Page 111 of Rise & Fall

I can no longer fault Jessica for ruining those things for me, because her idea of forever obviously did not match up to mine. Trust me, I’m okay with that. But the crack in the foundation I was trying so hard to build just kept getting bigger and bigger and the only thing that was salvageable was my daughter.

I never want to fail her.

But looking at Dakota playing with her little sister and my little girl creates an even better image of something greater in the form of happiness and hope. I feel it in my core that she’s what my mom would be proud of. What I would have handpicked if life were truly like a box of chocolates—at least the ones with labels.

But life doesn’t work that way and I respect that. Everything happens for a reason and my reason, myone thing, is her.

I run my thumb across my lip, missing the way her kiss fades, and then I take a deep inhale before turning around to join the girls.

But then something catches my attention, right out of the corner of my eye.

I look back down to Dakota’s bag, and peeking out is a pink rectangular box. It’s not fully noticeable, but just enough for me to make out what it is. And maybe if I’d never seen one before, I might not have known what it is.

But I do. And looking at it feels almost like a fever dream.

Suddenly I’m flooded with an overwhelming amount of confusion, worry, happiness, fear, hope and probably a few other feelings I can’t pinpoint. I hear Dakota laugh from behind me, so I turn to see her pinning the tail of the Giraffe right on its nose.

She takes her blindfold off and smiles at the job she did, comparing her spot to the girls’.

She catches me, still inert where she left me and her smile morphs into a look of uncertainty. But then she notices what I had seen. And I can see panic spread across her face like a wildfire.

“Dexter, your turn.” She tosses the blindfold at Dexter before calmly racing in my direction.

She walks right past me, brushing my shoulder with hers, and I spin back around just in time to see her pick up her bag and attempt to shove the pregnancy test back down.

“Dakota, wha—”

“I, umm, I have to use the restroom. Don’t wait for me to eat the cake,” she says frantically before hurrying down the hallway and closing herself behind what I think is the bathroom door.

Almost like a gust of wind, she’s gone. And I’m in pure shock. I look over to my little girl and then to Emsley. I decide to try and calm my racing mind and walk over to the dining room table to take a seat.

A pregnancy test?

But what would be the reason?

I thought she said she couldn’t get pregnant.

Did she lie to me?

No, she wouldn’t do something like that.

If it’s not hers, then there must be a perfectly good reason for why she has it.

But now she’s in the bathroom, and if I remember correctly, she’ll be in there for about three minutes. Which, I look down at my watch, is only two minutes and fourteen seconds from now.

My knee bounces up and down unconsciously as I watch the girls run around the living room. Lori looks to be getting tired, so Dexter helps her get seated on the couch before continuing to entertain the girls.

I’m reminded that I’m the father of one of those little girls and I’m being a horrible party guest right now.

But how can I focus on anything other than the possibility of a plus sign? Or a negative.

I get up from the chair to hopefully control my shaky nerves and peer down the hallway. She’s still in there.

Aria grabs my hand in the middle of running around, forcing me to join her and Emsley in a game of Ring Around the Rosie.

What could she be doing in there if she’s not taking the test?

Stop being ridiculous, Nolan. It’s nothing.

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