Fix You

Chapter 15

Carrie hadn't slept at all that night. She was too worried about her other half. The million thoughts swarming her brain haunted her, and each one made her worry a little more. She had called and texted to make sure he was okay, and when she received no response it scared her. She was debating whether or not she should go check on him at home, but she decided not to, too scared as to what she might be walking in on.

What if someone died? Was this just him coping? What if one of his friends was in trouble? The worst thought of all was constantly drilling in her head, and it stung to no end. What if he is cheating? The thought of that made her stop breathing.

When Mike arrived at her doorstep the morning after, Carrie knew she was going to get answers. She knew she wanted answers, but she thought maybe it was better if she forgot about it, that way she wouldn't find herself in a pile of hurt.

"I need to talk to you," Mike said as soon as she opened the door. His eyes looked dead inside, as if there were no signs of life. He was usually lit up around Carrie, and all you could see was the love he had for her. But something was different that morning.

They made their way into the living room, Carrie taking a seat on the couch, Mike taking a seat in the hassock in front of her. He so badly just wanted to hold her and cuddle with her like they did all of the time, but there was something in him holding him back.

"Look, I don't know what happened last night or if there's another girl or something, but if you could just please just save me the hurt and tell me now so we can get this out of the way-" Carrie started to ramble, a fresh batch of tears forming in her eyes.

"Care," Mike stopped her, immediately placing his hand on her thigh. "I'm not cheating on you."

With that, Carrie basically let out a sigh of relief and whispered out loud, "Thank you, God."

"I would never do that to you," Mike assured her. "But there is something else."

Carrie wiped away the tears, now in a much better mood. She knew something was wrong, but she felt that anything was better than him cheating. She could hand whatever was on his mind, or so she thought. "What is it, babe?"

"I have a daughter," he blurted out.

Carrie didn't even stop herself from freaking out when she responded, "You what?!"

"I didn't know until last night," Mike started to explain. "It was from ten years ago, one of my one night stands. I didn't even know the mom. She died in some car accident."

"Oh, my God," Carrie gasped.

"They said they were going to run some tests just to make sure she is actually mine but for the time being they want me to take her in," Mike continued.

"Oh, my God," she repeated.

"I know this isn't what we pictured our life like and I can understand if you're a little freaked out about it and don't want to be with me anymore but-" Mike continued to rant until Carrie finally cut him off.

"Don't want to be with you anymore?" she repeated. "Mike, I know this is a lot for you. Trust me, this is more than a lot for me too, but it is going to take a lot more than a 10-year-old girl to make me not be with you."

"I don't know, I just thought that this was another one of my mistakes that I made from the past and that you weren't going to want to be a part of it. I know it's stupid," Mike shook his head.

"It's only a little stupid," Carrie joked causing the both of them to smile. "You said it yourself, this wasn't the life we pictured together. This could be what God wanted for us though. Your past is your past, and I know how better of a man you are now by how you treat me, and now you can prove that to your daughter as well. And I promise you, I'm going to be helping you every single step of the way."