Unleashed

Chapter Twenty-One: Canvas

"Well..why is that exactly?" He seemed surprised I would ask him why, but curiousity got the best of me. A lot of people would try to make it work for the kid, and part of me wondered if his refusal had anything to do with me.

"She planted a camera in my fucking house, Emma." He said it like it should have been obvious. "That is not a person who is mentally stable. Besides, I'm still not convinced she's telling the truth. As arrogant as it may sound, this kind of thing can happen to men in my position." He wasn't wrong, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel like it was partly wishful thinking.

"Oh." It's all I could manage to say at the time. I suppose it was a logical enough reason to not be with someone. Part of me was relieved it wasn't just because of me. I didn't want to be the sole reason something didn't work out between the parents of this alleged unborn child.

He scratched his head and began to studder, which drew my attention back to him. "Then, there's the other reason." He said sheepishly.

My heart jumped out of my chest a little. "What other reason?" I asked, not wanting to be presumptuous and assume he was talking about me.

He shot me a look like I had just asked a silly question. "Is it not obvious?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. When I didn't respond, he continued. "You know me well enough by now to know how honest I am, right? Well, I could never be with someone if my heart wasn't in it. That's just not me and it wouldn't be fair to anyone involved." We locked eyes, and a big part of me felt relieved. He still wanted to be with me.

The question is, was wanting to be with me going to be enough? The amount of shit on this guy's plate was piling by the minute. If this was true, if he was really going to be a father..is it the best time for him to start a relationship?

Wow..Ryker  might potentially be a father. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it. "I know you feel sure it isn't yours, but hypothetically..if it is?" I wanted, no..needed to know what his plan was if it turned out to be true. He took a deep breath and thought about it for a moment.

"I would never not be there for my child, if that's what you're wondering. If it was true, and I really don't believe it is..I will be there for my child. Of course I will. But as far as Sheila and I goes, there's nothing to discuss." I know he meant it, and I admired him for it. But he looked seriously stressed out at the idea of being a father anytime soon.

"I'm sorry, Emma." His eyes were filled with remorse as he grabbed my hand. I was caught off guard, wondering why he was apologizing to me. "Please don't hate me." He pleaded.

"Why would I hate you for something you did before you even met me? That wouldn't be very fair." I said, wanting desperately to calm him. Sure, I didn't like the idea and it wasn't fun to think about. But technically he was single at the time, and he could hook up with whoever he wanted.

"I'm an idiot. I should have been more careful. God, I can't believe I might have just changed my entire life..for what? To hook up with a woman I didn't even care about that much who thought spying on me and trying to ruin my reputation not to mention yours was okay?" He hit his head with the palm of his hand and his voice was shaky. The more he talked about it, the more he was starting to panic. Not that I blamed him. I was having a hard time not panicking myself, so I could only imagine how he felt.