Page 32 of Unexpected Love - A Steamy Instalove

But I don’t think that’s going to happen.

“Well. Since you don’t need me, I guess I’ve got my answer,” Steve practically growls, but there’s so much pain in his voice that his words don’t sting like they should. I see the sadness cross Elle’s face, but she’s already accepting it. Realizing that Steve places more importance on himself than on her. I think she knew it all along.

She hangs her head.

“Goodbye, Dad.”

There’s an awful silence as Steve finally begins to walk slowly out of the apartment. Maisie whines, sensing Elle’s sadness, but none of us move until Steve shuts the apartment door behind him. Only then does Elle run into my arms, sobbing quietly. I hold her close. I can’t protect her from this pain, but I can hold her together through it. She continues to cry as try to soothe her, and I know this is going to hurt her for a long time to come. But I’ll be there every step of the way. I’ll be there to make sure she recovers, to remind her that she’s loved.

And someday, she’ll learn to live without him.

Chapter Seventeen

Elle

I don’t have any tears left to cry. I should have seen this coming. I should’ve known the kind of man my dad actually is instead of making an image of him up in my head. Now, I’m left with a deep pit of disappointment and without a father figure in my life. I have to sleep at night knowing my dad is next door, living a life that doesn’t involve me, knowing he chose himself and his opinions over me. That’s the thing that hurts the most. That this whole thing could’ve been avoided if he just opened his mind, opened his heart…but now, I feel so lonely, so abandoned and it hurts.

But Will has been amazing. While I take this time to grieve our relationship, he’s been by my side the entire time, loving me, holding me, making sure I don’t fall apart entirely. He’s shown me what a real man is, especially since my dad did such a terrible job of teaching me how a man should be. It feels like until Will came along, I only ever knew of toxic men. My own father, Matt, the guys that leer at me on the street and make me feel less than a person.

But Will is different. Will gives me everything and more. He tends to my body, my soul, and my heart. He shows me how love should be. He proves to me that just because some men are bad, it doesn’t mean they all are. He proves to me that I don’t ever have to feel alone when he’s by my side. It’s going to hurt for a long time, knowing that my dad straight up abandoned me, but with Will next to me, I’ll find a way to move on. I’ll be okay. Even though it feels like I’m falling apart right now, someday I’ll be alright.

It’s been three days since the fight with my dad. I hear him coming and going from his apartment. Sometimes, I think I hear him pause outside our apartment door like he wants to knock and tell me he’s sorry. But he never does. He always walks away. And with each passing day, I get more used to it. I get used to the ache in the bottom of my stomach. I get used to being disappointed by him. And it sucks, but this is life.

Yesterday, I called my mom to explain everything to her. I didn’t even worry about what she’d think about me and Will, because she loves me so unconditionally that she’d never allow anything to get in between us. She was elated for me, so excited to hear about the baby too that she screamed with joy. When she joined us for dinner at the apartment she hugged Will so hard, welcoming him to the family, and she made fast friends with Maisie. She asked all the right questions and smiled the entire time. She made me feel like everything was going to be okay. And the entire time, I thought of dad, home alone next door, listening in on our evening. I hoped that he might come to his senses then. I thought maybe he’d see that he’s being thick-headed, that he needs to man up and be better not just for my sake but for his. But I still haven’t heard from him. Not a word. So I guess for now, and for the foreseeable, it’s just me and Will against the world.

And that’s okay because, despite the pain, I’m happy. I keep thinking of the life growing inside me, the love that I have for our child already. It’s everything I ever wanted, and it’s given me so much to write about. While Will works by my side, I’ve been pushing to complete my project for school. It feels like almost every aspect of my life is coming together. I get to spend every waking hour with the love of my life and fall asleep beside him. I get to dream of a brighter future, a future that has just opened itself up to me like a blossoming flower. Life might not be as I expected it to be, and it might not always be easy, but life is good. That’s what I’m holding on to for now.

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