Page 86 of Wrap Around
His face hardens again. He jerks his head towards the scene behind us. “That bastar—,” he spits. “It was him. He did it. He’s the one who knocked her up. He’s Addy’s birth father.”
My stomach twists. I blink at him, then at the bleeding man still crouched next to Lily. “Wait– What?”
I walk towards them slowly, still holding Addy in my arms. There’s a pair of glasses on the ground, dirty and cracked. I crouch down to pick them up and attempt to brush them off on my grey suit pants.
Finally, I really look at the guy.
Zac?
Theawkward kid with too-big glasses that made him look owlish who used to follow Lily around like a lost puppy. He’s got some scruff now, broader shoulders, but it’s him. He flinches a little when I crouch down.
“Hey, man,” I say, handing him the glasses. “Are you alright?”
He takes them with shaking fingers, nodding despite his split lip and the swelling that’s already started along his jaw.
“Sorry,” I add quietly.
His eyes dart to Gideon, who is practically growling. Keeping Addy’s cheek pressed to my neck, I look over to see him trembling with rage.
“You’re not seriously apologizing to him! After what he did to your wife?!”
Instead of responding, I look back at Zac. It’s probably offensive that I find it so surprising. He’s the last person I would have ever considered, but when I cut a glance at Lily and notice the way she’s worrying her bottom lip, I can see that it’s true.
Gideon storms off in a rage, kicking over a trashcan on his way out of the small courtyard.
Lily murmurs something to Zac I can’t quite catch, but I’m pretty sure she’s checking to make sure he’s really alright.
“I’ll call you later,” she tells him. “I promise. We’ll talk about everything. Okay?” She squeezes his hand and helps pull him to his feet, then hugs him.
“Yeah, okay,” he replies, sounding dazed. He keeps staring at Addy, and I find myself tightening my arms around her a little more.
After righting the trashcan and cleaning up any mess left behind, we walk back to my rental car in silence. Thankfully, there isn’tmuch traffic in this small town, and everyone is just going around me, although I get a few scowls.
There’s a baby seat already strapped in the back. I always request one from the rental company when I know I’m going to see Lily and Addy, just in case.
It’s a quiet drive back to her parent’s property. Every house and landmark we drive by is another memory. In the distance, I can see the afternoon sun glinting off the lake.
Lily exhales sharply and brushes a tear away from her cheek.
“You okay?” I ask gently.
“I don’t know,” she says, voice thick. “Gideon might’ve just chased away the only friend I had left. And I–“
I glance over when her words cut off in a choked sob.
She stares out the window, eyes glassy. “I never planned on telling him.”
I reach across the console and take her hand.
She squeezes it once before letting go, folding her arms tight around her middle like she’s bracing for impact. “I realize you and Gideon think you’re protecting me, but I told you it wasn’t a bad situation. Just a stupid one.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” I don’t bother telling her I was against Gideon’s man hunt when he first mentioned it. Truth is, I did want to know, to make sure she truly wasn’t taken advantage of. I wanted to know who to protect Addy from, who might try to take her away from me some day.
We think that just because we escaped this place, that we’re more evolved and sensitive to prejudice. We’ve told Lily we support her in all of her goals and have encouraged her to spread her wings and be her full authentic self. But when it came down to it, westill treated her just like the church did—like she wasn’t smart or capable enough to make her own decisions. Yes, she was woefully ignorant back then. But she isn’t now, and we should have trusted her word.
Gideon will probably take a long time to come down, but he needs to realize this, too. We can’t grow and truly support each other otherwise.
When we pull up to the trailer, Gideon’s truck is already there, but he isn’t.
