Page 31 of Atlas Uncharted

Dion answered first. “I two,” holding up five fingers.

Chapter 20

Atlas

The world felt like it had just tilted off its axis.

I could barely keep myself together as I stared at the boy—Dion, she had called him. He looked nothing like me, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing the math in my head, trying to make sense of everything. How old was he? She said two? Maybe a little over that—he looked it. I counted by the years, then months, since the baby shower.

I shook my head. No, the timeline didn’t add up. He couldn’t be mine. Besides, Kairi wouldn’t have lied to me about something like having a child. She wasn’t the type. But the doubt crept in, gnawing at me. Still, looking into his big hazel eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder. Why didn’t she tell me? Tell Ashlen? But then, they hadn’t really been on speaking terms. Who was the father?

I watched as Dion tugged himself out of Kairi’s arms, little fingers reaching toward me. Kairi hesitated for a second, then tried to pull him back.

“I need to go see my father,” she spoke to me, then to Dion. “Come on, baby, let’s go,” she said softly, but Dion was insistent, his eyes locked on me. “Up,” he instructed me.

My heart was in my throat. “It’s okay,” I said, “please?”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging a little as she finally let go. “I’ll be right back,” she muttered before walking away, leaving me there with Dion.

The moment she started walking off, I couldn’t help but get lost in his eyes. He looked up at me, innocent and curious, and something inside me cracked wide open. What would our child have looked like if I had chosen her? If things had gone differently? The thought twisted in my chest like a knife.

I reached out and gently ran my fingers through his hair. It was so soft. Was it brown or red, or brown with hints of red? I couldn’t tell.

I felt so many emotions I didn’t expect.

“Hey, little man,” I whispered, staring at him, trying to see recognition in him, but he only looked like Kairi. He wasn’t mine. I knew that. But it didn’t stop the “what ifs” from swirling in my mind.

Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out.

“Kairi,” I called after her, just before she disappeared around the corner my voice barely above a whisper but enough to stop her in her tracks. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She slowly turned back to face me. Her eyes flickered with something—regret, guilt, maybe—but she stayed silent for a moment, her gaze shifting from Dion to me, like she was trying to find the right words.

“You never said anything to Ashlen or me,” I continued, my voice thick with emotion. “You had a baby, Kairi. We should have known.” I had set on the phone with her so many times. She could have told me. Who was the man?

She exhaled, rubbing her forehead. “It wasn’t any of your bu—” She paused, sighing heavily. “With everything going on with you and Ashlen... the kids, the miscarriages... I didn’t want to add this to the mess.” Her voice softened. “You two were dealing with so much, and it didn’t feel right. Not then.”

“Where’s his father?”

She shook her head and turned to walk off. “I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving me without answers.

I sat down with Dion, him on my lap. He shoved four fingers in his mouth and stared at me, just content to be sitting there.

“What did you do today, Dion?”

Dion slid his fingers out of his mouth, running the slobbery digits across my chin. “Ate?”

“You want to know my name?”

He nodded.

“I’m Atlas.”

“You friend?” he asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.

I forced another smile, though I wanted to cry. “Yeah, little man,” I said softly, my voice cracking slightly. “I’m your friend,” I said, wishing he was so much more.

I looked up from Dion when I heard footsteps and met Ashlen’s gaze in a sweatsuit that fit her too big. Her eyes were hard on Dion.

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