Page 114 of That Girl
“All of it. But Renee was right too.”
She tilts her head slightly to the side so her face rests against the top of my head which is nestled in the crook of her shoulder.
I bring up the point Renee made. “Wouldn’t you want to know if you had a child out there in the world?”
“It’s a fucked-up mess, is what it is.”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Knox and I broke up today.”
She shoves my head off her shoulder. “Truth?”
I nod my head yes.
“Are you okay?”
“I feel guilty as hell, so no, I’m not okay.”
“There are times when you should break your no-alcohol rule. You’re surrounded by family and friends right now, so if you want to go raid Fallon’s excellent stash of hard liquor, I think I can stick around a little while longer for that.”
“We shouldn’t.”
“We definitely should,” she counters, giving me a nudge.
“I don’t want Connor or Lillie to see me drunk or even tipsy,” I reply with my own counter.
“Fine. But this weekend, we are going to O’Reilly’s and getting plastered. I’ll make sure that Austin, Dust, and Prez are there to protect us, so no excuses.”
“Fine,” I relent.
“Alright. With that said, I’m really going to go now. Tell the guys I’ll catch them later.”
“Drive safe and text me to let me know you got home.”
“Yes, mother.”
The late afternoon air is cooling as the sun begins its descent to the western horizon. I hear Elizabeth’s laughter across the yard and see her and Ryder together with their infant son, Marcus. I got to hold him earlier and it was bittersweet. Smelling his baby smell and stroking the dark fuzz on his head had me daydreaming of things that I doubt will ever be mine to have. I might be named after a Disney princess, but that doesn’t guarantee me a happily-ever-after. I shudder again and decide I need to go grab my light sweater jacket. Loud but muffled voices greet me from inside the house when I walk up the stairs to my bedroom. I find my sweater hanging off the back of the chaise lounge.
“Emergency,” JD’s voice states behind me, and I grab at my chest, spinning around.
“Jesus, JD.”
His tall, wide presence steps inside my bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. I take a step back.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, unsure of why he’s in here or why I sense anger rippling off him in waves. Tsunami waves is more accurate.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I take another step back, my knees hitting the side of the chaise lounge. Oh, shit. Did he find out about the DNA test?
“JD, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, and I regret my actions.” I continue with my rambling circumlocution until I feel myself crushed against his chest, his arms holding me to him tightly.
“You should have told me what happened, Aurora. God, baby, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here. I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you.”
His declarations worm their way into my fuzzy brain that has immediately filled with lustful thoughts at being pressed against his hard body. Thoughts of how badly I want to rip my clothes off, then his, and tumble into the bed behind me. But JD isn’t talking about the DNA test.
Ice fills my veins and a deep cold settles in. He knows about that night. How the fuck did he find out? Shame falls heavily on me, and I push him away.
He knows.
