I want that to be my every day. For me to wake up to see her lying next to me, exactly where she’s meant to be. Sometimes I wonder if I’m holding her back. If I’m not letting her live her youth, and she’ll resent me later on for it. Still, I can’t let her go.
“Miss you too.” I carry her off the elevator into my place. I need to see about getting her to move in here. Slowly more and more of her stuff has ended up here.
Soon I’ll have it all.
18
Willow
“We’re next to each other.” I hand Zoey her hotel room key. It was tough getting rooms since the whole city seems to be booked. It might be terrible, but my father’s assistant made a few calls and bam, I had two rooms.
My parents might be absentminded when it comes to being a part of my life, but when it has to do with anything else I might need, they always come through. It makes me think that maybe I should let some of my anger go and take them as they are. I know I wasn’t a planned pregnancy for them.
Speaking of pregnancy, my hand goes to my stomach. If I’m knocked up that wouldn’t be planned either. Bear and I have been careless. He’s never once asked if I was on birth control, and I haven’t divulged that I’m not either. I’m not sure what to make of him not asking.
“I’ve got a test in my bag.” My head jerks up. I told Zoey the other day at the coffee shop that I thought I might be pregnant. I was too chicken to take a test. “Let’s go to our rooms and wait for our bags to come up.”
“Sometimes I think you can read my mind.” We catch the elevator, heading up to our rooms.
“I’ll be over when my bags get here. Don’t be peeing until then.” I snort a laugh, putting my key into the door to let myself in.
A few seconds later there is a knock at the door. That was fast. I pull a ten out of my purse before heading to the door to let the bellhop in.
I freeze when I open the door and see Tiffany there. I haven’t seen her in months. Not since she busted me in Bear’s room on one of the road trips.
“We need to talk.” She pushes into the room. I’m so stunned I don’t stop her.
“I’d rather not.” I keep the door open.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Okay. Congratulations?”
“It’s Theo’s.” Her words hit me like a sledgehammer. It’s not possible. They didn’t even really date. But that doesn’t mean they never… I feel as though I’m going to vomit, but I try to keep it together as my mind snaps back to the night Bear got on the elevator with Zoey and me. I’d thought he was headed out to a booty call. When I asked him about it later, he said that wasn’t the case.
“I don’t believe you.”
“I didn’t want to have to do this, but I will.” She walks back over toward me, showing me her phone. A video of Bear and me in the elevator going at it plays on the screen.
She starts to scroll. There is picture after picture of Bear and my stolen moments. One picture is me wrapped around him as he pins me to the elevator wall. His hand is around my throat. It looks bad. Really bad. This could end him. I’m not sure what my parents will think either. I’m not sure how it will affect me at school. So many thoughts continue to race through my mind.
The truth is that’s one of the hottest things my Bear does when we’re going at it. I crave him taking control. It’s so freeing.
“What do you want?”
“Break it off with Theo.” My stomach drops. “And I want $100,000 dollars wired to this account.” She shoves a card at me.
“Why? Do you think if I break up with him he’ll go running to you?” What is wrong with this woman? Doesn’t she know that money can’t buy you love or happiness? Or make someone want you?
“Yes. Once he finds out I’m pregnant with his child.” She rubs her hand across her stomach, and there is a small baby bump.
Tears burn at the back of my eyes. “Don’t do this. Bear is a good man. This could ruin him,” I try to plead with her.
“Then you should let him go.”
“Okay.” I agree, trying to buy time. She gives me a skeptical look.
“Text him.”
“Right now?!”
“Yes, or I’ll leak all this to the media before the game starts.” Oh God. Bear has gone his entire career without having his name smeared all over the tabloids. The thought of me being the reason why has me feeling sick to my stomach. I pull my phone out. My hands are shaking. She snatches the phone from out of my hand. “I’ll do it.”
Me: I can’t do this anymore. We’re over. This will never work.
A tear escapes. I try and grab the phone back from her, but she drops it to the ground and stomps on it.
“You’re a crazy bitch.” I want to smack her, but she’s pregnant.
“Stay away from my Theo.” My whole body feels numb. “I expect my money Monday morning when the banks open,” she says as she walks out the door.
“Willow! Open this door. Our rooms connect.” Zoey pounds on the connecting door. When I open the door and see her, I burst into tears. She grabs me, holding me tight. “What’s wrong?”
It takes me a minute to get it all out. By the time I’m done, my normal sweet Zoey looks like she could murder someone.
“It’s not his baby. I’m not buying it.”
“The man isn’t known for wearing condoms.”
“He never did anything with that bitch.”
“Do we really know that?”
“Yes! That’s not the kind of man Theo is.” That is true. “We’re taking this.” She holds up the pregnancy test.
“I’m scared.”
“I think you and Theo knew what you were doing. You’re not careless, Willow, and neither is he.”
She’s right. I take the test from her hand. Even after everything that just happened I know I want the test to say positive. Maybe I am crazy.
He’s never told me that he loves me. But I swear I could feel it in his touch. A baby would be skipping all kinds of steps, and I don’t want him to pick me because I’m pregnant with his baby.
“Let’s do this.” Zoey follows me into the bathroom. We wait together, knowing this could change everything for me.
19
Theodore
She has lost her damn mind. I don’t even respond. I’m going to turn her ass red when I get my hands on her. I don’t know what could have changed in the past few hours, but it doesn't matter. We’re not over. We’ll never be over.
I get back to getting ready for the game. When we run onto the field, I see Willow and Zoey sitting in the seats I got them. Willow keeps her head down, not making eye contact with me. Zoey looks like she wants to cut my balls off.
“What the hell did you do?” Reid says under his breath next to me.
“No clue.” I can’t stop myself from stealing looks her way. What has her running scared? I run my hand down my face, trying to figure out where I fucked up. These past months have been the best of my life. We have never actually had a fight before.