“What are you doing here?” I asked. I stood up. I had a couple of drinks already. I almost tripped down, but I quickly regained my balance.
Aaron stood between me and Mark.
“I invited him to come over,” Aaron said.
“You know each other?” I asked Aaron.
“Yes. We’re high school friends. I know you two had a fight over Reese, but there’s something you need to know.”
I sat down where I was seated awhile ago. I ordered another drink from the bartender. Aaron and Mark took their seats and ordered their drinks, too. Aaron asked for two shots of tequila while Mark got a glass of whiskey.
“What is it that I need to hear?” I impatiently asked both of them. The bartender gave us our drinks. Mark took a sip of his whiskey before he spoke.
“I know that I took part in you break up with Reese. We’ve been friends since college and I felt guilty for whatever I did to you.”
“Let’s jump to the bottom line of this conversation. I don’t want no drama and I am not interested to hear whatever you did when I wasn’t around,” I told Mark.
“You know what happened to me and Reese. Well, the bottom line is that I got her pregnant,” Mark said in a serious tone.
“What? You mean?” I shrieked in disbelief.
“The baby she’s carrying right now is mine. I heard her once that she’s gonna tell everyone that you’re responsible for her pregnancy. That’s the reason why she followed you here. I already did a mistake when I slept with her. I can’t afford to make another one by letting you stand as a father to a child that isn’t yours.”
“How did you know it wasn’t mine?” I asked.
“Her best friend, Joan, told me about it. She thought Reese had gone mad.”
I was surprised with what Mark revealed to me. Somehow, my brain can’t absorb everything he said.
“So, you mean Reese deceived me, right?” I asked for confirmation. It was the only thing that I could think of.
“She lied to you, dude, for the nth time. I’m not doing this to clean my name from the mess I made a few months ago. I’m doing this because it’s the only right thing that I could do to you for now,” he said.
I ground my teeth in anger. I don’t know what to do. I’m mad at Reese for lying to me. It was a serious thing and it will never be treated as a joke. She made me believe all of these lies. I lost the most important woman of my life because of her.
Still, I thought it’s not yet too late for me and Nikki to start a life of our own, then I remembered. Nikki is pregnant with Aaron. Everything that I just heard is useless. I won’t be able to get Nikki back.
“This is useless,” I blurted.
“What do you mean useless?” asked Mark.
“I’m happy to know that I don’t have any responsibilities on Reese’s pregnancy, but I can’t change the fact that Nikki is bearing Aaron’s child,” I said.
“That’s another thing you need to know,” Aaron drank the tequila shot. I’m starting to get confused.
“What about it?” I asked.
“Nikki’s child…” Aaron said. He looked at Mark. Mark nod his head in approval. I don’t know what they’re up to, but I’m starting to anticipate for whatever he wants to say. “Nikki’s child is not mine, dude. Since I came here, nothing happened between the two of us. Yes, we go out sometimes, but we never got to a point where we sleep with each other.”
“So, Nikki lied to me? She just told me she’s pregnant so that I’d stay away from her? Why would she do that?” I was really confused already. A lot of things went inside my head and I can’t seem to take all of it at the same time.
“No. She didn’t lie to you,” said Aaron. “She’s pregnant but not with mine. She’s pregnant with your child.”
I was shocked. I was surprised with what I found out. Due to my excitement, I pulled out a thousand bill from my wallet and put it on the table. I didn’t say a word when I was about to leave.
“Where are you going?” Mark asked.
“I’m going to see Nikki,” I said excitedly. Aaron’s facial expression suddenly changed. It became sad and heavy.
“What?” I asked Aaron and Mark as they looked at me.
“Nikki’s gone, Steve,” said Aaron.
“What? What do you mean gone?”
“She’s gone. She left. Nobody knows where she went.”
I felt sad. That night, I went home with a heavy heart. I thought we would end up together, now that I already knew what the truth was. I didn’t give up calling Nikki’s number, but it’s still the same. She’s still out of reach. I wish I could just hold her next to me and tell her that everything’s going to be okay. I miss her so much.
…to be continued
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