I was a hundred percent sure I was the last face Marcus wanted to walk in and see sitting at the end of his brother's bed. It wouldn't surprise me if I was the last person he wanted to see in general.

Last night may have broken the ice that had been cooling on the top layer of our friendship for the last five years, but it had created an entirely new problem altogether. There was a tension that hung heavily in the room, so thick I was sure Zane could have taken a knife to it and it still wouldn't break.

"I borrowed Zai's car last night and had to return it." I whispered. Marcus dropped his intense gaze to the carpet.

"That doesn't explain why you're in his room dressed like a hooker."

"A hooker? Really, Mark? You seriously want to go there?" I shot up, feeling Zane's hand catch my forearm before I could move any further.

The younger Dryer brother shook his head. "You two need to calm down. It's been five years, get the fuck over it."

"Five years? You think that's what this is about?" Marcus asked his brother, laughing. "Bro, sorry to break your sad little heart, but your childhood crush here asked me to take her virginity last night."

Zane's cold expression didn't waver. "So? Mark, you need to get over yourself and sit down. Both of you are acting like children."

"I better go." I shook Zane's hand off.

"Paige, come on. You don-"

Marcus pressed his index finger into my chest, "You really are a slut. When I don't stay to do it, you jump right along to my brother, right?"

My hand came in contact with his face before I could stop it. Every ounce of anger, bitterness, and hurt that had tortured me for years rose to the surface and snapped through the barrier.

"That's what everyone wants to believe, isn't it, Mark? Why not make it true?" I shoved passed him, afraid any tears that were stinging my eyes would escape at any second.

I didn't make it to the hallway. He grasped my wrist and spun me around so I was facing his bare, broad chest.

"You destroyed my childhood, Marcus." I bit my lip. "I hated myself, I started to believe all the rumors you spread. Did that make you feel like a man? Knowing you forced a knife through my chest and betrayed my trust? That you ruined our friendship?"

He winced against my touch, as if my fingertips were poison that was seconds from seeping into his veins.

"They got out of control." his breath caught in his throat.

"The rumors about slipping your hands under my skirt and touching me, unclasping my bra, feeling every-"

"Stop." he growled.

"Every inch of my body. That I'd do anything for a guy if he gave me the time of day." I finished. "I just want to go home, Marcus. Please let me go."

My eyes fell on Zane over his shoulder as he sat on the edge of his bed. There was a hopeful look in his eyes as he watched his brother snake his arm around my waist and hug me against his chest; as if he believed this would dissolve any of the anger and bitterness that had built the brick wall around my heart over the last few years.

For a moment I let myself forget that I had Marcus' son at home, that he had stabbed my knife right through my back and destroyed my childhood. I forgot my entire reputation had been ruined in the blink of an eye. For those few minutes in the Dryer's hallway, I let myself feel safe in Marcus' arms for the first time in over five years.

*

My parents sat opposite each other on the couch. Mom's head was bowed, cradling a bundle of blue blankets against her. Dad watched my brother building ships with Legos at his feet silently. Looking back and forth between them, distanced on either side of the couch, it was almost as if they were no longer in the same reality. The middle cushion of the couch divided them to a point that they acted like the other didn't exist.

Gently pushing the door shut behind me, I moved toward my mom. "Is . . . what happened?"

"Your father spoke with a detective, but nobody wants to take the case. They believe the situation can be resolved on its own." she responded.

I spun on my heel to face my dad, shaking my head in desperation.

"Dad, we need to-"

"There's nothing I can do, Paige. Legally, Marcus should have custody of the child since the mother abandoned him."

Vague flashes of the once in a life time hug I'd shared with Marcus in his hallway bounced around in my head for a moment before I was able to recollect my thoughts.

"What if I want to adopt him? Can I-"

"You aren't over eighteen." Dad cut me off mid-sentence.

My eyes darted back toward my mother. "Mom, can't you-"

"Absolutely not." my dad rose, dark eyes on me. "Your mother is not going to take in a child that is not hers. We can hardly keep a roof over our heads as it is, Paige. What makes you think we can do it with three children?"

"I'll get a job." I offered, dropping my jacket and purse on to the arm of the loveseat. "Two even. I'll pay for all his necessities, I'll help with the rent. Please don't send him into foster care or an adoption agency."

I had no doubt I had convinced my mom; or maybe she had fallen in love with the baby boy already and would jump at any opportunity she had to make the next step toward the legality side of adopting him.

"Does this sudden interest in having your own child have to do with the boy being Marcus'?" Dad questioned, crossing his arms. I held his intense stare with a grimace.

"It has nothing to do with the child being Mark's. I don't want that baby to have to go through the torture of never being able to be in a stable home. Even if he were to find a decent one, who's to say he wouldn't be abused, neglected; that he wouldn't wander off once he was old enough and come find Marcus only to hear he never wanted him in the first place?"

My parents stared, dumbfounded, as the bitter words escaped me. Marcus had made a comment last night, about not wanting to get me pregnant. Had he even cared when he had sex with the mother of his child? Had he ever considered the fact that not using protection would result in him having a son he would never know about?

What kind of person did it make me not telling him?

"I'm sorry, Paige. Caring for an infant is much more-"

"Much more what, Dad? I've taken care of Pete for the last five years." I gestured toward my brother's neck craned in our direction, blue eyes shining with curiosity.

"I can do it." I assured, stepping forward so there was only a small gap between the two of us. "I will take care of him, Dad. I'll be his mother and-"

"What about school?" he demanded angrily. "What about colleges? What are you going to do when you graduate in May? If you're willing to take this child in, raise him as your own, you will become his legal guardian as soon as you turn eighteen. You will provide for this child, you will not throw him on your mother and me because you get tired or angry. That boy will become your son. He will stand in the way of you and your academic career, he will become your life. Are you ready for that kind of obligation, Paige?"

I lowered myself on to the loveseat, my sweaty palms flat against my knees, breathing ragged. I felt as if the wind had just been knocked out of me. I wanted what was best for the baby, but there was a part of me that also wanted what was best for me. I wanted to go to a great college, get a great job, then meet the perfect guy and start a family once I had a good career and a steady income.

There was also a small fraction somewhere in my heart that knew there would come a day, keeping the baby or not, that I had to tell Marcus. Even through all the crap, the agony, he put me through, I didn't want to keep the fact that he was a father from him for the rest of our lives. It could also prevent another accidental pregnancy.

"Paige." my mom's voice tore through my thoughts. She held the baby boy so he was facing me, hands outstretched in my direction as he grabbed at the air.

I took in a deep, shaky breath, and crossed the room to sit beside my mother. She smiled warmly and laid the baby in my arms, fixing the position of them until it was correct. When I looked down into the baby's eyes, I didn't have a decision anymore. He had been through a lot the last twenty-four hours, a lot he wouldn't remember in a few years. He didn't have a mother, she had abandoned him with no more than a note to not tell Marcus. He didn't have a father; he wouldn't ever know he existed if I went through with the demand on the sticky note.

"I'll call Darren down at the hospital." my dad sighed. I could see the look of defeat on his face slowly twist into disappoint as he headed down the hallway to his bedroom. My mom rested her head against my shoulder, fingers caressing my hand.

"You'll be a great mother." she assured, kissing my temple. After a moment of silence she turned her attention to the baby in my hands. "What are you going to name him?"

It didn't take long for a name to come to mind. "Liam."

"Why Liam?" Mom was genuine shocked by my quick response.

"It's the name of the baby Mrs. Dryer lost a few years ago." I whispered. My mother nodded and turned her attention back to Liam in my arms. He squirmed a little, catching me off guard. I hugged him against me to keep my hand from slipping, laughing quietly. My little brother hopped on to the couch beside me and stared down at the new edition that would soon reside in the corner of my bedroom once I cleared half of it out.

"Hey there, baby Liam." my mom brushed the back of her index finger along his rosy cheek. "Welcome to the family." 

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought! 

~ChasingMadness24