Landon brushes his hand under his chin. “We had a fight and you wandered off. We ended up getting separate rooms, so I don’t know what happened to you after that. You blame me for being a dick a lot, but you were a dick when you were high.”
“I get it.” I nod. I was a tool when I was high. There are times I forget how much shit I did put my family through.
We both stay quiet for a moment, listening to the hum of the fridge.
"Listen, I get this woman..." Landon says cutting through the silence.
“Her name is Holly.”
He blinks a couple of times. “Excuse me?”
“I said her name is Holly.”
Landon laughs. “I see. You fucking like her?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to; you gave her a name. You never give them names.”
“Fuck off,” I bark. “It’s not like that. It’s the fact that despite me wondering if you used my name that night, I oddly trust her. As crazy as it all is maybe there’s a part of me that wants it to be true.”
Why the hell did I admit that out loud to him?
“Ah, fuck. This screams Sara all over again. You’re going to get yourself attached and find yourself hurt all over again from some woman looking for an easy payout. Open your eyes.”
“She’s agreed to a DNA test. That already speaks volumes.”
Landon shakes his head. “Honestly, dude, I don’t think you're ready for a kid.”
“Fuck you. I'm not going to walk away.”
“And I think this is you trying to fill the void Sara left you with, but you wouldn't have been ready then.”
“This isn’t a void. This is doing what is right if I have to. That’s all I tried to do last time.”
Landon shifts in his seat. “If I were you, I would drop her some cash and get rid of her.”
“What the fuck? I’m not going to walk away if there’s a chance of him being my son.”
“You praise yourself all the time how you got better, and I hate to see one woman destroy what you fixed all over again. Even if the kid is yours, which I doubt. " He rubs his chin. "You don’t know if she’s manipulative or what games she could try to play with you to hook you in. I guess all I’m saying is watch your back and make sure it's something you really want.”
I want to punch him, but at the same time, he's right.
I need to push her back. She’d already gotten under my skin long before all this new information. She’s a risk. She has the power to hurt me. Ruin me like Sara did. If I let her in, she could destroy me. I need to wait. Find out more about her before I even think of letting her into my fucked up world.
CHAPTER SIX
HOLLY
“Open up,” the nurse says in a singsong voice to Matty, and she pops open her mouth trying to encourage my little boy to do the same.
Matty covers his mouth with his little hand and shakes his head, flat out refusing to do so. We've been at the Woodfield clinic for ten minutes trying to get Matty to open his mouth so the nurse can swab his cheek, but he's not having it. Liam was supposed to meet us here to do the test together, but he's MIA.
“Come on, baby. Let this nice lady do her job.” I nudge him. “Then we can go home and play.”
“No,” he cries and hides his head in my chest.
The nurse drops her arms and sighs.
“I’m sorry.” I frown at the nurse and put my fingers through his messy curls. “He got up early and he’s shy around strangers.” Except for one particular CEO.
“It’s alright. It happens all the time.” She gives me a tiny smile and lays down the test.
The door creaks open and the smell of crisp apples whisks through the air. Liam steps into the room looking sharp in a navy-blue suit.
"Li-um." Matty jumps off my lap and charges for him. He hardly has time to react as Matty lunges.
"Whoa, bub, hi to you too."
Matty slings his arms around his neck. I'm sure thinking Liam is going to protect him from the nurse and the cotton swab.
“Sorry I’m late. My last meeting ran long,” he tells me but avoids eye contact.
I haven’t seen Liam in two days since I walked out of his office with Matty. All our communication has been through email. My anxiety has been through the roof waiting for this, but also from his sudden cold shoulder. I don’t know if it’s his nerves of the what if, or if this is something that will be permanent once he finds out he’s the father.
“It’s okay. Matty isn’t exactly thrilled about getting swabbed at the moment. Hence why he's hiding in your neck.”
"Oh, so he's not just happy to see me?" He pats Matty’s back. “Hey, bub. Would it help if I go first?"
"You do it?" Matty asks, sticking his finger in Liam's mouth.
“Yes, I have to get it done too." Liam asks if he can get his test done first. The nurse agrees and comes over with a new swab and rubs the inside of Liam's cheek. “See. It wasn't so bad was it?”
Matty shakes his head but hides his face behind his little hands. Liam laughs and pushes away his hands away.
“Come on now, can you do like I did? Open up? Big like a dinosaur?"
Matty opens his mouth wide. “Roarrr.”
“Yes, just like that. Can you do it again?” Liam shifts his body and waves the nurse over. She comes in quickly sticking the swab in his mouth as he roars again. His little face twists at the intrusion.
"Yucky," Matty says and sticks out his tongue.
“It’s not fair.” I giggle softly, watching the pair.
"What?"
"How easy he did that for you. He wasn’t having it with me."
“I guess I have some magic charm.” A small grin lifts Liam’s face and it’s the first time since he walked into this room he makes eye contact with me. Though, it doesn’t last. He turns away from me and picks up one of the random brochures on the wall. “How long will it take for the results?” he asks the nurse roughly.
“We should have the results in about twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Now would you like a lemon-raspberry lollipop little guy?”
Liam and Matty twist their brows, looking disgusted at the odd flavor choice. Matty shakes his head with his tongue hanging out. He hates—no despises—lemons. From beside me, I hear the nurse gently aww.
“What an odd mix.” Liam glances at me and shakes his head, as well, confused.
“They’re Organic.” The nurse shrugs. “We get them from the local farmer’s market.”
“I think we will pass. We will meet you outside. I’ll find him a sticker,” Liam tells me, and I giggle.
“Good choice.”
I grab my bag and stand from the bench when the nurse grabs my arm. “I know I shouldn’t say anything, and I should be saying it to him, but after seeing those two together and making the exact sour face at the same time.” She presses her hand to her chest and her eyes doe. “I don’t think you’ll have any worries with these results.”
“Thanks,” I say unsure of how to respond.