Lonely Hearts Won't Break

SIXTEEN｜OVER

Madison cleared her throat and slid a copy of the awaited paternity results before Layla and I's lawyers, who sat next to us on opposing sides of the table. Since we settled into our seats no one had uttered a word outside of a simple hello or good morning, and something in the air told me we still wouldn't have much to say once the words in fine print were shared aloud.

As eager as I had been for over a week now to know the truth, in the lingering seconds leading up to Madison's lips falling ajar and Jasper propping the paper between his fingertips for presentation to us both, I no longer was. In my mind, neither possible scenario at hand was ideal - raising a newborn and soon to be kindergartener with my unfaithful ex-wife that I could barely tolerate or raising the soon to be kindergartener with my unfaithful ex-wife that I could barely tolerate, knowing she almost pinned a child birthed from her infidelity on me. Either way, I still had to interact with her for the rest of my life. Either way, I still had to deal with an unpleasant aftermath.

The back and forth of weighing my shitty options made my stomach churn. The urge to vomit was debilitating, hunching me over into my lap as Madison's voice finally aligned with the italicized passage two paragraphs down. The few lines my eyes could barely concentrate on.

"The alleged father is excluded as the biological father of the tested child. This conclusion is based on the non-matching alleles observed at the STR loci listed above with a DI equal to 0. The probability of paternity is 0%".

My attention dribbled down to the watch hanging from my wrist. It was 10:04 a.m..

I woke up at 7 and stopped by the shop to cut a client's hair before jumping on the train to come here, not having even a second to eat or grab a cup of caffeine. The last thing I can remember eating was a bowl of greasy ass fettuccine alfredo the evening before, evening being 8..ish? p.m., maybe. So I assume that was what crept up my throat and had me jumping from my seat to gag over the nearest garbage can.

As I held on tightly to the edges of the metal container lined with a plastic bag, my ears whooshed like waves hitting a shore, thumping and drowning out the worried murmurs floating around the room. But nothing was worse than the bitter taste burning the back of my throat. It was so terrible I was helplessly retching every few seconds just to get rid of it.

A helping hand fell onto my shoulder and squeezed it warmly as the heaving slowly subsided and the only thing left in me was air.

Barely.

"Take a deep breath, Dallas." Madison persuaded. "Slowly, slowly."

My actions mirrored her instructions and gathered me enough to stand up and finally open my eyes again. After a few more seconds of allowing the room to settle on its axis, we both returned to the table where everyone's focus was on me, except Layla's. Madison's brow perked up, her face soft and radiating concern.

"I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

My eyes fell into slits. What do you think?

"Okay, loud and clear." She muttered before carrying on. An awkward chuckle seemed to be the remedy to the moment as Madison quickly opened up the lone manilla folder at the center of the table, then hauled out two stacks of freshly printed paperwork. "Well, now that we know the results, the second settlement we created for this case will be the one you both will sign today. Every section requiring a signature is labeled with red tabs. From my understanding, your lawyers have read over it via the email sent following the paternity test. If that is correct, we can get this thin-"

"Wait!" Layla shouted into the air. "Wait. Dallas? Can you look at me, please?"

"Nah, I'm straight."