But then, an image flashes through my mind—big blue eyes, soft curls, tiny fingers wrapping around mine. A baby girl. Our baby.
Would we have had a girl or a boy? Would they have his smirk? My laugh? His emerald green eyes or my baby blues? The thoughts crash into me, one after another, relentless and unforgiving. Before I realize it, a tear slips down my cheek, landing silently on the plastic stick in my hands.
I wiped away my tears.
“Are you okay?”
Josh’s voice cut through the fog in my mind, yanking me back to reality. I blinked, realizing I had been staring at nothing, lost in the weight of my own thoughts.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, my voice thick. I swiped at my damp cheeks, sniffling. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. This is good. It’s what I wanted. I just—” My throat closed up, the words tangling together. “I think I just need a minute.”
I turned to walk away, but Josh’s arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest before I could take a full step. The warmth of him, the steady rise and fall of his breathing—it shattered the last bit of control I had left.
I broke.
The sobs came hard and fast, racking through me like a storm. Tears poured down my face, soaking into the fabric of his shirt. I didn’t even know why I was crying—only that I was. It felt like I had lost something that was never mine to begin with.
Loco curled up at my feet, pressing his warm body against my legs. That only made it worse, because that’s all I would ever have—a dog. No family. No future. Just me, growing old alone, the girl who could never get her shit together enough to have a normal life.
I choked on another sob, my hands gripping the fabric of Josh’s shirt. “ I-I’m sorry for making your shirt wet.” I wiped at the damp fabric, my fingers trembling.
“Shhh, it’s okay.” His voice was low, soothing, as he pressed his lips to the top of my head. He gently tilted my chin up with his finger, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You’re okay, Mel.”
His thumb brushed a tear from my cheek, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. His eyes flickered back and forth between mine, something unreadable swirling in them. The moment stretched, pulling me back to another time—a time when Josh was my sweet, patient boyfriend, when he loved me and I couldn’t love him back. Not the way he deserved. I had been too lost, drowning my demons in alcohol and bad decisions.
But now… Now, I wondered. Could we have worked if I had been different back then and hadn’t been so broken? Could we have been something real?
Josh’s fingers tightened slightly on my chin, his gaze darkening. “You’re so beautiful, Melanie.” His voice was barely above a whisper, so soft I almost wasn’t sure if he had actually said it.
And then, his lips slammed on mine.
For a split second, I froze. His mouth was warm, gentle, andcareful. But then reality slammed into me like a freight train, and I shoved him back, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
“Josh.” My voice was firm, warning.
His eyes widened, as if he had just realized what he had done. He ran a hand through his hair, stepping back. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I just did that. You just looked so… beautiful. And vulnerable. And I?—”
I shook my head, backing away, my heart still pounding for all the wrong reasons.
“Get the fuck away from her.”
The sharpness of Nick’s voice cut through the thick tension in the air, yanking me back to reality. My head snapped toward him just as he threw his helmet to the ground, his boots kicking up dust as he stormed toward us.
“Nick, it was an accident—a mistake.” I held out my hands, trying to stop him, but his furious gaze was locked onto Josh.
Nick got right in his face, his voice low and lethal. “If you ever touch my wife again, these hands will be on your fucking face instead of your shirt. The only reason they aren’t right now is because I’m not about to upset a pregnant woman.”
Josh held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, it won’t happen again. We just got caught in the moment?—”
Nick’s jaw tightened. “There will be no more moments because this is the last time you’ll be near her.”
“Nick, stop.” I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back. “Josh didn’t mean any harm.”
Josh exhaled, shaking his head. “Yeah, man, I was just trying to be there for her when she needed a friend.”
Nick let out a sharp laugh, full of disbelief. “She doesn’t?—”
“Enough!” I snapped, throwing up a hand like it could stop the collision. “He wouldn’t even need to be there if you hadn’t blown everything up in the first place. So don’t you dare put this on him.”
