THE SPACE BETWEEN

Chapter 3

Trigger warning:  Language

(Shannon's POV)

'H O L Y    F U C K !!!' The sound of my intense outburst echoed through the house .

I plopped down on the bed and put my head in my hands despite every fiber of my being telling me to run.

'Jesus Christ Miss, how could you let this happen? I thought that was taken care of a long time ago. What the fuck?'

I looked up when she didn't answer. She was crying, but that didn't hinder her from shrieking at me.

'I did! How was I supposed to know that things like that could repair themselves, supposedly because of the damage that Michael did. I had no control over this!'

I was up off the bed in a flash, even more upset now.

'Oh, that fucking figures!!'

'What?'

'Whenever things go wrong, Michael pops up like a Jack-in-the-box. The son of a bitch is dead and still haunting us.'

I stormed out of the room and down the steps, grabbing my smokes on my way outside. I smoked and paced, trying to get a grip on myself. God dammit, there was no way things wouldn't change now. I knew couples who felt like they'd had the blood sucked out of them after sleepless nights and endless feedings. How well would I deal with a child monopolizing all our time? It would ultimately ruin our relationship—but telling her I didn't want this child would probably do the same.

Once I reeled myself back in a little, I went inside and had a couple shots. When I went back upstairs Missi was sitting on the bed crying.

'Miss, it's up to you.' I managed to say despite my take on things.

She looked up at me and her expression changed to a death stare before she spoke.

'Don't you dare put this on me Shannon Leto! It's your baby too.'

I managed to keep my composure despite the fact that she stood up and looked like she wanted to rip my head off. I crossed my arms and held my ground.

'I'm okay with whatever you want.'

'Are you're saying that terminating this pregnancy would be an option and you'd have no misgivings?'

She walked over and glared up at me, waiting for my response.

'Oh no, you're not getting me to have this conversation now.'

'Of course not. God forbid you're honest with me when I'm pregnant with your child.'

I turned around and walked a couple steps away before trying to get her to see my point of view.

'What I don't like is the idea of anyone coming between us. Despite everything that's going on right now we're together and we're happy. Why even consider this? It's not a hard decision for me.'

'Then why did you just say you'd be okay with whatever I decided?'

I felt cornered and started pacing.

'It's not all my decision—especially if you want this.'

'Did I say I wanted this?'

'No, and I can understand why you wouldn't. It's not something women do after a certain age. Why you put yourself at risk?'

'Because I could never live with myself if I knew I'd ended a life. I'd always wonder about the person they would have been. I thought I could have an abortion once Shannon, but I couldn't.'