“Big baby…” I taunt, sticking my thumb in my mouth like a pacifier. Elijah’s face deadpans, and then he bursts out into a fit of contagious laughter. We laugh together, and it feels good after everything that has taken place over the last couple of days.
“I love you, Bailey,” Elijah announces, his face turning serious. “Tell me you love me too, that we’re okay. That I didn’t fucking ruin us forever. Tell me you still want me like I want you. That your heart still beats for me, and only me.”
My heart slaps against my ribs, showcasing the power he has over my body. “I could never stop loving you. Not even knowing that you were going to be a father to another woman’s baby. In the end, I still wanted you to be mine. Maybe that makes me a shitty person, I don’t know, but a love like ours can’t just be shut off.”
Elijah shakes his head. “Fuck, Bailey, you have no idea how good it is to hear you say those words. You have no idea how fucking scared I was. The thought that…” I can see him grappling with his emotions, a hand scrubbing down his face before he looks me straight in the eyes. Those big blues of his bleed into mine, in a way that pulls me in, putting me in a trance, forcing me to see nothing but him.
“That, that baby could have been mine. I mean, fuck, it would have ruined my life. It would have just ruined everything that I had planned. I’m telling you right now, Sunflower, I had never been so relieved in my life. When Asher and I figured out that there was no way that I was the father. I swear, it was like God was giving me a second chance. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found out so quickly. I was seriously about to lose it.”
His words cut through me like an invisible blade. Every molecule of air seems to seep from my lungs. It feels like I’m choking on his words, on the revelation that he just exposed. If he didn’t want a baby with her, then he’s not going to want a baby with me, either.
“Are you okay?” Elijah reaches for me, his hands burning where he touches me. “You look a bit pale all of a sudden. Are you sick?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s nothing, at all. Just... I’m glad everything is back to normal.” The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, but I won’t tell him about the baby yet. I’ll need to take a test first. The idea that maybe he’ll end things over me getting pregnant terrifies me.
“Almost.” He brushes a couple loose strands of hair behind my ear, his lips pressing into a hard line. “I’m going to see her today. I want this shit cleared up.”
Puzzled, I ask, “Why would you go and see her?”
Elijah’s gaze turns cold. “I’m going to confront her. I want to know why she would accuse me of being the father when she obviously knows that I’m not. I was in Atlanta when she got knocked up. I don’t know this woman for shit, but I do know that she isn’t stupid. She did this on purpose, probably to get money out of it. Whatever it is, I want to figure out why. I need to hear her say it. Admit to it.”
The thought of someone doing this for money sickens me. Lying to a person about them having a child, that’s next level fucked up. I remember her coming into the office, wearing designer clothes, hair and makeup done. She didn’t look like she needed any money.
“I’m going to ask her to meet me later, do you want to come?”
“I don’t know… I think I’ll pass.” Carrying his child or not, she is still a woman he slept with, and I don’t need to be reminded of that. Plus, I need to take a pregnancy test. I need to be sure about this before I even think about mentioning it to anyone. “I need to go to the store and pick up some stuff. I’ll meet you back at your place later, okay?”
“Okay? If you don’t come to my place later, I might kidnap you and chain you to my bed,” he says with a grin.
“No need, I’ll be there. Promise.”
“Okay, I’m going to ask Asher to come then. I don’t want to do this on my own.”
We finish our coffees and I start gathering my stuff. I pack the few things I brought and write my dad a note and stick it on the fridge.
Thanks for putting up with me. Love you!
We both leave my dad’s house at the same time but in separate cars.
“I love you,” Elijah calls right before he closes his driver’s side door.
“I love you too,” I mouth, watching him pull out of the driveway. I start my own engine and pull out a moment later. Instead of following Elijah to get onto the highway, I take a turn into town. I need to find a pharmacy, I need to take a test, and I need to do it now.
I park in the CVS parking lot a few minutes later. Grabbing onto the strap of my purse tightly as I walk inside and find the pregnancy test. I buy a double pack of the most expensive test they have. More expensive means better, right?
I pay and find the bathroom. I can’t wait another minute. In the stall, I rip open the package and unwrap one of the tests. After I awkwardly pee on the stupid stick, I lay it on some toilet paper and wait. I didn’t check how long I am supposed to wait until the results, I keep my eyes on the little screen, watching as the two red lines become more prominent with each second. Two lines. Pregnant.
I’m pregnant.
18
Elijah
* * *
Kelly agrees to meet us, go figure, at the Irish Pub. Asher and I arrive early, ordering a celebratory beer before shit hits the fan. I’m halfway done with my beer when Kelly walks in, her nose held high and her face is scrunching up as if she suddenly feels above the place.
“I guess when I was drunk, I didn’t notice how dirty and run down this place is,” she says, taking the seat next to us. “You brought your lawyer to a pub?”
“This is Asher, my brother,” I clarify. “And I highly doubt we are going to need a lawyer, considering that I am not the father.”
“How dare you!” She scowled at me. “Of course you would say something like this. Typical man. Having all the fun and none of the responsibility. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t throw the whole ‘it could be anyone’s baby’ speech in my face when I first told you.”
“I didn’t throw it in your face because I thought the baby could actually be mine when you first told me, and if I would have been the father, I would have taken responsibility, but I am not.” I hate how hostile my voice sounds. I’m mad, fuck, more than mad, I’m livid. But still, she is a pregnant woman, and I hate the thought of scaring her.
“And how would you know?”
“Because the week you supposedly got pregnant with my baby, I was in Atlanta.”
She frowns but doesn’t look too surprised. Of course, she already knew. That witch already knew I’m not the father.
“I just want to know why? For money? Do you need money that bad?”
She sighs heavily, her shoulders sag and her face turns somber. Her whole demeanor changes as if a wall she was hiding behind suddenly crumbled in front of her feet. “Look, I’m going to tell you the truth, okay?” She shifts in her seat and briefly looks over her shoulder like she is making sure no one can hear her or something.
“Yes, I partially did it for the money. The actual father of this baby is out of the picture and I’m not going to lie, I’m freaking out thinking about raising a kid on my own. Obviously this wasn’t planned… none of this was planned!” she emphasizes. “The truth is, I haven’t even thought about you since that night we spent months ago. I knew what we had was nothing more than a one-night stand and I actually found out that I was pregnant a few days after that, so… I had other things on my mind besides you, to say the least—”