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Her concern is touching even though I can sense the disappointment beneath.
“Are you alright?” Levi turns toward me concerned.
I nod, and my father curses again. "Levi, get the fuck out. I can't look at you right now. Besides your daughter might need her father right now.”
Levi clenches his jaw, and his carotid artery is pumping a mile a minute in his throat as he glares at my father. "I'll go John, but know this—I will be back. I love her, and I'm not going to give her up. Not for you, not for Vayda, not for the fucking man on the moon."
Levi presses a kiss to my cheek before he leaves. My father’s voice trails after him. “We’ll see about that you fucking dick!”
I flinch at his words, and the bile tastes bitter in my throat. I rush toward the guest bathroom and make it just in time to empty my stomach. As I'm hanging over the toilet, holding my hair back with one hand and my other over my stomach, I realize I've never felt more alone in my entire life.
19
Levi
“Vayda?” I call out as soon as I step into the house. As much as I want to go back and support Oakley, I know John is right. Vayda needs me right now.
“Fuck off!” I hear her calling from the kitchen. I head into the kitchen and find her sobbing on the floor. “How could you?” she demands as she spots me.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t plan for it to happen.” I try to console her, reaching for her. “I didn’t plan for you to find out this way.”
Vayda slaps my hands away. “Don’t fucking touch me you asshole.”
"I don't care how you feel about this, but you're not going to talk to me like that." I know my anger is driven more by pain than by insult, but it is the only weapon I've got right now to keep my composure.
“Really, you’re going to talk to me about my word choice when YOU’VE BEEN FUCKING MY FRIEND?”
I recoil from her hysteric scream and step back. “I love her, Vayda. Is that a sin?”
Vayda shakes her head as tears stream over her cheeks making me feel like the world’s worst dad. “You could have loved anyone else, Dad. Why did it have to be my best friend? You’re a fucking artifact compared to her, how could you do this to her?”
Vayda's words hurt me even more than John's did. "I didn't choose for this to happen, Vayda. You have to know that."
"How did it even happen?" she asks then shakes her head. I sigh, and luckily she stops me. "Don't! I really don't want to know. She's pregnant, Dad! She's having a fucking baby. Do you really want another child?" The shock in her voice reverberates through me. I never even considered having another child until a few minutes ago. I find myself looking at my daughter and remembering all the joy she bought me.
I sink down beside her and a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “I didn’t, but I love her. I can’t wait to have a baby with her. A baby that will never replace you, you need to know that.” I reach for her hand, needing some physical touch to assure me that things were going to be all right between us.
“Fuck this!” Vayda says and pushes herself up from the floor. “I’m calling Mom. I’m not staying here.”
“Vayda, you can’t. I’ve got custody,” I remind her, knowing if she leaves she’ll probably never come back.
She snorts and laughs caustically before she gives me a cold look. "I'm eighteen. That custody thing no longer means shit."
I shut my eyes and shake my head as I hear Vayda trudge upstairs and slam her door. When did my baby girl get so old? How did I get myself in this situation? Everything seems mixed up and out of place, and the only thing I'm sure of is how much I love Oakley. I imagine the conversation that'll go down between my ex-wife and Vayda and groan out loud. I can only imagine Rebecca's reaction. I close my eyes and hope she doesn't turn my daughter against me for good.
I stand up and pour myself a stiff scotch ignoring the fact that it’s still early morning. The fiery liquid races down my throat, warming my insides, and I wonder if I would change anything if I could go back six months.
A smug grin spreads over my face.
I wouldn’t change a fucking thing. I was meant to love Oakley. We knew this was going to be hard, we knew it would take time for everyone to accept our relationship. I just didn’t realize it was going to be this hard.
I sigh and pour myself another drink. I had a woman and a baby to take care of, and I just needed to find a way to make it work. A beam of sunlight streams into the kitchen, reflecting the amber liquid in my glass onto the white counter and I remember the first night I took her right there. My heart expands in my chest, my body warms and a sudden sense of calm washes over me.
Everything is going to be all right, I promise myself. It has to be.
20
Oakley
