Chapter Seven
Shit, I clicked. I actually did it. And in that nanosecond, nausea built at a speed I wasn’t aware was possible. It was awful and even though I was only on the pop-up screen for a fraction of a minute – long enough to spy the birthdate and commit the six digits to memory – the damage had been done. Yes, I gathered the new information at warp speed, but I was going down for breaking the law. I just knew it.
I couldn’t unsee what I saw though, and before rational thought blew in and wiped away the numbers, I scratched them down in order on a nearby note pad, circling them all, especially the year of birth.
Anger flared, much like my nostrils.
All along, I’d been under the impression Jackson was around five years old, but it turns out he was a fresh four.A fresh four. Which means, doing the math, conception happenedafterwe started going out.
I picked up the phone. Damn, I hated how Amber had been right. I hated that I’d suspected as much too. Why did my instinct always prove to be correct? Bastard.
The phone rang and rang, and just before I was going to hang up, Mitch answered. “Hey, Honey.”
“Don’t give me that honey shit.” I spoke through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw. “We need to talk. Tonight. No more deflections.”
Mitch didn’t utter a word, but it wasn’t totally silent on the line either. I swore I heard ashh. I could’ve let it slide, but a child’s voice squeaked in the background as he asked for juice.
“Is she there?” My eyes widened.
“I can explain.”
“You brought her into our apartment without consultingme?”
“Let me explain.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to do that very thing, but you refused. And now she’s in our home, with her child? You didn’t think that was right to run it by me?” I slammed the phone before he could answer and stormed away from my desk.
My stomach flipped, once, twice, and before it went another time, I ran to the bathroom and emptied the contents out of my stomach. It was too much. Sweat blanketed me from head to toe, and had I not known why, I would’ve blamed the flu. But I knew. I knew the truth.
Mitch had created a child with the woman, and not said anything. Nothing. A few years later, she comes back into his life, completely unannounced and now has the audacity to sit in my apartment. The home I’d created with Mitch, completely under the pretense of being in a monogamous relationship.
Damn.
I stood and rinsed my mouth, trying in earnest to pull myself together. I still had a shift to finish, and I was going to have to look Eric in the eye and act like I wasn’t rocked to the core. In all the years I’ve known him, I’d never kept anything from him. Until I found out I was pregnant, but that’s different because the father should be the first to know. But this? Wow. It was turning out to be a bad week for me and relationships. I needed an escape but there was no metaphorical door in front of me to give me solace.
What the hell was I going to do now?
Maintaining self control was a first, and I inhaled and exhaled until my pulse returned to normal, and I was no longer hyperventilating.
Second was to busy myself with work, otherwise my thoughts were going to drift away and that wasn’t best for anyone. Especially my sanity.
Thankfully, I discovered a bunch of make work projects and buried myself under them, and the clock ticked by at a rapid pace. Eric returned from the first flight and kept me busy showing me pictures of the nameless baby.
After a quick call home, he hung up with a never-ending grin. “Lily says to come by after supper, for a quick visit.” He stressed that last part, but I wasn’t worried.
Short and sweet was more than enough for a first-time mom. Between new schedules and breastfeeding and hormones, a few minutes would be perfect.
“I’ll be there. With presents.” I wiggled my eyebrows, eager to escape work and spend time searching the local stores for the best presents. I wasn’t a true auntie, but I was going to act like it.
“See if Mitch can bring the router for me to use.”
“Can you ask him? I won’t be going home after work.”
Eric tipped his head. “At all?”
I didn’t know how to answer his loaded question.At allhad such a permanent sound to it, and I wasn’t sure if that was correct. I just was going to avoid going home in the interim hours between work and Eric’s place. Then I’d have to disinfect. And change the sheets. And maybe even move out.
It was a lot to consider.