Wrecked (Clayton Falls) - By Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,48

ran my hands over her back. I’d never seen her so upset before.

“I can’t talk about it now.” She didn’t need to say it was because of Noah.

“After he goes to bed?”

“Okay.”

To say the next few hours were torture is an understatement. Emily pulled it together enough to fool Noah, but I could tell she was breaking apart inside. All I wanted to do was make it better, but I understood she needed to keep some things from Noah.

Finally it was seven-thirty, and we put him to bed. I picked the book that night—Goodnight Construction Site.

“Again.” He pointed to the book once I closed it.

Emily shook her head. “No, baby. It’s bedtime.”

His bottom lip fell down, and he got that heartbreaking expression just before he started to wail.

“Come on, buddy. We’ll read it in the morning.” I pulled his blanket up.

“Sleep well, sweetheart.” Emily bent over and kissed his forehead.

I patted his legs through the blanket. “Night, buddy.”

He smiled. Just as we got ready to close the door, I remembered his night light. I was starting to get the whole bedtime routine thing down.

Emily changed into sweat pants to get more comfortable as I waited impatiently on the couch. I held open my arms as she came back into the room. “Come here.”

She went right into my arms and put her head on my chest.

I brushed her hair back from her face. “Are you ready to talk?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t pick up her head, and I was glad. If she wanted to be close, it meant the problem wasn’t me.

“I’m scared.”

“I can tell, but what are you scared of? You can’t be scared of me.”

“No, of course not.” She pressed the palm of her hand right over my heart. “I already told you a little bit about Tim.”

“Noah’s dad.”

“Yes.” She picked her head up and shifted away from me slightly. I didn’t like the distance between us, but maybe she needed it.

“I met him my senior year of high school. My friends and I went to a college party near the Ridgeview campus. He was older, and I thought he was everything I needed in a guy. I didn’t hook up with him that night or anything, but I gave him my number and he called the next day. I knew my parents would kill me for dating a guy in college, so I hid it from them. I dated Tim behind their back for months.” She paused like she was lost in thought.

“He made me feel good, special. I couldn’t believe he’d want to be with me when he could be with so many other girls. He pulled me out of my shell, got me to try new things. I knew he had anger issues, he’d get into fights a lot, but he was always so gentle with me. The one exception was when he broke my best guy friend’s nose because he drove me home from a party. I broke up with Tim for that, or I tried. I changed my mind when Tim broke down, telling me I was the only good thing in his life and that he needed me. I think I liked that. I wanted to be needed.”

Emily sounded so distant as she talked, like she was telling someone else’s story. I wondered if that was how it felt to her.

“He disappeared for a few days. When he suddenly reappeared, he told me he had to leave for basic training. That’s when I found out he’d gotten into some huge bar fight and instead of doing time, he had the option of enlisting in the Army. I thought we were over when he left, even though he insisted he wanted to make it work. I liked him a lot—maybe loved him, but I was okay with us moving apart. I just wanted to enjoy senior year, and the summer before starting nursing school. Things didn’t turn out that way.”

“That’s when you found out you were pregnant.” It was the first time I spoke. I knew what was coming.

“Yeah. I freaked out. How could I tell my parents about it when they didn’t even know I was dating anyone? After talking with my friends, I decided to write Tim a letter. I expected him to flip out. Instead, he came home from training with a ring. He acted like the pregnancy was the best news ever. It was like an answer to my prayers, I wasn’t going to be a single mom. The only catch was