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“Are you still coming over later?” he asks.
I ruffle his dark hair. “Of course, buddy. I wouldn’t miss it,” I assure him with a small smile.
He grins before waving at me. “Bye, Mike.”
My son leaves with his mother and I’m left with my brother, who still doesn’t seem to be grasping the situation. I really wish he had arrived next week like he was supposed to. I had this whole speech planned out to apologize, but right now I’ve got nothing. My mind is blank and I’m really hoping I don’t fuck this up.
I gesture for him to take a seat and he does so without complaint. We’re on opposite sides of the booth, staring at each other. I’m quiet, trying to think up things to say. He’s quiet, probably trying to understand what he just witnessed.
“Where’s Cora?” I ask simply to break the silence.
“She went over to the house. I came here to pick up some food,” Matt informs me.
I nod. Talk about bad fucking timing.
He gets straight to business. “What’s going on, Mike? Why were you eating with Christine? And who’s that kid?”
“Matt, I’m going to need you to calm down and breathe, okay?” I start.
“Don’t give me that bullshit!” my brother snaps. “Since when are you into kids?”
I swallow. “Well… he’s mine,” I reply.
Matthew looks shell-shocked. “What?” he says breathlessly.
“He’s my son, Matthew. His name’s Noah. Noah Marcus Lawson.”
Matt looks at me and says nothing for a few seconds, and then he bursts into laughter. His entire body shakes as he laughs.
“Good one. You’re fucking with me,” he says, still laughing. “I mean, Christine and I are old news, of course, but that kid must be what, five or six years old?”
“Matthew,” I say, but he’s still talking.
“I mean, obviously, this is a prank. There’s no way in hell you have a son that old. And with Christine? Ridiculous.” He chuckles.
Holy fucking shit.
“Matthew,” I repeat.
My brother finally stops talking and looks at me. I’m not sure whether it’s my tone or my expression, but his face pales. He must realize I’m telling the truth.
“Wait, are you serious?” he questions and I nod slowly. “How’s that even possible?”
“Okay, Matt, I’m going to need you to listen to me, okay? And please, try not to make a scene,” I tell him.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. He’s already starting to understand. Or at least I think he is.
“I have a feeling this conversation might end with me punching you in the face,” he says.
“That’s probable,” I agree.
“Then we need to get out of here before we actually do cause a scene,” he states, looking around the restaurant. We’re already starting to draw attention. Two Cranes in a restaurant at the same time. I guarantee it’ll be the subject of gossip for the next few days. Especially since it looks like we’re having an altercation.
We get up, and after paying the bill for the food we barely ate, we get into Matthew’s car. We spend the entirety of the drive in silence. Matt drives us to the edge of some woods and when he gets out of the car, I follow suit and cross my arms over my chest.
“Well? I’m listening. Please tell me how you ended up fucking my ex-girlfriend and getting her pregnant,” he says.
“I swear if you don’t start talking right now—” Matthew adds angrily.
