Page 67 of Regrets

“Fuck!”

She holds the baby closer as he stirs slightly, but then nuzzles back into her. “I know.”

“So why tell me? Colt is dead. You don’t need the fucking money. What?”

“I want Sebastian to know his family. Colt is gone, but you, Asher, and Lola are still here.”

I laugh coldly at that. “Just fucking barely.”

Another tear rolls down her cheek. “You’re right, I don’t really need anything. My parents hired a tutor for me, and Ifinished school remotely. They’re going to take care of Sebastian when I start taking college courses. I have a night nurse. I don’t need anything. I thought I could just keep the secret, but I look at his face and see Colt.” She looks down at the baby and then back at me. “My son deserves to know where he came from.”

“A broken condom and drunken night from the sounds of it.”

She looks slightly ashamed. “We didn’t have a condom.”

Fuck me, I was joking about the whole fucking her bare thing.Jesus Christ, Colt. I roll my eyes and fold my arms over my chest. “That really doesn’t sound like my brother. He was always prepared.”

“I don’t think he came to the party expecting to get laid.”

“So, he just fucked you and left? That was it? Or was this an ongoing thing?”

Because he was acting fucking weird before he died.

“To me, nothing is unforgivable.”

I thought his words were telling me he knew about me and P.Was he talking about what he did with this chick?

“It was just once. I didn’t even get the chance to tell him I was pregnant. And then when he died, I figured you all had suffered enough. But I just can’t keep the secret anymore, knowing Sebastian’s family is out there. I think Colt would want you all to know.”

“He didn’t know?”

She shakes her head. “He avoided me.”

My fingers rake through my hair as I try not to puke. “This is unbelievable. He wouldn’t do that to Penelope.”

“He did. We did.” She wipes a tear with her arm and holds her baby close. “And I can’t regret it because Sebastian is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And how the fuck do I know you aren’t just a crazy bitch? Maybe bored with your perfect life and wanting to stir uptrouble? Colt going to a party and fucking some chick he barely knows is so unlike him, it boggles my fucking mind.”

“I’ll gladly do a DNA test.”

She hands me a piece of paper. “That’s my address and my phone number. Come to Kansas City, and I’ll do a test when you want.”

I swallow, holding the paper tightly and crumpling it in my hand as I lay my head back against the front door. She places the baby in his carrier, careful not to wake him.

“I’ll be in touch.”

She nods, picking up the carrier and swinging a bag over her shoulder.

“For what it’s worth, I could see the guilt in his eyes the moment we finished. He must have loved her.”

Yeah, he really fucking showed it.

36

PENELOPE

Linc has been silent since he picked me up from therapy. I don’t understand what’s going on because when he left me this afternoon, he was happy.

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