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“I killed my phone, didn’t I?” he asked as he crawled into bed in his underwear. His body felt heavy already. He was going to crash hard.
“Yeahhhh,” Tripp drawled. “You’re gonna need a new one.”
“Dammit.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Just get some rest.”
“M’kay,” he muttered, his eyes too heavy to keep open anymore.
Tripp pulled the covers over him, gave him a peck on the forehead, then the last thing he remembered hearing was the snick of the door shutting.
~~~
Tripp
Jayme clomped down the steps a couple hours later. He looked like shit. His brow was furrowed, and his mouth was a thin angry line. Tripp watched him as he rubbed at the center of his chest with the heel of his palm. Jayme walked through the living room and into the kitchen, where he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and cracked it open. He downed half of it, then wandered back into the living room; where he sat down at the other end of the couch from Tripp and set his water bottle on the coffee table.
He ran a hand over his short hair and sighed heavily, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Which is probably how he felt. He dropped his head back to the couch, then rolled it to look over at Tripp.
“Thanks for earlier.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t know what you needed, I hope I did okay.”
“You did great. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time.”
“My mind is a fucking mess right now. I don’t even know what to do next,” Jayme croaked.
“Ask for a fucking paternity test. That’s what you do.” Tripp scoffed.
Jayme made an aggravated noise and leaned forward, dropping his head into his hands. “What if she’s right, and then I look like a fucking dickhead for questioning it?”
“It’s better to know for sure.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just can’t...believe...that she would have been cheating on me.”
“Dude, you weren’t giving her what she wanted. Why wouldn’t she go elsewhere?” He shrugged.
Jayme’s head shot up and he sent a glare at him. “Because she loved me?” he said incredulously.
“Sorry. You’re right. You’re absolutely right,” Tripp conceded, holding his hand up.
“But here’s the thing. She had stopped taking her birth control who knows how long before I realized it. We had sex at least twice a week, where I came inside of her. She never got pregnant. And now, she’s pregnant when I pull out? I find that hard to believe. I mean, what the hell are the odds of that?”
“Slim to none.”
Jayme shook his head. “This is fucked up.”
He scooted down the couch and wrapped his arm around Jayme’s shoulders. “It’ll get figured out. Don’t stress too much about it right now, because you don’t know for sure if it’s yours.”
“Why would she act like its mine, when it could potentially be someone else’s?”
“So you wouldn’t know she cheated?”
Jayme growled in frustration. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know if she’s capable of being that manipulative. I just can’t see her cheating on me.”
He sighed. “I don’t know her, I can’t say anything about it.”
“I’m gonna call Brendan and see what he thinks...wait, my phone is smashed.” He groaned.
Tripp dug his phone out of his pocket and held it out for him. Jayme took it and gave him a tight smile. “Thanks. I’ll go tomorrow and get a new one.”
“No worries.”
Jayme stood and paced around the living room as he talked to Brendan on the phone. Brendan seemed certain that Mallory wouldn’t cheat from what he was getting off of the conversation. He wasn’t sure though. He didn’t know Mallory, never even met her, but something didn’t sit right with him about the whole situation.
By the time Jayme got off the phone with Brendan it was eleven o’clock pm, and Tripp was getting tired. Jayme looked like he’d been hit by a tank. His shoulders were slumped, and his face looked haggard. It was really hitting him hard.
Jayme handed him his phone back and thanked him. “I’m going to bed.”
“Me too.” He agreed and stood. “I’ll get the lights. You go ahead.”
“Thanks, Tripp.”
He knew it wasn’t just a thanks for turning out the lights, it was for everything.
“No problem, Buddy.”
Jayme trudged heavily up the stairs, while Tripp checked the doors and turned out all the lights. He then went upstairs where he found Jayme standing in the doorway of his room. He stopped in front of his own door, and looked over at him.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I just...I may have nightmares tonight,” Jayme said hesitantly, his eyes barely able to meet Tripp’s.
“Would you sleep better if I slept next to you?”
“Maybe?”
“All right, let me just go to the bathroom and I’ll come stay with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Jayme looked relieved as he nodded, then stepped into his room; leaving the door open for him. He did what he had to do in the bathroom, slipped on a pair of pajama pants, then headed to Jayme’s room; shutting the door behind him. Jayme was already in bed, laying on his side with his bare back to the door, covers up to his waist. He walked over to the bed, turned out the lamp on the nightstand; then climbed into bed next to Jayme. He rolled onto his side and plastered himself against Jayme’s back, wrapping his arm around his waist. Jayme tensed for a second, before relaxing back against him.
