Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

I must drift off, because I wake with a jolt when a hand lands on my shoulder. "Babe, wake up. We're here." Orlando's voice seeps through my foggy brain.

"What?" I open my eyes. I'm in my car, and then the events of the day come back to me.

Orlando. Sebastian. All of it.

"We're home. Wait here. I'm going to get Sebastian out and then I'll come help you." Orlando jumps out of the car before I can respond. I turn my head and watch as he stares at the car seat.

"You need to unclip it, at the top. Pull the lever and pick up the entire capsule. If you try to take him out, he'll wake up."

"And that's a bad thing? That he wakes up?" Orlando asks me.

"Not really, but I don't like waking him if he's sleeping."

"Okay, like this?" Orlando follows my instructions before looking back in my direction.

"Mhmm." I turn to look out the windshield and then it hits me. Where we are. Orlando's house. Shit. His mother is here. She's going to hate me. His entire family is going to hate me. Not that I don't deserve it. "Maybe I should just stay here," I suggest when Orlando opens my door.

"Why would you do that?" He carefully places the car seat on the ground. Sebastian is sound asleep. He doesn't even stir with the movement.

"Because your mom is in there," I tell him.

"And that's a problem because…?"

"Well, I don't know. She's not going to like me."

"Aleeka, everyone likes you. It's hard not to. Besides, it doesn't matter if she likes you or not, because you're family. Come on." He holds out a hand to me.

He keeps saying that I'm family. I've never had family other than my dad. Both of my parents were only children, and their parents had passed when I was still really young. It's always just been my dad and me. And now Sebastian.

Reluctantly, I take Orlando's hand. "Aren't you nervous?" I ask him. I wish I could adopt his cool and calm persona, even just long enough to get me through the awkwardness that's bound to ensue when I step inside that house.

"They're my parents. Are they going to be in shock? Yes. Is my mother going to start planning our wedding? More than likely. But we'll deal with it. Together," he says.

I freeze. "Wedding? But we're not… I mean, you and me, we're not… We need to stay friends," I tell him.

Orlando frowns at me. "Friends?"

"Yes, for Sebastian's sake. That's if you want to try out this whole co-parenting thing. We shouldn't complicate things," I say.

"Friends?" Orlando repeats.

"You're saying the word like it's a bad thing. Why can't we be friends?" I ask him.

"We're not going to work as friends," he says.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't tend to want to fuck my friends. And you… I very much want to—no, need to fuck you." His words send chills through me, and I don't think my weak knees have anything to do with my illness right now.

"I think I need to lie down," I choke out, unsure how to respond to that declaration.

"Let's do this," Orlando says while squeezing my hand. I look down at our joined palms, realizing he hasn't let go. Even when I was telling him we need to be friends and nothing more.

Then again, I haven't pulled away either. I'm blaming the delirium of being sick for the reason his touch, such a simple touch at that, is giving me comfort. It's not something I have time to dwell on anyway. As soon as Orlando opens the front door, his mother comes barreling towards us.

"Orlando Valentino, you have some explaining to do," she says before quickly stopping short. Her eyes zone in on the baby carrier in his hand. "What? Who is this?" she asks in a much quieter voice.

"Ma, this is Sebastian. Your grandson. Our son." Orlando squeezes my hand again and turns the car seat around to show Sebastian to his mother.

"What? How?" Mrs. Valentino shakes her head from side to side.

"I think you know how they made him, Katy." Mr. Valentino chuckles as he enters the foyer behind his wife.

"You knew about this?" Mrs. Valentino turns to glare at her husband, who holds up his hands in a surrender motion.

"Just found out about an hour ago."

"And you didn't think to tell me that our son was bringing home a baby?" she counters.

"Didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Show me. Can I hold him?" Mrs. Valentino turns to me.

I stand here like an idiot. Everyone's focus is on me as they appear to wait for my answer. She's asking me for permission. My eyes well up. It's a small thing, but it means the world to me that she asked.

I nod my head. "He'll probably wake up, but you can take him out of the carrier," I tell her.

Orlando sets the car seat on the floor. Before his mom can get to Sebastian, Orlando unbuckles our son and carefully scoops him up, kissing his forehead before passing him to his mother. "Don't drop him."

"Orlando, I carried you around for three years without dropping you. I think I know what I'm doing," Mrs. Valentino scolds her son, then quickly returns her attention to me. "He is absolutely beautiful."

I smile, but I'm starting to feel weak. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay upright. Orlando seems to sense my discomfort and takes hold of my hand again.

"Aleeka needs to lay down," he says.

"I have the chef making you soup, sweetie. Come on, let's get you settled." His mom walks off towards the stairs with Sebastian in her arms.

Orlando and I follow as Mrs. Valentino makes her way into his room. I want to argue that I can't sleep in here, but I'm too tired and I remember just how comfortable that bed was.

Orlando pulls the blankets back. "I have your pills. You need to take them," he says as he tugs the bottle of medication from his pocket.

I don't want to take the pills. I'm afraid of not being able to wake up if Sebastian needs me.