Apparently, my sperm count was so low that me getting anybody pregnant naturally was one in a million. When I’d confronted Tasia about it when she’d shown me the pregnancy test, she’d confessed her sins.
Then she’d been utterly and completely surprised when I’d told her in no uncertain terms that I wanted a divorce.
When she’d realized that I was serious, she’d turned nasty.
And, since you couldn’t divorce a pregnant woman in Texas, I had to wait until after the baby was born to divorce her.
Then I got slammed with a child support notice.
Moments after getting that notice, I also got the notice that not only was Tasia wanting a divorce, but she was also asking for the house, the cars, and the dogs.
She didn’t get Sister…but she got the rest.
At least until I proved that I was not the father of the baby.
Then that payment to her would disappear. For now, though, it will have to stay in place.
The Tasia I’d married was no longer inside of the bitter woman that Tasia had become.
No more was she sweet. No more did she smile at me.
Now, she glared.
Now, she took every opportunity to make my life a living hell, even a year later.
When the divorce had been taken to court, because we’d tried doing it the amicable way by ourselves and with mediators, she’d put on this face.
A face that had wrapped that old judge around her finger and didn’t let go.
She gave this long, drawn-out sob story about how we’d struggled with infertility. How, after much discussion, the decision to use a sperm donor had risen. And when she’d finally gotten pregnant—become blissfully happy for the first time in years—I’d left her.
All in all, the judge gave that woman everything that she asked for. The house, the car. The truck. Everything but the dogs.
I got those.
Sadly, one of our dogs had died almost a week after winning that particular court battle, leaving me with only Sister.
And to pay for mine and her lawyer fees—something else ordered by the judge—I had to sell my bike.
All in all, everything that had happened had been the reason that I only wanted casual until I knew the right one was standing in front of me.
I wasn’t sure how I would know—but I had a feeling I would.
A wiiiiir-worp had me glancing over my shoulder, and that was when I saw a police cruiser on my ass.
I sighed and pulled over, turning off the bike and waiting for Luke to make his way to me.
He didn’t take long.
“Are you talking about my kid?” he asked as soon as he walked up.
I nodded once.
“She was sleepwalking?” he pushed.
I nodded again.
“Fuck,” he said. “How did you know she was mine?”
I thought about that for one second, then shrugged.
“I was visiting a friend today when I saw the woman that I gave a ticket to. The woman that lives in the apartment below me,” I answered. “I didn’t know she was your daughter until today.”
His eyes narrowed. “You gave her a ticket?”
I started to deny that it was me giving her a ticket on purpose, but decided against it.
It wasn’t like what she’d done hadn’t been illegal.
She’d left her car parked half on a sidewalk. Someone could’ve hit it.
I almost hit it.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“When did you see her sleepwalking?” he asked.
I then went on to explain everything, all the way down to staying the night in her bedroom to make sure she wouldn’t get up and take off again while I wasn’t looking.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“She used to do that when she was really scared,” he admitted.
That’s when I realized I hadn’t given him all of the story.
“Yeah, about that…”Chapter 9Every time I hear someone gag, I think of you.
-Coffee Cup
Katy
Dinner with my parents didn’t used to be tense in the slightest.
At least until I went ahead and showed them my independence and adult status, then winded up living in an abusive relationship for six months.
To make this dinner even more awkward, Theo, my ex-boyfriend, was sitting at the bar in my parents’ kitchen.
Rowen, my sister, was looking at me with a ‘sorry’ expression on her face.
My brother, Derek, was watching the show, his eyes ping-ponging back and forth between me, Theo, and my mom.
Derek and Rowen knew why I left Theo.
My mom and dad, however, didn’t.
They just thought it was me being scared to enter into another relationship like the one I’d previously found myself in.
And my mom still talked about him as if I was just overthinking things.
But that wasn’t the case. I knew exactly what I was doing.
There was no point in stringing a man along when you didn’t reciprocate his feelings.
“I hope you don’t mind,” my mom said. “But I saw Theo in town and invited him to dinner.”
Of course, I don’t mind you inviting my ex to dinner with us.