TRAVIS
As the elevator whisks me up to the penthouse, blood rushes to my ears the higher I go. My pulse is through the roof. I don't know how Paige is going to take what I'm about to tell her, but I can't keep dodging it.
I let myself into my apartment and everything is still.
"Paige?" I call out. No one answers.
Maybe she's gone.
I walk over to the kitchen and see that her bag is where she put it down when she arrived earlier in the evening. So I walk into my bedroom, which is when I hear retching coming from my bathroom.
I rush over and see Paige doubled over the toilet.
I get on my knees and rub her back. "Paige..."
She reaches behind her and pushes me away.
"Get off me," she says in between heaves.
I fall back and land on my ass. I guess she's still angry at me for leaving the way I did.
I climb up to my feet and consider apologizing, but this isn't the time for it. So I just stand there and watch until she finishes emptying her stomach into the toilet.
When it looks like she's done, I ask, "Are you okay?"
She doesn't answer me. She stands up and walks over to the sink where she rinses out her mouth and washes her face. She dries off and then walks past me and into the living room.
I follow.
By the time I get there, she is sitting on the couch, legs and arms crossed, staring at me. More hostile than I've ever seen her.
"Where have you been?"
"I just needed to clear my head and blow off some steam. I'm sorry, I didn't know you weren't feeling well."
"Why? If you had known would you have stayed?"
"Of course, I would have." She huffs but I go and sit next to her, regardless of the ire radiating off her. "I'm so sorry. I handled everything poorly. Please forgive me. It won't happen again."
She turns and stares at me before she says, "You had a visitor while you were out."
That's a weird change of subject. "Oh yeah? Who was it?"
"Your ex-wife."
Fuck.
"Felicity?"
"Yes, unless you have another ex-wife you haven't told me about."
I swallow hard. "What did she want?"
"She had some party she needed to attend and wanted to know if you would be able to watch your son while she went."
I put my hands up in defense. "Paige, it's not what you think."
She shoots to her feet and starts yelling. "It's not what Ithink? Travis, you have a son. You have a child and you didn't tell me. How fucked up is that?"
I climb to my feet as well. "It's more complicated than that."
She laughs incredulously. "How is it complicated? You have a son. You should've told me. The end. It's not that hard. 'Paige, I have a son, and his name isTravis Junior.' See! It's not that hard."
"Paige, please, let me explain." I step up to her and grab her by the upper arms.
She slaps my hands away. "Don't touch me!"
I take a deep breath, then say, "I didn't know."
Her eyebrows draw together. "You didn't know you had a son with your ex-wife? What, are you claiming amnesia?"
"No, I am not. Felicity was pregnant when we got divorced but she didn't tell me. She showed up on my doorstep a few weeks ago with TJ and announced to me that I was a father. I had no idea he existed before that."
"Really?" She asks, her voice a fraction calmer.
"Yes. I swear that's what happened."
"Is this why you've been acting weird recently?"
"Yes, it is."
"So why didn't you just tell me? I mean, I asked you about it and you lied to my face."
"Honestly, I didn't tell you because I didn't know how you would react."
"Wow." She throws her hands up. "It's great to know what you really think of me. First, I am judgmental. Now, I'm some sort of monster who wouldn't understand all this and would hold it against you."
"That's not it. That's not it at all. It's not that I didn't think you could handle it, it's just that it's a lotto process and you had a lot going on with your mom. I was worried that you would think it was too much."
"Please, don't use my mother's illness as an excuse for what you've done."
"I swear, I'm not. In fact, I was coming back here to tell you."
She laughs. "How stupid do you think I am? After you've been caught red-handed you expect me to believe that you were coming to confess?"
"Yes, I do expect you to believe it, because I have never lied to you. Not even once."
"No? Then what do you call this? Because a lie of omission is just as bad as a lie. Maybe even worse."
I feel a migraine starting to build behind my eyes. I massage my temples and close my eyes. "Paige, can you blame me considering how you're reacting right now?"
"What did you just say to me?" She narrows her eyes.
"Yes, I fucked up, but your reaction is a bit much, don't you think?"
"I'm sorry, how am I supposed to react when I find out the man I have been seeing formonthsfailed to tell me he has a child with another woman?"
"I told you that I just found out myself. It's not as if I hid him from you for our entire relationship. This was news to me too."
She shakes her head. "Listen, I can't keep going back-and-forth like this with you. In fact, I can't do this anymore. This is too much. I am drawing the line here."
"What do you mean?"
"I think we should break up."
My heart stops. "And there it is...."
"And there what is?"
"The reason you're flipping out. Using this as an excuseto end things between us. We can work through this, but no, you want to run away."
"How dare you say that to me?"