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Not knowing what else to do, I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my checkbook and a pen. The girl eyed me suspiciously as I began writing a check with a whole lot of zeroes. I ripped it from my checkbook and handed it to her.
Her gaze scanned over the check and her eyes widened as they landed on the amount.
“Please, make sure she gets this. I want to help. She can do whatever she wants with the money.”
The girl looked from the check to me, as if she was struggling to find the words. She stepped inside the apartment and closed the door, leaving me standing outside like a complete idiot. I kicked at the floor as I turned and started walking down the hallway.
“Wait!” I heard a voice call out.
I turned around and saw her friend walking swiftly toward me. She pushed a piece of glossy paper into my chest.
“If you want to be involved, you need to be sure,” she said sternly.
I looked down at the piece of paper and saw it was an ultrasound. Addison’s ultrasound. Our baby’s first picture. It was real. So fucking real.
I stared at the picture speechless, for I didn’t know how long before realizing I was standing alone in the hallway. I carefully slid the photo in my jacket pocket and somehow walked down the stairs. My legs felt like they were going to give out on me every step of the way.
Chapter 15
Addison
“What did he want?” I asked, peeping out from behind the kitchen counter.
Monica closed the door behind her and looked around until she spotted me on all fours on the black and white tile. She shook her head at me and let out a soft laugh.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said.
“No, I’m not.”
She raised an eyebrow. Okay, I was being ridiculous. But Daniel showing up at my apartment was not on my bingo card for the day. Being pregnant with his baby wasn’t either, but here we were.
When I heard the knock at my door, I assumed it was Elma. What I saw through my peephole was Daniel looking like some freaking GQ model in a charcoal gray suit with his hair pushed back. My stomach did several backflips, as if it were competing for the gold medal in gymnastics. I stumbled backward and told Monica to answer the door in a commanding whisper.
A small part of me wanted to go out there and tell him off. A larger part of me, and the more stupid part of me, just wanted to hear his voice and feel his blue eyes on me again. But I couldn’t face him, hence me being tucked away in my tiny kitchen.
Monica walked over and offered me her hand. She pulled me to stand and leaned against the counter, staring straight ahead.
“So?” I asked. “What did he say?”
“He wanted to see you.”
She shrugged so nonchalantly that I just wanted to shake whatever information she had out of her. She had just walked back in the door and I was already feeling my patience growing thin.
“And?” I asked, my voice rising slightly.
“That’s it. It’s not like we went out for coffee, Heart. The guy was here for maybe a minute. I wasn’t exactly welcoming.”
“Monica!” I said, exasperated.
“What?” she asked. “You expect me to be friendly to the guy?”
I could just see her tough guy act now. No wonder Daniel high-tailed it out of here. I loved my best friend to death. Her protectiveness of me was endearing, but I half-hoped there would be more to Daniel’s visit. Like her digging for answers, or him pushing past her and barging in here looking for me. I leaned against the counter, feeling disappointed.
The truth was, I didn’t know what I wanted. This whole time I had been pushing Daniel away since I told him I was pregnant. That phone call had been a complete disaster, and his reaction had nearly broken my heart in two.
It wasn’t like I was in love with the guy. Hell, I didn’t even know if I liked him all that much. We had spent more time having sex than we had talking in the short time we had known each other. Good sex. Amazing sex. But still. I just didn’t expect my start to motherhood to be like this.
I had been ignoring his emails. Thirteen to be exact. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t read them over and over again, looking for some unsaid thing behind his professional verbiage. He was a businessman through and through. He had called, too, but never left a voicemail. It was probably better that way. Hearing his voice would probably make me lose all resolve. I was determined to stay strong.