“I really need to get G.T.’s food and get back. He’ll be waking up soon and if I’m not there, he’ll get out of bed.” She nods, moving away.

I turn to Ma, who holds out two plates of heaping with food. “Thanks.” Ma doesn’t say a word as I leave the kitchen heading back to G.T.’s room.

Entering the room, G.T.’s eyes bore into mine as I enter. “I got food.” I hold up the plates showing him.

“You weren’t supposed to leave.” His voice is tense and strained.

“I was only gone for a minute.” I walk to the side table setting the food down.

“That’s what the phone is for. You could have called it in.” He demands.

“I needed some air. I’m here. Calm down.” I place my plate on the desk and walk back over to the bed, grabbing the small bed tray to set his food on.

G.T. slowly moves up and I place the tray on his lap along with the food. “You need to stay here with me. Alright?” His voice pleads catching me off guard. I pause and stare at him, his face showing every bit of the plea.

“I’m here. No worries. Let’s eat.” I move to the desk and bring my plate to G.T’s side table. We eat in companionable silence. I can only get a little down, my appetite still not up to normal.

“That all you’re gonna eat, Angel?” He asks swallowing his food.

“I’m finished.”

“You hardly ate anything. Here.” He holds his fork out with turkey and mashed potatoes on it to my mouth expectantly. I roll my eyes, but open my mouth to take a bite. “See now that’s not so hard.”

“The ol’ ladies are good cooks.”

For the next fifteen minutes, G.T. takes two bites and then feeds one to me. Warmth floods my body at his sweet and kind gesture. My heart flutters threatening to fly out of my chest. I try not reading more into this than it is, but he is making it difficult.

After we are done, I clear the plates setting them on the desk after G.T. refuses to let me leave to take them back to the kitchen. I give G.T. his meds and he takes them without complaint.

“Harlow said I need to change your bandage. You alright with that.”

“Better question is, are you?” My spine stiffens and my face shows resolve.

“Of course I am. I can handle just about anything.”

I remove the bandages, seeing for the first time the wounds that could have ended his life. My gut clenches at the thought of losing him. It’s one thing to not be with him, it’s another to lose him forever. I clean and add the salve from Doc and bandage him all back up.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep. I’m gonna work on some homework.” I move around the bed to the desk sitting in the chair.

“I think we need to talk.” My blood runs cold; there is no way Harlow had the chance to talk to him without me around. I continue looking at the desk.

“About?”

“Angel, come sit down.” I blow out a deep breath the coldness in my veins heating fast, nerves begin to rack me.

I get up slowly and sit on the edge of the bed. He grips my hand tight and the most unexpected words fall from his lips.

“I lied.” I stare at him having no idea what he’s talking about. “I didn’t fuck that woman who came out of my room that day. I lied about that.”

I gasp and jump out of his grip moving quickly away from the bed. “Why would you do that?” I try my damnedest to hold back.

“I’m a fucking dumbass.” He grumbles and I wait. “Bam wanted you to go to school, get your degree.” He pauses. “And you need someone better. Someone who doesn’t live this fucked up life.”

Anger rises in my gut. Strength I thought I’d lost when I lost Mia comes back in full force. I move quickly to the other side of the room needing some space. “Fuck you! I needed you! I wanted you and only you! And I’m sure you fucked anything that came in front of you.”

“No.”

I stare at him. “So this whole fucking time, I thought you cheated on me. That I wasn’t enough for you! That my pussy didn’t satisfy you.” I turn away not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing the welled up tears. He does not deserve them.

“Not good enough?” G.T.’s voice reverberates through the room making me jolt. “You’re too good, Angel. Too perfect. With you, I don’t want anyone else. I don’t need anyone else.” I hear movement over by the bed.

“Do not get out of that bed.” I demand between clenched teeth. “You pass out again, I’m leaving your ass on the floor.”

“Angel. Look at me.”

“No.” I am not falling for this shit. “I saw you kiss her G.T. Don’t tell me that was a figment of my imagination.”

“That was a thank you peck. It wasn’t a kiss. She cleaned my room, Angel. That’s all.”

“So you’re telling me you never fucked her.” I bat the tears away focusing on the anger bubbling inside of me.

“I didn’t say that. It was before we got together.” He did this. If he wouldn’t have lied, I would have told him about Mia and I wouldn’t have lost her. It’s all his fault. “Look, I fucked up. I know it. Please come here.”

“It’s your fault. It’s all your fucking fault!” I scream so loud I think the walls will shudder. Fury races through my body and I cannot control anything, especially my mouth. My hands shake and my vision becomes hazy. “You’re the reason she’s gone. If you wouldn’t have lied and told me the truth, none of this would have happened!” I clench my fists wanting to punch something, mainly G.T.’s face.

“Who is she?”

“Mia!”

“Who in the hell is Mia? You’ve got me lost.” I don’t even register the confused look on his face because I don’t care. I don’t care about anything. Nothing.

“The day you told me I wasn’t good enough, you remember that? Well, it was the day I was coming to tell you I was pregnant!” His eyes widen. “Yeah. Your baby growing inside of me, but no, that happy moment got crushed because you were a fucking prick!” I scream.

“You’re carrying my baby?” His eyes move to my stomach, my very flat stomach, his forehead wrinkles. I hold on to the fury and grab it with both hands because if I break now, I’ll be in a pile on the floor. Fury is the only thing that can get me through this right now.

“Had G.T., had your baby growing inside of me.”

I turn to him and he straightens on the bed standing up to his full height, well over six feet. His face turns menacing and if I were anyone else, I’d probably be shitting myself right about now. But I’m not. I stand my ground.

“You mean to tell me you aborted my baby?” Each word comes out in rage, a small amount of spittle with each word. His words make me snap and lose all sense of reality.

“No, you fucking prick! No! I would never kill my baby!” I point to my chest to punctuate the word my. “I miscarried, you fucking asshole!”

He crosses his arms over his chest, wrinkles forming around his eyes like he’s in deep thought. My body is breathing so hard I’m beginning to feel light headed, but keep my head up. “You weren’t going to tell me. You fucking left here, carrying my baby and weren’t going to fucking tell me, Casey? What the hell is wrong with you?” He seethes.

I laugh not a happy one but a what-the-fuck-am-I-doing one. “I was coming back to tell you, even if you didn’t deserve to know. I was waiting until I found out if it was a boy or a girl!”

“You fucking said it was a girl.”

“I don’t know for sure. It’s what I think she was. I lost her before I could find out.” My grasp on the anger is beginning to slip, but I hold on by my fingertips.

“So if I wouldn’t have gotten hurt and Diamond wouldn’t have gotten killed, would you have even fucking told me? Or would you have just gone on living your happy little college life up north?”

“Fuck off. I’m done explaining myself to you. You know about her and your twenty-four hours is officially up in my book. Stay the hell away from me while I’m here.”

I walk to the door and grab the handle. “How do I even know the baby’s mine?” He questions from behind me snidely.