I’d finished all of half my bagel in silence when I couldn’t maintain the façade any longer. “D, what’s going on? Talk to me,” I urged. When he still wouldn’t speak, I added, “You can tell me anything. You know this.”
He set his bagel down, wiped his mouth with his hand, and muttered, “You think so?”
“I know so,” I replied, cementing my assertion with a smile and a nod.
“Let’s test that.” He shook his head and covered his eyes. I watched as he rubbed up and down his forehead.
“Say something. You’re starting to scare me, D.” I suspected this would have him finally speaking to me. He hated seeing me worried or upset in any way.
“I’m scared, too, Tegyn.” D could barely get the words out.
I sat there silently, waiting for him to explain.
Finally, he looked at me, met my eyes for the first time. “Camilla’s pregnant,” he whispered.
I’m pretty sure I was hit in the chest with a wrecking ball. I could barely breathe as I struggled to process what he’d said. “I don’t get it. Is it yours? I thought you were separated? How far along is she?” All the questions running through my mind simply raced out my mouth in one giant whoosh.
D pushed his chair back, pulled mine out, and fell to his knees in front of me. “Before we separated, we had make-up sex.” He stared up into my eyes and I could feel my heart breaking. “I didn’t know we were going to separate. I didn’t know she wasn’t on the pill. I didn’t think. You weren’t in my life yet.”
I nodded numbly and curled my legs up in the chair with me. At first, I thought I’d stare off into the distance, afraid of what I’d read in his face, but then I realized I had to know. There was more to this. I could feel it. He wasn’t simply upset he had to tell me his wife was pregnant. I studied his whole demeanor, the way he had covered his face, the way he was withdrawing already. “So, you’ve decided to stay with her.” I made it a statement. He’d have to work to change my mind.
“Babe, I didn’t have a father. I can’t do that to my kid, even if I don’t love its mama,” he struggled to explain.
“There are ways to be a father without being with the mother. Happens all the time,” I grumbled, even though I hated myself for suggesting it. He should feel free to end his marriage when he was ready. For me to insinuate otherwise made me feel incredibly selfish. Shaking my head, I stood. “Okay, well, thank you for the bagel. I wish you a nice life.” I nodded a few times, like a damn bobble head doll.
D stood slowly. “That’s it?”
I threw my hands in the air. “What else can there be? I’m not going to be the other woman. I deserve to be loved, cherished, and protected. You knew from the start I was the marrying kind.”
He backed away, his head down. “I know you’re right, but I don’t want to let you go.”
“Well, that’s not entirely your choice,” I reminded him. Then I strode over to the door and opened it wide. “Bye, DeSean.” I stood stiffly, waiting for him to pass through so I could close it and have the breakdown I deserved.
“Okay. We’ll talk later,” he mumbled.
I ignored that comment. Once he’d stepped through the door, he turned to stare at me. I eyed him for a split second before I shut the door, locked it, and leaned against it. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. On second thought, I didn’t have time to have a breakdown. I needed to get ready to leave.
Mere minutes before turning down the main road to the neighborhood, I called Annie. Amazingly enough, she answered on the first ring. “Mind if I come now?” I asked.
“Your timing is perfect!” Annie exclaimed. “They’re busy on the roof.”
In the past, I might have wondered what Trent was doing on the roof. Hell, I would have worried over him being on the roof. Now, I just hoped he stayed up there long enough for me to make it in and out of the house with my Thin Mints.
“Great,” I responded. “Be there in a few.”
Sure enough, I was pulling up to the house moments later. Only, as I did, Trent walked right over to the driver’s side. What happened to the freaking roof? With a sigh, I exited the vehicle. This was going to suck. Silently, I tried to slip by him. That part went smoothly enough, but soon I discovered he was following me to the front door.
“What?” I asked, as patiently as I could muster.
Standing there glowering at me, he just shook his head. “Nothing,” he muttered.
With a shrug, I said, “Good. Then go away.” Then I turned back to the door and began to knock on it, hoping Annie was right there on the other side, ready to rescue me.
Sure enough, the door opened and she passed me my boxes. Trent just stood there on porch, doing his best to glare me down. “Thank you, Annie!” I smiled with feigned happiness. At the moment, my stomach was churning, my heart was racing, and my hand...shaking. Turning away, I strode back to the vehicle.
As soon as I opened the door, I threw the boxes in the back seat. I was going to get in the SUV, but he was leaning against the driver’s door. “What do you want?” My frustration was mounting. I just wanted to collect my cookies and go back to my apartment to eat them, since I no longer had D to calm me down.
“I hate you,” he muttered, spewing as much venom as he could in those three short words.