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ADDISON
“I can’t believe you’re already leaving me!” Drake’s face is twisted in agony, hand clenched to his chest as if I cut in between those perfect pecs and removed his heart myself. “Was it Kevin? I swear I won’t feed him pizza again.”
I laugh and swat his arm. “You know exactly what this is about. I’m not here to make problems for you and Rachel.” I pause, considering the bigger issue at hand. “Besides, this is what I need to do. I’m about to have a baby with a man I don’t really know anything about, you know?”
Drake nods his head, looking a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry again about that whole Rachel thing. I didn’t know she was coming, so I hadn’t gotten around to telling her you were staying yet. It just took her by surprise.”
“You did have time to tell Olivia, though.” I try to keep my tone matter-of-fact, hoping I don’t sound too harsh.
He opens his mouth to rebut, then closes it.
“Hey, I’m not judging. I’m sure there’s a lot I don’t know about your relationship, but luckily, the next few weeks of my schedule just opened up, so you’ll have plenty of time to fill me in.” I send him a big, over-the-top wink and he smirks.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, grabbing the last bag from the room and leading me outside. He helps me get them loaded into the back seat and gives me a quick hug. “You always have a place here if you need,” he promises. “See you later.”
I drive the short distance to Chase’s house, half an hour earlier than I had planned to meet him. I expect the house to be empty and plan to take a walk while I wait, but when I pull into the driveway, I see Willow sitting on the front porch swing. I hesitate, unsure of what to do. Her angry gaze hits me immediately, so the chances of being able to pull out of the drive unnoticed are out the window.
At this point, I’ve sat in the car, locked into a stare off with Willow, for at least a full minute, so driving away is out of the question. Sighing, I pull the keys out of the ignition and toss them into my purse. I get out of the car at a snail’s pace, bouncing my eyes from Willow to the ground and back up again.
I never knew a ten-year-old’s gaze could be so heavy, but I feel it in every bone in my body. It makes my heart ache. Chase said that he and Emily would tell her about the baby, and since her eyes keep fluttering to my stomach as I walk up to the porch, I can tell that they have.
“Hey, Willow,” I say softly. “Can I sit by you?”
Her eyes are still hard. I can feel them dissecting me. But she finally shrugs her shoulders and stills the swing so I can sit.
“Are you okay?” I ask her after a few minutes, and again, she just shrugs, facing out into the yard. “Where’s your mom?”
“She fell asleep while we were watching a movie. I didn’t want to wake her.” Her eyes go to my belly again.
It’s not as flat as it was before, but it doesn’t really look like I’m pregnant either. I kind of just look like I’ve eaten too many breakfast tacos, which is pretty accurate anyway. Drake can cook a mean breakfast. I make a mental note to casually drop that into conversation with Olivia.
“My mom said you and my dad are having a baby.”
Oh, crap.Okay. We’re just going for this, then.
I nod, not knowing what to say next, as I’d prefer to talk to Chase or Emily before I go into details with their daughter. I’m not sure what’s appropriate or inappropriate to say in this situation, and knowing me, I’d get it all wrong.Instead, I dodge the comment and ask, “How’s your mom feeling today?”
Apparently, that was also the wrong thing to say, because she sighs and turns to me again. “Do you even care?”Her eyes are so pained that they bring tears to mine.
“Of course I care, Willow.” I reach my hand out to comfort her, but she pulls away, jumping from her seat and running into the house. Sagging against the back of the swing, I let the tears fall, shame and regret washing over me.
When I left my old life behind, I was ready to shake things up. I wanted change. To be given the opportunity to feel alive and live a life I was proud of. I never imagined that goal would bring me to a place where my happiness brought others sadness.As I mull it over, Chase’s truck pulls into the drive. I wipe at my cheeks, thankful I didn’t put makeup on this morning, then I take a deep breath and hope my eyes aren’t bloodshot from the tears. I can barely muster a shaky smile before the corners of my mouth drop back down.He’s quiet as he sits down on top of the wooden railing across from me and drags his hands down the length of his jeans.
“I’m going to guess the talk with Willow didn’t go so well last night,” I say.
He grimaces and shakes his head. “Why? Have you seen her this morning?”
“Yeah, she was kind of upset. Do you think I should leave?”
He hangs his head low before eventually righting himself and moving to sit beside me on the swing.“I was so excited for her to have a brother or sister. I guess I assumed she’d be just as excited. I think she will be once all of this settles down. For now, the fear of change is just a lot to take in.”
He grabs one of my hands in his, its warmth making me realize that mine are now ice cold.
He must notice, because he reaches out to grab the other one too and turns me toward him.“I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here and get to know the beautiful, vibrant girl that she is. She just needs time. But I know asking you for patience right now is unfair.”
“No, Chase, it’s not. I don’t expect her to be okay with everything right away. I’m not sure any of us are there yet. We’re just doing our best to navigate this crazy ride we’re on.”
“Willow has a lot of adjusting right now, all around, but Emily and I have always chosen to be upfront and honest with her, and we won’t change that now.”
