Page 31 of Orlando

Orlando picks up Sebastian and sits next to me on the bed. “How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Better,” I tell him. “Thank you… for helping me. With him.”

“You know, I would have been there for you. If I knew. I never would have let you do this on your own for so long,” he says.

“I know,” I whisper. “I wasn’t on my own. My dad helps a lot. He takes Sebastian to work with him so I can go to school.”

“What are your plans for college?”

“I don’t think college is in my future. What about you? Where are you going?”

Orlando’s head snaps in my direction. “You’re going to college, Aleeka. You’re way too fucking smart not to go,” he says.

“I have a child. I need to get a job. I can’t live off my dad forever,” I tell him.

“You won’t have to. I can look after you. Both of you. I have enough money for all of us.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want your money, Orlando.”

“Too bad. You’re going to have it. He’s my son, Aleeka, my responsibility too. I’m not some deadbeat asswipe.”

“I didn’t say you were. I just… I don’t need money from you. I can do this.”

“But you don’t have to do this alone. Let me help. You know I’m going to anyway. We could just get married. Then whatever I have is yours anyway.” Orlando smiles at me.

My eyes widen. “We are not getting married.”

“Yet,” he says. “It’ll happen, little ghost. You’ll see.” He smirks.

Chapter Twenty

Two weeks later

Ifind my girl sitting at the lunch table with Dante and Josie. This week, she’s taken to sitting with us to eat. Pretty sure it was my constant pestering and insistence that she’s one of us that made her cave.

Our latest lockdown ended after a day. Turns out, it was a false alarm. I never did find out what the supposed threat was. But I’m glad, because it meant I could come and go from Aleeka’s place as much as I wanted.

It took Aleeka three days before she was fully recovered from whatever flu she had. Her dad returned and took her home. I went with them, much to his disapproval. Not that he said anything to me. I just get the feeling I’m his least favorite person, not that I can blame him. I did knock up his teenage daughter.

Aleeka told me that he tried to get her to admit who Sebastian’s father was and constantly urged her to tell me. She thinks that’s the whole reason they came back to the city and he insisted she re-enroll at New York Prep instead of continuing with her homeschooling.

I’m really fucking glad they did. I don’t know if she would have told me about my son otherwise. I do believe she was going to tell me when she invited me over, and I understand her hesitancies as well as her fears. That doesn’t mean I like it.

“Hey, babe.” I wrap my arm around Aleeka’s shoulder and kiss the side of her forehead.

She turns to me and shrugs out of my embrace. “Babe? We talked about this, Orlando. I’m not yourbabe,” she says while her eyes flick around the cafeteria.

It’s pointless, though. Everyone in this school knows she’s mine. Thanks to my Insta post two weeks ago, they also know we have a son together. Aleeka wasn’t all too thrilled about that either. Luckily for me, she was too sick to really muster up the energy to be all that mad at the time.

I posted a picture of Sebastian sleeping on my chest with the caption:my mini me, my son.It only showed the back of his head, not his face, but that one post blew up. And now the fact I’ve got a kid is all over the tabloids. Safe to say, my parentsweren’t all that pleased with the post or the aftermath of it either.

“We sleep in the same bed every night, Aleeka. Pretty sure that makes you my babe.” I smirk at her.

Aleeka’s eyes widen. “We sleep in the same bed because you refuse to go home and I usually pass out before I can kick you out.”

“Still sleep in the same bed, babe. So, what are we doing tonight?” I ask her. “I thought we could take Seb to the game. The Knights are in town.”

“The Knights are here? Out of curiosity, if Sebastian just happened to be a huge fan of one of the players, could you get him like a meet and greet?” Aleeka questions me.

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