Page 104 of Too Late

That’s when I see it. The front door begins to open.

I see her arm as she swings a trash bag out and onto the ground next to the front door. I barely get a glimpse of her hair as she slams the door shut again. It looked like she was trying to hide. Like she fears she’s being watched. She’s scared to be there alone.

FuckingLukejust leaves her there, all alone, probably for several hours a day. I don’t care if he needs to work to pay their bills. If that were me and I was with Sloan, I’d find a way to protect her. If I knew there was a guy out there who posed a danger to her, she’d never leave my fucking sight.

That’s my first clue that he doesn’t love her like I do.

Like Idid.

I don’t love her anymore.

Do I?

Fuck.

I rewind the clip no less than twenty times, watching that arm as she swings the trash outside. Watching her hair sway over her shoulder as she slams the door. My heart speeds up every time I watch it and slams to a stop every time the door closes.

Fucking hell. I do.I still love her.

I love her and it’s killing me that she’s alone in that apartment, too scared to even open the door all the way. That stupid fucking bastard just leaves my Sloan all alone and scared while I’m locked in this stupid fucking house and can’t get to her, thanks to him.

“I see you, baby,” I whisper to the computer screen. “Don’t be scared.”

After a few more replays, I finally let the video continue. It skips forward to a few hours later. Luke’s car pulls up in front of the complex. He gets out and opens the trunk. He begins to pull groceries out of the trunk.

How cute. The motherfucker went grocery shopping for his fake little family.

He walks them to the door and uses his key to unlock it. He tries to push it open, but it’s still locked from the inside.

Smart girl. Never trust a single lock.

Sloan opens the door to let him in. Luke disappears inside the door as Sloan walks—no, she practically skips—to the car. She’s smiling. She reaches into the trunk to grab some groceries when Luke walks back outside, holding up his hands. It looks like he’s telling her to stop, that he’ll get the groceries. He points at her, toward her stomach, and says something to make her laugh. She presses her hands against her stomach and that’s when I see it.

That’s when I fuckingseeit.

I pause the screen.

I stare at her hands, pressed against her stomach. I look at the smile on her face as she stares down at her hands, holding her belly. It’s barely noticeable under her shirt. Barely.

“Motherfucker.”

I’m frozen. Counting days, months, trying to make sense of this.

“Motherfucker.”

I don’t know a lot about the circle of life. The only time I ever knocked up a girl, I forced her to get an abortion because she wasn’t Sloan. But one thing I know for a fact … it takes at least a few months for someone of Sloan’s size to start showing.

A few months ago … it wasmewho was inside her. It wasmewho was making love to her at night.

Luke had heronceduring that time.

I had her daily.

“Motherfucker,” I say again, smiling. I can’t help it. My whole face breaks out into a huge fucking grin. I stand up, needing to take a moment to breathe. To regain my bearings. For the first time in my life, I feel like I might pass out.

“Holy shit,” I say, staring down at the laptop, paused on my Sloan. “I’m gonna be a dad.”

I sit down again and rake my hands through my hair. I stare at the screen for so long, it starts to get blurry.

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