CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Baby Test10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnk3jAnaGf
(Her POV)
She stared at the stick.
Pink.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OskTe3zXJ
Too pink.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxM67vFM0oQ
Two lines.
Positive.
Her knees nearly gave out in the gas station bathroom.
It wasn’t glamorous.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaUGG0oi9Z
It wasn’t planned.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmgOPB27ja
It wasn’t quiet—her heart was screaming.
But she couldn’t stop staring.
Two.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTa7anokHj
Freaking.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKodG9Xhr1
Lines.
Back in the car, Matteo was humming to a song that didn’t match the moment.
He was beautiful when he was relaxed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzD1MAZKO6M
Driving one hand on the wheel, one hand on her thigh.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGoaZqSNde
Like he didn’t know their lives were about to split open.
She waited until they stopped at a lookout.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7l823eIy3
Somewhere far. Somewhere no one knew their names.
Then she handed him the plastic stick.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
“Is this…” he whispered, “...real?”
She nodded.
Eyes brimming.
“I took three.”
He stared at it like it had teeth.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdc96yLr8v
Like it could hurt him.
Then he looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if I wasn’t.”
He stepped back.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwvh78Lvh7
Paced.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5ggQs3weO
Rubbed his face with both hands.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7co5EYl0Mx
Cursed under his breath.
Then?
He looked up.
“You’re going to be a mom.”
She swallowed hard.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
He walked back toward her, slowly.
Knees bending.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0euoc686m
Head against her belly.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxften9JJE
Hands around her waist.
He stayed there.
Breathing.
And for the first time since she met him…10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0llnhYAzAI
he was trembling.
“I don’t know how to be this kind of man,” he whispered.
“Then we’ll learn together.”
“What if I mess this up? What if—what if they hate me someday for who I was?”
She cupped his cheeks.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f0JLw59HQ
Made him look at her.
“Then we’ll tell them the truth. That you were broken… until love fixed you.”
He kissed her stomach.
Once.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo1M6NhAM8
Soft.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8NRkVVB22
Like a prayer.
ns216.73.216.193da2“Then I promise,” he said. “I’ll protect this life. No matter what it costs me.”
