Chapter 22 Amelia #2
“I never said I was going on a date. You did. I told you I was going to the movies, and you assumed what you wanted to.”
He looks left to Rodrigo and then right to Jermaine.
“Regardless, send him on his way or I will.”
“Stop being ridiculous, you leave. This is the first time I’ve been out of the house without it being for the baby or school. I’ll even let you shout at me when I get home.”
I mean, I won’t but if it gets him gone. So be it. He places his fingers under my chin and keeps them there so I can’t look away.
“You played me.”
“You played yourself, Darius. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Yeah?”
He jerks his chin to Jermaine and then to Rodrigo. He stands and the three of them walk out and a rush of breath escapes me. I don’t waste a second turning to face William.
“I’m so sorry about that. He’s an asshole.”
“Is he… the father of your child?”
I nod and I hate that I’m ashamed of that fact right now.
“I don’t know if I’m more interested in you, Amelia, or if I want to run for the hills.”
“I’ll understand if you want to run, I do myself most of the time.”
“I’ll think about it while I watch the movie, it cost enough for the ticket.”
His smile tells me he isn’t running anywhere.
“One thing though, can you tell him I’m gay, so he doesn’t want to kill me for stepping on toes I didn’t impregnate.”
“I told him.”
“So he literally showed up here thinking we were on a date?”
“Sort of. I didn’t tell him it was a date, he assumed, and I never corrected him.”
“I never would’ve thought you were into gangbangers, Amelia Haynes.”
I don’t tell him I love a gangbanger. The movie begins but by the end I don’t have a clue what it was about. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I have a text from Darius.
I want to talk.
Ignoring him. I shrug into my coat while William collects our rubbish and shoves it all in the popcorn bucket.
“Ready?” he asks, throwing his coat on and buttoning it up.
“Yeah.”
He doesn’t bring up the scene with Darius until we step out of the theatre.
“I didn’t think the movies would be so eventful, Haynes. The first day back, I want to know everything.”
Laughing, I love how it’s not going to be a problem.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No problem, where are you parked? I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I’ll walk her.”
Spinning around, Darius stands behind us, hands deep in his pockets and his beanie on tight.
Puffs of white clouds burst from his mouth, and I sigh, releasing my own.
Turning to William, I say, “It’s okay, I’ll see you when school starts.”
He looks between Darius and I and then nods. I watch him walk up the street and turn the corner before facing Darius.
“Tell me you haven’t been waiting around for me?”
“It’s too cold for that shit, Jermaine’s across the street.”
“Go on then, get it over with.”
Narrowing his eyes, he turns his back to me. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car. It’s too cold for you to be out.”
I walk beside him and for a short while it’s quiet between us. I’m not going to be the one to break the silence either.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ruined your night.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. After you left, it was like you were never there.”
“I deserve that.”
“Darius, though I’m confused about pretty much everything now, there will be a day when I do go out on a date. I can’t live thinking you’re going to show up threatening the guy.”
His jaw works overtime when I sneak a look at him.
“I hear ya.”
It’s another nail in my heart. He truly doesn’t feel anything for me.
“But it’s not like you’ll be thinking about it for a long while, not with a new born and that, ay?”
“I’m not planning on it, but you never know what’s around the corner. I never planned on meeting you or getting pregnant and look at me now.”
A huge burst of air leaves his lips and I frown.
“What’s going on, Darius? You show up like a jealous ex, half terrify my friend and show up when the movie finishes.”
He keeps his mouth shut but I’m not done.
“But in order to be jealous, you’d have to had felt something for me, so that can’t be right. So it has to be you don’t trust me to keep the baby safe.”
He scowls at me and stops walking.
“I’m out of my depth with you. I always have been. You believe I don’t care, and I haven’t exactly proved you wrong, but I do, in my own way, I fucking care but it’s not enough for you.”
I struggle to both breathe and process.
“I have all these perceptions of what raising a kid should look like, basically everything my parents didn’t do, but then we’re not together and I still want to do this as normal as possible.
I’m asking you not to go on dates till well after you have the baby.
I’m an asshole, I’m fully-fucking-aware of it, but I’m still asking. ”
A spark of hope ignites inside me, and I find myself nodding.
“Thank you.”
He spins me around and we’re at my car. Finding my keys in my purse, I turn to face him.
“We’ll find our way, Darius. Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”
He nods and I climb into the car and quickly turn the heat on.
“I’ll see you Thursday.”
He nods again and closes my door. For a moment I think he has to walk the two streets back to the theatre, but I watch him cross the street and jump in Jermaine’s car.
From now on, I’m going to work on clearing my heart of Darius Madden. He shouldn’t own mine if I don’t own his.