Page 69 of Sticking Around

He calls out to me again, and when I don’t answer he eventually checks the bedroom. “Hey,” he whispers, crossing the room to sit next to me, but I scoot to the other side of the bed, and force myself to my feet.

“What’s going on?” He stands and walks to the end of the bed. “Brighton texted me, told me I needed to come home. Are you sick?” His gaze moves over my face. “You’re pale again.”

Unable to help myself, I blurt out, “I’m pregnant.”

Blood drains from his face, leaving his skin a greyish white color. He falters backward, his eyes wide with shock, surprise…disbelief.

“You’re…pregnant?” His gaze drops to my stomach. “Is this a joke?”

“No.”

His gaze cuts back to mine, and there’s a new kind of hardness there, and accusation in his glare raises the hairs on the back of my neck, “You said you were on the pill.”

A crazy sound bubbles up in my throat. “I was…I am,” I shoot back.

“Lanie, what the fuck is going on? How could you be pregnant if you were on the pill?” He goes quiet and scrubs his face, and I try to examine the barrage of emotions hitting him. Confusion. Disbelief. Anxiety. Fear.

Understanding.

His eyes lift, and there’s a different kind of hardness there now, and that’s when I realize his demons have come back to haunt him too.

“Holy fuck. You weren’t on the pill. You did this on purpose. You wanted kids, didn’t you?”

I briefly remember the way he reacted when I told him I was on the pill to regulate my periods. There was a moment of hesitation, like he wasn’t sure if he believed me. “I didn’t do this on purpose.” I’m not sure he’s even registering what I’m saying as he begins to pace. “Do you really think I’d lie about being on the pill?”

His voice lacks emotion when he retorts, “You’ve lied about things before.”

“Are you kidding me.” My heart jumps into my throat. I can’t believe he’s bringing up the money I hid from my parents. “You’re bringing that up,” I yell.

He shakes his head with disgust. The weight of his glare sits heavy on my shoulders. “Jesus. Fuck. I was warned about this.”

My head rears back. “You were warned about this? You were warned that I’d get pregnant?”

“Yeah, the guys warned me you were probably looking for a baby, because you were older than me and were no doubt looking to settle down.”

“The guys told you that?” I run a shaky hand through my hair. “And you believed them?”

“I saw the way you looked at Zoe on the beach, the way you are with Camryn.” A derisive snort fills the air. “I used to wonder what was holding you back, what was missing from your life that was keeping you from having children, but I guess now I know.”

I fold my arms as my body begins to shiver. “Do you now? Then why don’t you enlighten me.”

He snorts again, and backs away from me. “The only thing holding you back was a sperm donor. Fuck, you wanted something from me, just like everyone else in my life.”

I fight back the tears. He doesn’t deserve them. I work not to sound as shaky as I feel. “Wow, that’s what you think of me?”

He turns toward the window and I take in his stiff shoulders as they curl up to his ears. “I can’t have a baby, Lanie.” Fear reverberates off every word and heightens the anxiety coursing through my veins. “I can’t do it. I can’t take on that responsibility. I told you that.”

“Is that it, or was I just a bet to you?”

He turns fast, his jerky gaze back on my face as his body stiffens. “What?”

“I was a bet.” I glance at his bed and call on calm, even though there’s a storm going on inside me. “A beer to get me into your bed.” His body is practically trembling when I turn my focus back to him. “A beer to get me to fall in love with you. Is that where you were today, out collecting your wins?” He opens his mouth and I hold my hand up to stop him. I’m not nearly done. “I get it, Brady. I told you a long time ago everything was tit for tat, and you just proved it to me once again.” Despite my best efforts to stay calm, a hysterical little laugh bubbles out of me. “I live here, you get sex in return, and a nice cold beer to wash it all down. Fantastic. Well done.” I clap my hands.

“Lanie, it’s not like that.”

I arch a brow. “Truth or dare.”

“What?”

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