“Brody, you’re scaring me. What happened?” Her eyes show confusion and fear.
I hate that I have to tell her. I take a deep breath. It’s best to give it to her straight. “Jessica’s lawyer got in contact with my lawyer. She’s claiming to be pregnant with my kid. We are still waiting for confirmation, and I swear I used a condom every time. I don’t believe her for one second that she is having my baby.” There, I said it all in one breath.
“I…but…what? She’s saying she’s pregnant?” She releases my hands and steps back.
“Yep, she said that I’m the father.” I want to reach for her and pull her into my arms. Then again, she might not want me to do that right now.
“I don’t know what to say, what I’m supposed to say. I…this is crazy,” Selene’s voice rises an octave.
“I can’t explain it either. I’m just worried about you.”
“I need to let Bonkers inside and then I need to sit down. Because this is ridiculous. I don’t even know.” She walks past me and heads towards the back door. I follow her because I want her to talk to me. I want her to tell me what she’s feeling. Bonkers comes running from the backyard. When he sees me, he starts barking and spinning in front of me. I love this crazy dog. I bend and try to calm him down. Instead, it ends up being a wrestling match, which I think I’m losing. The damn dog has me laughing, but when I look up, Selene isn’t smiling.
“Selene,” I stand up and step closer to her, “please, I don’t want this to pull us apart.”
“It’s not.” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Brody. That’s not what I meant. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do about this.” She let’s out a deep breath and pushes her hand through her hair. “She said she’s having your baby.” She begins to pace around the island that’s in the kitchen.
I let her walk round and round and try to explain. “She’s claiming that. My lawyer still hasn’t received anything saying that she is telling the truth yet.”
“And if she is?” She stops and looks me dead in the eye.
“I’ll be honest with you.” I’m not going to lie to her about this. It’s too big of deal for me to hide my true feelings about this. “I will be there for my child, but not her. I want you and only you.”
“I want you too, but she needs to be committed. This is a lot. It’s too much. I can’t handle this, Brody. I can’t. She’s too fucking crazy.” Selene throws her hands up in the air.
“Selene, I know that she is, and you have every right to be leery of this situation. But,” I grab her hips and pull her close to me, “please, don’t push me away. We don’t even know if she’s pregnant yet. I won’t jump to any conclusions until we have proof in our hands.” My voice is stern because that’s how I feel.
“I’m not trying to push you away.” She reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck. “You’re right, I guess. We don’t know anything for sure.” She presses her lips against mine. “I really am happy to see you.”
I know that’s not the end of it. “How about I make a deal with you?” She looks confused for a moment. “If she’s telling the truth, which I don’t think she is, but if she’s pregnant, then you can flip out on me, and,” I pause because I don’t want to say the words. “If you want to leave, I won’t try to stop you in any way.”
“Okay, but you didn’t say what would happen if she’s lying. Something has to be done, Brody.” The tone of her voice means she isn’t joking.
“If she is lying, then she can be charged with fraud. Because I know that she is going to try and get a ton of money from this little plan she concocted. I promise you, I will make sure that she leaves us alone. I swear it.”
“Alright. I trust you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Selene
Why can’t it just be Brody and me? Simple. Normal. But no. It has to be Brody, Jessica, a possible baby, and me. Part of me refuses to even think about this because it’s too outrageous. I was so excited about seeing Brody, and then she had to go and ruin it for us.
Again.
Brody has his arms around me as we stand in the kitchen and Bradley comes down the stairs wearing fresh clothes and wet hair. Bradley is pretty cool to hang out with. It’s been odd having him around all the time, but we’ve gotten into a routine of sorts. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and in turn, Brody as well.
“Hey, baby brother,” he grins, walking into the kitchen.
I laugh. I can’t help it. Brody still looks worried, but he manages a smile as he releases me to hug his brother.
“Shut the hell up, Bradley,” he chuckles. Brody comes to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Thank you for taking care of Selene for me.”
Bradley glances at me, smiling. “No problem. Is everything close to being over? We haven’t seen her and I’m assuming you haven’t either.”
Brody tenses behind me and I freeze as well. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m tired of that girl running so much of our lives. Brody sighs and Bradley loses his smile.
“We don’t know for sure yet, but her lawyer has contacted mine with a claim that she’s pregnant with my baby. I don’t think she is, though.”