More Than This by Dominique Wolf

CHAPTER 16:

Giovanni

I

woke to the soft sounds of her breathing. She was no longer on my chest, but she had moved her head onto my pillow, sharing it with me. I turned to face her. She lay on her stomach facing me. She was in a deep sleep and I soaked in the moment. I couldn't believe she was in my bed again. That was the last thing I thought would happen tonight. Stray strands of hair fell forward and I slowly moved them behind her ear. I caressed her cheeks softly, careful not to wake her. I turned to face the ceiling trying to wrap my head around what happened. She sought me out after she thought I had taken Ali home. It bothered me that she thought so little of me. I thought I had made it clear that I was in love with her, and yet, she still believed I would do something like that. The thought of me with someone else was enough to get her to storm through my place though. She was also the one who kissed me first.

What did that mean? Did that change anything?

I wasn't sure, but all I knew was that I had missed her. I didn't want her to leave. I wanted her to stay in this bed with me forever.

A light buzzing from across the room caught my attention. Isabella didn't move - she was too deep in sleep to notice. I slowly moved off the bed and walked over to where her bag was. I opened it and it was her phone that was buzzing. I turned it over and Reyna's name flashed across the screen. I noticed it was well past midnight and figured Reyna was probably worried about where she was. The call ended, making that the fourth missed call.

I dialled Reyna's number as I slipped outside the room. After the second ring, I was greeted by Reyna's voice.

“Isabella! Joder, I've been worried sick ab-”.

I interrupted her. “It's Giovanni.”

She was silent on the other end and I didn't blame her.

“Reyna? Are you there?” I asked.

“I'm here. I'm just confused right now. Why do you have Isabella's phone?”

“Uh, she's here with me,” I mumbled awkwardly.

“What are you doing, Giovanni?”

I could just picture her rolling her eyes.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “She was the one who came to me.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Of course, she came to you. She's still in love with you.”

Hearing that brought on a quick rush of happiness, reminding me of the first time I heard Isabella say that.

“But this is a terrible idea. This isn't helping either of you at all. You need to let her move on.”

“I don't want her to move on, Reyna,” I retorted.

“I know that,” she muttered. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“I didn't want to say anything about this to Isabella in case it comes back with the results she doesn't want and I've gone and gotten her hopes up for nothing but why haven't you asked Casey for a paternity test?”

A paternity test?

I was surprised by her question, but I was more surprised that I hadn't thought of doing that in the first place.

“A paternity test?” I repeated.

“Yes, Giovanni, a paternity test. How do you know the baby is yours?”

“She said I was the father.”

She scoffed.

“I slept with her, Reyna,” I said sheepishly.

“Yeah and you were a fucking idiot for doing that,” she muttered.

“I kno-”.

“But surely there could be a chance that she's lying.”

As Reyna said it, I started to feel dumb for never having questioned Casey before. I was so wrapped up in my own guilt over this that I didn't even think of her as being someone that would lie about something like this. Surely she wouldn’t? It never crossed my mind but for the first time in days I felt a flicker of hope.

“And what if she's not lying and I've gone and gotten my hopes up for nothing?”

“You'll never know for sure unless you find out.”

“Can that be done while she's pregnant or do I have to wait till after the baby is born?” I asked. I was clueless about shit like this. I had never been in this situation before.

“I don't know,” she continued. “But listen to me carefully, you do not breathe a word of this to Isabella. There is still a strong possibility that the baby is yours and I would hate it if she got her hopes up for nothing. It would crush her.”

She was right. The last thing I would want to do is give false hope only to have everything ripped away from us again. I didn't even want to think too much about the possibility that this nightmare could be over. I had slept with Casey so it wasn't impossible to think the baby could still be mine.

“Giovanni?” Reyna brought me out of my own thoughts. “Promise me you'll keep this from her?”

“Yes, Reyna, of course.”

“Good. Now I'm assuming the reason you answered was that she must be asleep. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“I'll take care of her, Reyna.”

“I know you will,” she said. “And hey, for what it's worth, I really hope it works out for you two.”

“Thank you. Bye, Reyna.”

I disconnected the call and leaned against the wall, reeling from that conversation. Why the fuck didn't I think to ask for a paternity test? My initial reaction was to believe that Casey wouldn't lie about something like this and all the evidence pointed to it being true.

Careful Giovanni.

The voice in the back of my head warned me that this could still be a possibility and I had to treat it that way. I didn't want to think of that right now. I wanted to revel in the fact that the woman I love was in my bed again. I slipped back into the room and laid back against my pillow. Her eyes fluttered open briefly as she pulled herself onto my chest again. My arms wrapped around her and I hoped this moment would never end.