Silas scoffs at my motion. “Look at you. How do I know these fucking kids are even mine? Maybe you’ve been spreading your legs for other guys. Maybe even him.”
I swallow past the knot in my throat and choke out, “Silas, you moronic, stupid,fuckingidiot! I’ve never cheated on you with anyone. I only met him the day I found out I was pregnant.” Awareness slowly dawns as I recognize the root cause of his ridiculous accusation. “You don’t want to pay child support, do you? Especially now that you know it’s twins.”
His fingers flex at the mention of the babies. “Whatever. I’m done with this shit,” he seethes.
Where is this sudden hostility coming from? A vain attempt to prove his masculinity? It’s massively failing, because now he just looks pitifully weak.
Jerking his chin towards Connor, he bites out, ”Hecan be their fucking father for all I care, because you’re not getting anything from me. Nothing,” he emphasizes before looking at the pictures again, malicious intent shining in his eyes.
Surely, he wouldn’t do what I think he’s going to do. “No!” I hoarsely cry, lunging at him to stop him.
But I’m too late. He rips the first and only pictures I had of my babies and throws the pieces onto the floor.
No.
Utter hopelessness washes over me and leaves a gaping hole in my soul.
My babies’ heartbeats.
Connor stoops to pick up the pieces of my heart as I stare in disbelief at the man I shared so many meaningless years with. A broken whisper leaves me. “The only thing I wanted was to give you a chance to be a better man than your father was.”
His face falls the slightest bit, but he has nothing to say to that. And really, what could he say to make it better? He’s made his thoughts and intentions perfectly clear. If there’s a bright side to this, it’s that the lines have been drawn in the sand now.
I’m on my own, just as I knew I would be.
Connor pulls me protectively behind him, blocking me from view. “That,” he booms darkly, an undercurrent of steel in his tone as he whips out his phone, “is fucking enough. You’ve made your point, and now it’s time for you to leave. Give me an address, and I’ll have your things boxed up and delivered.”
Silas starts to protest, but a step forward from Connor shuts him up as he mumbles out an answer. I suppose a menacing, tattooed giant of a man is enough to make a person think twice about taking him on.
This is it, I think faintly as my heart picks up its pace. Everything else I wanted to tell him fades away into nothingness. It doesn’t matter anymore that Silas left the door open earlier. He’s not going to be here to do it anymore.
Nothing he does is going to affect me anymore.
Except for the babies he’s given me. They’re a part of him that will affect me for the rest of my life. The sudden freedom hasn’t sunken in yet. I still feel...in shock? Yes, shock. It’s been one hell of a day. This time I don’t stop to mentally correct my language. My heart is broken into pieces, just like the ultrasound pictures he so callously destroyed.
For the second time today, a strange feeling comes over me as I find myself in a fog. Damn, this emotional rollercoaster can’t be good. On any other day, I would be strong—Iamstrong—but I’m aware of the fact that my hormones are going to run completely amok.
Am I shaking? I lift an arm, belatedly noting its tremble. I need to sit. Blindly reaching for some stability, I steady myself on the couch as I watch the ice melt in our unfinished glasses of ginger ale. My ears pick up fragmented pieces of the conversation around me, latching onto Connor’s voice first.
“...pack it all up...”
“...I don’t trust...my shit...”
“...tomorrow...don’t come...tell you again...”
The door slamming closed jars me back into consciousness. Blinking rapidly, I see Connor come into view, phone to his ear and intense eyes glued on my tremors as he slips something into his pocket. He must see something in my gaze because he sits beside me on the couch and pulls me to his side in a comforting hug.
Safe.
Unable to help myself, I burrow my head just under his armpit and throw a shaky arm across his stomach, breathing in the scent of this new shirt that thankfully doesn’t trigger my nausea.
This small bit of kindness is just enough to make my nose burn with unshed tears. I don’t know why he feels the urge to take care of me, but I can’t bring myself to stop him. I’m tired, so very tired, of carrying the weight of my world on my shoulders. Just for a little while, I want to let someone else share the burden with me before I pick it all up for myself again.
“Albert,” he says smoothly into his cellphone while his fingers walk across my forearm to tangle with my own. My heavy eyelids drift close as the deep bass of his voice resonates through his torso and tickles my ear.“Connor here. Would you happen to have some boxes and packing tape at the shop that you could drop by Rosanna’s?” A pause. “Yep. Exactly that.” Another pause as he listens to my boss. “Sure thing. Thanks, man.”
Lifting up so he can pocket his phone, he tenderly asks, “How you feeling, little mama? You okay?”
I swear, hearingandfeeling those words is almost enough to do me in. “I don’t really know. Not at this moment. I’d already made up my mind earlier today that something had to give, but I didn’t expect it to go like this. And for him to tear up his own innocent babies’ pictures...” I rub my eyes on his shirt. “My God, Connor, what kind of a heartless monster is he to do something like that?”
