Page 15 of The Sweetest Chirp

I want to yell. I want to scream at her and demand she give me answers. Tears stream down her cheeks, and I see nothing but remorse and pain on her face. Audrina isn’t a vindictive person; she hid because she was scared. Of me. And I wasn’t there to help her. As much as I want to go off on her, I can’t. I have to tread lightly, or this could blow up in my face.

It’s not about us anymore. It’s about the baby. I have to get her home safe and sound. It’s the least I can do after being absent for three-plus years. She’s lived like this because I scared her mom off. I have to fix this. Then I’ll go toe-to-toe with Audrina.

God, this is a fucking mess.

She doesn’t move from where she is laid out beside our little girl. Audrina’s fingers stroke her back where she has removed the girl’s shirt, and she lies there in only a diaper. Not only is the little girl the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, but she’s all chunky like how I love babies to be. All my friends are having kids, and my favorite are the ones with rolls galore. I want to munch on her like she’s a Texas Roadhouse roll, but that would be weird since I don’t even know her name yet.

Our parents are going to lose their shit.

Ingrid included.

They’re going to be livid, and a new round of fear hits me out of nowhere. I don’t want them to come at her. I want to protect her from their wrath. She deserves my wrath, but not our parents’. This is my fault. They should be mad at me—and they are—but I can’t have them come for Audrina. I can’t let my smart mouth get in the way here. I’m not on the ice trying to get into the heads of my opponents. I’m trying to fix what I broke. I have to put my own damn pain to the side and take this slowly.

Audrina’s eyes are flooded with tears as she stares at me, and I can’t help but take her in. Drink in every feature that has changed and the ones that haven’t. She’s still the stunner she’s always been. Thicker in all the right places, and I think Owen was right. I bet she was a sight to be seen, pregnant with my child.

She did it alone.

Emotion burns in my chest as I bite the inside of my cheek, unable to look away. Her tears fall freely, and I’m not even embarrassed when one rolls down my cheek. I don’t wipe it away. I only lean into the door, watching her care for our daughter. I know my knuckles are white from how tightly I’ve balled my fist to prevent myself from closing the distance. I don’t know what to do, but damn it, I want to help. Audrina has to know because she looks away then, wiping her face as she inhales and lets the breath out just as roughly. She moves a curl out of the baby’s face, and her shoulders shake with sobs as she returns to rubbing her back.

A crash comes from downstairs, and I quickly shut the door, making sure it doesn’t make a noise that would disturb my sick girl. I don’t know what her hearing percentage is, but if she has a fever, the ear gear can amplify sounds, and that can’t feel good.I lock it and then wipe my face before turning to find Audrina watching me.

I somehow find my voice, and it sounds like gravel as I ask, “Is she okay?”

Audrina bites her lip. She tries to speak but pauses. She clears her throat, but then she grimaces before shushing the little girl, who startles at the sound. That means she can hear, but how well with that shitty ear gear? Once she is calm, Audrina looks back at me. “She’s been getting some really bad ear infections lately. I am waiting for the doctor to call me back.”

Anger vibrates throughout me. I don’t yell, but I tell her sternly, “Because she has shitty earwear. You know better?—”

“Stop it,” she demands, sitting up but continuing to rub her back. “You don’t get to come in here and start demanding shit.”

“I don’t?” I ask incredulously. “You kept my daughter from me.”

Audrina presses her lips together. “She has what I can afford.”

I gawk at her. “You could afford more if you came back to your life.”

“That—”

“Or better yet, allow the father to provide for her,” I snap, and her eyes widen. “Or even better, tell the fucking father.”

Her eyes narrow to slits. “Very rich coming from you since I don’t see a paternity test lying around, confirming she is yours.”

Now we’re glaring, tension dark and thick between us. Once more, the brush fire that is us surrounds me, and I allow the burn. Crave it. “I don’t need one when you gave birth to my sister’s twin.”

“Could be hers,” she throws out defiantly, and my glower deepens. She shrugs, knowing her joke fell flat.

“She is mine,” I say with a confidence I didn’t know existed.

Her gaze doesn’t falter as she holds mine. That’s one thing about Audrina I always admired. She doesn’t ever cower. She stands her ground and can go toe-to-toe with anyone. That is why her leaving caught me so off guard. “Yes.”

I have so many questions, but one is flashing like a neon sign in my brain. “What is her name?”

Audrina rolls her lips, glancing down at our daughter as she tucks some hair behind her ear. “Arwen Thaddea Hawkins.”

More questions hit me as if someone is standing over me with a game-day bucket of frozen pucks. But the logos on them aren’t from the IceCats and whoever we’re playing.

Nope. They readThatcher vs. Audrina.

I swallow past the lump that forms in my throat. She doesn’t have my last name. I look from Audrina to our daughter, whose sweet cheeks are still so red. Her nose is so dainty and small, like a little elf. Her name fits perfectly, and the love I feel for the little girl takes root deep in my soul. I know why Audrina named her Arwen since we’re both nerdyLord of the Ringsfans, but her middle name holds me up. “Thaddea?”

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