“Wrong?” She laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, you could say that, but I don’t want to talk about it now. Can it wait until later?”
“Where are you?”
“With Maddie, why?”
“Because I want to see you. You sound upset.”
“Trooper, I’m fine. I know you’re supposed to meet Carlos at the gym, and I’m with Maddie, so don’t change your plans for me. I’ll meet you at your place later. I’m fine, I promise.”
See, this was what I meant about being in a weird space. Everything in me felt like I needed to drop everything and see about her, but then again, I didn’t want to be wrapped up in a situation where everything about me centered around her needs. I know that sounded fucked up, but given how my life was before Sophie, it made perfect sense.
“You sure? I can just swing by there real quick. I have time.” I glanced at my dash to check the time. Los wouldn’t really give a shit if I was late.
“Trooper, do what you need to do. We can talk later.”
“She’s in good hands, Trooper. I got her covered. You can take over later,” Maddie yelled in the background.
I chuckled. “Aight, cool, but call me if you need me and I’m there. You know I got you, and tell Maddie I said what’s up and she better take care of my baby.”
Sophie was quiet and I felt her smiling through the phone before she spoke. “I will. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Aight, bet.”
I ended the call and hooked a sharp left toward the gym. If Sophie was good, I was good, but I planned to pamper her later. No matter how much I fought against it, her happiness was a priority for me. I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.
After five games with Los, and losing ten grand, I was tired as hell and ready to head home. I was off my shit today for some reason, but it was cool. I would get it back the next time we played and the money wasn’t shit.
We only bet because both of us liked to talk trash and money on the line made it that much more interesting.
When I made it to my place, I smelled Sophie’s perfume lingering in the air which meant she hadn’t been there long. Her purse and a few bags on the counter confirmed it for me.
Seeing traces of her at my place made me smile. I couldn’t deny I loved that feeling. Little did I know, shit was about to change drastically and challenge that for me.
After I made it to my bedroom, I went straight to the bathroom door which was shut and locked. Sophie hardly ever closed doors, so something was up.
My closed fist rapped on the door and Sophie’s nervous voice rang out.
“Umm, hold on. Give me a second.”
“Ay, you alright in there?” I questioned with a frown.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just give me a minute, please.”
I sat at the foot of my bed, pulled off my hat, and tossed it on the dresser. Sophie exited the bathroom a few minutes later looking pale and flushed.
“What’s wrong, Sophie? You look sick or something. You don’t feel good?”
“No, but I’m not sick. I’m pregnant.” She held up the plastic stick in her hand I had totally overlooked because I was focused on her face.
“You’re…” I paused, unable to repeat her words.
“Pregnant. My cycle was late, but I thought it was because I was stressed with everything going on. It made sense. It’s happened to me plenty of times before. When I get stressed, I skip it, so I didn’t really pay much attention. But then, when I was on the way home from Maddie’s, I picked up dinner and the smell…” She scrunched her face then continued. “It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to stop and pull over. I threw up the second I opened my car door. I had to throw the food out because I couldn’t ride with it in the car.”
I sat there staring at her, trying to process what she said. Pregnant, that meant a baby, my baby. How the fuck had that happened? Shit, I knew how it’d happened, but it wasn’t supposed to.
“I don’t have to keep it if you don’t…”
“Whoa, I didn’t say that.”
