AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Looking down, I see Pete the Cat. This wasn’t one I read as a kid. Reading it to him, is a totally brand new adventure, and I vow to relish everything I experience with him. He hangs on every word I say, even mouthing them along as I read.
When I get to the end, he’s still awake. “How many times do I read it?” I chuckle.
“Three,” Gavin and Delia answer together.
“By three, he’s usually out.”
Looking forward to all of it, I continue reading, this time adding a few different voices in, and putting emphasis on the words. He giggles, and it makes me entire life.
By the time I’m done reading it for the third time, they’re right. He’s out like a light.
Delia helps me get up, and then leans forward, giving him a kiss on the forehead and pulling the covers up around his neck. One thing’s for sure, no matter what went on with us, she’s a great mother.
Together, we walk out of the room. Alone for the first time in the house we hoped to spend the rest of our lives in.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Delia
“I hatethat I’m kicking you out of your room,” I turn to face Chance as we stand in the middle of the bedroom. We walked here in silence, and I knew I had to do something to break it.
It’s one of the most uncomfortable situations I’ve ever experienced, and I have to admit my fault in this. If I hadn’t left the way I did, we wouldn’t be here right now.
“This used to be our room, if you remember. One of us will be kicking the other out of the room,” he shrugs, seeming for it to not make too much of a difference for him.
“We’re adults, there’s no reason we can’t stay in here together,” I argue. “It’s just like if we were at a hotel and they only had one room with a bed. That’s my favorite romance trope,” I try to be clever.
“There are a lot of reasons we can’t stay in here together,” he argues right back. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”
My mood drops slightly as I realize he’s not going to joke with me. It was our favorite thing to do previously and it breaks my heart we can’t seem to find common ground.
Maybe I’m asking for too much, expecting him to forgive me, when I haven’t even forgiven myself. At the same time, there’s a chance if I let him in, he’ll let me in too. Throwing out an olive branch is the least I can try to do.
Before he can leave, I speak. “This is where I found out. Right here, sitting on this bed.”
He tilts his head back, blowing out a breath before facing me. “Found out what?”
“That I was pregnant, and then in the next few minutes, I found out you were injured. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.” I hope being transparent will be what we need to try and move past this. “I was already having thoughts about being my mother,” I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth. “Then, I was faced with it head on, right when I found out I was pregnant. It was a lot to deal with, Chance.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t a cakewalk for me either. As soon as I knew what was going to happen with that car, I thought about you. I thought of all the things we wanted to do together, and the dreams we had. It was hard on me too, knowing I might not be able to come home at the end of the shift. Thinking about you being one of those women who has to sit at the graveside of her husband who was killed in the line of duty? That’s all I fucking thought about.”
“Did you?” I press. “Because afterward, you decidedly didn’t think about me.” I don’t mean for it to sound as pissy as it does, but we’re both finally talking.
He sighs heavily. “Life showed me what it could do, Delia, and I was scared. When you’re faced with almost dying, you can react in a number of different ways, or so I learned in therapy later. I was angry.”
“You were, it felt as if you were angry with me.” I press. It’s probably not the best way to find out what I want to know, but I refuse to stay in this house with him; and not know where I stand.
“I wasn’t, it was the situation and I didn’t have the tools to deal with it in a way that was healthy. I thought I’d pushed you away,” he runs a hand through his hair.
“No,” I shake my head. “I’d already planned to leave.”
His lips press into a firm line. “Anyway, I’m tired. See you in the morning.”
This time he does leave, and I know I’ve been dismissed. When the door closes, I’m alone. I should be used to it by now, but this time it feels different. There’s a desperation to this loneliness I’ve never felt before. When Gavin and I were by ourselves, I’d lay in bed at night, wondering what Chance was doing.
Did he miss me?
Had he found out he was going to be a father?
