Who am I kidding? Going to school wasn’t exactly at the top of my to-do list either. I was in Morgantown for my mom and my mom only. I would have been happy finding a local tattoo shop to take me in, so I could do an apprenticeship. Any time that I’d talked to my mom about it, she’d shut me down almost instantly. I hadn’t even bothered to search for a local shop since I moved. There was no point in torturing myself. It’d been over two years since I’d added any new ink to my skin. That alone was driving me nuts. So, here I was, taking classes for a business degree that I didn’t give a damn about.

I pushed my thoughts away as I walked to Andy’s building. I didn’t need to worry about my career choice right now. I needed to focus on Emma. I just hoped that I could keep my cool long enough to find out what had happened since I left. I knew what Ally had told me, but I wasn’t convinced that she’d been completely honest with me.

I still had no idea why Emma was enrolled in school here. I was sure that she was now that I knew she was living in one of the school’s dorms. One other thing that didn’t make sense was the fact that she was living there instead of with Andy. His apartment was closer to campus than my house, so I knew it didn’t have anything to do with travel. I just hoped that Andy could give me the answers I was looking for. I needed something, so all of this would piece together in my head.

I slowly climbed up the steps to the second floor, trying to think of what I would say when I saw him. I needed answers, so I could let Emma go. Hell, if Andy can explain everything to me, I might even wish the two of them good luck—then again, maybe not. I didn’t think that I’d ever be able to accept the two of them together as a couple.

I stopped in front of his door and knocked. When no one answered, I knocked again, harder this time. A few seconds later, I heard the deadbolt sliding, and then the door opened.

Does he ever wear a shirt? It’s not like we’re in California anymore, I thought to myself when I saw him standing in front of me, shirtless.

“What do you want?” Andy asked icily.

“I wanted to talk for a few.”

“I’m busy.”

I ran my hand across my face as I leaned against the wall. “Look, I know you hate my guts, but I need some answers. I’m going nuts here.”

“I don’t have your answers, and like I said, I’m busy.”

He started to close the door, but I reached out and grabbed it before he could. “I won’t stay long, I promise.”

“Andy, who’s out there?” a girl asked as she appeared behind him.

It took me a minute to process the fact that she was wearing nothing but his shirt.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I shouted.

I knew Andy had slept around a lot in high school, but I assumed that he would stop since he was with Emma.

“You’re fucking around behind Emma’s back?”

“Who’s Emma?” the girl asked as she glared at Andy.

He opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it.

“She would be his girlfriend.”

“You asshole!” the girl shouted as she slapped him.

“Ouch! Damn it, Cassie! Let me explain. It’s not what you think.”

“I’m pretty sure I get the concept of what a girlfriend is, Andy. I wouldn’t have come here if I had known you were with someone.” She shoved him out of the way before walking out the door.

I stepped aside to let her pass me. If I wasn’t so pissed, I would have laughed at the fact that she was only wearing his shirt and no shoes or pants. As soon as she was out of the way, I pushed through the door and shoved him back. He stumbled back, and before he could regain his footing, I drew back and slammed my fist into his stomach.

“I’m going to kill you for hurting her,” I growled as I drew back again.

“Wait a fucking minute! Emma is not my girlfriend!” Andy wheezed.

“I’m not buying it. Try again.”

“I’m not kidding! Emma is my friend and my friend only. I love her—but not that way.”

I dropped my arm down to my side, unsure of what to do. I knew he was probably lying, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

“I think you need to explain to me what the fuck is going on,” I grumbled as I walked past him and sat down on his couch.

“Make yourself at home,” he said under his breath as he righted himself.

“I plan to.”

He walked over and dropped down on the opposite end of the couch. “Why the hell do you think I’m with Emma?”

“I saw you two together the night I followed Emma here. You punched me for her.”

“No, I punched you because you knocked up my sister and broke Emma’s heart.”

“But Ally said Emma was with you now. She said that Emma followed you when you came here to bring Ally back to California.”

“I didn’t even know Ally was here until we saw her one day. We didn’t come here for her.”

“Then, why did you come all this way?” I asked.

“I followed Emma here when she moved. She came here looking for you.”

I was going to strangle Ally with my bare hands. She’d lied to me about them cornering her when she was at work and about Emma being with Andy. I was starting to wonder if every word that had come out of her mouth was a lie. It certainly seemed that way.

“I’m so fucking confused,” I groaned.

“It’s not that hard to figure out, asshole. Emma has been looking for you since Ally admitted that you hadn’t slept with her. Emma came to WVU, hoping that she would find you here.”

“She doesn’t think I slept with Ally?” I asked, shocked at what he was saying. Emma came all this way just to find me?

“She didn’t—until we moved here and found out you had knocked Ally up. That kind of ruined Emma’s plans to ask you to give her another chance,” Andy said as he glared at me.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, you fucked up big time. I can’t even process how bad you fucked up.”

“I have to talk to Emma. I have to get her back,” I said as I stood up.

Andy jumped to his feet and pushed me back down onto the couch. “You’re not going anywhere. Did you forget the little fact that you’re going to be a dad? I won’t let you leave my sister hanging while you run off into the sunset with Emma. Ally deserves better than that.”

I stared up at him, debating on what to do. Ally would never forgive me if I told her secret, but she’d lied to me over and over again to keep me from going back to Emma. I’d done everything I could to help Ally, and she’d stabbed me in the back the second she’d had the chance.

This was that pivotal moment in my life that would set everything following into motion. I could tell the truth and pray that Emma would take me back, or I could keep Ally’s secret and lose everything. Either way, someone was going to get hurt.

“The kid isn’t mine,” I blurted out. There—it’s out. There is no way I can take it back now.

Andy froze as he looked down at me. “What did you say?”

“I said, Ally’s baby isn’t mine.”

“How is that even possible? She told Emma that you are the dad.”

“That’s because Ally doesn’t want anyone back home to know what happened. She showed up this summer and begged me to help her. I agreed to tell anyone who asked that the baby is mine. I never thought that I’d ever see you or Emma again.”

“If you’re not the father, then who is?”

I shook my head. “I can’t tell you that. You need to ask Ally.”

“You’re going to tell me.”

“I can’t. Ally will never forgive me.”

“Jesse, if you don’t tell me, you’re not going to walk out of my apartment. You’re going to crawl.”

“She’s keeping it from you to protect you, and I agree with her. I know what you’ll do if you find out.”

“Jesse, she’s my fucking sister. I deserve to know what’s going on.” He stared down at me. “Or maybe you’re lying, so I’ll let you go after Emma.”

“I wouldn’t lie about this shit.”

I couldn’t believe that he thought that I would sink that low. If Ally’s kid were mine, I would never abandon her like that. I knew what it was like to grow up without a dad.

“I don’t know what to think about you anymore, Jesse. Tell me what happened, or I’ll make sure Emma never speaks to you again. She hates you so much at this point that it wouldn’t be hard to get her to ignore you.”

“This is bullshit! You’re asking me to tell you something that could get you killed!”

“Tell me what the hell is going on!” Andy roared.

“Fine, but if something happens to you, it’s not on my conscience. Ally was raped back in California by one of the bikers. I don’t know which one. She never told me.”

Andy’s mouth dropped open in shock as he sat down beside me on the couch. “Why wouldn’t she tell me something like that? I could have helped her.”

“There was no way you could have helped. It had already happened.”

“Then we should have called the police. Or I could have killed the guy myself.”

“We both know how dangerous those guys are. He threatened to kill her if she told. Even if the cops caught him, he has brothers who would have killed her. If you had gone after him, you would have died. When she found out she was pregnant, running was the only option she had.”

“I don’t even know what to say. I’ve wanted to kill you for getting her pregnant when I should have thanked you for helping her.”

“She’s like my sister, too. I would do anything to protect her.”

“This is a fucking mess,” he groaned. “I still want to kill that fucker. I wish she would have told you his name.”

“So, you could go and get yourself killed? I don’t think so. There’s nothing we can do at this point, except help her. She loves that baby already, so we just have to be there to support her. I would like to kill her for lying to me though. I knew something was up when I realized Emma was a student here.”