Nico (The Rossi Mafia)

Chapter 16 - Kennedy

I didn't know how else I expected Nico to react. I'd turned up at the construction site on a whim.

Ever since I found out about the pregnancy...I'd been toying with the idea of whether to tell Nico or not.

When I got seriously sick the previous evening, Ava had rushed to a pharmacy and bought several pregnancy tests. Each one of them had been positive. There was no other option but to accept the fact that I was pregnant. I wasn't ready, in no way was I prepared to be a mother. I had spent all this time rolling my eyes at our other friends and their 'mom problems'. I hadn't even pictured myself as a mother.

Least of all a mother to Nico's child!

Ava and I had spent the rest of the evening talking. I'd cried a lot and she tried to console me. I was feeling lost, and angry...but mostly sad. It was painful to imagine bringing up a child alone, to know that my child would never know its father.

I knew Ava would always be there for me. So would our other friends. They would all try and help out as best as they could. But would it ever be good enough? Nobody else could help me the way Nico could. There was nobody else my child would need in this world more than its father.

Ava didn't want me to tell Nico. She believed he'd already done enough damage to me. Not only had he gotten me pregnant, but he'd also disappeared from my life. Without a trace, without a single parting word. Ava didn't think anything good could come from me telling him.

She'd almost convinced me. By the time she left my apartment last night, I was resolved to bringing up this child alone. Ava suggested that she might move in with me during the months of my pregnancy to lend a helping hand. She promised that everything was going to be okay. That my baby and I were going to do just fine without Nico.

But that night, I'd laid awake in bed. I couldn't sleep. Nico needed to know. He needed to take some responsibility. I didn't know how he would react when he found out, but I would be guilty all my life. I would end up carrying this huge burden on my shoulders forever—the burden of keeping my child away from its father.

The least I could do was tell Nico and leave it to him to decide.

Ava had reluctantly given me the addresses of the possible places I could find him. I took a taxi to the first one on the list and thankfully, that was where he was.

I hadn't seen him in four weeks. The shock of seeing him again was a jolt to my system. Those familiar feelings of wanting him had returned. Why did he have to be without a shirt on!

His reaction was bad. It was very bad. Instead of being friendly and concerned...Nico had tried to push me away. He was about to do away with me before I even had a chance to tell him. But I'd stood my ground. I wasn't leaving without him knowing. I wasn't going to live a life of guilt.

Now, he'd driven us to a restaurant on the other side of town. It was like he wanted to get me away as far as possible from the construction site.

We'd taken a table in one corner of the restaurant, and Nico was sitting across from me. I could see the nervous worry on his face. He didn't know what to say to me.

I decided to break the awkward silence. How long were we supposed to sit quietly together?!

"Nico, I just want you to know that I have no intention of trapping you," I said.

He looked up at me sharply. Neither of us had ordered anything to eat. Neither of us had much of an appetite. This could very well be the most important conversation of my life. I watched as he clenched his jaws. What was he thinking?