Unexpected

Chapter 32

GABRIEL

"Fucking call her already, man," I hear Josh mumble by my side. We've been at the studio in his place for hours, and it's obvious I'm having a hard time concentrating.

My heart is thumping so loudly that I'm sure everyone around me can hear it. Two hours ago, I posted a video with a song I wrote for Jo, and here I am now still waiting for her response.

Maria confirmed Jo watched the video, but she refuses to tell me how she reacted. According to her, I need to man up already and just talk to her myself.

I wish things were that simple.

I had no intention of ever making this song public. The thing is that with each day that passes, my mind keeps telling me that she has already moved on and has forgotten all about us. So that video was a moment of weakness. A lame attempt to show her that I still love her.

"She's either gonna love it or hate it," Josh chuckles, making me scoff.

"Well, that's helpful," I sigh.

I feel a tugging inside of me every time I think of calling her. I'm dying to see her. These past months have been an absolute nightmare, with Nora pushing all my buttons. A part of me wants to tell her to go to hell. Another one feels bad for how sick she has been feeling.

When she first told me about her health problems, I thought she was exaggerating. I know nothing about pregnancies and I don't trust that woman. The only thing I wanted was to take legal action and make her go through with the paternity test.

Tom, being the sharp lawyer he is, made me seek medical advice first. He said depending on the diagnosis she got, the judge could make us have to wait until the baby was born, anyway. And since we were already facing some serious charges, I had to think things through.

Once I got the results from the best doctors in the country confirming her difficult pregnancy, I've been doing my best to be patient. She's been diagnosed with preeclampsia and anxiety. One of the worst combinations a pregnant woman can have.

What if I forced Nora to do the DNA test and something bad happened to any of them?

What if the baby is not mine, and I lost the love of my life because I chose to wait?

"Josh is right," Dave chimes in, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Man up and call her already, Gabe. We can't live with your sorry ass mopping around all day."

"And tell her he still doesn't know if the baby is his or not?" Aaron says, his head shaking. "I'm sorry, man, but you're between a rock and a hard place."

"Nora's having the baby soon." I sigh. "I need to do this right."

"So let's go back to work," Josh gets his mic, redirecting our focus. "We still have a lot to do today."

Nodding, I feel a rush of love swell in my chest as I look at these three guys who are like family to me. We've lived one of the worst moments of our lives, having to prove to the world that we were being falsely accused.

I lost count of the sleepless nights and the somber mood that hovered over us as we work our way through things. Maria was right to say that our reputation would always be tainted, no matter what. But it was important for us to prove to the world that we are innocent. Even if not everyone believes us, we can walk out there holding our heads up high.

And for what it's worth, everything that we've been through made our bond stronger. Even though we don't know what the future holds in store for us as a band, we managed to find a deeper understanding of each other, and a sense of peace washed over us. We've been playing and writing music non-stop for the past few months. It has been a long time since we have all felt such a strong sense of unity.

I'm really grateful for this newfound sense of connection with my brothers.

At least this part of my life is doing well.

*****

I'm overwhelmed by the realization that this is really happening. I'm finally about to regain some control of my life.

As I gaze at the little boy peacefully sleeping in the hospital crib, I can't help but let out a deep sigh. There's a tight knot in my chest, an unbearable weight that won't go away. My tongue feels like sandpaper in my mouth. I'm trembling from head to toe.

And it's all because of this baby in front of me.

Colton.

He's the tiniest human being I've ever seen. So fragile and innocent... It's really fucked up that he's tangled up in this mess.

He arrived in the world four hours ago, and because of some respiratory concerns, was sent to the NICU. Nora had been adamant that I be present at the time of the birth, but she needed an emergency C-section so she was rushed to the emergency room before anyone else could be with her.

A DNA sample was collected from both of me and Colton as soon as he was born, and my levels of anxiety have sky-rocketed ever since.

The ring of my phone makes my heart race, and I rush outside to take the call I've been waiting for since Nora dropped the bomb that she was pregnant.

This is it.

The moment of truth.

"Talk to me, Tom," I say, my heart thudding in my ears.

"They just emailed you and Nora the results," he says.

"Thanks. I'll call you later." I let out a long breath, my legs shaking as I walk to my car.

Sitting alone in a cold parking lot, my fingers tremble as I open the file. My shoulders drop as I read the report:

The alleged father is excluded as the biological father of the tested child. This conclusion is based on the non-matching alleles observed at the loci listed above with a PI equal to 0. The alleged father lacks the genetic markers that must be contributed to the child by the biological father. The probability of paternity is 0%.

I'm not the father.

A sob leaves my lips. Fast. Hard. Uncontrollable.

My whole body shakes as I slump back in my seat. An ear-piercing scream fills the car, and I startle when I realize it's coming from me.

Punching the steering wheel, I let out all the anger, resentment, and frustration I've been carrying for so long.

It's over.

God, it's finally over.

And there's only one place I want to be.

_____

A/N: Please describe how you're feeling right now! I'll go first: My heart is racing! LOL

XOXO

Celeste