Page 17 of Under My Skin

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Yeah. And get this. The father? He’s a pro football player, and he wants nothing to do with either of them. He had all her calls forwarded to his publicist, tried to throw money at her to get an abortion, and then threatened to file a harassment anddefamation suit if she told anyone who he was or tried to get in touch with him again.”

“You’re fucking joking,” I practically growled.

What kind of an asshole forwarded a girl’s number to his damn publicist and refused to take responsibility for a child he’d helped create? I might not have wanted a relationship right now, but if I’d ended up getting a girl pregnant, I damn sure would have respectedwhatevershe wanted to do and done right by that kid.

“Nope. I wish I knew who it was because I’d make sure the whole fucking League knew, but she’s too scared he’ll follow through with the lawsuit to tell me. I paid for the funeral and hospital bills, and I’ve been helping a little bit where she’ll let me, but she always says she doesn’t feel right about taking money from me. But maybe…” he trailed off.

“She might see this differently,” I finished for him. “Because she’d be doing something for me too.”

He nodded. “I don’t know if she’ll go for it, but I know she feels like she’s drowning right now. Just…you can’t be a dick to her, man. She’s taking Amara’s death hard. She can’t handle any more heartache.”

Amara.

Why the fuck did that name sound so familiar?

“Despite my serial nonmonogamy, I’m not an asshole,” I chuckled, brushing it off. “If Dani’s up for it, I’d love to meet her and see if we can work something out.”

“Okay. I’ll have Morgan talk to her,” he said, cracking a smile.

CHAPTER SEVEN

DANIELA

My phone rangwhile I was in the middle of running around my apartment like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to get ready for school. I dashed over to the couch and pulled it out of my purse, and a knot started to form in my stomach when I saw that it was the lady from my parents’ church who had promised to take care of Isaac today.

“Mrs. Reinhart,” I panted. “Hi.”

“Hi, sweetheart,” she murmured, then coughed into the phone. “I’m so sorry to do this to you, but I think I’m coming down with something, and I don’t want to risk passing it on to Isaac, so I’m not going to be able to watch him today.”

A sob started to burn its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down. I knew it wasn’t Mrs. Reinhart’s fault that she’d gotten sick, and it wasn’t fair of me to take my grief, exhaustion, and stress out on her. But seriously, couldn’t she have called a little sooner than fifteen minutes before she was supposed to be here?

“That’s okay. I understand,” I managed to say, but I couldn’t keep my voice from cracking.

“Are you all right, honey?” she asked.

No. No, I’m not all right. I’m exhausted. I’m overwhelmed. I’m devastated because my sister’s dead. I’m falling behind inall my classes because I’m trying to figure out how to be a mother to her son, and there isno oneto help me.

“Yeah,” I sniffled. “I’m fine. I hope you feel better soon.”

“Thanks, sweetie. I’ll call when I’m feeling better and can start watching him again,” she said, then let out a horrific cough.

Well, she definitely wasn’t going to be allowed anywhere near Isaac for a while.

“Thank you. Just focus on getting better,” I told her.

I ended the call, then took a glance at the clock. I had to be out the door in less than ten minutes if I was going to make it to class. And I had to make it to class. I’d missed so much school over the past few weeks already, and I couldn’t afford to miss any more.

So I did the only thing I could do. I packed up Isaac’s diaper bag, grabbed a canister of formula and the bottle warmer that someone had given Amara as a baby shower gift, and got him dressed. He’d have to come to my biochemistry class with me.

I got to the lecture hall ten minutes early, which was just enough time for me to make some formula to give to Isaac during the lecture. I’d have to get notes from Morgan, who had this class with me, but at least I could pay attention to the lecture while I fed him.

Just as I was shaking the bottle of formula and getting ready to put it in the warmer, Professor Gomez walked in. His head immediately turned in my direction, and he walked over to me with an expression I couldn’t place.

“Hi, Dani,” he said softly. “How are you today?”

“I’m okay,” I mumbled, trying my best to keep my emotions in check as I put the bottle into the warmer. “I’m sorry forbringing Isaac. I didn’t have a choice. The woman who was supposed to take care of him today got sick, and I knew I couldn’t miss any more classes.”

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