"Who did you get pregnant?"
". . ."
Ren blinked. For a moment, his brain completely shut down. He wasn't even sure he had heard that right. Then, as his mind rebooted, the next thing that registered was the fact that his parents had just called him a mistake.
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. That brief silence was all it took for his mother to break down crying and for his father to start shaking his head like a disappointed priest.
"Who's the girl?" Troy demanded, his voice rising.
Helen clutched her chest. "How many months is she pregnant? Ren, what did you do?"
"It's only been a month that you're here," Troy continued, sounding half in disbelief, half furious. "How can you already make that kind of mistake?"
Ren pressed his hand against his temple. His head throbbed. It felt like the entire room was spinning, and all he could think was how fast his parents could jump to conclusions.
