Ever since he found out about the pregnancy, he had avoided acknowledging it to his family.

Hearing him admit it here, just to use it as an insult, turned my stomach.

“Don’t talk about him like he’s a problem you found on the street.”

Brielle burst out laughing.

“Oh, Tessa.

You should be grateful Grant still cares about you.”

He pulled several bills from his wallet and waved one in front of my face.

A woman stopped pushing her cart.

A kid lifted his phone to record us.

“Here.

So nobody can say I abandoned a pregnant woman,” Grant said.

I didn’t reach for it.

On my worst nights I had calculated how far short I was on rent, but I knew he would turn that money into a story about his generosity and my helplessness.

“Keep it.”