“I don’t think we should,” she whispered.

“Why not?” I demanded to know. I wasn’t used to her holding back from me. It was driving me insane.

“I just… I can’t.” Her voice wobbled right before she hung up on me.

I threw my phone across the room where it landed with a soft thud on a pile of clothes. Pacing the small room, I ran my fingers through my hair and yanked in frustration. I needed Isabella. Going cold turkey without her wasn’t working for me.

I needed to see her beautiful blue eyes. Her long, silky hair that felt unbelievably amazing when it trailed over my skin. And her tight little pussy that always sent me into orbit.

Grabbing my keys from my desk, I jogged out of the dorm to my car. I could be home in two hours if traffic was good. Hopefully by then my dad would be sleeping.

*****

The sounds of moaning greeted me when I stepped inside the darkened house. Dread immediately settled into the pit of my stomach when I recognized what it was. It was the same sound I had overheard all those years ago.

Climbing the stairs, I found my dad’s bedroom door open. Warily, I took a step towards it and stopped dead at the sight that greeted me.

Isabella was on her hands and knees while my father plowed into her from behind. Sweat ran down both of their bodies as they fucked each other hard.

“Yes, Robert!” Isabella called out. “Right there. Oh fuck me, Robert. You’re so good, baby.”

Her words of praise aimed at another man made my blood run cold.

“Yeah, Belle. Sweet little cunt keeps getting better and better,” my dad returned on a wild thrust.

My stomach churned at his words. Turning on my heels, I ran down the steps not caring if they heard me. By the sounds of it, they were too caught up in climaxing to notice anything anyway. Outside in the garage, I punched the wall and cursed. The bitch had lied to me. This whole time she swore I was the only one she was sleeping with—Brad notwithstanding.

Digging old bottles of liquor out of the hiding spot where I had once squirreled them away, I quickly made my way down to the creek that bordered our property and sat on the shoreline.

Tipping back the bottle of whiskey, I welcomed the burn. It was better than feeling the pain of betrayal. I couldn’t believe I had been stupid enough to think I was enough for her. To think that she loved me as much as I loved her.

Grabbing my phone out of my back pocket, I sent a text to Isabella telling her she was a whore. Then I scrolled down to Megan, the cute redhead that lived on the floor below us in the dorm. Pressing send, I listened as it rang. When voicemail came on, I cleared my throat and told her I changed my mind about hanging out this weekend. If Isabella was free game, then so was I. I was done being dictated to and used for my cock.

I snickered at that. What eighteen-year old doesn’t want to get used for that? I certainly hadn’t minded when it was happening. It was just that I hadn’t expected to fall in love with such an evil bitch.

“Well, fuck her!” I shouted into the night air.

A half a bottle of whiskey and half a bottle of gin later, I was trashed. At some point, I even passed out.

Coming to in the early hours of the morning, I stumbled into the house and upstairs to my bedroom. Oblivious to the world around me, I didn’t see Isabella sitting on the couch waiting for me with tears rolling down her cheeks. Then again, even if I had, I wouldn’t have given a shit.

*****

Isabella was sobbing softly at the kitchen table when I made my way downstairs the next morning, bleary-eyed and hungover. I gave her a look of disdain before grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring myself a mug.

“Please sit,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper when I moved to leave the kitchen.

“Why should I?” I asked disgruntledly.

“Because you love me,” was her answer.

I let out a humorless laugh and shook my head.

“Love isn’t screwing my father behind my back after we promised not to sleep with anyone else.”

“I didn’t lie to you when I told you I wasn’t sleeping with your father,” she protested.

“Really? That’s funny because it sure as hell looked like his cock was stuffed inside you last night,” I replied sarcastically.

“Collin, you don’t understand.” She stood up and stepped towards me, but stopped when I moved back. “I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

“I’m pregnant!” she yelled, right before she burst into tears.

Instead of wrapping her in my arms and consoling her like I should have, I stood motionless in complete and utter shock.

“Who’s the father?” I asked in a low and deceptively calm voice.

She looked up at me with a tear-stained face, and my heart broke at the sadness in her eyes. “You are.”

“How could you know that? You slept with Brad, my dad, and God knows who else.” This couldn’t be happening. I was eighteen years old for God’s sake. I was too young to be a father. I didn’t even have a job.

And what the hell would my father say about this? He was going to kick my ass and cut me off for sure.

“You’re the only one I’ve had unprotected sex with, and I wasn’t with either of them during my ovulation cycle,” she explained.

She may as well have been speaking Chinese for all I knew. My head was spinning with her announcement.

“You said you were on the pill.” Wasn’t birth control effective, dammit?

“I am.”

“Then how did this happen?” I gripped my hair in frustration.

“I don’t know! No contraceptive is a hundred percent effective!” she yelled.

I sank down into a chair and watched in a daze as she followed suit.

“What are we going to do?” I asked her.

“I’m going to tell your father it’s his. That’s why I’ve been sleeping with him the last few weeks. So he’ll think it’s true.”

“You think I’m going to sit back and let my father raise my own child?” Anger and resentment replaced the fear I had been feeling. I deserved a chance to know my child. To have it call me Dad, and my father Grandpa.

Fuck, this was a mess.

“You can’t support the two of us, Collin. Think about it. This was all wrong from the beginning. I should have never given into these feelings for you. I should have known better.” Her head fell forward, and her body shook as she started crying again.

This time I leaned into her and took her in my arms. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

She burrowed her head into my neck and held onto me tightly. My hand ran over her back; eventually her tears subsided and she relaxed into me.

I peppered soft kisses along her cheek and down her neck. I missed her and wanted her so badly. Something deep down inside me needed to brand her knowing she was carrying my child. I didn’t understand it, but it was driving my actions.

“We can’t,” she protested, even when her hand dipped under my shirt and ran over my back.

“Please. One more time.”

I wasn’t sure how I was going to get over her. Needing her was like needing air. And seeing her round with my child, and then raising him or her, might be too much for me. It was going to be a real problem to stay away.

We gave ourselves over to the desire we had for one another. Within minutes we were both naked on the kitchen floor. I held myself over her on my forearms and slowly sank into her heat.

Rocking back and forth slowly, we made love as my hands explored her body. My mouth placed soft sweet kisses on her eyelids, her cheeks and her mouth. And when we came together, we both whispered how much we loved each other.

And that’s where Isabella left me. Broken hearted on the floor of the kitchen with a single tear sliding down my face.

SIX

Present day…