Page 52 of Together

He waves my comment off. “That’s assumed. I mean, you didn’tstaycurled up and crying. You also went to your parents and told them right away that you were pregnant and didn’t hesitate in doing that.”

“Dragging it out wouldn’t have done any of us any good.”

“That’s how I know you’re stronger than you think. You did the hard thing by yourself and didn’t think it was hard. You’ll be amazing, Ashley. And where you fall short, I’ll pick up the slack, and vice versa because Lord knows I’ll fall short in areas, too. We aren’t doing this alone, Ashley. This is us together.”

“I gotta say, I picked a good one to have a one-night stand and end up getting pregnant with.”

His eyes flare and turn molten. “Even if you’re just trying to be a smart ass, that’s easily the best compliment I’ve ever been given.”

“Not being a smart ass at all. Simply being honest with you. Remember, that thing I promised I’d always be?”

“I don’t know if you remember this from the night at the bar, but I told you my almost fiancée never told me that she didn’t want to be a wife or mother. That’s why she turned me down. She said she never wanted it, knew that I did, so she said no. But here’s the thing: I’ve been wracking my brain and wracking my brain trying to remember a point where she made it clear that she wasn’t about long-term, committed relationships. Know what I found out?”

I’m almost afraid to ask. “What?”

“Absolutely nothing. She never gave me indication of that. She was, for lack of a better word, faking it.”

Shit. That’s not good. It’s a miracle he has any trust in me at all if he feels like I’m the same as his ex. “Like I was?”

“I guess. Though, my guess is she realized she was doing it whereas, from my understanding, you didn’t. You just morphed into a different person because you wanted so badly to be accepted. It probably goes all the way back to when you were little and were trying to fit in with your big sisters but you never felt good enough. As you grew up, I’d dare say that you did the same with a lot of your friends. Pretended to be someone completely opposite from who you are so they’d stay friends with you. It’s crazy, now that I think about it, how much our childhood can affect our entire lives.” He pauses as if he’s reflecting, shaking his head slightly as a humorless laugh escapes him. I don’t think it’s at my expense, though.

My heart is beating so fast and my palms are starting to itch. My legs, too. They’re restless and I stand up to move around the small space to help alleviate some of the discomfort. Once they’re settled some, I stand in front of Nik, staring down at him. He looks drained. Probably because he just spent thirty-three years inside my brain and figured me out. I’d be tired, too. “Did you take a lot of psychology classes in your downtime? Because that was deep. Not just deep for a hospital waiting room conversation, either. That was like, get into your head and pick it apart for you to put back together deep. I feel like I just sat through a three-hour therapy session.”

“What do you mean?”

“All that back there. The realizing that I was playing pretend in most of my relationships and friendships because I have this longing to be accepted, which is all my sisters’ fault.”

“I didn’t say…”

“Oh yes, you did,” I taunt. “You just said it. All my current life problems are because of my sisters tormenting me growing up.”

“I said no such thing.”

“Did, too.”

“Did not.” He narrows his eyes at me and I grin. “You’re being a shit,” he recognizes.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it was getting far too intense in this little room. Between my freak-out and your new career as a waiting room therapist, I was feeling stifled. It’s a happy day. We have a long time yet to figure out why I’m screwed up.”

“You’re not screwed up.”

“Ehh. Depends on the day. I think we’re all a little mad, right?”

“Did you just quoteAlice in Wonderland?”

“Did we just become best friends because you knew it was fromAlice in Wonderland?”

“Did you just quoteStep Brothers?Then yes, yes we did.”

We’re staring at each other for one beat, two beats, three… and then we both burst out laughing.

Doubling over, laughing over something that is hardly funny at all, but in our current exhausted state, it seems mega hilarious. If he’s anything like me, the last week has been a whirlwind, trying to keep up with the idea of a new reality. Because of that, I haven’t been sleeping that well. When I lay my head down at night, my mind kicks into overdrive.

I’m wiping a tear from my eye and holding my side when Dean comes rushing in.

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