Page 104 of Who's Your Daddy?

That makes sense.

Whatever she’s getting must be urgent because she wouldn’t just leave him here...right?

I sit down on the edge of the couch, anxiously tapping my foot. I maintain a safe distance from the box, barely looking at him...because I can’t. It’s too much to take in.

After fifteen minutes, I make peace with the fact that she didn’t go to the store. That’s when I call Scott. He’s about to go into a meeting with the dean at the university but cancels it when he hears the distress in my voice.

It feels like an eternity passes before I hear the front door open.

“Hey, Pete. Is everything okay?”

He slams the door shut, and it must shock the baby because he jolts in his sleep.

“Shhhhhh!”

He enters the living room and stops dead in his tracks. “Yo, what is that?”

I throw him an unimpressed glare because he’s supposed to be the smart one. “It’s a baby.”

“Yeah, whose baby?”

“Who else do you know that recently had a baby?”

“But I thought you guys were, you know...because he wasn’t your...” He scratches his head, looking uncomfortable to ask these questions. “Are you guys gonna try to work it out...even though...”

“Not exactly,” I reply, resting my chin on my clasped hands. “It’s kinda hard to work anything out when she’s not here. She just dumped him on my doorstep and fucked off.”

“Wait.” He looks around in horror, processing this information. “So, you’re telling me you’re here...with this baby...alone? What if he wakes up?”

“That’s why I called you, genius.”

“You don’t callmefor shit like this,” he says, sounding as panicked as me. “I have a wife. Why didn’t you call her?” He huffs out a few breaths. “It’s okay. Dylan said Isa had a meeting today, so he’s supposed to come check on you. I’m sure he’s already on his way.”

During the endless wait for help to arrive, the security guards call me back only to inform me that they weren’t able to catch Lia. I ask Dave about the box, and apparently, she told him we had broken up, and she was just returning some of my things. He, just like me, ate up her lies without question. If he only knew that the main item in the box was never mine to begin with.

Dylan walks in. “Honey, I’m home,” he yells from the door.

“Shhhhh!” Scott and I hiss out.

“What’s going on?” he asks as he enters the living room. He’s less shocked and more appalled when he spots my new visitor. His eyes narrow at me like I’m the bad one. “Why is there a baby in that box?”

“That’s the way I found him.”

“And you just left him like that? In a box?”

“I didn’t know what to do with him.”

He rushes over and kneels beside the box. “I’ll give you a hint, Pete. It’s to not leave him in a fucking box.” Very gently, Dylan cradles his head and lifts him out. “Come here, little guy.”

Scott sits down beside me and nudges my arm playfully. “See? I told you we’d find a use for him one day.”

“Ah, you’re so tiny,” Dylan coos, lightly rocking the bundle. “And so cute. Do you want to hold him, Pete?”

“I can’t even look at him, Dyl.”

“That’s okay,” he says, still cooing in the same soothing tone. “We understand, don’t we? He’s going through the most right now. Let’s give him some time.”

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here.” Scott reaches over to grab the backpack. “We’ve got four...no, five diapers.” He takes them out and places them on the couch. “We’ve got a blanket, some clothes. What’s this?”

---