Page 4 of Zac

My son narrows his eyes at me, placing his hands on his hips. He is not convinced and I am failing fast. Lauren is no help, she curls into the couch cushions hiding her laughter in the fluffy material.

“When you are young, you have to eat dinner before dessert, it’s a rule.”

He still stares at me. My son knows I am full of shit.

“Santa is watching.” My eyes widen. Did I truly just say that out loud?

“Santa eats cookies,” Grayson declares confidently.

“Yes, after he eats a home-cooked meal Mrs. Santa makes before he leaves the North Pole.” I hold his stare, all while Lauren is shaking with laughter, now fully slouched down, holding her stomach, still doing her best to bury her face. I smile, no longer able to control myself and I realize in that moment no matter how bad things are, no matter how rough my night or day may be, this, being with Grayson doing things like this, makes me happy. He makes things better.

I reach out, pull him in and place him onto the floor, tickling him as he starts to wiggle uncontrollably.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” I tell him and he stops wiggling, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. “If you eat half of what is on your plate, you can have the biggest cookie in the container.”

They are all pretty much the same size but the way his eyes light up I know he hasn’t caught on to that fact. “And you can have one Hershey’s Kiss too.”

Suddenly he is up and running toward the kitchen table, as Lauren pushes up off the couch. “Sucker,” she mumbles with a laugh and I want to remind her of the time she gave him an extra scoop of ice cream because he convinced her that she was mean. Only as I open my mouth to say just that, my doorbell rings and I instantly tense up.

“I got it,” I tell her, knowing whatever is behind the door, it isn’t something I want her to face. I haven’t shared the news with anyone. I hadn’t even expected to share it tonight.

ChapterThree

Zac

My heart was thumping so hard, I felt like I could barely breathe. My chest was tight, my hands shook and I can’t stop shifting the weight of my body from one foot to the next.

After Presley raced off, I shrunk to the chair and stared after her. I wanted to move, but I felt like I couldn’t.

Pregnant.

It all still seems completely surreal.

I never imagined myself having kids. Sure I love Piper, and Grayson is a pretty cool kid, but I never thought I’d ever have any of my own. Granted my father was amazing, I was simply crippled with fear of ever having any child of my own having to face the things I did. Things happen, and no I never thought history would repeat itself, but I could be taken from them in a million different ways. Putting a child through that loss, it was heartbreaking because I know how that feels.

When Aurora came back inside, her cheeks stained with tears and Jace took her into his arms, it’s like something snapped inside me. I stood and went to her, as Jace reluctantly passed her to me. Together we shared a moment and then, I asked her for Presley’s address.

And now, here I am.

Standing outside the door of her apartment, in a narrow hallway that smells of stale cigarettes and piss, I realize even more how little I know about her.

Lifting my hand to knock, I continue to bounce nervously and then I hear the flip of a lock. Slowly the door opens and she slips outside, closing it behind her.

Presley worries her lips, looking at everything around us, but refusing to look up at me.

“Look at me,” I whisper the words and she lets out a sigh. “Please,” I try again and lean to the side, slouching in an attempt to see her face. “We need to talk.”

“It’s okay.” She waves me off and I grab her hand, holding it tighter when she tries to tug it away.

“You’re right.” I gently glide my thumb over the palm of her hand. “It is okay.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Presley finally looks up and our eyes meet. I see the shininess, though she is doing her best to hold herself together. She’s pretending to be strong and unaffected but everything is about to change.

“I know.” I’m not a stupid man. I understand she is attempting to dismiss me. But what she doesn’t get is that I’m here whether she wants me to be or not. “What I am telling you is that it is gonna be alright, because I am in this with you.”

“I’ve done this before.” She again tries to pull her hand away and I pull it closer, placing it on my chest, keeping my own over hers.

“Done what, exactly?”

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