Tears blur my vision before I even realize they’ve spilled free.
My fingers tighten around Trey’s, gripping him like he’s the only solid thing left in the world.
I turn my head.
His eyes are locked on the screen as he makes sense of it all, studying every detail. “That’s…” His voice is quieter than I’ve ever heard it. “That’s our baby?”
My chest aches.
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “That’s ours.”
His grip on my hand tightens.
The technician hands me a small stack of printed images a few minutes later.
Three tiny snapshots of something that already feels like everything.
“We’ll have you start prenatal vitamins,” she says gently. “We’ll schedule your next appointment in a few weeks. And try to avoid unnecessary stress.”
Trey lets out a quiet breath beside me, something almost like a laugh.
I manage a small one too.
Because unnecessary doesn’t exist in our world.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Trey
Adhd – Truslow
The engine hums low beneath my hands.
Two SUVs lead, with two more following behind, though I can’t really process any of it after what the fuck I just witnessed… my baby… which, according to the smiling doctor like it was no big deal, looked like something crossed between E.T.’s nutsack and a fucking kidney bean.
Seraphina sits beside me, quiet, her fingers curled protectively around the ultrasound photos, and every so often her thumbbrushes over the glossy surface, while I realize I have got some fucking reading up to do on pregnancy and babies, and I am steering well clear of anything with pictures because that last one was… yeah, I want to be able to close my eyes and actually sleep at night.
My poor wifey…
My jaw tightens.
I drag my gaze back to the road.
Then it slips again.
You. You are going to be a fucking dad.
The thought lands differently every time it surfaces.
Uncomfortable to grip…to comprehend.
Not fear exactly. Denial? Yeah, a lot of that. Some self-loathing? Maybe just a sprinkle.
I want to protect her—to protectthem.
Horrible fucking what-ifs start creeping in, thoughts about picking and choosing, about being forced to decide, and if I had to save just one, who would I pick? It’s obvious, right? If it came down to my life or my wife’s, I would choose hers every time.
But would it be the same with the baby?
