AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded and smiled. “I’ll have to think of a new song now.”
She finished wrapping the band-aid and then scooted back to look at her handiwork. With a satisfied smile, she shifted until she sat in my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“ Starlight…starbright…”
Before I knew it, my arms were wrapping around her waist, clutching her closer. I thought I felt tears rolling down my cheek, but I couldn’t for the fucking life of me hold them back. It was happening. The emotions inside me were cracking, splintering me into a million pieces. And there was nothing I could fucking do but give in like a little wuss. The pain had me pulling her closer, and all the while, she held me and continued singing in my ears.
I didn’t know when I fell asleep, much less when I woke up, but she was next to me when I did. She was lightly snoring, her arms still around my neck as we were both tucked into the bed.
Or rather into the couch.
My body had twisted itself into a pretzel to accommodate her on the couch, and despite the discomfort, I didn’t move. Instead, I watched her and how beautiful she was, even with just a little light illuminating her features. I felt adoration overwhelm me. No, stronger than that. It was like I’d spent years sitting in a cold dark room, and one day, someone gave me a little bit of light.
She was my light.
I wanted to protect the light. I wanted to possess her too, but more importantly, I wanted to take care of her and make sure she wanted for nothing and was always smiling. Fuck Max and whoever the fucking bastard texting me was. Fuck my past.
Her and my son. Those were the only things that mattered. And I would spend the rest of my life protecting them until the day I died.
Deep in thought, I watched her until I saw her face furrow slightly, her eyes fluttering open. I was snagged by her gaze, enchanted, and felt myself slip into them again.
“Hey.” Her voice sounded slightly hoarse from sleep, and she stretched a little from her legs to her toes. Her shirt rose a little, and just that flash of skin had the desire and something else rumble in my gut. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah,” I said simply, even though my feelings were too complicated to be described as better.
“That’s good then.” She reached out, touched my hair, and smiled.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
No.
It was the last thing I wanted to talk about.
Besides, what was there to talk about? Toby was dead because of me. He’d died because I was a selfish bastard, unable to think about anyone but myself.
“You don’t have to,” she said suddenly. “But there’s something I have to tell you, and I don’t know if this is a good time, but I have to say it now before I lose my nerve.”
“What is it?”
Her hazel eyes were soft, but they held a hint of apprehension.
“I’m pregnant,” she mumbled the words in a rush. “And I think I want to keep the baby.”
23
CHARLOTTE
It was like I shot him.
His entire body went ramrod straight, instant tension getting rid of every lax muscle. He didn’t change his expression much, but his eyes somehow grew in their piercing intensity. Normally, that stare alone would intimidate me.
But I couldn’t stop. This was too important, and he had to know. I didn’t want to keep this a secret from him. I had to keep going and say everything before I lost my nerve.
“I know. It sounds crazy, right?” A laugh escaped me even though there was absolutely nothing funny about the situation. The laugh was full of nerves and more of a cough than anything. “Like, we only had sex twice, and the first time we did it, I got pregnant. I mean, I’ve never had a one-night stand before, so I probably didn’t do all the usual checks and didn’t even remember to take the morning-after pill. I didn’t check to see if we’d used a condom….”
“We did.” His voice wasn’t exactly angry, but there was something fierce about it. “It broke.”
“Oh.”Shit, why hadn’t he told me that the next morning?
