“Denver.” He fisted my shirt to prevent me blowing past him. His tone stern and fatherly. “You can’t drive five hours to Vancouver right now.”
“I need to see her. Talk to her.”
“So pick up the goddamn phone.”
“If that was an option right now, I would, Aus. But I need to see her. You don’t…you don’t understand.” I peeled hisfingers from my shirt one at a time. “I’m sorry, and I’ll be back as soon as I get things sorted. Love you.”
“Denver!” he yelled, following me outside. “You’re not leaving here, too. You need to stay.”
Realizing he probably thought I was taking off for good, like our father, I decided he deserved more. “Aus, I’m coming back. Don’t say a word to anyone—Blair’s pregnant. I need to go get her. I need to bring her home.”
His entire demeanor shifted, along with the shifting of his weight as he stood on the front porch. His hand dragged down his face. “Shit.Okay. Okay, go get your girl.”
—
The five-hour drive to Vancouver took just over four, but I spent an extra two trying to navigate the city streets. And forty whole minutes wandering through the campus looking for her building.
Standing in front of her door at two a.m., I briefly considered going somewhere to catch some sleep and coming back in the morning with a level head. But I also desperately needed to see her. And the selfish desire to look into her eyes outweighed everything else, so I knocked. Softly, at first, mindful of her roommates. Then a bit harder.
When a random guy opened the door, blood rushed past my eardrums and I gripped the doorframe to keep from passing out. I’d never been the jealous type—never needed to be. Blair was my girl. Everyone in town knew it, and she’d never given me reason to doubt her.
Until this motherfucker.
“Can I help you, man?” the tall, football-player type said. Sure, he had a solid fifty pounds on me, but I was pretty fast. I could potentially dodge punches for long enough to do some damage to this guy.
Clearing my throat, I tried to deepen my voice. “I’m here for Blair.”
You know. My girlfriend.
“Denver?” Blair’s voice came from somewhere deeper in the dorm. Then she popped up beside him in a tank top and pajama pants, hair falling over her bare shoulders.
“Brennan, it’s fine. I got it.” She grabbed his arm, shuffling him to the side. My eyes briefly flitted between them and, clearly noticing, Blair added, “Brennan’s my roommate’s boyfriend.”
With a small huff, Brennan disappeared into the dorm, leaving Blair staring at me with a worried look in her eyes.
“What are you doing here? Did you drive straight here after our phone call?”
“Of course I did. I couldn’t leave things like that.”
“Den—you being here isn’t going to make me change my mind.”
“Can we talk about it? Please?”
She backed away from the door, and I walked into the small dorm space; it looked completely different from when I’d tagged along with her family to move her in back in August. The walls were decorated with posters, dirty dishes littered the counter, and a set of bikes leaned against the only spare wall.
“So, your roommate’s boyfriend…Does he live here?” I looked around for traces of his belongings.
Blair rolled her eyes at me, locking the front door. “No. He stays here with Ashley sometimes. Come on, we can go talk in my room.”
I followed her through the tiny, dark living space to her tiny, dark bedroom. Plopping down on top of her bed, I waited for her to sit next to me before breathing. And her hand fell to my thigh—a surefire sign she still loved me.
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” she asked.
“Well, for one…how are you feeling? Are you sick?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been better, but it’s honestly not too bad. Apparently I have an iron stomach when it comes to—”Her hand quickly draws a circle around her stomach. “But I throw up anytime I drink. It makes zero sense.”
“Well, better than being sick constantly.” I connected the freckles on her forearm with my index finger. “Bear…I think we need to discuss all the options here. Maybe it’s not ideal, but this could be something really good. You can always go back to school later, or get a job, or neither. I meant what I said about taking care of you.”
