Unleashed

Chapter Twenty-One: Canvas

Emma Riley

Inside Ryker's car

I couldn't speak at first. Instead I just stared at Ryker, who stared at me back with a weary look in his eyes. He was waiting for me to react, and I was waiting for him to give me some sort of indication that I had misheard him. Or that he had suddenly developed a horrible sense of humor. Anything besides that he actually just said the words; 'Sheila is pregnant and she says that it's mine.'

"Say something, please." Ryker  pleaded as I continued to stare at him in disbelief. What can I say? What does one usually say in this type of situation?

"I'm going to be honest with you, I don't believe her." He continued when I still didn't speak. His tone was rushed, and defensive. Probably out of fear I was about to explode with rage at any moment.

"I think she's either one, not pregnant at all. Or two, pregnant but lying about it being mine." He rubbed his forehead like he had a headache. He looked and sounded super stressed out. I couldn't believe he's been holding in this atomic bomb all this time and is just now talking about it.

"I want a DNA test. I'm telling you, something seems fishy about this. This is exactly what Dexter always tried to warn me about. God, I'm such an idiot." He started getting angrier the more he spoke, but it became apparent the person he was mad at was himself. He tilted his head back and let it rest on his car seat, shaking his head and closing his eyes as if he was in pain.

Something didn't make sense to me, and caused me to finally speak. "So what you're saying is, she planted a camera in your house because she was pregnant with your baby?" I couldn't hide the confusion in my voice, because I didn't see a connection.

Why did planting a camera and posting that video help anything? Was it some type of revenge because he didn't want a relationship with her? Who the fuck puts a camera in someone's house anyway? Creepy much?

He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes in frustration. "What she told Dexter was..she was afraid that when I found out she was pregnant that I'd fight for custody and win. So she planted the camera, hoping to find something that would paint me in a negative light in court if that were to happen."

I thought about it for a moment. It was all so much to take in and process. I can imagine how he must be feeling. I found that I didn't like him looking so stressed out. I didn't like that I couldn't do anything about it, either.

"Well, that sounds like dumb logic. But..did she say what she's after now? Money? A..relationship with you?" I tried to hide how much the thought of what is growing between us stop so he could be with somebody else hurt, but I don't think I was very convincing. Imagining Ryker, Sheila and baby as a little family, didn't sit well with me.

I knew how selfish that probably was, if she really was pregnant with his child I mean. But I didn't want to share him. "I don't know what she really wants at this point, Emma." Ryker  pulled me out of my internal freak out.

His eyes locked onto mine and he looked very serious. "One thing I can say..the only thing I can say in fact, is that I will never ever be in a relationship with Sheila." His tone sounded definite and irritated. "If that's what she's after, she's going to be dissapointed."