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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHer voice trembled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we first started dating\u2026 there was someone else. It was brief. It ended before Mateo and I got serious. I thought it didn\u2019t matter anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A cold chill ran through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut?\u201d I asked quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tears rolled down her cheeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut the dates don\u2019t line up anymore. I did the math after the baby was born. And now\u2026 now I\u2019m not sure Mateo is the father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes he know?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She shook her head quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo. And I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leaned against a concrete pillar, trying to process what I had just heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upstairs my best friend was holding that baby girl like she was his entire universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had waited years for this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now Callie was standing in front of me asking for advice that could destroy everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought maybe\u2026 maybe you could help me figure it out,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re the only person he trusts more than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her words felt like a weight pressing down on my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because she was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mateo trusted me with his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This wasn\u2019t a burning building you could run into and pull someone out of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a truth that could tear a family apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy are you telling me?\u201d I asked quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m scared,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd because if I tell him now\u2026 today\u2026 it will ruin the happiest day of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Silence filled the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somewhere a car engine started and faded away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I thought about the hallway upstairs \u2014 the photo we had taken together, three firefighters holding three newborns, laughing like the world couldn\u2019t touch us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It felt like that picture belonged to another life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally I asked the question that had been sitting in my chest like a stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you want to tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her answer came slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes\u2026 but not today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I closed my eyes for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because now I understood something terrifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter what I did next \u2014 whether I kept her secret or told Mateo the truth \u2014 our brotherhood would never be the same again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upstairs there was a message from Mateo waiting for me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBro, where\u2019d you go? She just opened her eyes and squeezed my finger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at that text for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I realized something that made my hands shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n