Chapter 30

Jake ignores my comment and watches me closely, keeping his distance while I flounder in emotional turmoil. I have no clue what to do with all the excessive energy coursing through me.

“Emma, when Marissa told me about the baby, I felt like jumping off the building or hopping on a flight to Australia and never coming back. I still feel sick every time I think about it, even after weeks of knowing it’s happening. But this… US…” He slides up onto his knees, shimmying across the floor toward me, awkwardly, yet extremely appealing somehow. He leans down, lifting my chin to look at him. He leans his forehead against mine. The urge to lash out and fight has once again dive-bombed into my feet; fatigue and sadness well up, drowning me instead.

“It feels completely different with you. I want this. I want it more than I ever knew I wanted it.” He grins, that sweet little boy smile spreading across his face. “The second I realized what the doc was telling us, I felt this crazy joy