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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

TERRIFIED TOGETHER

J ayden peered at Stephan. The man was sitting on their bed, brushing his wet hair—something Jayden usually did.

His little Hunny Bunny was pissed, and hadn’t spoken a word to him since he’d passed out yesterday. It was…distressing. Hell, the whole situation was distressing—Stephan was pregnant!

Jayden didn’t know how he felt about his impending fatherhood. How was he supposed to feel about it?! Jayden honestly hadn’t thought children were in his future. Not that he hadn’t known Stephan wanted them, but as he found out years ago that the man couldn’t conceive. Apparently, that wasn’t true anymore.

Then again, Jayden should have considered the possibility that Stephan would, at some point, want to adopt.

Well, whether he wanted a child or not didn’t really matter now. Though Bow seemed happy , Jayden thought with irritation. His monster was currently chanting ‘baby’ with an excitement that outranked Dante’s when the man was telling a story—which was a true feat.

By the Gods, he didn’t know anything about children! His parents had sucked. Hell, his childhood had been a fucking horror story! What the fuck did Jayden know about raising a child?! Nothing, that’s what!

Okay, calm down… He told himself. Stephan was pregnant. So, well, his stupidity when it came to children was what it was. He could learn, though—maybe…

Oh, Jayden was so going to fuck this up somehow. Which was exactly what he was doing right now, as Stephan looked like a kicked puppy—shit.

“Stephan?” he called softly.

While Stephan said nothing, the man must have heard him, as the brush in his hand froze. Jayden sat on the bed beside him.

“Sweetheart, please talk to me.”

Stephan’s face scrunched up, and a big, fat tear rolled down his cheek.

“Stephan, oh shit, don’t cry.” When Jayden went to wrap his arms around the man, to his shock, his Hunny Bunny dropped the brush and punched him.

Grunting, he rubbed his jaw.

“You’re a jerk!”

“I am…I’m sorry, Stephan, I’m sorry. Please, don’t cry.” This time, when Jayden tried to wrap his arms around him, he didn’t get hit. But he quickly decided he would rather be hit, as his little man sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt with his tears.

With all the doubts Stephan had, Jayden should have never left him to dwell on them. What he must have thought …

“I’m sorry, Stephan… I…” He let out a nervous laugh. “To be honest, I’m terrified. But I love you, and I’ll love any child we have together.”

S tephan had been so worried, and so angry that Jayden had said nothing. Had asked nothing. Thoughts of the future had turned bleak. Knowing Jayden was just as scared as he was…well, it helped.

“Jade…I’m pretty terrified myself. But I think as long as we’re terrified together, everything will be fine.” He sniffled as his tears slowed, before finally stopping.

Jayden’s brow pulled together. “Stephan, I’m not sure I’m following your logic.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Just as Stephan settled against the man, Jayden fell back in bed. Squeaking as he dropped, Stephan suddenly found himself sprawled on top of the man. He glared and smacked Jayden’s chest.

The man chuckled and asked, “Do you want to know who she was?”

Signing, Stephan wiggled until he was basically lounging on the man. Resting his chin on his hands, he peered up at him. “I suppose…”

“She was the girlfriend of Richard Prayton.”

His nose wrinkled. “The name, I feel like I should know it.”

“You should. He’s the reason we met.”

“Oh! It’s that man?! ”

“Yep.”

“Ah…but after what he did, why did she…”

“Why did she still care? Well, apparently, he hadn’t known that she knew what he was doing. Which is why I didn’t really look into her when I took him. However, I really think he met his soulmate.” Jayden snorted. “She didn’t care that he killed those children, because she felt threatened by them. The bitch wanted Richard’s affection all to herself.”

“The perfect couple,” Stephan muttered in disgust. Yawning, he found his eyes closing. The stress of the last few days felt like it was catching up to him. They still had so much to talk about—to plan for. But right now, Stephan just wanted to rest.

“Stephan…” Jayden’s voice was hesitant.

“Yes?”

“Bow…Bow’s a bit different now.”

“Different how?”

“Well, about seventeen to eighteen years different.”

Stephan's eyes snapped back open at that. “What?”

“Well, he’s sort of a child now. I think it’s permanent.”

“Is he okay?”

Jayden’s eyes widened slightly, appearing surprised by his question. “Yes…I’m pretty sure he’s always been a child. I just couldn’t see it,” he croaked. “He must have been hiding for a long time, all alone. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think it makes me sad. It makes me sad that he suffered. Which is crazy, right? It’s crazy that I feel like I failed him somehow. He’s just another part of me. So… I…”

“It’s not crazy. And Jade, you didn’t fail him. Everyone else did, as everyone else failed you. And maybe, even if you think it’s crazy, or if most people think it is, you can protect him now. You can help him, show him he’s no longer alone. I’ll help you protect him.”

“Thank you.” Jayden smiled, and it was very wobbly. Stephan found it beautiful, yet at the same time, heartbreaking.

After returning Jayden’s smile with one of his own, he turned his head and rested his cheek on his hand, closing his eyes once more.

“What if I screw up?”

Blinking in confusion, Stephan asked, “Screw up what?”

“Being a father… I mean, look at me. I don’t exactly exude an aura of…well, I’m scary as fuck. What the hell do I know about raising a child? Our child will probably either hate me or, more likely, be terrified of me.”

“Don’t say that! Our child will love you!” Stephan slapped his chest and glared up at him. “I mean, what’s not to love? So you’re a little bit scary—nobody’s perfect. Besides, being scary is a good thing! We’ll never have to worry about them being bullied at school. Not to mention, you’ll be able to protect them from all the people out there who will try to use them for money. They’ll never have to doubt their friends. But the most important thing is that you love them. We’ll both make mistakes, I’m sure, but as long as we love them, we can figure the rest out along the way.”

Jayden’s eyes were narrowed, but they didn’t appear to be focusing on anything.

“Uh…Jade?”

The man blinked, and the lost-in-thought look went away. “Why would they go to school?”

“What?” Stephan asked, completely bewildered.

“Our child will not go anywhere near those cesspools. None of them can be trusted! They’ll be tutored like I was. Or, dammit, what’s it called…homeschooled!”

Stephan rolled his eyes. “Well, as you have the overprotective father role down pat, I guess that means I get to be the fun dad.”

“What? Nothing I’ve said is wrong!”

Stephan burst out laughing. “Oh, Jade, you’re not going to survive our child’s teenage years.”