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“It’s OK. You won’t hurt him.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he pressed his hand back to her stomach and felt her unborn son moving inside her.
It was a lot for him to process; not only was she someone he loved deeply, but he knew that the baby would be someone he’d soon love deeply, too.
And of course, there was the painful memory of his own choices at age 19 currently kicking him in the proverbial balls, cruelly reminding him that his own kid would’ve been almost five now…
“Hey, look at me,” she told him sternly, and he did. “You did what you had to, OK? Don’t do that to yourself.”
He nodded, looking away.
“Feels weird, right?” Jake interrupted his thoughts, and Ryan welcomed it. “Kid never stops moving. Ever.”
Ryan pulled his hand away and brought it to his face to clear some lingering tears. “It’s…wow. That’s really cool. So, names? Got any?”
She looked at Jake, who rolled his eyes. “We had to compromise a little. He wanted a junior, but I didn’t. So, we decided on…Jacob Tyler. Jacob Tyler DiMara. Or JT.”
“Wait.” Ryan looked at Jake. “Your last name is DiMara? So, when you two get married, your name is gonna be…Amara DiMara?”
She laughed. “Nope. Not trying to be all Julia Gulia. I’m a McDonough for life, ring or not. I didn’t take Kevin’s last name either.”
“Good thing. That guy was a fucking douche canoe,” Ryan chimed in. “Anyway, it’s Thanksgiving. Why am I not smelling any food?”
“Ry, you lived with me for months. You think I could swing all that, especially in this condition? And this one can hardly work the toaster without calling me nine times. So, we were thinking Chinese. The neighbors invited us over for dessert later, so you can join us if you’re up for it. But we just kinda wanna keep it low key, since it’s just the three of us. That’s OK?”
Ryan shrugged. “Sounds amazing. Turkey’s fucking overrated anyway. Besides, it can’t be worse than the sad sandwich I ate all alone in a hotel room last year.”
“We can put on some ALF for you if you want,” she teased with a wink.
“Nah, I’m good. One day with that creepy ass puppet was enough for me.”
“I think it was actually a small guy in a costume,” Jake added. “Anyway, we should order the food soon. I’ll be downstairs. I gotta let Baylor inside before he murders all the lizards. I think he’s just trying to play with them but they always end up massacred. Poor bastards don’t stand a chance.”
“Oh my God!” Ryan shrieked, palming both his cheeks. “I forgot about Baylor!”
“Yeah, wait ‘til you see how big his derpy ass is now. You won’t even recognize him. Anyway, come down and let me know what you guys want so I can order it.” Jake kissed Amara’s cheek and slapped Ryan lightly across the cheek. “And you? Quit starin’ at her tits, perv.” He smiled and left the two of them standing there.
“So.”
“So.”
“How is he?”
Ryan shook his head. “We’ve gotta do something, Mar. We’re losing him. I’m…I’m losing him.”
“Shit.”
???
“Thanks, man.”
“You sure this is where you need to be, my dude?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
Hayes exited the vehicle, flipped his gray hoodie up over his head, and began his walk. It wasn’t the prettiest part of town, especially at this time of night, but it had what he needed.
He and Ryan had planned to join Osi and Nat for a quiet Thanksgiving dinner at the apartment, but since Ryan left, he’d invited TK to come instead seeing as he had nowhere to go and Hayes didn’t want him to be alone. Both of them had spent the past three hours in an opioid-fueled stupor on the couch after swallowing too many oxys, drinking too much alcohol, and hardly eating a thing.
Before Osi had left to go visit Nat’s family for dessert, he called Hayes into his bedroom for a chat.
