Page 88 of Dare You to Run
She wails and though I’m doing the same on the inside, outside I remain the support she needs.
Suddenly, all of the unexplainable feelings I had each time I saw AJ hit me. Maybe someone was trying to send me a hint. Maybe little AJ was letting me know I needed to prepare myself.
The blood in my face drains to my toes. In eight months, I could be holding a crying little AJ of my own in my arms. I have no idea how to feel about that, but I can say I’m not angry. I think what I’m feeling is more of Dagen’s light in my life. I think what I feel is content for a life I never thought I could have, but now one I’m looking forward to.
All because of a girl who crashed her car into my town and my life.
“I need to tell my parents,” Dagen whispers as she lays next to me, her arm and leg flung over my body.
“We will. I’ll come back next weekend and we’ll tell them then. For now, let’s just take the rest of our visit for us. I still need to let it sink in more, you know?”
Her head moves against my chest. “Yeah. I know.”
Her roommates returned home one by one over the last couple of hours. Lizzie came in once to see us lying here and probably assumed we were resting. The others haven’t come in and they’ve been respectfully quiet.
“How about you pack your bag and we go to the hotel. It’s the same one as last time. I think it will be good for us to have some privacy.”
“‘K.” She starts to sit up, but I stop her, gripping the back of her head and bringing her lips to meet mine.
It’s the first real kiss between us since I arrived at her school. I never thought my heart could break for someone else, but Dagen has been through so much in the last few weeks and it’s all because of me. And it’s only going to get harder.
“I’m sorry my little mouse,” I tell her when we part.
Her fingers brush over the stubble on my cheeks. “Why are you sorry, Mr. Wolf?”
“For everything. Being an ass to you in the beginning. The distance I caused with your parents. Putting a baby inside of you. That one’s kind of a biggie.”
She smiles, her beautiful face lighting up. “Yeah, that one is a bit of a surprise. But I wouldn’t want to be surprised by anyone else.”
“You better not. If you ever leave me for someone else, I’ll have to hunt down the fucker and pin his ass to a tree.” Those words right there tell me that this, the baby, is only going to make life better.
“Well, try not to get him pregnant since I’m pretty sure that may have been the night you left me with this surprise.” She points to her belly and my eyes stare at the spot that will grow over the months.
Months that I will miss because I’m six hundred miles away. The thought of not being able to see Dagen grow, see her shine as she nurtures our baby inside of her doesn’t settle well with me. I need to figure out a way to rectify that.
“I think I need to move here.”
“What? You can’t be serious. What about your house, your shop and your brothers?”
With a shrug I tell her, “You’re more important than all of that.”
“Um. Didn’t you just tell me that Danté was upset, because he thought just that? That I’d tear you away from him and Malik?”
“He’ll understand. Things are different. Plus, maybe he’ll like the idea of being an uncle. I know Malik will.” I throw my head back when I think of Malik. “Fuck. Malik is going to be even more annoying once he finds out. Yup. Moving is a good idea. I’m going to need room between me and his crazy ass.”
She laughs and pulls my face to look at her. Our chests are pressed together and our hearts speak in a language only they can decipher. If I could, I’d reach inside mine and place it in her hands. She already owns it so she might as well hold onto it tightly. I know she’ll always protect it. I hope I can do the same for her.
I run my tattooed knuckles across her pink cheeks. “What are you doing to me, Dagen McCallan?”
“Showing you what love feels like, Hendrix Dare.”
That’s it.The feeling inside my chest, that foreign emotion I couldn’t pinpoint finally has a name. Love.
I love Dagen McCallan. As fast as it may seem, I have no doubt that it’s true.
THIRTY-SIX
Sayinggoodbye to Dagen this morning was pure hell. She cried fat tears that stained my shirt as I held her tight. Her arms were locked around me and for a minute, I didn’t think she’d let me leave. Though it wasn’t like I was trying very hard. I would have been perfectly fine staying there forever with her, but things need to be taken care of back home.
