Read Online Outer Core by Sigal Ehrlich - Free Book Online

fire.
    â€œFuck’s sake.” He inhales through his nose. “Hales, baby, believe me when I say, you should not be involved in this. It’s nothing .”
    â€œCan you stop for a second?” My quills stand at attention. “What in the hell is going on?” My eyes bore into his. “What shouldn’t I be involved in exactly?”
    He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Some gold-digger claims I’m the father of her child.” Daniel’s face stones over while his eyes take a quest to disclose what goes on in my mind.
    â€œWhy would she even say, claim, something like that? Did you . . . D-Does she have, ah, anything to base it on?” I desperately wish I could close my eyes and erase seeing the flinch across his face I just witnessed. My body tightens as though preparing for the impending punch.
    â€œIt’s that woman I—the one I was with when we broke up.” He takes a step toward me, and I take an involuntary one back. “Hales, I promise you nothing’s there but an attempt to get some money, or publicity, or I don’t know what.”
    â€œHow can you be so sure? W-what if she’s really pregnant?” I blink at him, the words leaving my mouth tasting bitterly surreal. This can’t be happening. Not now, not when we’re . . . It’s supposed to be our child. I feel sick.
    â€œIt’s not mine, Hayley. It's all about money.” His answer comes out coated with irritation.
    â€œHow do you know? How can you be so sure? What if you’re wrong?” My eyes hold his, shooting unspoken warnings. I lift my hand. “Daniel, I wear this ring because I am planning to marry you someday. I want to know what I’m in for.” The intensity of our locked stare is about to spark by shorting. “ Not that it would make me change my mind . But what if you have a child out there? What kind of a man, person, would it make you not to at least find out?”
    His teeth graze his bottom lip repeatedly, his eyes narrowed at me. “It’s not mine, Hayley. You want me to go into details? I was covered when we . . .”
    I close my eyes. The content of my stomach shooting up my throat. I open them, giving him a hard look. “You can’t be sure! This is not a gut feeling situation.” I raise my voice. “Accidents happen! It’s something you have to find out.” I’ve long abandoned my attempt at keeping myself composed.
    Daniel’s eyes morph from riled to majorly pissed. “You know what, if it's so important to you, I'll have a goddamn paternity test.” His voice takes a louder, rougher tone. “Find out if by any miracle I'm the goddamn incarnation of the Holy Spirit and have impregnated this woman!” He takes another step and finally reaches me. Daniel sends his hand to my forearm. My physical response as I jolt back from his touch leaves us both in momentary shock. I give him another muddled look and turn to leave. My fleeting defense mechanism goes into gear. Not really knowing what I’m doing or where I’m going. Daniel follows me out of the room.
    â€œHales, if you are running away again, I . . .”
    I spin to face him. “You’re what, Daniel?”
    He closes his eyes, hanging his head down. He takes a deep breath and looks up at me. His voice lowers as he says, “If you think for a second I'm letting you run away again . . . We're way past this.”
    His words sober me up. “I’m not going anywhere.” My words almost a whisper. I look behind him at some indistinct point on the wall. “Some masochistic part of me wants you to walk me through that night.”
    â€œDon’t.” He shakes his head. “How did we even end up here?” comes an exhausted murmur.
    My livid stare darts to him. “What can I say? What led us to this point, Daniel? Well, your successful endeavor is hard to