Free Romance: SPORTS ROMANCE: The First Half (Bad Boy Alpha Male College Football Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Pregnancy Romance) by Nicole Chance

fall.”
    He smirked.
    “Yeah. Down the stairs. Took a little tumble.”
    He was making my uneasy.
    “I-I love you. We’ll get you in-home care,” I stammered. “For your burns.”
    His eyes were glazed over from the painkillers.
    "A cute li’l twenty-something-year-old nurse would be nice,” he mumbled. “Someone to take care of me while you heal. I know you won’t—I know you won’t be wantin’ to do it for awhile but I got needs even when I’m a cripple.”
    I could not believe his concerns were so shallow during a time so dire.
    “Well, we’ll see. Have you gotten to see Jase? They brought him in to see me for a little bit. He’s fine. They’re letting him stay with my mom.”
    He gazed at me, groggily.
    “Are we gonna get him taken away?” he asked.
    I shook my head and smiled.
    “No.”
    “Good,” he whispered. “His dad might have some problems but I love him. He’s my boy, you know.”
    I bit my lip.
    “You don’t really have problems , though,” I tried to rationalize.
    He looked me in the eye and chuckled.
    “I have problems, Aimee. You know it. I know it. Hell, that’s probably why you’re screwing that psycho that jumped me,” he rambled. “There are things I think about that you don’t even want to hear.”
    I gulped.
    “Try me.”
    He laughed a little. The painkillers were giving him loose lips. I was going to take advantage while he was immobile.
    “Just last week. Jase was cryin’, right? His diaper smelled. He’d smeared his food all over the walls. I was drunk. It was a lot on my plate.”
    I looked down.
    “I know what you mean. I’ve been there.”
    He gave me a dark look.
    “You haven’t thought what I’ve thought though, Aimee. I wanted to kill him. I thought about strangling him. Lucky you grabbed him before I did. He might’ve died that night, had you not picked him up. You know that?”
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
    I called for the nurse so I could be taken away from his presence. I didn’t know what to think, but I certainly knew I couldn’t let Matt be around Jase ever again.
    It was the last straw.

Chapter Ten – Changes
     
    It was hard to get back to everyday life after the fire, but it happened. Before Matt got out of the hospital, I got a restraining order and a job. I decided to press charges, and luckily for me, my apartment building kicks out any resident with pending charges for a violent crime.
    In two months, my entire life changed, and it had changed for the better. Jase still stayed with my mother regularly, but he didn’t cry nearly as much. For the first time in a long time, I was happy.
    I had thought about visiting Drew for a long time, yet for some reason, I never could work up the courage.
    Then, I saw an ad in the paper.
    “Self-defense classes,” I whispered.
    To me, it was a sign. I had to talk to him.
    I hurried down to the gym where Drew usually practiced, Jase in his stroller. Despite all the time we had spent apart, seeing him again felt urgent. There was so much history there. I at least had to apologize for how things ended.
    I walked into the building, only to be greeted by Drew himself. I didn’t even have time to prepare.
    “Well, well, well,” he said, crossing his arms. “Aimee Arnold. How are ya?”
    “Actually, I go by Aimee Pope now,” I replied. “Matt and I—well, things didn’t work out. We’re finalizing the divorce as soon as he’s healthy enough to go to court.”
    Drew raised his eyebrows.
    “Really?” he asked. “So you left, then? Just like that?”
    I closed my eyes and nodded, parking Jase in the corner so we could talk.
    “Yeah. I uh—I found out he fantasized about killing our son. That was kind of the last straw.”
    “Well, yeah. I think that’d be anyone’s last straw.”
    “I got a job, though. I’m working as a secretary at the veterinary clinic. Not exactly my dream job, but it’s a step in the door while I finish school,” I explained. “What’ve you been up