Pretty Hurts (Left 1.50)

I hand her the letter.

She opens it, scans the page, and gasps. “Wait. What is this?”

“Marilyn is claiming I fathered a child with her.”

“What? Is this … I mean, could it be true?”

“Technically, yes. But I don’t think so.”

“But you don’t know. So it could be.”

I nod. The pain visible on her face slices at me like a knife. “What are you going to do?”

“I talked to my lawyer as soon as I got this. He’s going to file a denial and counter with a request for DNA testing.”

“Jesus.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I never thought in a million years anything like this would happen. I wanted to let you know now, so you weren’t blindsided.” I take her trembling hands between mine. “I know neither of us wanted children, but if … if she’s mine, could we still make this work?”

She looks at me with a blank expression that makes my gut ache. She can’t.

“I’m sorry. I-I’m just trying to process all of this right now.” She shakes her head as if to clear it. “I’ll always be here for you as a friend. But if you’re asking me if I could play step-mom, I don’t know. I can’t answer that yet without thinking this all through.”

My heart sinks into my shoes. I drop her hand and stand from the chair, toppling it onto the floor. I’m going to lose her, just like I lost Marilyn. I can’t handle that a second time. Not when this woman across from is my ideal mate.

“Edgar?”

“I can’t lose you, too, Efia.”

“And you’re not. I’m asking for some time. This is so much to take in, and I know it has to be worse for you, but …” She trails off with a shrug. “All I’m asking for is time before I give you a final answer.”

“Why prolong it?” I ask, unable to take another blow. I spin on my heel and stalk toward the door, feeling numb. In a few hours, my life has been split wide open. Grabbing my keys off the hook, I head to my car, desperate to escape the chain of events set off.

“Edgar.”

I ignore Efia as I step out into the rain. The water feels good on my skin. I ignore the wetness as my clothes are soaked.

“No.” She grabs my shirt and tugs.

I spin to face her. “I can’t be here right now. I can’t watch another woman walk out on me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

I shake my head, unable to hear her words. “Just let me go.”

“I don’t want you to leave like this, please.” Her voice breaks and I know she’s crying. Her tears mingle with the rain, ripping my heart out of my chest.

“I can’t.”

I pull away from her, climb into my car, and pull out of the driveway. Her lone figure haunts me as I look back in the rearview mirror. I travel along the familiar streets, on autopilot as I attempt to make sense of everything that’s happened. My car is forced to the right. I glance up to see the rushing water surrounding me. Flash flood. For a split second, fear paralyzes me. Then I grab the wheel and attempt to steer while the car is tossed about like a plaything. My teeth rattle in my head as the car rocks violently. My head slams against the driver window.

A sickening crack fills my ears; I pray it was the glass and not my skull. My eyelids droop and I sway, unsure if the car has stopped moving or not. Blinking, I struggle to focus. I’m stopped. The water is hood deep. I need to escape. My limbs are heavy and clumsy as I claw at my seatbelt. It gives with a click, and I roll down the window, praying the power still works. It comes down with sluggish chugs.

I use the last of my strength to lift my body out of the water and struggle to stay afloat as the water washes me away and I try to find a place for purchase. The landscape is sweeping by too fast to register much, but I see the water drops drastically in a few feet. I struggle to steer my body toward the area. Fate or God must be on my side, because I find myself able to stand up in the knee-deep water. I struggle against the water and flop onto the patch of visible grass. Breathing hard, I struggle to regain my breath and bearings. My head is throbbing, and I’m exhausted, but I know I must find safety. I push to my feet and stumble my way down toward the wet streets in search of h

elp.

Chapter Seven