I kiss Owen before he and Jenna get into the car and drive away.
“Come in. Please. We need to talk.”
His eyes finally rise to meet mine, but this time they flash with fury and I’m a little scared to be alone with him.
He walks into the house and I follow as h
e takes his place in the lounge room.
“Start fucking talking,” he orders quietly.
I shake my head as tears of despair fill my eyes. “I don’t even know where to start,” I whisper.
“How about at the beginning?” He growls.
I jump at his tone. “Don’t be angry,” I whisper.
“Don’t be angry? Don’t be fucking angry?” He cries out as he kicks the sofa.
“I didn’t know how to tell you, I lied and said I didn’t have children on the paperwork. I… I didn’t want to get in trouble,” I stammer in a rush.
He closes his eyes and shakes his head in disgust.
“This isn’t about us anymore, Cam. We don’t matter in this equation,” I whisper.
His eyes rise to meet mine.
“I knew that once you found out that we had a son, I would become your child’s mother and nothing more-the psycho that turned up with your kid.” I scrunch up my face, tears still falling. “I’d no longer be the woman desperately in love with you.”
“Don’t you dare,” he shouts as he points at me. “Don’t you fucking dare tell me you love me like this!”
“But I do Cameron,” I cry.
“Stop messing with my head! He’s not mine, he can’t be. I wore a condom. I was there, remember?”
“I know,” I sob. “One of them must have broke. I was on the injection too. I didn’t even find out about him until I was sixteen weeks pregnant.”
He frowns, staring at the floor as he listens.
“Do you have any idea of the shame I’ve carried for five years? I didn’t even know my child’s father’s name,” I whisper.
His eyes rise to meet mine.
“I had no way of contacting you. I didn’t know anything about you.” I shake my head. “My parents were distraught that I was pregnant to a man whose name I didn’t even know.”
He swallows the lump in his throat.
“Cameron, I didn’t tell you because I wanted you to myself for a week.” I sob. “Just one week. And I know it was selfish, but it was the happiest ten days I have ever had.”
“Don’t.” He growls.
“This isn’t about us anymore. This is about Owen.”
He drops his head. “I can’t do this.”
“You have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“Yes, you do. Owen needs a father, so you are going to step the hell up and be one.”
“Go to hell!” he yells.
“It’s time to grow up, Cameron.”
His dark eyes hold mine. “I will never forgive you for this as long as I live.”
My face screws up. “I love you, too,” I whisper.
With one last look, he leaves in a rush and slams the door, my heart physically hurts my chest.
I hear the car start outside and screech off down the street.
Dear God, help me.
It’s just gone light when something wakes me from my sleep.
Bang, bang, bang.
What the hell is that?
I’m delirious and feel like I’ve only just fallen asleep. It’s been a rough night. I grab my robe and head downstairs to whoever is banging on the door.
Is it Cameron?
I open the door in a rush to find a sheriff in front of me. My face falls.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
“Are you Ashley Tucker?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see some identification, please?”
I frown. “What’s this about?” I go to the table and retrieve my wallet and hand over my licence.
“Sign here, please.” He points to the signatory line.
I sign and he hands me over the envelope and leaves.
I tear the envelope open and pull out the document.
A court injunction for paternity and DNA testing.
My eyes rise as a cold shiver runs through me.
He’s about to get nasty.
I sit at the kitchen table and blow into my coffee cup, deep in thought.
“What are you going to do?” Jen asks.
I shrug. “Go to work, do my job.” I pause for a moment. “Ring Eliza and beg for my bar job back. Carry on as usual.”
She picks up the letter for the DNA testing and rereads it for the tenth time. “So you have to go to this medical centre tonight?”
I nod. “He’s meeting us there.”
She blows out a deflated breath and shakes her head. “Shit, this is horrible.”
I smirk. “This isn’t horrible. This is a relief. What’s horrible is not being able to tell your son who his father is.” I widen my eyes. “That’s horrible.”
“What’s going to happen when you see him at work today?”
I shrug. “He’ll probably carry on acting like a spoiled brat, as usual.”
“What about you and him?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “That’s over. He screwed any chance of that last night when I told him I loved him and he threw it back in my face.”
Jen frowns and grabs my hand over the table. “He’s just in shock, Ash.”
“I don’t care.” I sip my coffee. “I may be a lot of things, Jen, but weak isn’t one of them.”
She smiles sadly.
“I didn’t get myself through med school being a single parent just by fluke. I can do this on my own. I don’t want anything from him. He can go fuck himself.”
“Far out, Ash,” she whispers as she runs her hands through her hair.
“Owen starts preschool tomorrow, remember?” I smile. “That means you’ll get some more time to yourself.”
“God, that’s the last thing on my mind,” she mutters into her tea.
“Did you speak to our neighbor while you were away?”
She smiles. “I did actually. We messaged each other every day.”
My eyes widen. “Really?”
She giggles. “Yeah, but he kind of wrecked it last night.”
“Why?”
“He sent me a cock shot. Why do guys assume we want to see their junk?”
I smile broadly. “Because they’re idiots and they think dicks are pretty.” I shake my head. “Can I see it?” I ask.
She widens her eyes. “No. For my eyes only.”
I smirk and raise an eyebrow. “How was it?”
“Fucking awesome,” she whispers and I laugh.
“Why don’t you go over there tonight and get an action shot?” I smile.
She smiles excitedly. “Maybe.” She bites her bottom lip in thought. “I need some serious laser on my bits, though.”
“Try and get an appointment today.”
“Yeah, I will.” She looks over at me and takes my hand again in hers. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod and fake a smile. I’m not. I’m so not okay, but I can’t fall in a heap. This is about Owen now and what he needs.
My needs don’t matter anymore.
I wait in the corridor with the other interns as we wait for Dr. Stanton to arrive. There’s a fire in my belly, a simmering ember that is starting to burn. When he served me with those papers this morning, he lit a match inside of me.
How dare he question me saying he’s the father? Does he really think I’m stupid enough to try and trick him? He obviously thinks I’m loose and fuck around. I’ve slept with two damn men in six years, and then he questions if I’m lying about my own son’s paternity.
He must think I’m stupid.
More fool him.
The only thing questionable here is his character.
He’s a good man, a little voice screams from deep within, and I know it’s true. I just hope that one day we can become amicable, but at the moment I’m just so damn disappointed. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this let down by anyone in my life.
He comes into view around the corner, and I drop my head so I don’t have to look at him.
“Good morning, everyone.” He smiles casually.
“Hello,” I murmur along everyone, without making eye contact.
“I trust you all had a good night?” he asks.