Page 19 of Unforgettable Omega
Shay hoped that Drew saw that Andy was happy, healthy, and loved. He hoped he saw that Andy didn’t lack for anything. He hoped Drew saw that Shay was a good dad because he wasn’t sure what he would do if he lost his son. Shay wasn’t sure he would survive.
As much as those thoughts… mini prayers… ran through his mind, Shay realized that none of that would matter if Drew wanted to punish him for keeping Andy from him.
He would never forget the days, weeks and months, that followed after running out on Drew.
After leaving the party that morning, Shay had gone back to his dorm room feeling like a complete idiot. Thankfully, his roommate wasn’t there either, so it was only his secret what had happened.
Shay decided then to forget about the alpha. Pretend nothing had ever happened. Even though it hadn’t really worked, Shay managed to push through, until a few weeks later when he had a stomach bug that just wouldn’t quit.
He’d gone to the student health center after a week of puking non-stop and Shay had gotten the biggest shock of his life. At first he was in denial, refusing to believe that his first time could have led to an outside of heat pregnancy. Then again, his heats weren’t frequent, like his papa’s, and that was why Shay was an only child, because his parents had a hard time getting pregnant and even he’d been a surprise.
After a month of constant sickness, severe weight loss, and ignoring his parents’ phone calls, they'd shown up at his campus worried.
At this point, Shay had skipped more classes than he was attending, and was barely functioning when his parents showed up. His papa had almost burst into tears when he saw him. Five minutes of his parent’s fussing, and Shay had blurted out that he was pregnant, and that he didn’t know what to do.
His parents had been stunned at first, but had gotten over it pretty quickly, and then they’d bombarded him with questions about the father. Shay broke down in tears. He didn’t want to tell his papa and dad that he’d hooked up at a party with a random guy, and that was how he’d gotten pregnant.
Seeing how distraught he was, his parents had packed a bag for him and taken Shay home immediately. His dad had spoken to the dean, like Shay was back in high school, and made excuses for him, and the school agreed to defer his scholarship. Being seen as a “fragile’ omega had worked in his favor for once.
The first month home Shay had gone through the motions, the whole thing a blur. Until the day of his first ultrasound, hearing the heartbeat snapped him out of the fog he’d been living under.
That was when his parents began asking about the other father again, and if Shay had informed the alpha, and if he would. When that hadn’t worked, they quit for a while. But then the more he started to show, the more they asked. Shay remained stubbornly silent.
His parents had made their disapproval clear on that point.
When he got to twenty-two weeks and felt his baby move for the first time, Shay imagined every movie and book where the mother or papa, placed the daddy’s hand on their belly, and right there and then he realized he needed to tell Drew, share it with him.
It also occurred to Shay he wasn’t being fair. He allowed himself to think back to that night, to his connection with Drew. Shay convinced himself it couldn’t have been faked. He told himself that he shouldn’t have walked away after one phone call from some woman. He should have given Drew a chance to explain.
So, he’d gotten up his courage and hired someone to find the alpha for him. The day after the man handed the paper with the address to Shay, he’d gotten on a bus prepared to tell Drew everything.
At the bus station, he’d gotten into a taxi that drove him to the address. The more they drove, the sicker Shay felt, but he'd already come this far.
Shay got out of the taxi and stood outside the home. His palms were sweaty, his heart racing. Shay realized he shouldn’t have just shown up, maybe he should have called first. Or something.
But there he was, and since he’d traveled all that way, he figured, there was no going back.
Andy had kicked at that moment, and Shay had seen it as a sign of his baby agreeing with him. His and Drew’s.
Five months pregnant, he gathered his courage and walked up to the home. The gate had been open and after looking around, he figured he could walk up the drive.
It wasn’t a long driveway, and Shay spotted a moving truck. At first he thought, Drew was moving out, and how lucky he was catching him before he did. He wasn’t sure whether or not to knock, because just as he got to the front door, a beautiful blonde, her hair tied back in a bandana walked out. She had on denim shorts and a crop top, and next to her Shay had felt quite frumpy.
“Hi, uhm my name is Shay, and I was wondering if Drew, Drew Walker-Thompson lives here?”
She looked at him from head to toe, and then a look had entered her eyes Shay couldn’t decipher.
“I’m Anneliese his fiancée, I was just moving my things in, could I ask why you wanted to see my fiancé?”
Shay froze, and right there and then he swore his heart stopped beating. He knew that name, that voice, and she was now his fiancée?
Everything after that was a horrible blur, but he’d returned home and pretended like Drew never existed. Convinced himself that he’d done his best and that Drew didn’t deserve to know about his son.
Shay knew he could have tried harder, done everything possible to inform the alpha that he’d had his child. But after showing up on the alpha’s doorsteps, pregnant, hoping to speak to Drew, and seeing the alpha’s lies staring him in the face, Shay convinced himself that Drew didn’t deserve to know his child.
He’d regretted that choice a few times since then, and the truth was, even though Shay could have walked into Walker Inc at any time in the past four years and asked for Drew, he hadn’t, and now time was up.
The doorbell rang and Shay froze. Without having to check, he knew who was standing outside. A part of Shay had been expecting Drew from the moment he hightailed it out of the party.