The Unexpected

Chapter 14

I stare down at my fidgeting hands. Every time I come up with something to say, I find myself unable to talk. Matt, his family, and my parents are the only ones who know about this and I don't really want to tell anyone else. Bout I have to explain myself, just in case there's a repeat of what happened last time. Tyler cups his hands in mine and rubs his thumbs across them. "Mia, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

I nod. "It's just... hard."

"What is it?" He asks.

I can't look at him while I say this so I stare down at our hands. "The only reason why I'm telling you this is because I don't want it to interfere with our relationship more than it already has."

"Okay." He nods, encouraging me to go on.

"During my freshman year of college I started seeing this guy named Christian. We went out on a few dates and I kind of liked him. He seemed like a nice guy." I shrug slightly. "One night we went back to his place and he told me his roommate was out. We were kissing and I told him that's as far as I wanted to go." My eyes begin to fill with tears as memories of that night come to mind. "When I tried getting away, he held me there. I screamed and cried for help as he held me down and raped me but no one ever came." I sniffle. "By the time Matt got there it was too late."

Tyler pulls me into a hug, burying his face into the crook of my neck. "I'm so sorry." He breathes. "I'd do anything to go back in time and save you."

"Matt was Christian's roommate at the time. After that, he moved out onto his own and offered to help me out. His mother is a therapist and she helped me a lot. Once I was comfortable with him, I moved in with Matt." I say.

He pulls away and wipes his eyes. "When did you find out about Alex?"

"Not until a month later." I say. "Matt's mom gave me options including: keeping the baby, giving him up for adoption, or abortion. I could never kill a baby so I chose adoption."

"But -"

"When I seen him, I couldn't give him up. He was a part of me and it didn't feel right. Matt and his mom supported me along with a lot of help from my parents."

"Do they know?" I nod. "What happened to that guy?"

I shake my head. "I was too afraid to go to the police or hospital. I didn't want to be pitied. Everyone at school would've looked at me differently."

He shakes his head. "That piece of shit should be dead."

"That's why I freaked out after we slept together. You're the first person I've been with since then and it was hard for me."

He leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. "I hope you know I'd never do anything to hurt you or your son. And if you'd have me, I'd like to be there for both of you." He says. "Alex needs a male role model in his life."

I cup his cheek. "I'd like that."

He smiles and I press a kiss to the corner of his lips. "I should get going. I have to be up for work in the morning."

"Okay." I kiss him.

He tells me he'll see me tomorrow before leaving. Now that he knows I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully I can have a normal relationship now.

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Tyler and I have been together for almost two weeks and Alex absolutely loves him. Tyler is great with him and is a great role model. Tonight my parents and his parents are all going out for dinner with Alex, Tyler and I. Alex sits between me and Tyler. My parents sit beside me and Tyler's by him, completing the round table. The waitress takes our order then leaves to get our drinks. "He is such a cutie." Tyler's mom gushes. "Tyler hasn't stopped talking about him since you two started seeing each other."

I smile at Tyler who shrugs. "He's a good kid. I love spending time with him."

"Steven said the same thing." My mom says. "Mia said the first day he met him, he bought him two toys. After that, he'd bring him a toy each time he visited."

I glance at Tyler to see him frowning but he says nothing. Our parents talk until the waitress returns, placing our drinks around us. Next she gives Alex a coloring sheet and two crayons. "Thank you." He grins up at here.

"You're welcome, cutie." She smiles then looks at Tyler. "You're son is adorable. How old is he?"

Tyler shakes his head. "He isn't my son."

I raise my eyebrows and the waiter glances at me. "He's three." I answer bitterly.

She leaves the table and I fume. How could he say that? I get that he isn't Alex's father but he didn't really have to say that. It was completely unnecessary. Like the woman actually cared if he was the father. She just wanted to know how old he was! Tyler said he wanted to be there for us - to be a father figure for Alex - so what's the problem?

I spend the rest of dinner ignoring Tyler's existence. Everyone knows I'm angry as hell but fortunately no one comments on it. After dinner, I hug and kiss my parents goodbye. The whole car ride home is silent and I'm glad because I don't want to talk to him.

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