Page 3 of Sticking Out

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Me: If you insist.

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Dani:

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Me: See you shortly.

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Dani: Merci.

* * *

I laugh at her use of French. She’d taken some courses at the local college. I’m not sure what her fascination with French is. Maybe it’s because she moved around a lot as a kid, her folks even did a stint in Montreal, Canada. Or maybe she wants to go to Paris someday.

I stumble to my shower, wash quickly and before I dress, I swallow down a few pain meds. Fuck, I am never drinking again—said every guy the morning after he drank too much. I tug on a pair of clean jeans, and grab a T-shirt from my drawer. I pull it on as I hurry down my stairs and go straight for the coffee machine. I fill my travel mug and head outside.

Ten minutes later, I’m at my brother’s house, and Dani is on her steps. She’s smiling but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Fuck, she looks like she’s in pain. Does she know? She starts toward me, her steps slow, like it might hurt to walk.

Guilt clogs my throat as I jump from the car, circle the front and open her door. I take her heavy bag from her, and she slides into the car. I weigh the bag in my hand. “What do you have in here anyway?”

“A pregnant girl needs her things, Conner.” Holding her stomach, she smiles again, but it’s easy to tell she’s hurting. I don’t close her door. Instead, I kneel. “What is it?” Her chin quivers and I lose all ability to breathe as she looks away. “Dani?”

“I had spotting this morning, and bad cramping.”

I lean in and put my arms around her and she grips my forearm, like it’s her lifeline. Anger that my brother isn’t here for her rages inside me. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.” I know how much she wants this child so it has to be okay. Nothing can be wrong. She’s a good person who does good things. She picks up dogs on her bus and runs a doggy day care, even staying late when the owners get stuck in traffic. The world can’t let a woman like that down, right?

Maybe not, but my brother sure as fuck has.

She sniffs and laughs. “I’m sorry. I’m just so hormonal lately. Yesterday I ran out of Clarence’s diet cookies on the bus and when he looked at me with those big, sad brown eyes, I broke out crying.”

I smooth her hair back. “Clarence is smart and knows how to play you. You know that, right? I bet you gave him two when you got him to your daycare.” I try to make light of it, wanting nothing but her happiness and when she laughs again and nods in agreement, I exhale.

“Yeah, I did.”

I blink rapidly, pout and point to my face. “This, right here, is going to get me two slices of lasagna tonight, isn’t it?”

She laughs again. “I’m such a pushover.”

“Nah, you’re just sweet, Dani.”

She gives me a warm, grateful smile as she puts one hand on my face. “Thanks, Conner.”

I lean into her hand, absorbing her warmth and as it wraps around my heart, I jerk back and stand, severing the intimate connection.

She’s not yours, dude.

“Okay, let’s get you to your appointment, and get you checked out.”

I close her door, and sense her eyes on me as I circle the front of the car and slide back into the driver’s seat. As I back out of her driveway, she asks, “Did you talk to Alec, or did he text?”

“Both, actually.”

I avoid looking at her, and concentrate on the road. “He got tied up,” she states.

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