Chapter 31
Maddox
Michelle and I are sitting on the couch. I couldn’t speak for the entire car ride home due to the heart attack I almost suffered in traffic. Not a literal one, albeit it still felt like one. Michelle is pregnant.
Pregnant.
There is a baby on the way. I stare into the wall while Michelle talks fast. “I-I know this must come as a shock to you, but… I-I want to keep the baby, and you don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to! I’m not f-forcing you into anything. Though, I really think we can do this. You and I could become good parents, Maddox… Even if I realize it’s early.”
She whispers the last part, shutting her eyes to prevent tears from running down her face. I stare at her, opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish, and Michelle laughs in misery. “Y-You don’t have to say anything now. I’m just… I’m just grateful you haven’t gotten angry at me. Shit… My heart won’t stop racing,” she nervously laughs. “You’re a beautiful person for not having yelled at me, Maddox… I expected a fight…”
My eyes travel to hers, and my heart squeezes.
When Michelle calls me beautiful, she doesn’t just mean my outer appearance. No. Her eyes are bottomless, seeming to see underneath my bones and into my soul.
She is different.
Plenty of girls have called me hot. My teammates have nicknamed me the pretty heartbreaker, and the random women who have texted me after our victory games usually call me sexy.
But calling me beautiful while looking at me? That’s a first.
It sounds deeper.
Jesus
What am I even on about?
Michelle has turned me into some sort of poet. I used to be an I-don’t-give-a-shit hard ass, but in the few weeks I’ve known Michelle, she has turned me into a softie.
The weird part is that I don’t mind. In fact, I want it.
change in me. Things are moving
my arms, and I will become
There,
I said it.
I love her.
about being a good dad because I never had one. Mine is never at home. On rare occasions, hé shows up during the holidays, but he never comes to
Michelle?
even if it’s just practice. This woman sees me, and she lets me be myself. There are flames when her small, delicate body is next to mine. She lights me on fire with every touch of her hand, and
crush. It’s more. Michelle makes me wish for more. A person who just gets and understands me. Someone real. Someone who
Her eyes, frightened and a bit puffy from tears, meet mine. She looks like she is ready for rejection. “Yes?” I swallow thickly,
first. Seconds pass, and then her voice
me a smile that looks heartbreakingly insecure, whispering. “Are you staying with
her shoulder and down her delicate arm until I got her hooked. I then pull her to me, dragging her to my chest. Hugging
else would I be doing?” I murmur into her hair. Fuck she smells good. Like fruits and something else. “I’m terrified…
her face. She can’t seem to grasp enough air and hugs me back.
I’m breaking apart myself.
My heart is violently pounding, and no matter what, I can’t hug Michelle enough to calm her down. I can’t
panic is that I’m holding Michelle, She is my anchor. She makes it possible for me to stop
Michelle asks me.
breathe a laugh. “Yours is
her lips move, and her palms flatten against my pecs, cheek
her head, whispering. “It
can’t believe that… That you’re the calm one in all
Calm?
I’m freaking out, and it’s a miracle that I’m breathing! There are so many things that need to be done! I have to set up a room for Michelle and ask
plan! I will hire people to care
Shit!
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WdO3gc6SSeWq317LjO6ZEQe/IATXQA==
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