“Not really.”
“You tryna ride for a bit?”
I opened my eyes. “Ride?”
He nodded. “Ain’t gotta talk. Just… ride.”
I stared at him for a second. Then nodded.
Because even though my heart was bruised, and even though we weren’t okay, I still wanted to be near him. Still needed him close. Two people in the same car, searching for what they lost in silence.
***
We’d been riding in silence for at least twenty minutes, just cruising through neighborhoods and side streets I barely paid attention to. My mind kept looping back to the baby’s heartbeat, to the way Kilo had looked when he felt him kick. Like, maybe for a split second, he remembered who we used to be before the distance and secrets came between us. Eventually, he pulled over by a quiet overlook near the water. No one around. Just water, sky, and tension still hanging between us.
“I gotta tell you something,” he said, finally breaking the silence.
My stomach dipped, but I stayed quiet.
He turned toward me, both hands on the wheel like he needed something to ground him.
“It’s about Shayna,” he said. “And Liberty.”
My throat tightened, but I didn’t interrupt.
“I got the DNA test scheduled. It’s a few days from now.”
I nodded slowly. “You still think she might be yours?”
He exhaled hard. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know she existed until Shayna popped up. Said her parents made her keep it from me. That they moved her away while I was locked up.”
I looked out the window, jaw clenched. “And you believe that?”
“I believe it’s possible,” he said honestly. “Shit’s messy, Mel. But I ain’t lying to you no more. I can’t have us in that place again. I only kept the shit from you because I didn’t want to stress you out while you’re pregnant with my son over some bullshit. You gotta believe I didn’t do it maliciously. Baby, I thought I was protecting you.”
That last part made me glance back at him. His voice was low when he added, “I ain’t been right since she showed up. My head’s been fucked up. But not because I still got something for her, because I don’t. That ship sunk a long time ago. If Liberty’s mine… I’ll be there for her. But that’s it. Shayna ain’t part of nothing I want outside of what I owe as a father. You gotta believe that.”
I stared at him for a long second. Searching his eyes. Looking for the man I fell in love with… the one who used to tell me everything without me having to beg for it.
He looked tired… but honest.
“I wanted you to tell me,” I whispered. “I knew something was wrong. You ain’t been the same for weeks. I thought it was me.”
His jaw flexed. “It was me… all me.”
I leaned back. “So, what’s gone happen after you get the test?”
“If she’s mine, I step up. But you and me?” He reached over and took my hand. “That doesn’t change. I’m here. Ain’t shit gone change that.”
My eyes watered, but I blinked them back.
He rubbed his thumb over my palm. “There’s more.”
I waited, bracing myself.
He cleared his throat. “The dispensary got hit.”
“What?” I snapped. “When?”
