Phillip was shaking his head. “Dude, Elli is gonna trade you off the team if you don’t do right by that kid. Now I’m even wondering if her decision to make me ‘A’ was to show you who’s boss and all that, you know? Wow, man, this is serious shit, serious shit.”
“You think I don’t know that!” Erik yelled as he stood, sending Stanley scrambling to the floor, and went to the kitchen for a beer. “What am I supposed to do?”
“What did Piper say?”
“She wanted to know what I wanted to do. I told her that I don’t know what I want to do because I fucking don’t know what the hell to do! She fucked me over, dude, in more ways than just being pregnant, because our families are intertwined and they are going to freak. She also said she told Elli, which I haven’t heard from Elli, and she didn’t mention it at my meeting so I’m not really sure what that means. Is she drawing up my release papers or is she waiting to see what my next move will be? I know that Piper must have talked to her family because my brother says they are freaking out about her being pregnant. Then just now my brother tells me that he thinks that any man that doesn’t want his kid is a deadbeat! What the fuck?! What will he think when he finds out it’s me? He will think I’m shit if I don’t support this kid! My own brother!”
“You’re freaking out; calm down, there must be a way around all of this.” Phillip tried to console his friend but realized that Erik had few options … and really only one that made sense, and that was to fix this mess.
“Ugh, yeah I’m freaking out! I think you would, too—my fucking career is on the line because of this shit. What my family thinks of me is now in jeopardy and believe it or not that bothers me, a lot. I want them to be proud of me, not think I’m a shit! And damn Piper, who gives a guy three months’ notice that he is going to be a dad! Pissfuckshit, she fucked me over! I’ve got no options here!”
“Wow, this is insane,” Phillip muttered, shaking his head, realizing his buddy was totally screwed.
Silence filled the room as Erik nursed his beer. Finally Phillip said, “There is only really one thing you can do.”
Erik swallowed another gulp of beer and said, “I know, I should probably start packing.”
“No, you should marry her.” And that was not the response Erik was expecting from Phillip.
“Yeah, right,” he said, laughing. Phillip was kidding, right?
“No, really. Back home when you got a girl pregnant, you married her. No matter what. You need to give this a chance, so at least you can tell the child you tried. This will show Elli that you are trying, and then hope for the best. It will also get your family off your back. It will show everyone that yeah, you guys made a mistake but you’re trying to give the baby the best life you can.”
Erik looked at Phillip, dumbfounded, as he said, “Being married won’t make people think we are trying; it will make everyone think we are dumb and stupid. We don’t love each other.”
“Sure you don’t, but no one else knows that. You guys can play this off. She would help you as long as you promise to help her after you leave, ya know, financially and shit like that. This is not an eternity thing, idiot; you’re doing this to keep your fucking job and to not have your family up your ass about fathering a kid.”
“She wouldn’t help me, even if that idea was sound. She hates me. I was an asshole to her and said mean shit,” Erik said dismissively.
Piper probably wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire, not that he could blame her.
“Piper is a good girl. She cares about people. If you explain your situation, promise to be there for the kid, take him to hockey practice, and pay his doctor bills, ya know? I bet she would help you,” Phillip reiterated.
“Who says I want to be there for the kid?” Erik asked. “I told you I don’t want a kid.”
Phillip pinned him with a look. “I know you had a shitty childhood because of your shitty father but you are not that guy, especially if you don’t want to be. You are Cooper’s son, too, and Cooper’s son wouldn’t let his child go through life without knowing him. My best friend wouldn’t do that, either. Jeez, Erik, all kidding aside, you are better than that. Call Piper, talk to her.”
Erik laid his beer on the counter and buried his face in his hands. He moved his fingers through his hair, pulling slightly, hoping to wake himself up from this terrible dream. Phillip made this all sound so easy to fix, but it couldn’t be. Piper wouldn’t want to help him; she wouldn’t want to marry him and he definitely didn’t want to be married. This wouldn’t work, but then again what if it did? What if he could stay in Nashville, continue to play for the Assassins, and be close to his family and his unborn child?