Bile rose in her throat and Maddie shot off the bed, jostling Caleb in her scramble. Thankfully, she made it to the toilet in time, but embarrassment mounted when she heard heavy footsteps behind her, Caleb's presence filling the small bathroom.
Maddie moaned, cheeks red, into the toilet once her heaving slowed. A tissue was thrust into her line of vision and she took it, wiping her mouth, before flushing.
"This situation seems familiar," Caleb noted, his voice gruff with sleep.
Maddie realized he was referring to the time when he'd been drunk and she felt a little less embarrassed.
"I guess we're even," she murmured, avoiding his eyes as she brushed her teeth. She was all too aware of his intent stare and the way he crossed his arms as he leaned against the doorway. He was still dressed in his jeans from the previous night and his hair was deliciously ruffled.
She still wasn't sure how he'd managed to weasel his way into her bed last night-not that anything happened between them-but after Caleb bought her enough food at a local restaurant to feed a small town, she'd been too sleepy to even argue with him when he informed her that he was staying the night. He'd spewed something along the lines of, "I just want to make sure you sleep tonight."
The moment Maddie's head hit the pillow of her soft bed, the world melted away. The next thing she knew, she was entwined with Caleb's body and it was morning. She almost resented how refreshed she felt.
"What time is it?" she murmured, splashing her face with water. It felt unbelievably odd to have him in her tiny apartment, especially since she hadn't seen him since November, this man who she thought about more than she wanted to.
"Almost nine," was his response.
"Nine!" she exclaimed, finally turning to face him. "I've been asleep for over twelve hours."
"You obviously needed the rest," he said, those obsidian eyes scanning her face. His mouth was turned down into a disapproving frown, telling her that he was still displeased about the way she'd been taking care of herself.
She sighed, not even bothering to argue, and soaked in his sleepy face, wondering when-or if-she'd ever see it again this way.
If he has anything to do with it, then I'll be seeing it almost every morning, she thought, frowning.
"About last night," she began. "You can't possibly still think that moving in together is a good idea. Surely you can see now that there's no need for it, Caleb. And I told you that I'll keep you in the loop with the pregnancy. And when the baby is born, you-"
"Let me guess, I can see the baby whenever I want? We'll split custody? I can have the baby every other Christmas? Absolutely not," he grated, his face going dark. "I refuse to be half a parent."
Her brows drew down. "What are you talking about?"
"I know how this works, princess," he said, his voice dropping low, body inching towards her until her back was pressed against the bathroom wall. "And I won't do it."
Maddie swallowed, staring at him. She wasn't afraid of him. Quite the opposite actually, even when he was trying to intimidate her.
He'd never spoken of his parents. Maddie figured that even Thomas didn't know. But there had to be a reason why his uncle took him in and so she opened her mouth and asked, "Is that what your parents did? Were they separated? Divorced?"
He gave a bitter laugh. "You don't want to ask me about my parents. Because if you do, you'll never look at me the same."
"I can't understand you if you don't tell me anything about you, Caleb," she said. "You expect this of me. You expect me to move in with you, to give up my life here, my independence, and yet you offer nothing in return. I won't do it. We've already been down this road and look where that led us."
The treacherous part of her mind whispered, Right back to him, that's where it led you.
Caleb was silent. His eyes were calculating and it filled her with disappointment. He still believed she would betray him. He still refused to trust her. In his eyes, the baby just upped the stakes of what he had to lose if she ever turned her back on him.
So, she was surprised when he said, "My parents were legally separated until my dad died when I was eight. My dad was a good parent, even if he did drink too much. My mother," his face tightened, "was more concerned where she would get her next score than her son. She would bring men home and it was only until I was older that I realized she would fuck them for money in the back bedroom, when I was sitting only a few feet away." Maddie flinched. "I remember being hungry. I remember being scared because her front door lock was broken and she lived in a shitty neighborhood. I went back and forth between them, every Saturday, like clockwork. Saturday was a day that I was either very relieved or full of dread. I lived out of a bag. My friends at school would go home to one house, to a mom who packed them lunches and a father who played catch with them on weekends, and I resented them. Every single one of them. I've known hate from an early age, princess, and I know what it's like to be one part of a jagged, fucking broken family and I literally can't stomach the idea of my child going through that too."