“Yeah,” I shake my head and roll my eyes, “just trying to be nice. Look I've gotta go.”
I go to leave, but she grabs me by the arm. “Stay with me. Please.”
Jerking my arm back, I continue on my way and hope like hell she’s not following after me. When I hit the staircase, she hollers, “We’ll be together soon, Lars. I'll love you forever."
Taking a deep breath, I chalk this up to another wasted trip. It’s safe to say that Madison has lost her damn mind. Tommy chose sides. And I have no doubt that Madison is the one stalking Willa. She admitted she knows she’s in town. The clock is ticking before she finds out that Willa’s staying at Anderson’s. Unless she already knows.
15
As soon as I get back to Anderson’s house, I head straight upstairs to check on Willa. It’s unfathomable how heavy this girl weighs on my mind these days. I’ve been convincing myself that I’m not falling for her, but as I second guess every other thing I feel or do, I question my feelings for her, too.
My heart drops when I don’t see her, and I immediately think the worst.
She left town already. Someone got to her.
When I hear the shower running, I don’t even hesitate to open the door. A cloud of steam hinders my sight of the shower in the large bathroom. I don’t even think she heard me come in. I drop my pants to the floor and rip off my shirt. Gripping the curtain, I slide it open just enough to step inside behind Willa.
My hand ghosts her back before I finally touch her wet skin. She jumps. “Oh my God, Lars. What are you doing?” She attempts to hide her breasts with both hands. “Get out!” she shouts.
She continues to rattle off hateful words, but I don’t even hear her. All I can focus on is the very noticeable bump that pushes out her belly button. She’s not showing much, but she’s definitely pregnant. As she spews nonsense, I lay my hand flat against the skin of her stomach. Something ignites inside of me. Something raw and real and unexpected.
“Come downstairs, Lars. Your dad and I have a surprise for you.”
Tossing my school bag on my bed, I holler back. “I’m coming.” My feet move so fast that I can barely keep up with them as I hurry down the stairs. “Did you get me the PlayStation?” I ask as my heart jogs inside of my chest.
“Even better,” Mom says. “Come sit on the couch.”
Sitting down, I fold my hands in my lap and wait, expecting them to drop a present in my hand. Mom grabs my hand and places it on her stomach.
“What are you doing?” I snatch my hand away. “Where’s my PlayStation.”
“You’re getting a baby brother, Lars.”
“I don’t want a baby brother. I want the new PlayStation.”
The look on Mom’s face is tranquil but her smile quickly fades. “I’ll have Dad pick you up the PlayStation tomorrow,” she says before walking away.
“You could have at least pretended to be excited,” Dad tells me with a gentle swat to the back of my head.
“Pretending means I might actually care. I don’t care at all. I don’t want a stupid brother. He’ll just take everything away from me.”
“Lars?” Willa says, snapping me out of my trance. “What’s wrong?”
“Hmm?” I look up at her, realizing that I’ve been staring at my hand on her stomach. “Sorry, I’m just..surprised is all.”
“Can we talk about this after I’m done taking a shower. This feels really awkward.”
“I wanna help you raise the baby, Willa.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. Are you drunk?”
Taking her hands in mine, I look deep in her eyes. “I know that I talk in riddles and half of the time I don’t make any sense. Hell, half of the time I don’t even make sense to myself. But this is my chance to make things right. I wanna help you raise this baby.”
Stepping to the side, she pulls the curtain and extends a leg to get out, but I stop her. Pulling her by the waist, our bodies crash together. I don’t even give her a chance to react before I guide her mouth to mine.
Just when I think she’s going to retreat or slap me, she grabs the sides of my head and forces my mouth harder onto hers. Her tongue sweeps against mine and our teeth clank together.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” My fingers weave in her soaked hair.
“And you’re a liar.”
“No lies. It’s all true.” I kiss her again. I’ve kissed Willa before. It was forced but satisfying, nonetheless. This is not forced and it’s everything it should have been that first time.
“How can I ever believe anything you say to me after all you’ve done to me.”
Her words throw me off guard because I assumed she forgave me. “I thought we were past that.”
“No. You moved past that. I’m still stuck in that day.”
“I’m sorry.” It’s all I can say. “I’m so sorry, Willa.”
Her grip slowly works loose before she’s no longer touching me. Wiping the water from her face, she looks uneasy. “You have no idea the mess you made for me after that night, Lars. No idea. I’m not sure that I can ever move past that. For that reason, I don’t want your help. I just need to leave.” She steps out of the shower, and I let her.
Minutes pass, I’m not sure how many, but I’d guess close to thirty before I kill the water and get out. Once I’m dry, I wrap a towel around my waist.
I never expected to develop this attachment to Willa. I don’t even think it’s just because of the baby. There’s this magnetic pull between us, but I’m starting to think that I’m the only one
