Page 76 of Exposed to Him

He grabs my face, searching my eyes for something.

“Did he hurt you?” he growls.

“Not in the physical way,” I whisper, feeling defeated as the EMTs start to look me over. Tony stays by me the entire time. I tell them I’m fine and they plead with me to go and get checked but I refuse.

“I’ll take her home and take care of her,” he tells the EMTs. They end up leaving and it’s just the two of us again.

“Come on; we can walk the rest of the way to my house and I’ll drive you home,” he says, and I follow. We end up at his condo.

“Take a seat and make yourself comfortable. Do you need anything?”

“I’ll take a water.” When he comes back over and hands me the glass he leans down, looks me in the eyes, and says the one thing I needed to hear.

“Erica, you can tell me anything. I’m here for you no matter what. I know how in love you two are, I see it, but if you need anything all you need to do is ask and it’s yours.”

Nervous butterflies swarm in my stomach. I know he cares, but does he have to be so good-looking?

“I do need a favor, but you can’t tell Jared.” My face turns serious.

“What is it?” He grabs my hand in a soothing gesture.

“I need you to buy me a pregnancy test.” The moment those words leave my mouth his face changes.

“Fuck,” he murmurs. He stands up and rubs his neck. I can see inner turmoil clear on his face. He seems unhappy with me.He paces back and forth, and I’m sure I look like a deer in headlights.

“What is it?” I start to get anxious by his reaction, because I need a friend right now and not to be judged.

“I just need a shower and then I’ll go for you.” I watch him walk down the hallway and close the door. He seems a little disappointed, and I don’t blame him. I basically just put him in an awkward situation.

Tony doesn’t live the life that Jared does. He chose not to follow in his footsteps, and in some way I admire that in him. Whatever woman comes along will be lucky enough to be with Tony and live a normal life. He’s happy working on cars and living his life, drama free. There’s no illegal activity that he’s involved in, and as much as I love Jared with all my heart I envy Tony and the life he chose.

Thinking back to possibly being pregnant, this could go either way when it comes to how Jared will react. I don’t even know how I feel about bringing a child into this life.

This is my fault. I should have been more careful. I’m tired so I lie down on the couch, hoping I will be able to rest my eyes for the time being.

I feel a hand stroke my cheek, and when I open my eyes I see Jared.

“Hey,” he whispers. My first instinct is to sigh in relief, because I do want him here but I don’t. I’m so confused and I feel so lost.

My head shoots over to Tony, who has his arms crossed, leaning on the wall.

“You told him?” I rasp, and he shakes his head no.

“He told me what happened and that he found you at the park. What the hell were you thinking? Something could have happened to you.” I roll my eyes.

“I’m fine. I just need to rest. Can you take me home now?” He nods yes, walking us to the door. He shakes his brother’s hand and pats him on the back. Tony just stares at me and narrows his eyes, like he’s upset with me.

“Wait,” I say, and turn back around.

“Who the fuck do you think you are? You knew how vulnerable I was and yet you couldn’t just let me be. I said that to you, thinking you could actually help me,” I whisper that last part.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jared comes between us. Tony is grinding his jaw.

“So much for friendship, huh?” I turn and walk away, leaving Tony to dwell on that. How fucking dare he call Jared, like I’m a problem he needs to take care of. He could have just helped me out by being there as a friend. All I needed was someone other than Jared right now. I know that makes me a selfish person, but I just need time to process everything.

“You need to tell him or I will,” Tony says, and I clench my fists.

“Tell me what?” Jared’s face turns lethal.

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