The Only Exception [BoyxBoy]

26 | love on the brain

I'm fist fighting with fire

Just to get close to you

Chapter 26 ~ Love on the Brain

Ryan Rivera

Breathe, Ryan ... breathe.

It took a lengthy moment for me to regain my composure after hearing words that I never thought I would hear come out of Bobby's mouth—which, oddly enough, wasn't even the strangest of things that I imagined would come out his mouth. Respond, not react, I had to tell myself as I sucked in a deep breath before flicking my eyes open to meet his worried gaze. Apparently, staying silent was the appropriate move because all it did was make Bobby more concerned.

"You're mad," Bobby mused. He began to chew on his bottom lip nervously. "Ry, oh my god, please don't be mad."

"I am not ... mad." And it was the truth. Bobby was infamously known for putting his foot in his mouth, so I knew I needed to let him explain before jumping to any conclusions. "I'm just confused. Why would you want to be the father? Bobby, you're sixteen and I love Liza to death, but her getting pregnant isn't your problem."

"But isn't it, though?" Bobby countered. He tore his gaze away from me and kicked his legs to hang off the side of my twin-sized bed. Any hope for intimacy was gone, now, as he hung his head low, letting his disheveled hair cover his forehead. "The only reason she got involved with Preston is because of me. If I had been a good boyfriend, it wouldn't never happened."

"Well, if you had been a good boyfriend, we wouldn't be together," I noted with a slight chuckle. At that very instant, Bobby snapped his head to burn holes into me with his threatening glare, and I swallowed a lump in my throat. "And that's super insensitive to say, I'm sorry."

"Her parents kicked her out," he continued, "and I want to help. I want her to stay at my place and help with the baby."

I couldn't decide if it was comforting or displeasing to hear Bobby say those words. The Bobby I knew would've never been so caring towards someone else so much as to sacrifice his own well-being, but then again, the Bobby I knew was gone and a much better, new-and-improved Bobby had replaced him.

And I loved that Bobby.

"Okay, then I'll help too."

Bobby's jaw dropped while simultaneously staring at me with turbulent brown eyes like I had just committed a heinous crime. "Are you kidding? Ryan, you're only sixteen and Liza getting pregnant isn't—" I narrowed my gaze at him, making his words end abruptly once he realized the irony behind them.

"So, you get to make dumb decisions and father kids that aren't yours, and I can't?"

"That's different! Won't your parents be mad?"

There was no doubt in my mind that my dads would be upset at me making yet another impulsive decision because of Bobby, but it wasn't just about Bobby. It was also about Liza, and even though I had always secretly envied her for getting to be close to Bobby in a way that I never could be ... well, the tables have certainly turned.

So, I shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be cool with it. They've done a lot worse at my age."

And somehow, that was all it took to let Bobby's sloppy grin return to his lips. "Wow, you're really the best." He leaned into me to plant a soft, but rather fleet, kiss on my lips and pulled away just as quickly. He stood up suddenly, then, and my eyes followed his every move as he gathered his belongings and stuffed them carelessly in his backpack as though he had forgotten we planned a very special event in my bed.