Chapter One Hundred and Seventy
Mason left the pizza on the coffee table and got Sylvie a bottle of water from the fridge, grabbed the bottle of Scotch from the kitchen island and a tumbler for himself. Sylvie raised an eyebrow as he placed the Scotch on the table but said nothing.
“Why are you here?”
She was wringing her hands together and she started pacing. Mason opened the pizza box and started to eat a slice, glancing over at her every now and then. He didn’t have the energy to ask her again and concentrated on his food instead.
She stopped pacing, turned to look at him and then sat down on the couch next to him and grabbed the bottle of water. She emptied half of the contents and then she looked at the pizza.
“Help yourself,” Mason said with a full mouth.
She looked at the box, back at Mason and finally grabbed a slice. Mason filled his glass with Scotch and kicked off his shoes. He didn’t care anymore. She was in his house and he was fucking tired. He was tired of life and tired of waiting for his fucking phone to ring.
Half an hour later the pizza was finished, Sylvie having eaten three slices and two empty water bottles stood in front of her. Mason was still feeling on edge and the Scotch wasn’t helping. He’d discarded his jacket and tie at some point and his sleeves were rolled up, the top buttons of his shirt undone.
Sylvie still hadn’t said a word about why she’d been waiting on his porch or why she was making herself at home, in his house. He didn’t have the energy for sex, if that’s why she was there. No sex for him tonight, maybe not until Kelley woke up.
“Sylvie …”
Her eyes snapped towards his and he saw uncertainty, maybe even a little fear. “Yes?”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m pregnant,” she breathed out and looked away.
“And you couldn’t reach Kelley so I was the logical choice to come to,” he concluded.
“It’s not Kelley’s.”
Mason scratched the back of his neck. “Then I really don’t understand why you’re here.”
She frowned then and looked at him like he was an idiot but he still didn’t get it. “It’s yours.”
Mason started to laugh and Sylvie stared at him like he’d lost his mind. His laughter got louder and it bordered on hysteria. He had tears running down his face but he kept on laughing, slapping his thigh every now and then.
It took a whole fifteen minutes for Mason to stop laughing as Sylvie sat and watched him. “Like my life couldn’t get any more fucked up than it already is.”
Sylvie stood up and wrapped her arms around herself. “Look, I came here to tell you because it was the right thing to do, other than that, I don’t expect anything from you.”
“How the fuck did this happen? We had sex one time. How do you know it’s mine and not Kelley’s?”
Sylvie sighed and sat back down. “It only takes one time, Mason, and I’m assuming we didn’t use protection. I did with Kelley.”
“Aren’t you on birth control?”
“No. I’m allergic to all forms of birth control except condoms, there are no hormone secretions with condoms.”
Mason dragged a hand over his hair and let it fall between his legs, his elbow resting on his knee. “Fuck.”
“I’m seven weeks, it dates back to that night and I hadn’t slept with Kelley in …”
“I seriously don’t want to know when you fucked my best friend the last time,” Mason interrupted her.
“I’ve scheduled a procedure for tomorrow and I think …”
“You’re getting an abortion? Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck is wrong with you? No. No way. If you don’t want the baby, fine, I’ll raise him or her myself. I did it with Grace, I can do it again, but no way are you doing that!”
Sylvie looked passively at him. “It’s an early paternity detection test. You can give a blood sample and then you’ll know for sure. I’d appreciate it if you were there to confirm that the baby is in fact yours.”
Mason blinked and stared at her. “Oh.”
“The appointment’s at the hospital, tomorrow morning at eight. Dr Schneider’s rooms.” Sylvie stood up again, smoothed her hands over her jeans and walked around the coffee table.
“Wait, Sylvie … I’m sorry. A lot has happened and I’m dealing with a shitload of stuff right now … please, just sit down.”
Sylvie hesitated but then sat down albeit reluctantly. “Are you okay?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
“I’m fine … I mean, no, this is fucking insane but I don’t agree with what you said earlier,” Mason answered her.
“Which part? I’ve said a lot of things.”
“I’m not one to stick my head in the sand and hope my problems go away. If that’s my baby, I want to know and I want to be there, for everything. I didn’t have that with Grace because I got her when she was already a week old. I want to be there, every step of the way. I don’t care how we work it out but that’s where I stand,” Mason said as he regarded her.
“We can work something out. I mean, we barely know one another but I’m sure we can work out joint custody and things like that,” Sylvie said and placed a hand on her stomach. “There’s still time to figure all that out.”
“No, you misunderstood me. I have four bedrooms in this house. You’re moving in here, you work from home. I can’t uproot Grace to move in with you but you can move in here and we can do it together.”
Sylvie looked at him with her mouth open and she was just about to say something when Mason’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and then up at her.
“It’s the main house, I have to take this,” he said and stood up to take the call in the kitchen.
