Colors

~Chapter 43~

Ryan's POV

Morning came.

Z slept in Ryan's room. They both passed out after a long night of talking about feelings. She explained everything. She explained how machete hated herself for falling for him. She had every right to hate him, especially since he was with Jac before. He hurt her. She was selfish about it too. She hated herself because she knew the type of man Ryan was. Barely even a man, more like a boy. But on occasions where Ryan wasn't cheating and having drama all over the place, he was a decent guy. 

He saw her asleep on his bed. Ryan was forced to sleep on the sit on the floor the whole time to avoid contact. She had her moments where she wanted to kiss him, but she had to stop herself for her own sake. He got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Her blonde hair was messed up from the tossing and turning. He leaned down to kiss her forehead, but as soon as he got close, her eyes shot open.

He moved back and looked away. " U-Uh, good morning," he said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

She sat up and stretched. " Don't make this weird," she yawned. " I'm gonna make the usual, then I'm gonna buy tickets for tonight's flight, 'kay?" He nodded in response. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

He looked at his phone and saw he had a few missed calls from Halsey. He quickly dialed her number.

" Hey, you called?" He asked her as she answered.

" Can we talk? I really need to talk to you. It's important," she replied.

The tone of her voice started to scare him. " What is it? When do you wanna meet up? It has to be by at least the end of the day because I have somewhere to be."

" You're gonna fly back to LA or something?"

" No, gonna take a little vacation in Europe to get some things out of my head for awhile, but I'm only a call away if you need me. We can meet up right now if you can."

" I can. Come to my apartment."

Halsey's POV

She had been in denial about it. That night where she sat on the edge of the building, she was ready. She was ready to leave. All she had done was bring pain and suffering into his life and now this. She had just found out the truth and now this whole thing had nothing to do with Brendon. It never had anything to do with Brendon to begin with. This changes everything.

She sat on the floor in front of the couch, her head down on the coffee table as she thought about it. The test results were in front of her. The envelope was ripped open, the truth lie inside where it could ruin everything. She told the whole world who the father was and now...everything changes. Her image changes.

She heard someone knock on the door. There, Ryan stood. She allowed him inside, not saying anything.

" What's wrong? You don't look okay...Was it Brendon again?"

She shook her head. She sat him down on the couch. She grabbed the envelope with everything inside and handed it to him. She sat beside him and hugged her knees, looking at him, tears already filling her eyes. " Just open it," she said quietly.

He took the papers out of the envelope and saw results of DNA scans. His eyes widened. " Wait, so Brendon isn't the father? Who is?" She placed her hand on his and leaned against his shoulder. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to say the words, that he could catch it on his own. Brendon wasn't the only person she slept with before the pregnancy. It was silent. Ryan froze. " A-Are you t-telling me-"

" If Brendon isn't the father, then Ryan.."

He got up, moving her off of him. " I-I have to go...Elizabeth is waiting for me." Panicked, he walked towards the front door. She followed him, saying his name and begging him to sit down and talk to her. He stopped at the door and looked back at her tear-stained face. " I can't be a father. I'm not going to be a good father! I can barely handle my own problems right now and now I have to handle a child. I need to think. This-This was unexpected. I don't know-"

" Ryan, calm down. How do you think I feel?! I didn't want to get pregnant. This is my first child though and I don't know whether or not to get rid of it. Everyone is counting on me not to. Everyone wants me to keep it. A part of me wants to keep it, but another part of me wants me to get rid of it. Don't leave me alone on this...This is something you have to worry about now."

" I need some time to think about all of this. Let me process. I'll call you later." He exited the apartment.

Ryan's POV

He called Z as he drove home. 

" Where did you go? You kind of just left in a hurry," she said as soon as she picked up.

" I know I know. I'm sorry. Something really important came up...with Halsey. You're probably not gonna wanna hear this. You're probably gonna cancel our whole trip for this. Well, you'll have to cancel for me," he sighed.

" Cancel the trip? We have everything in place already! What the hell could've happened with Halsey that could make you wanna stay here?! I thought she was the reason you were leaving anyway!"

" She was part of it, but a bigger problem came up. I'll explain when I get home."

" You're telling me right now, George Ryan Ross. This trip was really fucking expensive and I'm not canceling until I know why and if it's even relevant enough."

" Trust me, it's relevant enough to cancel a trip like that."

" Then what is it?"

" I..uh...may or may not have gotten Halsey Evens pregnant," he said awkwardly, scrunching up his shoulders in embarrassment as he drove.

" You WHAT?!"

~

Z paced around back in forth in the living room as Ryan sat on the couch. It was silent, silent enough for Z to think on her own. When Ryan came home, she sat him down on the couch and didn't say anything. He could already tell she was too disappointed to find the words.

" Can you say something? You sure had plenty to say on the phone, but I'm finally here and nothing?" He asked, breaking the silence.

She stopped and looked at him. " What the fuck am I supposed to say?! You got her pregnant! You know you still have Rose to worry about?! You have a lot of bullshit to worry about and hey, we were supposed to ease your mind by going on this trip, but boop, you're literally tied here because you found out you're a FATHER. Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

" I didn't even know until today, Elizabeth. You already knew I slept with her. What did you expect? Of course there was going to be a bad outcome!"

" You didn't even bother using a condom? You didn't even have a slight thought that you could've gotten Halsey pregnant? When she announced it, did you even assume at all that you could've been the father?"

" She was talking about Brendon and she slept with him more times than me! She slept with him last before she announced she was pregnant, it had to be him. Now, it all lands on me, whether or not she should keep the baby. She doesn't know what to do."

" That decision isn't on you, it just points her in a direction. Ask yourself this. Do you want to be a father? Are you ready? If you can't even get your own life together, how can you be the right father for a baby?"

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