I’m not confused.

This isn’t a joke.

That’s his kid.

His walking, talking kid. A person. A child I’ve never heard a single reference to.

The blonde catches up and leans in, ruffling the kid’s hair. The movement causes Sawyer’s eyes to turn in my direction, landing on me. It jabs my stomach like a professional blow.

I whirl around, heading back to the crosswalk, but the light is green and cars are whizzing past. I’m trapped on this side of the street, at least for another couple minutes, which is a lifetime too long. I run down the stairs instead, the stairs leading to the subway, enclosed by a fancy glass ski-slope-looking structure from the street. I grab a handrail as I race down the steps. I probably need another twenty steps before I can disappear from view. Focus. One foot in front of the other.

“Everly!”

Oh, he wants to talk now? Yeah, no.

I hit the bottom step and freeze, unsure which way to turn. I’ve never actually used the Philadelphia subway system before. I quickly figure out the flow of pedestrian traffic though, and fall in line, blindly following the people in front of me. Until we reach a turnstile and I realize I don’t have a transportation card or whatever one needs to swipe to make the gate lift and grant me escape. I stop dead, causing the person behind me to knock into me with an, “Oof.”

I mutter an apology and move to the side and I have a full three seconds of hope that I’ve ditched Sawyer before he’s there, his hand on my arm.

I throw up on his shoes.

He holds my hair, a perfect gentleman, while I throw up everything that I’ve eaten today on his stupid shoes.

“Now you’ve ruined Pringles for me too. I hate you!” I push away from him, wiping my mouth with my sleeve, and walk back to the stairs. I go up a lot slower than I went down. Arms crossed over my chest, chin down. He’s right behind me. I know he’s there but he’s quiet, just following me.

I get back to ground level and look around. The blonde and the little boy are gone.

“Where’d they go?” I circle back to him in a flurry. “They were just here, I saw them.”

Wait. Maybe I’m just crazy. Like I’m having a mental break or something. I probably need a head CT.

“I sent them home, back to my place.”

No, not crazy. He’s a dick.

“Everly, please,” he says, bringing my attention to his face. “I’m sorry.”

His face, that’s the Sawyer I know. Sincere. Honest.

“What in the hell is going on?” I ask him, my eyes darting back and forth across his face.

“Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? Fuck you, Sawyer.” I shove a finger in his chest. “Why is that kid calling you Daddy? Who is that woman? You can’t be married. Finn wouldn’t have been happy for us when we started dating if you already had a wife. My brother would have mentioned it for sure. Unless you’ve been hiding her in another city. Oh, my God. Do you have a secret family, Sawyer? Or did you already replace me with a new girlfriend? With a kid who calls you Daddy? How long has this been going on?”

“Okay. Slow down, breathe.” He nods to the cafe across the park. “Let’s sit.”

I shake my head.

“I didn’t want you to see that. Him. I…” He trails off. “You can’t spy on my kid, Everly.”

His kid. I swallow the lump in my throat and fight to keep my knees steady.

“Fine. Let’s sit.”

We walk over to the cafe in silence, Sawyer opening the door for me while I grab a table in the corner and sit. He brings a tray of drinks over a few minutes later, setting it down on the table between us. Bottled water, hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate. I take a swig of water then pull the tea cup between my fingers.