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“Well, this is so not how I expected the night to go,” Eric says as he looks at the amber liquid in his glass and takes a drink.
“Please be quiet. Ainsley doesn’t know,” I plead to my friends. I’m mortified, more so for the folderol this situation is causing. I place my hands on Melissa’s forearms and apologize. “This is a nightmare. I’m so sorry this is happening right now on your big evening.”
“I’m good. Most people are dancing and have no idea what’s happening right now. Besides, I hate being the center of attention. Believe it or not, this is helping.Me.Helping me. Not you. Your night is kinda fucked right now. Luke just left. I think you might want to chase after him.”
“And say what?” I ask.
“Don’t ask me. I’m the worst at this.”
I let Eric know I’ll be right back and then make my way through the house to find Luke. He’s not in the living room, kitchen, or dining room, so I head out the front door and onto the porch. I see him jogging down the final steps to the sidewalk and take off after him. When I get to the sidewalk, I walk as fast as I can to keep up with his long, hurried strides.
“You can’t possibly be mad,” I say when he is in earshot.
He speaks over his shoulder. “Fuck being mad. I’m furious. Bad enough that I’m the man who didn’t know he had a kid, but you told everyone I was some anonymous sperm donor?”
I stop walking. My insides race as anger pierces my gut. My fists are balls at my sides, and the blood that is simmering through my veins feels like it’s rushing straight to my head. This is not the time or the place, but the emotions in me are far too powerful, far too hurt, to hold in.
“Fuck you, Luke!”
My words halt his steps. He turns around, his brow raised and his face twisted.
Not caring that I’m on a suburban street in a sleepy neighborhood, I yell at him, “You want me to curse? Well, here it is. Fuck. You! You told me to get rid of the baby. You didn’t want her, and I did.”
He takes an accusatory step forward, burning eyes directed toward me. “You don’t know shit. You won’t let me prove anything to you. How many times do I have to meet my own daughter before you’ll declare it’s a healthy time for her to know? You’re trying to keep me at arm’s length. From Ainsley. From you. That’s why you keep pushing this Eric guy in my face. You brought him here because you needed a buffer. You can’t stand what is building between us. You’re never going to trust me with my own child because I was an asshole one night after too much booze.”
“Whiskey isn’t an excuse.”
“You don’t know what was happening back then.”
I throw my hands up and plead for an explanation. “Then, tell me, Luke. What was so monumental, so life-altering that you can’t just come out and say it? Tell me what fucking happened!”
Something happened.
Happened to us.
Happened to him.
Happened to our past and future.
He places his hands on his head and turns around. His face is lifted toward the sky as he curses under his breath. As his hands rise, he yells loudly, a feral growl of rage. The sinewy muscles are taut and rigid as he laments the world. His chest heaves with the adrenaline pulsing through his body, and then his shoulders fall, and he rubs his chest.
“She was dying,” he says into the sky.
Luke turns around and looks at me. His eyes are glassy, glazed, red-rimmed, the likes of which I’ve never seen.
“We thought she was sick, but it was pure hell, and it’s going to happen to all of us.”
“We’re all going to die, Luke. You’re being dramatic, and frankly, you’re scaring me a little.”
“I just—” He stops himself from speaking and takes a step forward, his hands out, as if he’s trying to explain. His hands rise to his head. His jaw is clenched, and that fierce look in his eye is severe. “I need you to come with me.”
“Where?”
“New York. To my father’s house.”
I take a step back.
“Just tell me now,” I demand.
