~~the next day~~
"Ash! I'm going out to run some errands," Nick yelled upstairs.
"Okay, where are you going?" Ashleigh asked, from the bathroom.
"Just to town, that's all," Nick lied.
"OKay, see you later, sweetheart," she said.
"Bye," Nick called, as he shut the door. Ashleigh turned off her hairdryer. He was lying. She knew it. But what was he lying about? She couldn't think of anything. She shrugged it off and finished drying her hair. She then gathered all her dirty clothes and put them in a laundry basket and grabbed some of Nick's pants to wash. She cleaned out his pockets and put the miscellaneous things on his dresser. She was about to walk downstairs but something caught her eye. It was a note Nick made for himself on a piece of paper that was folded in his pocket. It read: Mocha Cafe, 12:30 JADA. Ashleigh wrinkled her eyebrows. Jada? Who was Jada? And why didn't Nick tell her about her? And why was Nick meeting her there at 12:30? Ashleigh sat down on their bed. She knew he was lying about something. Was he cheating on her? She thought back to the past couple weeks. Nick was gone on business for two weeks while Ashleigh stayed home because of work. She usually went with Nick on the road but it was the first time she didn't. She remembered Gwen telling her how AJ would go bad when Gwen wasn't with him. Ashleigh gasped. Nick cheated on her while he was gone and is now seeing this girl while he was home. Her body filled with rage and anger. She felt like throwing something against the wall and breaking it into a million pieces. She looked over at his wallet that laid on the table and got a better idea.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nick had a hat and sunglasses on as he waited outside for Jada. He wasn't sure who to look for because he erased her face from his memory a long time ago. He then saw someone walk toward him. She was a tall brunette and had dark circles under her eyes. Even though she appeared to be 23 or 24, her face made her look nearly 35. She looked sad and tired. She spotted Nick and walked up to him. There was weirdness between them and Nick didn't know how to greet her. This girl caused him to lie to the girl he loved and devoted his life too. Jada wasn't one of Nick's favorite people.
"Hello Nick," she said, slowly.
"Hi Jada," Nick greeted.
"Let's go into the park," Jada said, meaning the park across the street from the cafe. The two crossed the street and walked to a park bench. They sat down and Jada took a deep breath.
"Nick...I came to tell you something."
"What?" he asked.
"Nick..that night, something happened," Jada said, not being able to look him in the eye. Nick didn't know what to think and waited for the rest of what she had to say. After what seemed like forever, Jada said it. "I got pregnant."
Nick's life stopped. Everything around him seemed to disappear as he repeated the words Jada just said. Pregnant. He started to breath again and tried to collect his thoughts.
"We used protection," Nick stated, dumbfounded.
"The condom broke, Nick." Nick's breathing stopped. What was he going to do? "His name is Connor," Jada told him. "He's two."
Nick looked at her and tears formed in his eyes. He was a dad. He had a son named Connor. He bit his lip hoping he'd wake up from the dream he was having.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.
"I couldn't. You had a girlfriend and a career I couldn't mess with. I knew I would ruin your life," Jada said.
"I would have supported you. I would have been there," Nick said, wiping away his tears.
"I know. I couldn't. Then when I realized I needed to tell you, I couldn't find you. It took me a year to track you down, Nick," she said.
"I'm sorry," Nick said, almost a whisper.
"Me too. I know that night was a one night deal and I know we both thought we'd never see each other again," Jada said.
"Then why did you all the sudden come back?" Nick asked. There was a long pause. Jada took in a deep breath.
"I'm sick, Nick," she said.
"Are you going to be okay?" Nick asked.
"No. I have a rare bone disease that makes me weaker everyday," she said. Nick didn't know what to say. He didn't love Jada but she was the mother of his son. He had a new respect for her. His life had changed drastically in the past five minutes. They sat in silence while Nick gathered his thoughts and sorted everything out.
"I want to meet my son," Nick said, suddenly.
"He wants to meet you too. I told him all about you and he's very proud of his daddy," Jada said, sadly. Nick felt his heart go to his throat. He was a daddy.
"Where is he?" he demanded.
"Right now, he's at my friends house. We're staying in Orlando, for now," Jada said.
"I'll come over tonight," Nick said. He got directions to her place and they stood up.
"We'll see you tonight," Jada said, as she walked away. Nick got into his car and sat there. For the first time in his life, he let tears fall freely from his face. He was a father. He was so scared but yet so in love with Connor. But he was scared about Jada leaving. He just received the most important news in his life and didn't know how to handle it. He didn't know what to say to Connor when he meets him. He didn't know how to be a father. And most importantly, he didn't know what in the world to tell Ashleigh.
