Page 18 of Revived Noble
His jaw tics as he speaks slowly, rage radiating from his every pore. “What are you saying?”
If I thought his fury was bad before, it’s nothing compared to what it is now, being this close to him. This type, a night and day difference to resentful peeks and uptight gazes.
My lungs feel as if they could explode with the oxygen they actively beg for, but I refuse to give. I wish they would…
Screw it, it’s like ripping off a Band-Aid.
“Congratulations, Finn! You’ve upgraded to daddy status.”
Not even white noise could help with the tension in the room currently. It’s so stiff you could drop a bomb and I doubt anyone would react.
Although I kind of did do that, didn’t I?
Seconds tick by, but I swear it’s hours. I give him the time though, because I’ve had years to digest this, and he’s only had a handful of moments.
Finn’s entire being turns the palest shade of ghostly white. It’s a complete contrast to me. The weight I’ve carried by keeping this from him for years lightens my heaviness a minuscule amount. The truth selfishly lifts some of my burden.
I help him out again, being more direct. He looks like he needs it. That and possibly a defibrillator.
“We have a child. Together,” I clarify. “You’re a father.”
seven
Finn
Adad?Afather?As in,what mydadis?
No way, nuh-uh! Not fucking possible. I think I’d know if I had a kid.
But you didn’tmy subconscious screams, and I want to restrain it by the balls. A perfect example of how mine seems to be at the moment, choked and nonexistent. Hailey argued otherwise…in front of literally everyone, didn’t she?
Would it be inappropriate to suggest a rage-quitting option? Click! And reality shuts off. Thatshouldbe an option.
I could laugh, but it’d only be out of my own embarrassment.
Can Cole still kill me, if the scene I caused wasn’t directly because of me? I only turned into the fallback guy. I would argue no, but I doubt he’d care to hear my opinion.
Apparently, no one else does either, otherwise I would’ve been informed sooner I had spermed a child.
I have a child.A kid…a living, breathing human being.
Those few words strung together are as foreign in my thoughts as they would be spoken aloud. It’s bizarre, unnatural even.
I let the basketball fall from my hands so I can check the volume on the outdoor speakers. Cursing, I chuck my phone back down on the padded concrete. The sound’s already at max.
I want it louder.
My thoughts are being overshadowed by the noise and I need them gone.
More, I need more.
A frustrated grunt pushes past my windpipe, exiting from deep down in the furthest parts of my stomach. My airwaves grow more jagged inside this caged prison.
I huff. Unlike earlier, I had a say in this decision. Knew what to expect when I came outside to the regulation-size court behind my childhood home.
It’s dark, pitch black other than the lights above. They’re so impressively bright they could put a stadium to shame.
One side of my mouth hooks high. Bingo.