Chapter 5
The moment between turning the knob and opening the door and finally stepping into the room seemed to take an eternity. Inside the room was a completely different world.
Nolan stumbled inside, numbly, and was instantly bombarded with a blinding whiteness and constant beeping that surrounded him on all sides. It no longer felt like a hospital, but some sort of space ship, ready to abduct him. He looked around before his eyes fell on Emma.
Everything seemed to stop the moment they made eye contact. He looked into her gorgeous blue eyes, mesmerized for a moment. There was no doubt that this was the same girl who had won the beer pong competition. It was the same girl he had fucked without a condom. The awkwardness in the air rose as they continued to look at each other.
How did one react in a moment like this? How was someone supposed to react to suddenly finding out they were a parent? It was not every day that a surprise baby entered someone’s life.
Finally, Emma broke the silence by saying, “Y… you actually came.” Nolan couldn’t answer but nodded as he looked at her. He moved toward her, slowly, as his body took control as if attracted to the child bundled up in a mass of blankets in its mother’s arms.
He looked at her and then at the bundle, his eyes asking a question. She seemed to understand at once what he wanted and slowly started to unbundle the baby, just enough so that its face became visible. At that moment, when father and daughter saw each other for the first time, Nolan’s whole world changed. He looked down at the baby and there was no doubt in his mind that the child was his. There was some primal instinct going wild inside of him, screaming: mine, mine, mine.
Nolan didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to hold her? Was he supposed to tell her he was her daddy? Nolan felt embarrassed for not knowing these things. He looked at Emma as if she could provide him with some guidance. She just smiled at him and said, “Do you want to hold her?”
Nolan nodded before awkwardly taking up the bundle into his arms. He had never held a baby before and it felt strange to him but at the same time it felt right. He looked down at his daughter and smiled. This was his daughter. She looked just like him. He had created this beautiful baby girl, and that made him proud.
He looked down at her now, walking around the room a bit, rocking her slightly. The baby looked up at her father, a happy look on her face. In those moments, a bond was formed between father and daughter that could never be severed. The baby already had her father wrapped around her fingers. From that point on, she would forever be a daddy’s girl.
“What’s her name?” He asked softly, looking at Emma. He felt kind of sad that he hadn’t contributed to naming his own daughter. He just hoped that Emma had chosen a cute name for his daughter.
“Sophia.” Sophia. Nolan played around with the name in his mind before deciding that he liked it. It was a beautiful, yet simple name, and as he looked down at his daughter, he decided she looked like a Sophia. He smiled at her.
“I like it…” Nolan smiled again, before handing Sophia back to her mother and sitting down at the edge of the bed with her.
Throughout the entire moment, the friend who had texted Nolan had been sitting there, awkwardly. He didn’t know what to do. Finally, he got up and said, “Well, I’ll just let you two settle things then. Goodnight Em. Goodnight Nol.” The friend grabbed his jacket and scurried out of the room.
As the new family experienced their first moments alone together, it was a little strange. No one knew what to do, except, of course, Sophia, who just went to sleep. Nolan looked at her before looking back at Emma.
“I’m sorry…” It was the first thing Nolan could think of saying. He was sorry. He had fucked her without a condom and now she was a mother. Emma’s life was probably ruined. He felt like he had destroyed her life by forgetting that stupid condom. How was she supposed to continue an education with a child?
Emma shook her head before placing a hand on his. “Please don’t apologize, it isn’t your fault.” Emma’s eyes were large and sincere as she looked at him. Nolan could feel his heart strings tug toward her. Did he really have feelings for this girl? Maybe this was fate at work, showing them that their one-night stand had meant more than they thought. Still he shook his head.
“No… I am sorry. I should have used a condom that night… there is no excuse for me forgetting because now you are a mom and your life must be a wreck.” He looked at her, his eyes full of concern as if he would cry at any moment. He didn’t want to crush all of her dreams, to ruin her life. Emma just shook her head again.
“I wasn’t expecting or planning this, but I don’t regret it either. That night with you was one of the best nights I ever had. I thought at first that it was just the booze talking but now, as I sit with you again, I know that it was all in here.” Emma looked at him before pointing to his chest. Nolan could feel his cheeks redden as he blushed.
“Do… do you really mean that?” Nolan asked breathlessly. He hadn’t expected this, but he felt it too. He wanted to hear her say it.
“I… I think I love you… it doesn’t make any sense because I barely know you… and love at sight isn’t a real thing… but for some reason I know that deep down, I love you, almost as much as I love Sophia.” Emma looked at Nolan, her eyes blazing with passion.