Page 71 of Back On Ice

We drive in silence back to her house, and when we pull into her driveway, I’m not sure I want to get out yet. The tears are still coming, a fresh wave rearing its head every time I relive the way he just walked away, but at least with Abbie here, I don’t feel so alone.

“Thank you, Abbie. For coming to get me.” My voice is wobbly, and it’s hard to get out the words between breaths.

“Of course, Sophie. I’m always here for you.” She takes my hand, and looks at me with tears in her own eyes. “I’m just so sorry you have to go through this right now. But even if you don’t have Carter, you do have so many people who love you and want to help. Me, your parents, Tom, and this whole damn town who loves you so much.”

“I know,” I sniffle. “And I love you too.” Squeezing her hand in mine, I send her a sad smile.

“Okay,” she declares, wiping her eyes and throwing her door open. “Enough sad stuff. I have a freezer full of ice cream and an empty couch calling our names. We can watch rom-coms or I can search the internet for a movie where the girl and her bestie off the ex-boyfriend and get away with it.”

That has me barking a laugh. “Maybe we can just do a straight up comedy.” I pull a face. “As long as it’s not ‘Knocked Up’.”

As Abbie and I stuff our faces full of ice cream, I can’t even pay attention to the movie. The shock of what happened has left me in a constant state of disbelief. My mind just won’t shut off.

How could he do this to me? How could Ilethim do this to me, again? What am I going to do now?

I could be a single mom. What would that look like? I could take some maternity leave after the baby is born, and when I’m ready to go back to work, I’m sure my parents would help out with the little one. Would I need to move out of Tom’s house? I doubt he wants to go through the newborn phase again, but maybe he wouldn’t mind if it’s for his little niece or nephew.

My hand unconsciously wanders down to my belly even though it’s still flat, something that’s been happening more and more recently. One thing I do know, is that no matter what, I’m going to love this little one so much that they will never feel a shortage of it. Whether or not I’m a single mom, this baby will never feel the sting of rejection from Carter Williams like I have.

I’ll make sure of it.

Chapter Twenty Nine

CARTER

Holy shit.

Sophie’s pregnant

How the fuck is she pregnant? She’s on the pill. This shouldn’t have happened.

I’ve never seen myself being a father. Hell, I don’t think I’ve everwantedto be one. Guys on my hockey team would bring their kids to games, and all I could see were small, fragile, malleable lives that could be fucked up so easily.

Just like mine was.

How could I let a child go through anything similar to the life I had growing up? Realistically, I understand that I’m nothing like my dad. But… was he always the way he is? Or did he start out a decent guy, slowly morphing into the man he is over time? What if the same thing happens to me?

The thought of being anything like Dad makes me feel like I’m going to be sick. I mean, it’s not like I had a great example of what a dad should be growing up.

And I have no idea what to do.

What I do know is I need to keep that piece of shit away from Sophie, our unborn baby, and Mom. I need to figure something out to keep everyone safe.

I don’t even know how long he’s been in the area. Has he already seen Sophie and me together? Is he going to hold her safety over my head all over again?

I don’t want to leave her behind again, but I would do it. To keep her safe. Keep my child safe.

I’ll give him whatever the hell he wants as long as he stays far the fuck away from Ivy Glen. Will that be enough though? Will anything ever be enough?

There’s only one way to find out. I need to talk to him.

Simply leaving with them isn’t an option anymore. There’s no telling how far he would go to track me down, and I refuse to raise a child that needs to live in fear like I did.

For the last eight hours, I’ve been wide awake, replaying last night in my mind, wishing I could have reacted differently. Not let my panic control me. To tell her what threat lies in wait for us.

When she told me, my mind went blank of everything but the word “pregnant.” It echoed through me like I was in some kind of horror movie. One more life for Dad to threaten. Another thing he can hold over my head.

Words had failed me, and I had fled with only one thought on my mind.

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