month. Took her some time to tell me."
Another silence, then a deep sigh. "My God… And what are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet. I mean if the baby's mine, I'll step up."
Her voice softened. "Listen, Franklin. I won't lie, this is unexpected. But if this baby is yours, you do what's right. Keep me updated, okay? And if you need anything, I'm here."
"I will. Mom."
"Love you, Frank. Get some rest, my son."
After getting off the phone with my mom, I talked about it with my friends, now I'm on the phone with Asher.
"Nah, nah, nah, hold up. You? You about to have a kid before me? I'm dead!"
I couldn't help but laugh too. "Bruh, if somebody told me this a year ago, I would've called them crazy."
"Facts! That's wild. But hey, congrats, bro."
"Yeah, man… crazy situation, but it is what it is."
"Real talk. So, what you hoping for? A little Franklin Jr. or a baby girl?"
I leaned back on the couch, thinking for a second before answering. "Honestly? I don't even care. Boy or girl, it don't matter. I just hope the kid is healthy, you feel me?"
"I respect that. Either way, that kid gonna be blessed, the little one will be born with millions around him."
"For real." I say.
After all the conversations, I started to feel a little more at ease about everything. But there was still one last call I needed to make.
I grabbed my phone, scrolled through my contacts, and dialed the number. It rang a couple of times before she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Yo, Bernice. So… are you pregnant or not?"
There was a brief pause before she answered, "No, I'm not pregnant, Franklin."
I let out a small breath, nodding to myself. "Alright. Just wanted to be sure."
"You sound relieved."
"Don't act surprised." I tell her.
She laughed. "Fair enough. But since you're calling, maybe I should come see you?"
"Nah, I'm good. I just needed to know, that's all."
I ended the call and sat back. One less thing to worry about.