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.He wanted towrap her in his arms and make it right but that wasimpossible.He hadn t felt this helpless since his firstChristmas without his parents.Like now, the only optionthen had been to keep breathing.Her eyes thinned. I thought you said you never havesex without a condom. I don t, he said, acting overly offended. Well, you didn t with me, so&  I used protection, but somehow&  The words diedon his lips, knowing he would never kiss her again.Ittortured his soul.The punishment didn t fit the crime andhe was powerless to alter its path. Is she sure it s yours?He shrugged. Who really knows, Evy? For all Iknow, she s crazy as hell and full of shit, but. But you only knew her for a day, so you really don tknow her at all.He opened his mouth to speak but dropped her gazeinstead. And what does Megan plan to do?Dean shut his eyes and rubbed his face. She wants tokeep it, he said in barely a whisper, not wanting her tohear those words most of all, wanting to protect her fromthe ghastly truth.How could she continue in a relationshipwith a man who was having a baby with another woman?She couldn t.The answer was obvious and he didn tblame her.He blamed himself for being a selfish dick, forsatisfying his own needs at the expense of others.He hadbroken a lot of hearts over the years and now it was histurn to pay the pied piper.Justice served. I bet she does, Evy muttered, blinking a lone teardown her cheek.As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, rageheated to a boil inside.Two souls destined to be togetherfor all of eternity, torn apart in one fell swoop by the evilclaws of retribution.Evy watched him in repugnance.Hurt and angerlittered her countenance like never before.His jawtightened with his fists, squeezing together until a veinbulged in his forehead.With all his might, he held hergaze, vowing he wouldn t give up without a fight because,after all, he was a fighter.Another tear trickled down her cheek and his handsrelaxed.It didn t matter if he was a fighter or not.It wasn tfair for him to continue such a lofty pursuit while bringingsuch grim consequences to the one he loved the most.Andthat s when it hit him: he loved her.But how could she tellher family and friends that her man was having a babywith some blond named Megan? She didn t deserve this.Ifhe really loved her, he had to let her go.If the shoe was onthe other foot, and she was pregnant with another man sbaby, he sure as hell wouldn t want any part of it.Shedeserved better.Her smell pushed him to the brink of destruction.Thethought of living without her watered a seed of miseryblooming in the pit of his stomach.He looked up just intime to see her wipe away another tear. I love you.Evy s brow folded, like he had just said somethingnasty about her weight. What?He dropped her piercing glower and shiftednervously on the couch. I know it s too late now but.He inhaled a deep breath to steady his shaky voice, hiseyes rising to find hers. I love you.Her face warped in the deafening silence thatfollowed.His gut ached.He hadn t planned on telling heranything let alone this.His thoughts spiraled out of controlalong with his tongue.He buried his face in his hands tostop it, embarrassed to be alive and desperate not to losethe one thing he wanted more than anything in the world. Get out.He pulled his face up.Evy glared at him like a statue carved from a coldgravestone, bravely trying to mask her emotions. Getout, she repeated slowly.He studied her without speaking, unable to tell if thiswas really happening or not. I need some time to& process all of this, she said,confirming it was.Dean nodded his understanding and got up.His kneecracked and he paused to take one last look at herbeautiful face.Knowing this could be the last time he eversaw her made him want to say something to change hermind. I m sorry, he mumbled, turning for the door.Hislegs felt like rubber, like he had just run stairs at MillerPark.His hand grasped the doorknob but didn t turn it,giving her a little more time to tell him to wait, to comeback.When she didn t, he opened the door and left herapartment without looking back.Evy sat in silence, watching the front door shut with asymbolic click, the dull thud of her beating heart the onlysound in the room as Dean s steps faded down the hallwayinto the night.She glanced at the pan of lasagna on thestove and turned back to the front door, imagining herselfbolting through it and catching up to him in the street.Shecould see a flicker of hope in his eyes and it made herheart quiver.She got to her feet and went to the door,grabbed the knob but didn t turn.Her eyes studied theweathered white paint covering the thick wood, the metalcold and smooth in her hand.A thousand thoughts flippedthrough her vaporous head like a bad fever dream.Sheturned the worn knob but didn t pull.She could still catchhim and figure this out together.Evy realized she had beenholding her breath and let it out, locking the deadbolt andleaning her forehead against the door, wondering if shewas cursed.***Brooke looked up from behind the counter when thebell rang above the glass front door.Her face sobered asEvy weaved through the mostly empty tables like awayward drunk. What s wrong, sweetie?Evy came around the counter and pushed past her,bursting through the swinging door and spilling intoSugars brightly lit kitchen.Ben sat at the silver table in the middle of the room,munching on a cupcake while sculpting a cake into a redhigh heel.Chocolate frosting clung to the tip of his noseand the outside of a nearby glass of chocolate milk.Heturned to Evy and stopped chewing, his worn out trucker shat shading his wrinkled brow. Are you okay? he asked,lowering the half eaten cupcake.Brooke barged through the swinging door and camearound for a better look. What happened?Evy wiped tears from her face and plopped onto awooden stool, her shoulders slumping as badly as herfeatures. He got some girl pregnant, she blurted, burstinginto tears.Brooke s face fell almost as fast as her husband s. Me? Ben gasped. Not you, idiot! Evy snapped. Dean!Ben swallowed hard and wiped frosting on hisSlipknot concert tee, a heavy frown stealing across hisface [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]