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"The father isnotsample A..." Luna looked up at the men.
“Sample A?" Nix said blankly.
"Who was sample A?" Ash looked to Nix.
The Doctor looked up, but at that moment, her phone rang.
She answered it distractedly.
“Hey, lady! You’re kidding me…” Nix trailed off.
But Luna immediately looked pleased. “Ahh, hello there Doctor, yes, I am so glad you called, I literally have the patients here in front of me and we are trying to make sense of… yes I know, I haven’t come across this before myself-”
Luna angled the phone away from her mouth and stage whispered.
“Do you want to just return to the waiting room a moment? I’ll call you back in soon. Nothing wrong, I assure you, all is fine, I’m sorry, this is really not what I was expecting, I realize this is less than ideal-”
Lyle was already stomping out the door. Ash tutted while Nix rolled his eyes. Ash led the way back out into the waiting room, Nix held out a hand for Penny and she leaned heavily into him to pull herself up to standing position, before turning to follow them out.
“Well, this is what you get for going with a doctor that hasn’t passed probation yet,” Ash muttered under his breath.
“She said it’s all fine, the baby is okay, just sounds like there has been a confusion over which sample was provided by who… or something.” Penny tried to placate them, but her eyes were wide herself.
Lyle steered Penny into a chair. She was stiff, hot to touch, this wasn’t the result they thought it would be. This isn’t how Lyle had pictured this going down.
“Are we meant to remember who provided what sample?” Nix said, frowning.
“Nah, they should have reference numbers or some shit like that,” Ash said, waving his hand, blasé as ever.
“I can’t remember who sample A was. Can you, Lyle?” Nix turned to Lyle.
Lyle stared at them both with a flat expression. Penny fanned herself.
“Can I have some water?” she asked.
Nix turned from Lyle and replied, “Sure, Penny, baby.”
Lyle turned himself and muttered, “Going for a piss.” Before loping out toward the entrance hallway.
* * *
Of course.Of fucking course. Lyle was sample A.
The baby wasn't his.
He was a screw up, he didn't deserve them, of course. Why would he? Why would the universe give him a shot at happiness? He should have known. Why had he dared to hope? Why had he stupidly let happiness into his heart? Too much time spent with fucking golden retriever Nix and that yappy, too big for his boots terrier, Ash. It was too much to expect, to have a shot at happiness. He'd wanted Penny to have his children, he wanted Penny. He wanted a life of happiness, of family. He wanted a home. Now, was he sure that there was space for him? In their cozy, little arrangement? He doubted it. He couldn't see why they'd bother to keep him. He was a fucking drunk, he'd be a liability around the baby. He couldn't be trusted. He couldn't be relied upon. He wasn't the father.
He felt the bitter sickness of disappointment fill his mouth. He felt the ache in his belly. He knew the only way to get rid of it. The only way to stop the pain. The only thing that took it all away…The cold glass or bottle in his hand, then on his lips. The cold liquid gliding over his tongue. The burn in his throat. Then the warmth in his belly. The quietness in his mind. The disconnection. The sinking into a mellow, quiet haze, feeling like that was where he was meant to be, that he was fine, for the first and only time. That he could just slip away…
He had three other children, yes. But he’d fucked that up, too. Two with his former ol’ lady, before she’d fucked off back to Puerto Rico, taking them with her. He’d paid though, he’d sent child support, one of them was a dentist now, or hygienist, or whatever. The other, she had babies of her own. Then years later, he’d fucked that sweetbutt and she’d been knocked up and it was definitely his. And she’d hung around at the MC, too, causing trouble, and took off, too. Everyone fucking left. This is what would happen again, he could see it now. Penny would leave. She’d go back to her uptown life. Maybe she’d drag Nix and Ash with her. Lyle wouldn’t be involved any more. And why would he, if the baby wasn’t his?
Lyle busted through the doors into the parking lot outside the clinic, simmering and growling.
No one had followed him out. They were probably all hugging each other in there, Ash, Nix, and Penny. There wasn't room for him, what was he even fucking doing, hanging on to them take on a lonely loser like himself. They would be a happy little family and he needed to move the fuck out of their way.
He saw Ash’s motorcycle. He’d lifted the keys from Ash’s back pocket easily in all the drama of settling Penny into the waiting room again.
He hopped on. Throwing his thigh over the seat, settling back in the chair grabbing the handles, fucking clinging to them with white knuckles. Get me the hell out of here, his mind screamed. Before they leave me, I could leave them. Just get out of their hair before it all turns sour. Lyle wanted to get himself to the nearest bar, get a fucking bottle of anything, and drink himself into oblivion. Because he would rather be anywhere than here. Because he didn't want to feel, he didn't want to see, he particularly didn’t want to hear who the father actually was. He just wanted blissful nothingness.
