Page 167 of Rush
"So does staying."
"I wasn't going to leave you."
"I know that now."
We lie there in the quiet and I think about everything that's changed in the last few hours. This morning I woke up thinking about club business and what to make for dinner, tonight I'm lying here with my hand on Everly's stomach thinking about our baby, about being a father, about building a family. It's overwhelming and terrifying, and I have no idea what I'm doing.
But I'm choosing it anyway. I’m choosing Everly, choosing the baby, choosing to build something instead of destroying it.
This is the opposite of everything I grew up with. My father chose violence and fear and control.
I'm choosing love and protection and commitment. That has to mean something. That has to count for something.
"Rush?" Everly says quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for not running."
"Thank you for telling me, for trusting me enough to tell me even though you were scared."
"I was so scared."
"I know, but you told me anyway."
"Because I love you."
"I love you too, so fucking much."
She's quiet for a second, then she says, "What are we going to tell people?"
"The truth."
"And if they judge us?"
"Then fuck them. This isn't their business."
"My dad's going to lose his mind."
"Probably, but we'll deal with it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. We've dealt with him before and we'll deal with him again. But, Everly, this is our baby. Our choice. Nobody else gets a vote."
"Okay."
"We're in this together."
"Yeah, we are."
I pull her on top of me and she settles against my chest, her ear over my heart.
"I can hear your heartbeat," she says.
"Is it still going? Because I'm pretty sure I died of shock earlier."
She laughs and the sound makes my chest warm.
