AllFreeNovel
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“I almost pray it’s yours,” Skyler says.
“I don’t!” I growl, not wanting to put that into the universe.
“Okay, I mean…I don’t. I’ve been hoping this whole time it wasn’t yours but…this is just so disgusting. She knew this whole time that there was someone else. And then if she really did drug you…” She crosses her arms. “I hope you’re planning to press charges, and if you’re not, then I wouldn’t tell Leighton about any of this.”
“She’ll probably never admit if she did. It’s not like I can prove it now.”
Peyton lets out a breath just as I hear keys in the door and then Leighton is coming through it. She narrows her gaze at us and the shot glasses littering the table. “Is this studying?”
Peyton and Skyler hop up from the couch in sync. “You’ve got the floor, Cartwright. We’ll leave you with the vodka,” Peyton says before they bound up the stairs, leaving us alone.
“You…you didn’t answer.” She sets her bag on the couch and sits next to me, linking her arm with mine and leaning her head on my shoulder. “My last text. I didn’t want you here stewing and being mad at me.” She kisses my shoulder and looks up at me with those big beautiful eyes that have the power to completely alter my mood. I press a kiss to her forehead, and already I feel better.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“You were…but I swear I wasn’t alone with him. But he was there…” She bites her bottom lip.
“I’m not thrilled about it, but I’ll live. Thanks for coming back.”
“Well, I’m sure Skyler and Peyton would have wrangled me in when you guys got…drunk?” She raises an eyebrow and points at the three shot glasses between us.
“I learned some interesting news today, and they were kind of talking me through it until you got here.” I let out a sigh, and she turns to look at me.
“Do I need a shot?” She rubs her thighs nervously and I grab her hands and pull them to my lips.
“I’ll let you hear the news first.”
“Okay…”
I launch into everything that happened earlier with Alli and when I finish, Leighton looks like she’s going to be sick, but she jumps to her feet. “I KNEW IT! That conniving bitch!” She stamps her foot and puts her hands over her eyes, digging the heels of her palms into them. “How could she do this? Why? She needs help. Like professional help. She’s certifiable.”
“Okay, well before we go admitting her to a psych ward, I need to find out if it’s true.”
“The fact that she’s been lying about only being with you, something tells me it’s probably pretty true.”
“Baby, come sit down. You’re making me anxious.” I need my hands on her, and given that we’ve always fed off of each other’s emotions, her getting worked up is successfully getting me worked up. I need her calm, so I’ll stay calm.
She comes back around and sits in my lap. “I know we’ve been hoping for this, but the way it sounds like this might play out, I’m in shock.” She swallows. “I’d accepted the fact that the baby was yours.”
I let out a breath. “Yeah, me too.”
“Do you know who the other guy is?”
“No…I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know, nor do I care. I’m not mad that there was another guy, obviously.”
She nods and stares off into the distance. “Do you want me to come?”
“Yes…but also no.” I begin stroking her hair, running the strands through my fingertips and letting her silky mane calm me. I stroke the skin on the back of her neck under her hair and she practically purrs in my arms. “I want you with me always, but…I don’t want to worry about you flying off the handle. I think it’s just something I need to deal with alone first.” She doesn’t put up a fight and just rests her head on my shoulder. “I just…I need to know…”
“Know what?”
“No matter the outcome…” I start.
She flips her wrist over and shows me her tattoo. “No matter where, no matter what.”
