All I Need: Rod & Daisy (All Of Me Duet Book 2) by A.D. Justice (electric book reader txt) 📕

bolt from my seat and start pacing the room, back and forth at a speed that rivals Olympic runners.

She’s still talking, but I have no idea what she’s saying. Not one word makes it to my ears intact. Broken syllables and incoherent sounds are all that surround me. She said she’s a match. A lifesaving, future-altering, ray of sunshine in a bleak world, tissue match. Then she snatched that hope away from me with one word. “But.” Then she revealed a little surprise—she’s pregnant. Is the baby even mine? She was seeing some other guy after our island excursion.

“Let me get this straight. You’ve known for weeks you’re a tissue match for my dying sister, but you only decided to share that piece of crucial information with me tonight. Why? Why would you keep that from me?” I’m glad the kids are sound asleep upstairs because I can’t control the volume of my voice. “We promised each other total honesty. That’s what you wanted, and I’ve kept up my end of the deal. But you break it with… with… this?”

“I’ve been wrestling with this myself, Rod. It’s been a lot to take in—”

“Don’t patronize me. Accepting my sister’s death is a lot to take in, but I still talked to you about it.”

“You’re right, you did. I’m sorry for waiting so long to tell you everything. There hasn’t been a clear-cut, easy path for me in any of this. I want to save Juliana too.”

“But you can’t because you’re pregnant.” I can’t stop the accusing tone that escapes my lips.

Her lips part and she gasps as if the wind was just knocked out of her. I’ve wounded her in my tirade. But she wounded me first. “That’s right. They can’t extract bone marrow until after the baby is born.”

“And when will that be? How far along are you? How much longer does Juliana have to suffer and try to hold on to a tiny spark of life?” Daggers fly from my eyes as I mentally calculate the number of weeks we’ve been together. “Is it even mine?”

She hesitates.

“Of course it’s yours, and you damn well know it. If I’m right, I’d say I’m about three and a half months along now.”

Her answer is totally unexpected.

“Wait. That means you’ve been pregnant since Punta Cana. But you didn’t know before the tissue type testing a couple of weeks before Christams?”

“That’s right—on both counts. I had no idea. The birth control I was on stopped my periods completely, other than some spotting here and there. There’s always a small chance of still getting pregnant, but since you also used protection, I had no reason to worry. But there was that one time in the shower… I guess once is all it took.”

Something still seems off here. What do I not know?

“What else, Daisy? What do you not want to tell me? There’s something else, I can feel it in my gut.”

She wipes her palms on her pants and rocks back and forth in her seat. “Tracy isn’t pregnant. The test you found was mine. She went along with it to protect me. Christmas Eve morning, I had a frank conversation with Kevin to explain why Tracy was lying for me. I also told him I was considering terminating the pregnancy so I could be a donor for Juliana right away, but I didn’t want to tell either of you and ruin your Christmas.

“Jules walked in, overheard what I’d said, and expressly forbade me from even telling you that was an option. She wants to meet her niece or nephew. But she wasn’t the only reason I considered not having the baby. You and I aren’t exactly on the same page all the time, and I simply didn’t know how you’d handle the news and extra responsibilities.”

Her words seep into my soul and I feel like I’m an atom bomb about to explode. “I have to get out of here for a while. Please stay with the kids until I return. At this moment, I can’t say when that will be. I need space and time alone to think, get all this sorted out in my mind, and calm down.”

Though I’ve used my calm, direct, boardroom tone, every cell inside me is like a miniature volcano, continuously erupting, spewing hot lava into my veins and keeping me on edge. I may eventually erupt and release all this pent-up frustration that’s been buried deep inside me since I was a kid.

“Um, okay. Are you coming back tonight?” Her voice is timid, like the expression I see in her eyes.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back. I don’t know what I’m doing. All I know is I need to go. Somewhere. Anywhere away from here.” I grab my keys and stomp toward the garage door.

“Don’t do this to us, Rod. We’re one beating heart. Remember what you said? Remember your promises? Please don’t tear us apart. I need you as much as you need me. We’re in this together now.”

Despite her words and her pleas, I turn and walk out the door. Seated in my car, I floor the gas pedal and speed off into the night. On autopilot, I let my subconscious take me to the place where I need to go. Before long, familiar surroundings flood my senses, and I pull over to the side of the road to park.

I’m in my old neighborhood where I grew up with my mom, dad, and sister all under the same roof. A time when life made more sense plays like a movie in my mind. Before Juliana became sick the first time. Before my dad split. Before my mom died. A time when I was allowed to be a carefree kid who was loved by his family and had no reason to distrust the entire world. When I felt safe, secure, and protected by my parents’ love.

This area is mostly dilapidated houses now. These homes fell into disrepair during the real estate market collapse and