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I hear the disappointment in his voice. The tears I was holding back break free and roll down my cheeks.
“Really, Aaron? How would I have known that? This isn’t like faking an engagement that will end shortly, with no one the wiser but us. This is life-changing news. I couldn’t just call you up and tell you over the phone. This is a face-to-face conversation.” I bark back at him, partly out of frustration and fear.
Throughout this conversation, I still don’t know how he feels about the baby. That is the scariest thing of all. He might be so mad at me; he doesn’t care how serious of a commitment it is that he will be a father. We both stand there, silent in our thoughts. I break the silence this time, hoping what I say might have some impact on him.
“Aaron, I love you. I want this baby. I want us. I have wanted this since I was fourteen. Watching you go out with other girls who treated you poorly broke my heart. I just could never gather the courage to tell you how I felt. We became best friends; I thought that was all we would ever be. It took a fake engagement with you to realize how stupid I was to never tell you how I felt. Well, I’m telling you now. I love you so much it hurts.” I look him in the eye while I stand there defiantly, stoically, waiting for his response.
His mouth twitches open, and he gets an inaudible word out before…
“Aaron, Mr. Axel, tells us what’s going on.” Cameras flash, reporters are yelling different questions, and we still stare at each other silently.
Aaron makes a call and then grabs my arm. We are filmed and photographed all the way to the car pulling up to take us out of there. We slide into the black Lincoln Continental, and the driver speeds away from the throng of media chasing after the vehicle.
We lean back against the seat to catch our breath.
My voice is quiet when I ask, “Aside from berating me about not telling you sooner, what other thoughts do you have about our situation?”
His voice is angry. “Well, Erica, I haven’t had as much time as you have to process that I’m going to be a dad.”
He looks at his watch. “I have had approximately thirty minutes. Did you process this in thirty minutes? No, you didn’t. You have had two months. So, how about I get the same time to process this as you have had? Fair?”
I can’t expect him to have it all figured out right now. I got more time to process and think, so if he needs that amount of time, I’ll give it to him.
“I think it’s best if I stay with my dad till we can work this out.”
Aaron nods and turns away from me, looking out his window. We are alone now and should be talking. Whatever he was about to say before the media stepped in is forever lost, and I certainly can’t read his thoughts directly in the dark car. It appears that neither of us knows what to say now that we are alone. Maybe we talk better in public.
The car pulls up to the house. I don’t get out right away. I look at Aaron, hoping he acknowledges that this might be his only opportunity to say how he feels. He doesn’t move a muscle.
“I’ll just say this, and then I’ll go. Whatever you feel about me doesn’t matter because there is a baby now. A real baby. We can’t fake our way out of this. I hope you realize that you will have a place in this baby’s life, no matter our personal situation. I hope I hear from you…and know I will love you until my dying breath.”
I leave the vehicle and stand at the curb as the car drives away. I’m unsure what I expected, but I know it wasn’t this. This is worse than the worst response I imagined. Maybe I imagined a lot of things that weren’t there.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aaron
Igetupandturn on the television, dreading what I find. Of course, my fight with Erica is all over the news. Vultures. Why can’t these people just mind their damn business? They make their bones on the backs of innocent people just trying to live their lives. I flip through the channels; our story is the first in every entertainment segment.
“We didn’t catch the argument from the beginning…” one media outlet says.
“...cheating on him…” another speculates.
“...gave him a sexually transmitted disease…clinic…looked worse for wear…” says another outlet.
Investigative journalism has hit an all-time low as I flip to another channel.
In one segment, I catch another ridiculous speculation. “A baby by another man. Yes, Jay, that is our best guess. We don’t have any clear information right now, and we are waiting for Aaron’s representative’s response to confirm or deny our questions. No comment from Erica’s side either. This could explain the clinic video. More on this as we get updates. Back to you, Crystal.”
Ugh. I grab my head. I want to hit something. I throw the remote on the bed. What a flipping mess this is. If she had just told me the truth before the premiere, this wouldn’t be happening. This is a public relations nightmare. Speaking of, I look at my phone. Crap. I have six missed calls from my agent. My social media is blowing up. This is the last thing I need right now.
I should be reveling in the glow that was my premiere last night. It seems that news is being buried under all the speculation about my argument with my fake-fiancée. Priorities, people.
I dug up a couple of reviews that look very promising. I could salvage something out of all of this.
I call my agent back.
“So, what are we looking at right now?” I ask her, referring to the premiere.
