"You're not even thinking about the fact that you missed my appointment again. You just keep moping around over that girl."

"Look, I'll be at the next one and the one after that and so on. And I won't miss when the baby's being born. Now I need to get back to work," I reply tersely, then hang up.

I know I'm a complete jerk for how I'm treating Ariel but I can't help it. I blame both of us for ruining my life and I can't stand being around her at all. But I have responsibilities so I have to start sucking it up.

I look down at the papers on my desk, about to get back to work when my cell rings again. It's one of my good friends, Joey.

"Hey, man," I answer.

"Yo. How you been?"

I scoff. "I've been running down the drain chasing after my life."

"Whoa. What's up?" I know he genuinely wants to know what's​ wrong. Joey likes to fix things. Maybe that's why he opened an auto mechanic shop in town.

"Lost my girl, man. And now I'm dealing with a pregnant Ariel." I sigh. He could put that together. He knows Ariel too. We all went to the same high school and a few of us went to the same college too. Joey was in that 'few'.

He swears loudly. "Now she's twice a bitch, huh?" He pauses. "Why'd you do that to Lyn though? And with Ariel of all women." Yea, Joey's very straightforward.

"It's that stupid party that Kyle and Drew threw at her house. I was drinking too much and I don't remember what happened after she came on to me but I woke up in her bed the next morning. Naked. And so was she," I explain.

"I saw you with her on the dancefloor, yeah. She was all over you. But I didn't see you go upstairs with her. That's not how I remember that night."

"What are you talking about, J?"

"Dude, even drunk you couldn't cheat on Lyn. I refuse to believe that, man," he argues.

"Whatever. It happened. Even did a DNA test."

He's silent for a while.

"Something's not right, Cel. I'll call you back later." And with that, he hangs up.

I sigh. I had that same feeling too but I did the test, I got the results. It's mine. And that could only happen if we slept together. I don't want to believe it either but we did.

After work, I'm hit with a surprise when I get home.

Lyn's here. She looks like she just came from work.

"Hey, Marcel," she chirps. Frickin' chirps.

Walking towards the bedroom, I put my work bag down and stand at the doorframe. She's putting her things in boxes.

Every bone in my body itches to grab her hands to stop her from packing. 'Cause this is it. I already knew I lost her. But she's taking her things and leaving. It just feels so official now and that hurts like a ton of bricks.

This house was my parents'. It's been empty since they died but Lee's family took care of it both physically and financially. When I finished college I decided to move back in and I asked Evelyn to come live with me.

God, I had so much planned for us.

"Where are you staying?" I finally ask. If it's with that Nick guy I swear....

She shrugs. "I think it's time I get my own place. Found a nice apartment a few blocks away from the bank. Jenny, my co- worker, lives in the same building so I won't be a total stranger there."

She is smiling and I don't know why but that makes me smile back.

Why?

Because she looks well. And that makes me feel both good and bad. I decided to go with the good.

"That's good. But you know you could stay here if you want. I practically live at Lee's now."

"I think he and Nessa would appreciate the space. Besides it's less... complicated this way I guess."

I nod. "Want some help?" She's about to refuse but I start picking up boxes anyway.

We pack in silence for a while. I label the boxes I see according to what's in them and she tapes them up. At the sound of a hiss I quickly turn to her. "You okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine." But looking at her hand held tightly in the next, I know she's lying.

I take her hand and inspect it. "Shit. It's bleeding." Gently, I pull her to the bathroom and let the cool water run over her finger. After the bleeding slows, I wrap a band aid around it.

"Think I should pack the first aid kit too?" She jokes.

"Should've been in your first box," I joke back. Realizing I'm still holding on to her finger, I kiss it then release it. "How badly does it hurt?"

"It's worse than it looks." She meets my gaze and I'm​ sure we aren't really talking about her finger anymore.

"Looks like you're taking it well."

"Looks can be deceiving, Marcel. If it weren't for the band aid you'd see clearly for yourself that the wound's still bleeding." She gets​ up and goes back to packing in silence. About half an hour later we've managed to pack everything in her car.

After she leaves, I sit down on the floor next to my bed. I let my mind run wild and the one consistent thing in my head is what Joey said to me earlier.

If it's not how he remembered that night then what did he remember?

I shake my head. It has to be mine. The test proved it. I thought back to that day at the doctor's office when we went to do the DNA test. Was there anything out of place?

Think, Marcel.

Okay... The doctor took blood samples from me and amniotic fluid from Ariel. There was nothing off about that. Then he said it'll take about three to four working days to get the results. I guess that's normal too... Ariel called and said the results were ready so I went to see her and she showed me the paper. My name was there and down the bottom it said paternity was a 99.9999%. That's all the proof I needed.

Damn Joey for filling my head up with this crap.

My phone rings. Speaking of Joey.... "What's up?" I answer.

"She slept with Kobe that night. I asked around and everyone who was at that party who I called said that you went upstairs alone that night. Ariel was with Kobe. Not you," Joey says hurriedly.

Not this again.

I run my fingers through my hair. "J, drop this. I did the tests and it said I'm the father. Even if she was with someone else that night he's not the dad. I am." That's even more disturbing to think of; that she was with someone else just before me.

"Man would you listen to me? Stop talking about that damn test. Did you go to pick it up yourself? Do you know the relationship she has with whatever doctor you went to?" I don't answer because I want to know where he's going with this. "That sounds like a no." He continues. "Cel, you know I don't trust Ariel. Never have, never will. Something is up and I know it. So will you just let me find out what that is?"

Sighing, I answer, "Okay. Thanks, bro."

"You always help me out when I need it. It's the least I can do. I'll fix this. I promise." He hangs up.

That's what he usually says when you give him a car to fix. Fortunately, he always does fix it.

Could he help me fix my life?

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖