Chapter 7: Truth Revealed
Huey sits nervously on the couch, hands clasped tightly in his lap as he awaits his therapist. The office feels oppressive, the fluorescent lights overhead casting an eerie glow across his face. He can't help but replay the accident in his mind - the screech of tires, the sickening crunch of metal, the agonized screams of his parents. Even now, decades later, the trauma still haunts him.
When the therapist enters, Huey forces a strained smile, nodding in greeting. "Thanks for seeing me," he says quietly, hoping she doesn't notice the tremor in his voice. "I just... I needed to talk about some things." The therapist gestures for him to take a seat, then joins him on the couch, notepad at the ready. Huey takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the difficult conversation ahead.
"I know we've talked about this before briefly, but I just wanted to clarify something,'' He looks up at the therapist with watery maroon eyes. Huey isn't the emotional type but recently he's been attending therapy sessions behind Jasmine's back. He needed to rid himself of these feeling, for Jazmine and the baby's sake. This is his third session and they've spoken about his grandad, upbringing, his relationship, but now it's time to talk about the actual root of his problem. "The truth is, I've always resented my parents. Resented the fact that they died young. The fact that they decided to drive during that storm, not thinking of the two young children they had in the back seat. The fact that they didn't care about how them getting hurt could've affected us. And the fact that I lived, and they didn't. I witnessed my parent's death. I know riley was too young to remember but I did. I remember it being a rainy, dark night; very low visibility, then suddenly two headlights appearing before us. I remember waking up, car upside down, I got Riley out of his car seat and crawled out the car. When I went to wake up my parents they didn't wake up." Huey choked on his words, struggling at the memory he just recalled. "I resented other children who were able to bring their parents to school events and graduation. Yeah, grandad took care of us but that wasn't the plan. The plan was for my parents to be there for me, and they weren't. I went through life not knowing what it was like to have parents. This world is cruel, and anything can happen at any minute, how can I bring a child into this world and have them go through what I went through. I've tried to keep that buried, but lately the fear has gotten stronger."
The therapist regards Huey with compassion in her eyes. "You're doing the right thing by acknowledging your feelings, Huey," she says softly. "The grief you experienced at a young age is natural, and it's a major part of what fuels your current fears. That doesn't make you a bad person, or unworthy of being a husband and father. It speaks to the depth of the bond you share with your wife and future daughter."
"But here's the thing," the therapist continues. "Keeping those feelings hidden away, letting them fester, won't solve anything. In fact, bottling it up will probably only make it harder for you to navigate this pregnancy and fatherhood. So, I want you to practice expressing those emotions - in small ways at first, then building up to sharing them with Jazmine." She gives him a reassuring smile.
"Think of it like a dam," she explains kindly, "the deeper we dive into the messiness underneath, the sooner it rises to the surface and is washed away. Embrace that vulnerability, Huey - it's strength in its rawest form. You have the right and responsibility to heal alongside Jazmine " Huey nods slowly, taking in her wisdom. He realizes how much he's been keeping his fears and worries bottled up, not even sharing them with Jazmine
"Thank you for this insight," Huey murmurs sincerely. "You're right - I need to learn healthy ways to cope with these feelings." The therapist smiles warmly. "Starting small is fine - write about it, journal about it. Reflect on the beliefs you've been holding. Little by little"
Huey leaves the session reflecting on what the therapist has said. He needs to find a way to tell Jazmine before it is too late.
Jazmine dragged herself through the front door, barely managing to lock it behind her before dropping her bag on the floor with a thud. Her feet ached, her shoulders were tight, and her mind was buzzing with everything she hadn't done yet. Ever since the gender reveal, it felt like her workload had doubled—no, tripled. At first, she had told herself it was just to make sure everything was perfect for the baby, their little girl. But deep down, she knew it wasn't just that. She was working more because Huey had been so distant.
She sighed, rubbing her swollen belly absentmindedly. The joy of finding out they were having a daughter had been overshadowed by the growing silence between her and Huey. Jazmine had thrown herself into work to avoid confronting the sinking feeling in her chest. The longer Huey stayed withdrawn, the more she buried herself in tasks—nursery designs, baby registry lists, work hours that stretched into the evening.
She kicked off her shoes, the relief from the pain in her feet barely touching the exhaustion that clung to her bones. The house was quiet, too quiet. She half-expected to see Huey sitting on the couch, reading or lost in thought as usual, but the space was empty. He had been distant, both emotionally and physically. It was as if their connection, once solid and reliable, had thinned out like fog in the morning sun.
Jazmine rubbed her eyes, trying to stave off the headache building at her temples. She didn't want to admit how hurt she was that Huey hadn't been more involved in preparing for their daughter. This should have been a time for them to come together, but instead, she felt like she was carrying all the weight—emotionally, physically, everything.
She moved to the kitchen, leaning heavily against the counter as she poured herself a glass of water. Every muscle in her body screamed for rest, but her mind wouldn't let her. How could she rest when Huey was pulling away? How could she rest when there were still so many things left to do before the baby came?
She took a deep breath, fighting the lump forming in her throat. It wasn't just the nursery or the baby clothes; it was the unspoken distance between them that scared her the most.
Jazmine was still leaning against the counter when she heard the front door creak open. Her heart thudded a little faster, but she didn't turn around. She knew it was Huey. He'd been coming home late more often, never offering an explanation, and she had stopped asking. The sound of his keys hitting the table was followed by heavy silence, the kind that had become so familiar between them."Hey," he said, his voice low as he hung his jacket on the hook.
Jazmine said nothing at first, just watched him from across the room. The tension between them had been festering for weeks, and tonight it felt like a string ready to snap.
"You're home late," she finally said, her voice tight.
Huey hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite form the words. "Yeah… had something I had to take care of."
Jazmine clenched her jaw. That vague answer was starting to feel like his default. "Right. Something important, I'm sure." She set her glass down hard on the counter, the clink louder than she intended. "I've been here—again—doing everything by myself."
Huey's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Jazmine turned on him, her exhaustion flaring into anger. "It means that ever since the gender reveal, you've been checked out. I'm doing everything for this baby, and you're acting like you couldn't care less. You're supposed to be my husband, Huey, but you've been distant. I'm carrying all the weight, and you don't even ask how I'm doing anymore."
Huey shifted uncomfortably, but instead of apologizing, he crossed his arms defensively. "You don't understand. It's not that simple."
"Oh, it's not that simple?" Jazmine snapped, her voice rising. "I'm the one dealing with all the stress! I'm the one who had complications during this pregnancy, and I can't help but think it's because I've been doing all of this alone while you shut me out!"
At that, Huey's calm mask cracked. "You think I don't care? I've been trying to deal with things, Jazmine! I've been going to therapy, for weeks now. Trying to work through my shit so I could be there for you. But every time I come home; all you do is pile on more pressure!"
Jazmine blinked, caught off guard. "Therapy?" The word was a shock to her, and for a moment, her anger softened into confusion. "You didn't tell me you were going to therapy…"
"Because I didn't want you to worry!" Huey shouted; his voice sharp with frustration. "I didn't want you to know that I'm… I'm struggling with this. With all of this."
Her mind raced, trying to process what he was saying. "But why would you keep that from me? We're supposed to be in this together. What's been so hard for you that you couldn't talk to me?"
Huey looked away, his jaw tightening. The silence stretched for too long, and Jazmine's heart pounded in her chest, dread rising.
Then, in a voice that sounded like it was torn from him, he said, "I didn't even want to have a child, Jazmine."
The room went cold.
"What?" Her voice was barely a whisper, disbelief washing over her.
"I—" Huey ran his hands over his face, regret already seeping into his expression, but the damage was done. "I thought… I thought I could get on board with it. But deep down, I didn't want this. I didn't want a kid, sometimes I just wish you had gotten that abortion!"
Jazmine staggered back as if he had physically struck her. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes wide with shock, her mind unable to process the words she had just heard.
Huey's face paled as he realized what he had said. "Jazmine—" He reached out to her, but she stepped back, shaking her head in disbelief, tears already welling up.
"No," she choked out. "No, you don't get to say that to me. You don't get to drop that on me after all of this. After everything!" Her voice cracked as she shouted, the pain in her chest making it hard to breathe. "How could you even think that?!"
"Jazmine, I didn't mean it—" Huey's voice was desperate now, but it was too late.
She turned on her heel and grabbed her coat, her movements frantic, her body trembling.
"Jazmine, wait! Please—"
But she didn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything over the roaring in her ears and the overwhelming betrayal crushing her heart. She stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. The rain was pouring now, but she didn't care. She ran down the steps, and into her car her tears mixing with the cold downpour.
Jazmine's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white, her heart still pounding in her chest as Huey's words played over and over in her head.
I didn't even want to have a child.
She could barely breathe, her vision blurred by tears that wouldn't stop falling. She wasn't even sure where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get away—away from him, away from the betrayal that clung to her like a vice.
The rain beat down hard against the windshield, the rhythmic swish of the wipers doing little to clear the torrent that obscured the road ahead. But Jazmine wasn't paying attention to the road. She was consumed by the hurt, by the disbelief that Huey, the person she thought she could count on most, didn't even want their child. He had wished for an abortion. The thought of it sent fresh tears down her cheeks, her vision swimming.
She pressed harder on the gas, her body trembling with emotion. The dark, rain-soaked streets passed in a blur of light and shadow. Her chest felt like it might explode, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She hadn't expected this, hadn't been prepared for this level of heartbreak. She thought they'd been distant because of the stress, the preparations, the changes coming with the baby. She never imagined it was because Huey had never wanted this at all.
She pounded the steering wheel with her fists, letting out a choked scream of frustration and sorrow. "How could you, Huey? How could you do this to me?"
Jazmine barely noticed the car to her right, didn't see it inching up to the intersection. Her mind was too full of everything else—the weight of her heartbreak, the rage, the confusion. She was too lost in her own pain to notice the glowing red stoplight that the other driver was ignoring.
Her phone buzzed beside her—probably Huey calling, but she couldn't look, didn't want to talk to him right now, not after what he said. She glanced at it for just a second, long enough for the world to narrow to the buzzing phone on the passenger seat.
And then it happened.
A blaring horn ripped through the air, jolting Jazmine back to the present. Her head snapped up just in time to see headlights bearing down on her, too fast, too close. The car that had blown through the stop sign was already barreling toward her, and in the split second it took for her brain to process it, she froze.
The sound of screeching tires cut through the rain, followed by a deafening crunch of metal on metal. Her body lurched forward as her car was slammed from the side, spinning out of control. Time seemed to slow as the world blurred and twisted around her.
Jazmine gasped, her hands gripping the wheel as her car skidded, her heart hammering against her ribs. The pain in her chest intensified, but this time it wasn't from heartbreak. It was real, physical, and overwhelming. She tried to cry out, but the sound caught in her throat as everything went dark.