Troian Bellisario: Just Me & My Girl

Give Up On Us

The Next Day
Troian's Pov

"Hey," I say as I open the door for Keegan "Come in." He walks inside, wiping his feet on the mat.

"How are you?" He asks as we walk into the living room. I go to answer, but get cut off by Aspen.

"Keegan!" She exclaims, running over to him. He picks her up and embraces her in a tight hug, his eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you in such a long time." He says quietly.

"That's okay." She replies "But only because you're here now. Don't leave for so long ever again Keegan, okay?" He just hugs her, looking guilty. Maybe because he knows that he can't keep that promise.

"We're gonna start seeing each other a lot more again." He says "I promise." After setting Aspen down and giving her a small smile, Keegan turns to face me.

"Can we talk?" I ask before he gets the opportunity to say anything. He just nods.

"Aspen, do you wanna go play in the playroom for a little bit?" I question, hoping she'll agree easily. To my relief, she does, running down the hallway without another word. Keegan and I sit down on the couch, facing each other in the now awkward silence. I nervously pick at my fingernails, unsure of how to tell him what I need to.

"Keegan?" I ask shakily, looking up into his delicate blue eyes.

"Yeah?" He asks, nervousness laced through just the one word.

"I-I have to tell you something." I say.

"Okay." He replies with confidence, trying not to sound unsure.

"Well, it's about Aspen...and the paternity test." I tell him. Looking down at my lap. My heart beats loudly, and my stomach churns so much that I nearly feel nauseous "The test came back positive. Max is her father." I force myself to look up into his eyes, although I instantly wish that I didn't. He looks heartbroken. Actually, so much more than that.

Just. Plain. Broken.

I can't stand to look at him like this any longer, so I opt for staring at my lap again instead. But what I hear next is even worse. Though I'm sure he tries to hide it, I can still hear Keegan's stifled sobs. Without even looking at him, I pull him into a hug, resting my chin on his shoulder.

"It's okay," I say quietly "It's just a DNA test. It only shows that she shares genes with him."

"I know," Keegan replies in a raspy voice "But I thought she was mine, I really did." I keep hugging him, tears suddenly springing to my eyes. I bite my lip, trying to stop myself from crying. I'm not successful.

"Me too." I choke out.

We hold each other as we both cry, not knowing what else to do. Keegan's hands shake slightly as they press into my back, and my lip quivers uncontrollably. I bury my face into Keegan's chest, wishing for even just a second that all of my worries would disappear. That the imaginary weights on my shoulders would be lifted for even a moment.

"Momma?" I hear a small voice say from behind me. I free myself from Keegan's embrace and quickly wipe my tears, hoping Aspen won't notice I was crying.

"Y-yeah, sweetie?" I reply, my voice cracking.

"What's wrong?" She asks quietly, walking delicately toward Keegan and I. When I look into her innocent blue eyes, I realize that I can't keep lying to her, at least not in the way I have been. Maybe I can gloss over some things, but I can't keep telling her nothing's wrong when something clearly is.