She’s awkwardly biting her nail looking away from us all.
“Veronica…Vee…I need you to tell me…” I swallow deeply. “Do youknowwho Paislee’s father is?”
Her eyes widen, filled with tears as she buries her head in her hands. “Everything happened so fast.” She cries. “What would’ve been a one time—two time hookup, at most— ended up …well…becoming so much more. Next thing I know, I’m pregnant and…and…” She wipes her face, before taking a big breath in. “No. No, I don’t know who the father is. But, I wanted itso badlyto be yours.” Her eyes plead to me for understanding.
“Holy shit…” Kevin mutters, clearly in a state of shock.
I hesitate to ask but I need to. If it’s the last thing I ever say to her, than so be it. “Why didn’t you just leave me?”
She looks up at me. She looks so distant. Like someone I never knew to begin with. Her eyes ping from me to Noah and back again. “Why didn’tyoujust leaveme?” Here comes the uncontrollable sobs.
The answer hits me in the gut as she continues crying into Kevin's shoulder. “I just…I wanted us to be a family. Arealone.” She sniffles.
There was absolutely nothing real about us. And now…now, I’ve heard enough. I’ve come to do what I needed to do.
Now it’s done.
All this time. Eighteen months. Being with her through the pregnancy. Keeping Noah at arms length. I’ve been fighting for a reality that might not have even been mine to begin with. I gave her pieces of me to keep Paislee close.
And now…I don’t even know if Paislee is mine.
I turn to leave, making my way to the door. Every step feels like I’m sinking.
Numb. Broken. Hollow. Nothing left to feel.
I was so scared of losing myself…but now I know I never had myself to lose.
42
Noah
“Brad!” I chase after him through the door. I have no idea what I’m doing but one second he has the keys in his pocket, and the next, he doesn’t.
Sliding into the front seat of his truck, I put the keys in the ignition and start it up.
“Come on.” I shout out the window.
He doesn't flinch. Doesn’t speak. Just stands there on the front porch like the world ended and no one told him what to do next.
I unbuckle my seatbelt, swing open the truck door, and march toward him. Cupping his face in my hands, I lean in, my forehead nearly brushing his. “Baby…look at me.Please.”
It takes a second, but eventually, his eyes drift to mine.
“Let me take care of you,” I plead softly. “Come with me.”
I see him swallow deeply, before he nods his head, letting me pull him by his hand.
I’ll be forever grateful for the way he slides into the passenger seat. Still choosing me. Even when he’s feeling so lost. So broken.
I don’t say anything. Not for a while. I just focus on us getting out of town. Just driving. Putting miles between Brad and the wreckage we left behind.
Anhour or so later, we’re on quiet country backroads—just cornstalks, old barns, and skies that don’t seem to end.
I turn down a narrow dirt lane I’m almost sure leads to nowhere and ease the truck to a stop.
After cutting the engine, I glance over at Brad. He’s pulled his hat low, shielding his eyes from the world. But the tear streaks down his face tells me enough.
I lean over and gently knock the hat off his head.
