Page 4 of Everything We Left Unsaid

Jacob

It feels likeI can’t catch my breath. The sight of her standing in front of me has me panting and I almost forget why I’m here.

“Is she mine?” I blurt out, immediately regretting my desperation and lack of decorum. Her impassive features morph and her eyes narrow, blazing with anger. Her jaw clenches as she unfolds her arms and takes a step towards me. What the hell is she so mad about? I’m the one that should be angry. She kept a huge secret from me. A life-changing secret.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

I’m taken aback by the fury radiating from her body. Her anger confuses me and pisses me off at the same time. “No,” I answer, trying to keep my own emotions in check. “No, I’m not kidding. I think you owe me an explanation.” I’m seething, my attempts to keep calm failing miserably.

“You need to leave. I don’t have time for this bullshit.”

Her harsh words stun me. I watch as she steps back and places her hand on the door, preparing to slam it shut in my face. She caught me off guard once already and I didn’t react fast enough. I’m not making that mistake again.

I throw my hand out to stop the door before it can close all the way and then take a few deep breaths, trying to cool my temper. I need to keep a level head right now.

“Please,” I plead into the six-inch gap. “We need to talk.” I speak as calmly as possible, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my voice. After a few seconds, her face reappears, her eyes searching mine. Finally, she nods and pushes the door open, stepping aside to let me in.

“Enisi, can you take Chloe to her room?” I glance at Abby’s grandma, her obsidian eyes wide with worry as she wrings her hands together. She seems surprised Abby let me in. I’ll admit, I’m a bit surprised myself.

She reaches down to pick the child up and for some reason, I don’t want to let her out of my sight. It’s as though I’m afraid I’ll never see her again if I let her leave this room. Just like it felt when I left Abby the last time.

“Wait!” I call out. “Can I…” I want to ask if I can meet her, but the scathing look Abby shoots my way stops me. It’s a warning to tread lightly, especially since she just extended the olive branch. She motions for her grandmother to continue.

Once they’re out of sight and she hears the bedroom door shut, she turns to face me once again. So many emotions play across her face for the few seconds before she speaks. Fear, anger, sadness.

“Why are you here?” she asks softly.

“I came to see you,” I confess. Even after all this time, I still think about her every day. I’m not sure what I hoped to gain by coming back here, but I had to see her again.

“But why?” She folds her arms across her center again, shrinking into herself.

“I think we have bigger issues to talk about right now.” Like how she never told me I have a kid. I take a step toward her but she backs away from me, as if she’s afraid my touch would cause her pain.

“What do you want to know?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What do you mean?” Her head tilts slightly in confusion, and her reaction seems genuine.

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“I don’t understand.”

I release an exasperated breath. I hope our whole conversation doesn’t go like this.

“She is mine. Isn’t she?” I need confirmation. She nods, lowering her gaze. “How could you keep this from me? Didn’t you think I’d want to know I had a child?”

The anger settles back onto her face and she glares at me. “Is this some kind of joke to you? Or is your memory really that bad?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you and your righteous indignation, and the fact that you act like you had no idea that Chloe existed.” Her voice raises with every word, her ire propelling her forward. “Did you conveniently forget about all the missed calls and the text messages and the hush money, or are you just surprised that I kept her?” Her index finger jabs into my chest, punctuating her hateful words.

It takes me a moment to comprehend what she’s saying, and now I’m even more perplexed. “Missed calls? Hush money? What the hell are you talking about?”

She laughs humorlessly and turns away from me, gripping her hair in frustration. She paces the floor with her hands firmly planted on her hips.

“Do you really have no recollection of all those texts I sent you? Of the last time we spoke on the phone?”

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