Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,43

since she was twelve.”

I don’t remind him that I had a different life. My childhood consisted of traveling, climbing trees, learning about other cultures, other languages, and wanting to learn more and more.

We fall into an uncomfortable silence until he asks, “So the father… Are you planning on telling him?”

“Today,” I mumble. “He’s coming at five. I have the parental relinquishment documents ready for him to sign.”

“So, you’re not giving him a chance to be a dad?” he asks, sounding upset.

“Listen, I’m giving him the news, explaining to him how I see this working out for the baby, and giving him an out,” I clarify. “It’s up to him, but to tell you the truth, I hope he signs the papers. If he stays in my child’s life there’ll be expectations that I doubt he’ll meet. It’s going to be eighteen years of hell for everyone.”

“You don’t think he’ll pay child support?” he asks.

“No…I haven’t even thought about that,” I mention. “That’d be a secondary issue. My primary concern is my child’s emotional wellbeing. What if he’s around for the first two years and then he disappears leaving a hole in their life? I’d rather handle his absence from the beginning than leave a kid wondering why their father never came back.”

“Sounds smart. I’m sorry for judging you,” he apologizes.

I arch an eyebrow. “I had no idea you were judging me.” Then it hit me…his mother, or maybe his ex. Either way, this should be uncomfortable at least and painful the most. “I really think you shouldn’t be around me. This situation is too close for comfort, isn’t it?”

“It’s not.” He rubs the back of his neck looking toward the sky, then he glances at me and says, “I’m perfectly fine. I’m not the one unemployed, pregnant, and confused. Except, I am worried about you.”

“I’m a big girl,” I assure him.

“You are, but I bet you’re one of those people who avoid asking for help,” he argues. “I’m pretty sure that you’re the kind of person who runs to save everyone, but when you need a life jacket because you’re swimming in deep water, you don’t reach out to anyone. You just keep swimming.”

He’s not wrong. I’m used to being the most levelheaded of the family. The one who saves everyone else. Persy is the only one I’d trust to give me a hand. Not today. She’s too busy with her book and her new boyfriend to help me, which is fine. Because I am fine.

I am…

“If I interpret your silence correctly, well, I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Maybe? I don’t do it often. It’s easier to look after myself,” I ramble.

“That’s a ‘Yes, I’m not in a great place and I’ll try to figure this out on my own,’” he pokes my nose and smiles. “I have some news for you. You’re not alone, and I’m just as persistent as you are. It’ll be impossible to get rid of me.”

Those blue eyes look at me tenderly. I’m not sure if I like them seeing me without the fire of desire they had last Sunday.

This is for the best, Nyx. You have a lot of issues and he is…a friend. Having a kid is a lot of responsibility. Are you sure you can keep one alive?

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with a baby,” I say out loud, and not sure if it’s to him or to myself. “Look at Callie. I did a crappy job with her.”

“She’s not your kid,” he reminds me. “Kid sister, yes, but definitely not your child. She’s in Boston by the way.”

I come to a halt and hold my breath before I ask, “Is she okay?”

“Perfectly fine, and in case you’re wondering, she’s working at a bar and going to school part time,” he informs me.

“Like grad school?”

He frowns. “No, like college. I take it she’s finally going to get a degree.”

“She finished college two years ago,” I correct him. Maybe his people didn’t do a thorough research, or they have the wrong Calliope Brassard.

“She dropped out after the first semester at Colorado University,” he adds to his misinformation.

“You are wrong. I know she studied four years of journalism,” I press. “Persy, Eros, and I paid for it, so she wouldn’t have any student loans.”

He smirks and crosses his arms, “Did you go to her graduation?”

“No, we went to our Parentcation instead,” I explain what that is, a vacation from my parents, before we all go camping with my parents for a week where