Page 23 of The Game Changer

I’m just not sure that I should have.

CHAPTER 8

CASEY

“What are you doing?” Mikayla snaps at me.

The pregnancy tests are piled on the counter, mocking me. I can’t take my eyes off them and only barely register Mick’s question.

“Reeling,” I mutter. “I think the word is reeling.”

“Get your ass out that door and chase her down! You might be a whole lot of things, Casey Pierce, but you are not going to let the woman carrying your kid walk away without at least offering to help her out.”

Her harsh tone snaps me to attention, and I blink, staring at her while images of my mom flash through me. When she told my dad she was pregnant, he just left her to it. That’s one of the reasons I never wanted to become a father. My dad was a shithead. I’ve never even met the guy, but the way he treated Mom was…

He abandoned her. Us.

And if I stay here right now, I’ll be doing exactly the same thing.

My insides clench into a knot so tight, I think I might throw up.

Shit. This can’t be happening.

Pregnant. She’s pregnant.

With my kid.

Mine.

“Fuck,” I shout, slapping the counter and then running for the front door.

Grabbing a coat off the rack, I shove it on, plunging my feet into the first pair of boots I can find. They don’t fit right. My big toes are being squished, which means these must be Asher’s. I don’t bother lacing them up, and he’ll be pissed as his laces drag through the dirty slush leftover from last week’s snowfall.

“Caroline!” I shout, hobbling after her.

She’s shuffling down the road, her shoulders slumped, her arms crossed over those luscious boobs. Red curls bounce against her shoulders as she picks up her pace to get away from me.

“Come on, stop. Please!”

She doesn’t listen, and I end up running in these shit-ass boots that are killing my feet. I finally reach her and give her arm a quick tug. She wrenches out of my grasp and spins to face me, her blue eyes flashing.

Shit, she’s been crying. Or fighting tears, at least.

Her eyes are so blue, they look like the sky on a cloudless day when you’re boarding on a mountain and you feel like anything is possible.

And now my life is over.

Fuck, she’s pregnant.

And I can’t turn my back and walk away.

My stomach churns, and I don’t know what the fuck to say to her right now, so I just stand there, probably looking like a desperate douche. The urge to ask her if she’s 100 percent sure is overwhelming.

But there are a bunch of positive tests on the kitchen counter right now that tell me it’s not a joke.

“I…” That’s all I can fucking manage before a sigh steals the rest of my words.

Caroline huffs and shakes her head, looking across the street and clenching her jaw. “I don’t even know why I came here today. I just felt like I should tell you.”

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