More than Friends
He crushes my fingers with his firm grip. “Take care of yourself, Kat.”
Whenever I have a problem, I run to Dean, except now he’s part of the problem. What do I do? Having a baby could ruin everything. As if things were not bad enough for us, a child could drive an even bigger wedge between us.
Do I tell him? Fuck. I don’t want to ruin his future because of a mistake that was my idea. Now, I have to make a decision, one that could change both of our lives forever.
Chapter 15
Senior Year
Dean
My heart plummets into my stomach when I see the look on Kat’s face as she walks into the waiting room. She flashes a fake smile in my direction, but I know her well enough to tell something is wrong. I get up from the chair, filling the space between us within seconds.
Hooking my arm around her back, I pull Kat into my chest. “What did the doctor say?”
She holds her hands up to her face, begins to sob, and leans her head on my shoulder.
I cradle her head and kiss her hair. “Why are you crying? Do you have Celiacs? Talk to me, Kitten.”
My words only cause her to cry harder. She doesn’t respond, so I whisper in her ear that it will be okay. For once, I have no idea what to say. Our relationship has been so strained that I am at a loss for words.
After a few minutes, her body stops convulsing, and she peels her face from my shoulder. My shirt is soaked in her tears.
I push the hair from her damp cheeks and wipe away her tears with my thumbs. “It’s okay, Kitten. A gluten allergy is not the end of the world. I will help you research what foods to avoid. You shouldn’t be eating carbs anyway.”
The carb comment provokes a tiny smile from Kat. “I guess you don’t need that deep dish pizza after all.”
“I can make exceptions,” I say with a wink.
“You always know the right things to say when I need to
hear them.”
“At least you’re smiling.” I run my thumb along her bottom lip, my expression mirroring hers. “Everything will work out, Kitten. It always does.”
“Thanks, Dean.” She threads her fingers between mine. “Let’s get out of here. I have to go back to the dorm and pack.”
“I can’t believe we graduate tomorrow. I’m gonna miss you this summer.”
“I will miss you, too,” she says under her breath.
Steering her through the lobby and out of the building, I cling to her for dear life. The finality about tomorrow knots my stomach, making it hard for me to think of anything other than our final goodbyes. Maybe some distance will do us good. That seemed to help Kat come back around. But a small part of me is terrified I will lose her forever once we part ways.
By the time I walk Kat to her room, her tears have dried up, replaced by a sullen look on her beautiful face. It kills me to see her like this.
Kat drops onto her bed and pulls me down with her. “I need you, Dean. Hold me while I sleep.” She rolls onto her side with her back facing me.
I get comfortable with Kat and wrap my arm around her stomach. She slips her fingers between mine and holds my hand against her skin. We haven’t been this close to each other since the morning that everything fell apart. If only I could turn back time and hit the reset button.
“I wish I could be with you over the summer, Kitten. Who will hold you when I’m gone?”
She shrugs against my chest. “Austin or Duke will lay with me like they always do. We usually fall asleep watching Netflix together anyway.”
“You Baldwins have some weird habits,” I say.
“To you, maybe, but to us, our rituals are normal. If you had brothers, you would get it. With me being the only girl, things were always different. Duke and Austin babied me to death and watched over me as if I would break in half. They still do.”
“Duke is a little too overprotective of you.”