Substitute Father (Ross Lynch)

Chapter 16

"Why did I have to come?" Ross whined from beside me.

I resisted the urge to slap him upside the head. "Because I didn't want to go grocery shopping by myself." I eyed the shelf full of chips, cookies, and other junk foods, and quickly grabbed a bag of Doritos, throwing them into the shopping cart.

"But I'm bored." He stuck his bottom lip out, letting it quiver for effect. "Can we please go home? We've been here forever."

"We've been here for fifteen minutes." I deadpanned. Why was my twenty-one year old boyfriend acting like a toddler? It didn't make any sense.

"It feels like an hour." He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sighed, pushing the cart into the next aisle. "Can you go and grab a carton of milk? Let me grab a couple more things, and then we can go."

"Fine. But I'm getting more pancake mix since we're out." Before I could get a word out, he kissed my cheek and hurried off in the direction of the milk. I couldn't help but giggle at his childish actions.

It had been about a week since I was released from the hospital, and things between Ross and I were back to normal. It was as if the fight between us never happened. If I was being honest, I was glad that the fight was basically a distant memory. I never liked fighting with Ross, and they were rare occurrences.

As I walked into the beverage aisle, my eyes widened when I saw a familiar figure on the other end. Without a second thought, a bolted out of the aisle, the wheels of the cart squeaking as I did so. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Ross standing in front of the fridge that held the different cartons of milk.

"Ross, we have to go." I said, my breathing slightly uneven. I was gripping his arm, a silent way of telling him that this was urgent.

He looked at me with wide eyes. "What's going on? Is it the baby?"

I shook my head, my hand immediately draping over my stomach. "No, the baby's fine. But we have to go."

"Why? Sky, what's going on?" His voice was etched with worry.

I absolutely hated what I was about to do. Well, say, actually.

"Ben's here."

Ross' face immediately went from worried and concerned, to angry and pissed off. "Where is he?" He all but growled.

"No, you're not going to confront him." I told him. "Let's just pay for this stuff and leave. Please, Ross. Don't do anything stupid." I was begging, which I hated doing. I just didn't want a fight to break loose.

His jaw was clenched, and his body was tense. "Sky, he deserves to get his ass kicked."

"I know." I agreed. "But please, just let it go. I don't want to see you get hurt." Tears pricked my eyes, but none would fall. I couldn't help these tears that formed; I was pregnant and hormonal.

"Don't cry, Sky." He murmured softly, grabbing the back of my head to place in the crook of his neck. He wrapped one arm around my waist, and placed his free hand on my stomach. "I won't confront him, alright? Just relax."

I nodded, unable to form words. Relief flooded throughout my body and I let myself relax. I was so scared that Ross would go up to Ben and just start punching. That was my worry the day he stormed out of Rydel's house.

"Let's pay and get out of here." He murmured into my hair. He kissed my temple before releasing me to grab a carton of milk from the fridge. He grabbed the cart and pushed it with one hand, while his other one held onto mine.

Once at the register, we paid and got out of the store as fast as possible. I felt my whole body relax once we were in the car, the groceries in the trunk. Throughout the ride home, I noticed how Ross' body was stiff and tense. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were turning white.