Page 18 of Unexpected Love

“Mom, I swear we were safe. I don’t know how it happened.” God, that sounds so lame. I’ve always been safe—even with Tracey, we always used condoms. I’d never wanted to take the chance that birth control pills could fail.

“Son, are you sure it’s your baby?” I open my mouth to speak, but my dad holds up his hand. “I really like Chloe, I do, but how can you be sure it’s yours?”

That makes me mad because I trust her. Yeah, we don’t know each other well, but she doesn’t seem like the type to pull any shit like that. “Because I trust her when she says that it’s mine. Chloe told me I could be involved as much as I want.”

“She lives four hours away. How is it going to work?” This comes from my mom.

“I don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far. She was in the emergency room yesterday and hasn’t been feeling well.”

My mom stands up and moves toward me. “What happened? Are her and the baby okay?”

“Yeah, she’s just got really bad nausea and has been living off peanut butter and saltines…it caught up with her because she passed out at work. They gave her fluids, and now she’s taking ginger pills and has peppermint oil going in a diffuser.” I don’t like that she’s alone. Sure, her parents and brother live close, but they don’t live with her.

“That poor thing. I remember what that was like. I was so sick with Parker.” She cups my cheek. “In all seriousness, you can’t say you’re going to be all in and then bail on her. I’m not thrilled that this has happened, but babies are a blessing. You don’t necessarily have to be together, but raising a child is a partnership. You two are bound together forever now.”

Forever? Why does the thought of forever make me queasy all of a sudden? I’m going to be someone’s father.

“Joe?”

I back away from my mom, looking between her and my dad. “I’ve got to get out of here.” Bolting for the door, I can hear my dad calling after me, but I don’t stop. I climb in my car and back out quickly.

After driving around aimlessly, I stop along the river. This spot is where Violet and I would come when either of us needed to talk. God, I wish Vi was here now. I could call her, I guess, but she’s basking in newly wedded bliss with Diego. Our kids will be close in age just like we are.

I don’t know if I can do this—raise a baby together as some sort of partnership, or raise a baby at all. Sure, I love my niece and nephews, but the best part about them is that they’ll go home to their mom and dad.

Chloe’s seven years older than I am, but the age thing doesn’t bother me. So she’s older than I am…big fucking deal, because she doesn’t look it, and even if she did, I wouldn’t care. She’s beautiful and sweet and obviously loved by her family. Plus she’s related to my aunt Stacy on her side of the family, and she rocks.

But can I really raise a child with her? Will it work?

The streetlights are on when I finally make it home. Both of my parents have tried calling me, but I’ve been ignoring them. Inside my apartment, I grab a beer out of the fridge. The hiss of the cap being twisted fills my little kitchen. I toss it in the sink and drink down half of the bottle before pulling it away from my lips.

I pull out my phone, thumb through the contacts, and stop on Chloe’s name. I want to take the easy way out and just text her, but I can’t do it. She deserves to at least hear the words from my mouth.

Shit. It goes right to voicemail. “This is Chloe—you know what to do.”

After the beep, I take a deep breath. “Hey, Chloe, it’s Joe. Listen, I don’t want to do this on your voicemail, but I just need to get it out. I don’t think I can do this. I’m not ready to be someone’s father. I’m so sorry.” I disconnect the call. Slamming the rest of my beer down, I grab another and crack it open. I drink this one a little slower, and no matter what, it doesn’t make me feel any better about what I just did.

My phone pings, and I see it’s a text from Chloe.

Chloe: Ok. I will tell you this one time and one time only. There will be no changing your mind down the road. You don’t want to be a father then fine you won’t be. When the child’s born I’ll have papers drawn up so you can sign over all of your rights. Have a good life, Joe.

I read it over and over, and the sinking feeling in my stomach hurts like a son of a bitch. With a flick of my wrist, my phone hits the tiled backsplash in my kitchen. The screen shatters and hits the counter.

“What did I just do?”

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