Page 56 of Bossy Trouble

We reached our destination, and he pulled the car to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” I asked finally.

His eyes slid shut. “Nothing.”

“That’s not the face of nothing. That’s the face of something’s definitely wrong, but I’m too much of a macho man to talk about it.”

A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips. “Are you a therapist now?”

“No. I’ve just known you too long.”

One eye opened, and he turned to the side to stare at me. His knuckles skimmed across my cheek. “We have known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”

“Ages,” I said. Ever since I’d been admitted to St. Peters in the 9th grade. On the first day of school, I’d gone to my brother’s room and been introduced to his best friend and roommate, Donovan Dresden.

Donovan was lounging back on his bed, looking like he had all the time in the world, even though the breakfast bell had already gone off. When I walked in, he’d looked up at me with those cat-like eyes and cocked his head to the side.

“You’re new,” he said.

I nodded, nerves stealing my voice. His regard made heat fill my face, and there was something about him that made me shy. I couldn’t determine if the lean boy was handsome or not. He certainly didn’t look like any of the teen heartthrobs I hung posters of in my room. His face was too discordant, eyes too knowing.

All I knew was that he set my heart thumping in my chest.

“I’m Garrett’s sister,” I stammered after the silence became too uncomfortable.

He watched me for a long time. Then, his lips split into a smile that was as devious as it was charming.

“Hello, Garrett’s sister,” he purred, and just like that, I was a goner.

“Why did you leave?” Donovan asked now, pulling me out of my memories.

“Pardon?”

“Five years ago, after that fight we had,” he said. “Garrett said you just took off one day, and he couldn’t reach you. It was like you had disappeared. Was it because we broke up?

“Oh.” I searched my mind for what to say. The truth was…that was the night I found out I was pregnant. Donovan and I already broke up several weeks ago—he was flirting with a different girl at a party—and then, a week later, I missed my period. To my increasing horror, the pregnancy test came back positive.

I was scared out of my mind and didn’t know what to do. I immediately went to Garrett to tell him about it, and he convinced me not to tell Donovan.

“Donovan doesn’t want kids,” he said firmly. “If he finds out you’re pregnant, he’s going to lose it. Jesus, Georgia, how could you mess up this bad?”

“It’s not my fault,” I said, heartbroken that my brother tried to put this all on me. I could tell that Garrett was disappointed in me, and it hurt. At the same time, I understood why. He’d had such high hopes for me, and a baby would significantly derail my plans.

Garrett told me then that I should “take care “ of the pregnancy, but I couldn’t. Perhaps it would have been the smart thing for me to do. I was still in school, trying to be a nurse, and was barely making a living at the time. There was no space for a baby in my life.

But I didn’t do it. I just couldn’t go through with it.

So I dropped out, left everyone behind, and started over in the city with some money I had saved up. I sent Garrett periodic messages, telling him I was fine and not to look for me, but I didn’t answer any of his calls, no matter how tempting it was. I focused my attention on starting Moniche. Being alone was extremely difficult. Giving birth alone would have been even more difficult. Thank God I met Macy—we worked at the same retail store—and she’d been there for me every step of the difficult labor.

And when Avery came along, it was all worth it. I instantly knew I had made the right decision because I loved that little girl with all my heart, even before she was born.

After the delivery, I reached back out to Garrett again, and he apologized for being such an ass about the whole thing. I forgave him. I understood his anger was just out of concern, and it wasn’t malicious. He was just scared for me, perhaps even more so than I was scared for myself.

He was also scared of what Donovan would do to me.

Despite their friendship, he knew Donovan could hurt me in more ways than one.

“Because I couldn’t stay,” I said simply to answer Donovan’s question.

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