It felt like my life was over. Really, my life was just beginning.
I walked down along the sidewalk next to the perfectly manicured grass. Ahead of me, the library cut up into the air, a large mural of Jesus raising his arms up into the air painted five stories high.
The buildings were all in the same style, all brick and archways. Mater Dei was an elite school, one of the best institutions in the country. I was lucky to go here, incredibly lucky. I had worked hard in high school and gotten great grades, but my parents weren’t wealthy. They were incredibly religious people, deeply devoted Catholics, and I’d been brought up in the church my whole life. I was a lot less religious than they were, but I couldn’t help but have a little of that inside me.
It was their dream for me to go to MD, but they couldn’t afford to send me. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get generous scholarships from the school, and so I barely squeaked in with minimal debt.
I breathed in the cool Indiana air as I headed toward the stadium. It rose up out of the concrete, an enormous stone beetle resting in the shadow of the library. I headed directly toward it, my heart beating fast.
It was eight forty-five, exactly when he told me to show up. I didn’t know how this was going to go or what I was going to say to him, but I knew I couldn’t turn around or get out of it. I had to take a deep breath, calm myself, and get it over with.
Gibson had to know. He had to know that he was the father of my child.
I quickly crossed the street, looking both ways. Ever since I had found out that I was pregnant, it felt like every single decision I made had such serious consequences, which made sense, considering I was choosing for more than one person now.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. I had to get my mind straight and concentrate. I walked toward the stadium and headed toward the left, away from the more brightly lit side and toward the statue.
As I rounded the corner, I saw him standing up ahead. He was hard to miss, considering how tall he was. I slowed as I approached, taken aback all over again by how handsome he was. When he spotted me, he grinned and walked toward me.
Gibson Evans, the father of my child. He was tall, broad, muscular, covered in tattoos, and had a grin that set my panties on fire. I stopped as he approached, smirking at me like he was just about to tell the best joke I’d ever heard.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Okay,” I said.
“I expected you to come back for more, but maybe not this soon,” he said.
“That’s not what I’m here about.”
He smirked at me and stood close. “We both know you want me to take you into the shadows and slide my cock deep inside that nice little pussy of yours.”
“Gibson,” I said, taking a sharp breath.
“Exactly,” he said. “I’ll smack that nice, tight little ass and make you say my fucking name.”
I shook my head. “Stop. We need to talk.”
He shrugged and crossed his arms. “Okay then. Let’s talk.”
“Something happened,” I said. I had no clue how to actually do this other than to come out and say it. “You need to know about it. Neither of us planned on this, but it happened.”
He sighed and held up his hands. “Look, Avery, if you’re about to ask me for money, you’re wasting your breath.”
That took the breath from my lungs. I just gaped at him, shocked.
“What?” he went on. “I get a lot of people coming up to me and asking me for things. I’m just being straight with you, girl. I’m always down to make you say my name, but I just don’t have any money to give you.”
“I don’t want your money,” I managed to say, getting angry. “What kind of person do you think I am?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t know what kind of person you are at all. But you’d be surprised by how many people come up to me asking for things.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out, and I instantly regretted it. I’d meant to say it a little more tactfully, but he had pissed me off already.
His cocky smiled disappeared at least.
“What?” he asked.
I sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I was trying to tell you a little nicer than that, but that’s why I’m here. I’m pregnant.”
“You sure?”
I laughed a little bit. “Yeah, I’m sure. I took a test last night, and two more this morning. I’m definitely pregnant.”
He furrowed his eyebrows, staring at me with those intense, beautifully blue eyes of his. “And it’s mine,” he said simply.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s very definitely yours.”