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“Oh, God no,” she replies. Resting her hand on her belly, she stares out through the window of the car. “I’ll be honest with them. You and I are just friends, and the father of the baby doesn’t want to be a father, so I’m raising the baby alone.”
“Omitting the part about me being your professor,” I add with a hand on the steering wheel as I glance her way.
“Of course.”
I notice the way she’s wringing her hands in her lap. It must be terrifying to have to face her family and tell them something that could change their perception of her.
I’m reminded of the night Isaac called me, erratic and hysterical. He had just come out to our family, and after our father had called him every vulgar name in the book, he packed his shit and disappeared in the middle of the night.
This is why I keep my distance from everyone. I’m just not a family man. I may never understand what makes it so worth the pain they cause. The moment I was old enough to move away, I did.
And I swore I would never give anyone that much power over me.
Reaching over, I clasp Sadie’s hand in mine to try and calm her. Instantly, I feel her warm hands still.
When we reach her house, there are numerous cars parked out front, which I assume means it will not be a small, private event. After I climb out, I walk around to put a hand out for Sadie.
“I can get out of a car by myself.” She laughs under her breath.
“I can still offer to help.”
As she looks up at me, leveling a narrow-eyed expression in my direction, I know she’s about to say something cheeky and sarcastic.
“You know, you can be a really nice guy sometimes when you try.”
“I’m always nice,” I argue.
“No, you’re always controlling and bossy.”
“I can be both,” I say as I place a hand on her lower back. “Being so controlling and bossy is my way of being nice. It’s because I care about you that I want you to do better.”
She rolls her eyes with a huff. “Then you must care about me a lot.”
With a laugh, she steps up to the front door of her house, but I swallow down the reminder that I do care about her a lot, and most people would find that exciting, but it feels like a noose around my neck instead.
Sadie pulls open the door to her house, and the deafening sound of family greets us. We’re immediately ambushed by aunts, uncles and grandparents. Sadie has to tell them no less than ten times that I’m just a friend.
When we finally make it to the kitchen, Sadie introduces me to her mother. It’s obvious where she inherited her copper-red locks from. Unlike Sadie, her mother is tall and slender, with straight hips and thin arms.
“Mom, this is my friend, Luke. The one I’m renting a room from.”
The woman puts out her hand. “So nice to meet you,” she says with a smile. “Thanks for joining us!”
“I hope I’m not imposing,” I reply.
“Oh, not at all.”
“Where’s Jonah?” Sadie asks, turning her head to look around the house.
“Picking up his girlfriend,” her mother replies, which makes Sadie’s jaw drop.
“His girlfriend?”
“Yeah, she’s a cute little thing too. A cheerleader,” her mother replies while stirring gravy on the stove.
I notice Sadie’s expression grow a little uncomfortable as she starts picking at her nails. I subtly grab her hand to stop her.
“Hey, Sadie’s here,” a deep-voiced man calls enthusiastically as he enters the kitchen through the back door. He’s wearing oven mitts and carrying a serving tray with a beautiful, glistening turkey he must have been smoking in the backyard.
