Camden in the living room. When I walk into the dimly lit spare bedroom, I find her sitting on the edge of the bed, feeding the baby while she swipes at the tears running down both sides of her cheeks.
“Maggie,” I say in apology before I sit down next to her and wrap my arms around her. She sobs onto my chest while Camden eats, completely oblivious to the clusterfuck going on around us. Once he falls asleep, she pulls away from me and lays him back in his travel crib and then I follow her back to my bedroom. We meet in the middle of the bed where she buries her face against me again and continues to cry.
“Hey, don’t let him get to you,” I tell her softly. “We’ll go get a paternity test tomorrow, and this will all be over soon.”
“It was…the Fourth of July,” she says between sobs. “At his house. We were all drunk.”
I remember Jason and Josh’s party at the new townhouse apartment they had just moved into together. They’ve always been close, living together for years, both wild, party animals. I even vaguely remember seeing Maggie there that day. Everyone started drinking when they turned on the grill around lunchtime, and by the time the city’s fireworks went off, visible from the backyard that bordered the city park, most of his guests were way more than two sheets to the wind. I was sober enough to drive home, but several people ended up crashing there all night.
“Didn’t the cops get called for loud music?” I ask her. She nods against my chest.
“Yeah. I went and laid down in his room after the fireworks. He came in and we…well, yeah. When someone yelled that the cops were there, he jumped up and left. The next time he came back, he told me to get out of his bed.”
“He’s an asshole,” I tell her after doing the quick math. Nine months, not eleven. He’s such an idiot that he probably doesn’t know when Camden was born, or that he’s a month old. We’ll get it all figured out tomorrow, though.
…
Maggie
I wake up alone in Jordan’s bed. Feeling around, his side of the bed is cold, like he’s been gone for a while. The clock says it’s eight, so that means he’s already at work by now. Most of the time I’m up feeding Camden before his alarm goes off at six-thirty, and I cook him breakfast before he leaves. Guess Camden and I both slept right on through today after last night’s drama.
Just before I roll out of bed, the details from the night before all come flooding back. The intimacy with Jordan. The confrontation with Jason. I can’t believe he just showed up like that. He was so cruel and unlike the boy I fell in love with back in high school.
After a quick shower, I check my phone and see a message from Jordan.
“ Paternity test at noon today ?” he asks.
“ Yes ,” I immediately reply, and then remember I don’t have a car. Those assholes stole it too.
“ I’ll pick you up at eleven forty-five ,” is Jordan’s response, since he, of course, knows I need a ride. I had to drop him off at work and borrow his car the day I had a doctor’s appointment.
I text him back a thank you, glad that he’ll be there with me and Camden. I know there’s nothing to it physically, just a quick cheek swab, but emotionally it’s stressful. Jason will be there, and I’m sure he’ll be running his mouth. I may have loved him at one time, but after last night, there’s only resolve left. He’s Camden’s father, so I’ll just have to learn to deal with him and at least be cordial. The problem is, I’m pretty sure Jason will never show me the same respect.
I also feel bad for dragging Jordan in the middle of all this. I’m responsible for causing problems with not just one of his brothers, but two. Josh has never liked me and has called me a slut ever since the one-night stand we had about two years ago. Without warning, the humiliating details of that night come pouring back, ones I’ve tried hard to forget.
“Hey, Maggie the
“Maggie,” I say in apology before I sit down next to her and wrap my arms around her. She sobs onto my chest while Camden eats, completely oblivious to the clusterfuck going on around us. Once he falls asleep, she pulls away from me and lays him back in his travel crib and then I follow her back to my bedroom. We meet in the middle of the bed where she buries her face against me again and continues to cry.
“Hey, don’t let him get to you,” I tell her softly. “We’ll go get a paternity test tomorrow, and this will all be over soon.”
“It was…the Fourth of July,” she says between sobs. “At his house. We were all drunk.”
I remember Jason and Josh’s party at the new townhouse apartment they had just moved into together. They’ve always been close, living together for years, both wild, party animals. I even vaguely remember seeing Maggie there that day. Everyone started drinking when they turned on the grill around lunchtime, and by the time the city’s fireworks went off, visible from the backyard that bordered the city park, most of his guests were way more than two sheets to the wind. I was sober enough to drive home, but several people ended up crashing there all night.
“Didn’t the cops get called for loud music?” I ask her. She nods against my chest.
“Yeah. I went and laid down in his room after the fireworks. He came in and we…well, yeah. When someone yelled that the cops were there, he jumped up and left. The next time he came back, he told me to get out of his bed.”
“He’s an asshole,” I tell her after doing the quick math. Nine months, not eleven. He’s such an idiot that he probably doesn’t know when Camden was born, or that he’s a month old. We’ll get it all figured out tomorrow, though.
…
Maggie
I wake up alone in Jordan’s bed. Feeling around, his side of the bed is cold, like he’s been gone for a while. The clock says it’s eight, so that means he’s already at work by now. Most of the time I’m up feeding Camden before his alarm goes off at six-thirty, and I cook him breakfast before he leaves. Guess Camden and I both slept right on through today after last night’s drama.
Just before I roll out of bed, the details from the night before all come flooding back. The intimacy with Jordan. The confrontation with Jason. I can’t believe he just showed up like that. He was so cruel and unlike the boy I fell in love with back in high school.
After a quick shower, I check my phone and see a message from Jordan.
“ Paternity test at noon today ?” he asks.
“ Yes ,” I immediately reply, and then remember I don’t have a car. Those assholes stole it too.
“ I’ll pick you up at eleven forty-five ,” is Jordan’s response, since he, of course, knows I need a ride. I had to drop him off at work and borrow his car the day I had a doctor’s appointment.
I text him back a thank you, glad that he’ll be there with me and Camden. I know there’s nothing to it physically, just a quick cheek swab, but emotionally it’s stressful. Jason will be there, and I’m sure he’ll be running his mouth. I may have loved him at one time, but after last night, there’s only resolve left. He’s Camden’s father, so I’ll just have to learn to deal with him and at least be cordial. The problem is, I’m pretty sure Jason will never show me the same respect.
I also feel bad for dragging Jordan in the middle of all this. I’m responsible for causing problems with not just one of his brothers, but two. Josh has never liked me and has called me a slut ever since the one-night stand we had about two years ago. Without warning, the humiliating details of that night come pouring back, ones I’ve tried hard to forget.
“Hey, Maggie the
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