I curled my fingers around Dalton's bicep as we stepped through the threshold and into our apartment. I inhaled quickly and exhaled a little lightheaded. The chemical smell had yet to dissipate and was starting to give me a headache, and with the subtle kicks I was receiving from Danielle , it was undoubtedly affecting more than just my sinuses.

I dropped my hand and glanced at Dalton, "I thought you said they had the place cleaned a few days ago. Why is it still lingering?"

Dalton shrugged his shoulder carelessly and veered away and into the empty dining room, eyes still on his phone.

"Marcus said something came up. They did it last night."

I blinked, surprised, "Seriously?"

Catching the irritation entering my voice, my boyfriend lifted his head and looked at me for the first time since we'd walked in. He'd let his grooming habits go the last couple weeks and a dark stubble had started to line every inch of his jaw, his blonde hair an unruly mess fanning his forehead and curling around his ears. He hadn't even wanted to come this morning, so I suppose I should be grateful he was here at all. If he'd had the choice, he would have sat at the edge of our bed gaming all afternoon.

"I didn't have control over it." he eventually said, straightening a little.

I crossed my arms, eyebrows drawing inward as I narrowed my eyes, "I didn't blame you, did I?"

"That tone sure as hell did." He snapped defensively. "I told you I didn't want to come today."

"There's a difference between you not wanting to come and you not want to subject Danni and me to all these toxic chemicals."

He scoffed, crossing the room so he was at my side again. "You don't have to include her in everything, you know. Just because it affects you doesn't mean it will her."

I considered pulling up the countless articles that stated otherwise but knew better than to try and argue with Dalton when he was in one of his moods and just waved my hand in the air dismissively. "Let's just go back to my parents place then."

There was no protest out of him, and he quickly opened the door and headed out before I could say another word. I rolled my eyes and followed him, making sure to open the window in the far corner of the living room to air out the place before I locked up. He waited until I was in the car to turn the key in the ignition, eyes trained on our last ultrasound photo of Danni on his dash, fingers dancing across the steering wheel.

As soon as he'd pulled away from our future home, my phone buzzed and, too tired to unlink it from the Bluetooth, I answered the call. "Hey, Ash!"

Dalton sneered at the mention of my best friend's name, and I was relieved she couldn't see him. Not for her sake, but his.

"Hey, babe." Ash answered a few seconds later. "How are you girls?"

"We're good." I smiled as I rested a hand on my stomach. "She's been really active."

There was a long silence before she asked, "You think we can hang out today?"

My eyes instinctively shot to Dalton for a confirmation. He immediately shook his head. "No."

"Why?' I asked, momentarily muting us. "I haven't seen her in months, Dalton."

"That's for the best!" his voice rose a little, his grasp tightening around the wheel. "She's a whore, Harley. You don't need to be surrounded by people like that."

I threw my hands up in frustration. "First it was Lindsey being an alcoholic, now Ash is a whore. I think you're just trying to find reasons for me to drop everyone."

"You're seriously going to turn it around and make me seem like the bad guy here?" he said through his teeth. "Do you really want our daughter around women like that?"

"Yes!" I didn't hesitate to respond. "They're my best friends, Dalton."

I waited a few minutes for him to respond, and when he didn't, I flipped my phone back over to see that Ash had hung up. I made mental note to call once he'd dropped me off at my parents' house.

"I don't want either of them around my daughter and that's final." There was an edge to his voice, and despite every fiber of my being warning me to back down, I sat upright and started to shake my head.

"No. You don't get to do that. I love you, Dal. And I love that we're creating this family, but Ash is pretty much my sister and I'm not going to just cut her off."

The car jerked into the left lane so suddenly my head slammed into the window and a chorus of horns sounded behind us at the sudden interjection into the shoulder of the road. Once he'd turned into the parking lot of a grocery store, he put the car in park and spun so he was glaring at me.

"You're going to choose her over your family?"

Confused, I shook my head again. "What? No! I can have both and—"

"By keeping her in your life when you're well aware I don't like her, you're showing that you prioritize her over me, over our family."

"That's bullshit, Dalton!" I huffed. "You're overreacting. She's never done anything to you."

He was quiet for a minute before he slammed his fists hard against the wheel. My eyes widened at the burst of anger, and I pressed my back against the passenger side door.

"She isn't going to be around Danielle!" he growled, eyes finally finding my own again. His pupils were dilated, face flushed. I pressed into the release for my seatbelt and reached for the door handle. He caught the wrist of my other hand and tightened it until I turned to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"I don't want to be in the car with you right now." I whispered, reaching to try and pry his hand off my wrist. "You're hurting me, Dalton!"

He dropped his gaze to my hand and slowly released it. "I'm fine, Harley. Put your seatbelt back on. I'm fine and we're almost to your house."

I opened the door and stepped out, but he was around the car before I could even fully press the door shut behind me. He slammed both of his hands on either side of the door to my back, trapping me in front of him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Dalton, please." I pleaded, hoping to see a hint of my loving boyfriend in his eyes. But he'd been gradually disappearing little by little for the last six months. I hadn't seen him since I set the pregnancy test in front of him. I knew this baby was going to be a huge change in our life, but I'd never expected with every month my stomach and Danielle grew, I lost a little more of my sweet, kind boyfriend. As much as I pretended to be in denial over the fact, Ashley had been right. "Please, you're scaring me."

He cocked his head, "I'm scaring you?"

"Yes." I tried to duck under his right arm, but he immediately pinned me back against the car. "Dalton, please. Someone will call the police."

He only shrugged, his eyes still burning into my own. "Let them. I'm not doing anything wrong. We're just talking."

"I want to call my dad and have him come pick me up." I breathed. "I won't tell him anything, I promise."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Har. Why are you doing this?" he lifted an arm and rubbed it down his face in exasperation. "Why do you always have to cause so many God Damn problems? It's always something with you lately."

I wanted to deny it, but at this point I knew my best bet would be to get away. We could sit and talk this through once he'd calmed himself-or taken whatever medication he'd clearly missed today.

"Get in the car, Harley."

I shook my head. "I'll call my dad."

"Harley, I'm not asking." Dalton closed the distance between us. "Get in the fucking car."

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping he'd stop his shit before he did get the police called. "Dalton."

"Harley." Malice dripped from my name as it left him. "Get in the car."

I leaned forward as if I were going to cave and hug him, and the second he dropped his right arm, I ducked under it and started to speed walk away from him. He caught me before I could make it even a couple feet away and grasped my chin hard between his fingers. "Stop embarrassing us. Get in."

A couple packing their trunk had stopped and were staring at us in a mix of concern and confusion. Dalton, following my gaze, dropped his hand and squeezed my shoulder. "Let's go."

Not wanting to cause an even bigger scene, I climbed back into the passenger seat and closed my door, tears stinging my eyes as I leaned back into the headrest. Dalton kept his eyes on the rearview until the couple that'd been watching was out of the parking lot. Once they were gone, he turned and in a quick movement he backhanded me hard across the face.

I cried out, touching my hand to my burning cheek. My left hand shot to the door handle, but he quickly locked all the doors before I could try and get out.

"Stop acting like I'm some fucking monster." he started the car with a scowl. "You deserved that, and you know it. Acting like a child and shit."

I swiped my sleeve across my nose and wrapped my arms around myself, a barrier between him and my stomach. "Let me out."

He didn't listen but pulled out of the lot and headed back for the main street leading back to my parents' place. I kept my distance, but it wasn't maintained for long. As soon as he'd pulled into a vacant spot, he turned the car off and leaned across the console to touch my cheek.

"I'm sorry, baby." he whispered, all anger gone. "I didn't mean to do that. I don't. . . I'm going to call my doctor and see what the hell is going on."

I averted my gaze to my parents' garage. "You hit me, Dalton."

"I know. I'm so sorry." he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved so half his body was across the console now. "You know that isn't me. You know I would never intentionally hurt you, baby. I'll make the appointment right now."

I eyed him, trying to find any sort of crack in the guilt-ridden expression.

Was he serious? Did he not want to hurt me? Did something come over him? He was right in the point that he'd never laid a hand on me prior to today, but he'd been edging closer and closer the last few months, and some part of me wasn't at all surprised that he'd done it, but I couldn't find it in me to stay mad or push him away.

I had acted like an immature child. I had been arguing over something that could have been discussed at home. I fought him on him looking out for our daughter and her best interests, then stomped out of the car like a child.

"It's okay." I finally whispered, touching my palm to his cheek. "Just please. . . please don't do it again."

"Never." he breathed, leaned in and kissed my lips, then moved them to my stinging cheek. "I love you, Harley. I love Danielle. I love our family."

I hugged him, then got out of the car and hurried up my driveway and into the house.

My father was lounged on the couch watching a college basketball game, my mom on the loveseat with her face in a cooking magazine. Both looked up at the sound of the door shutting behind me. Mom dropped the magazine immediately and rushed me from across the room. "Goodness, Har, what happened?"

"I was standing outside the door at the grocery store." I lied softly. "The person on the other side didn't see me and the door hit me."

Mom patted my shoulder and walked into the kitchen for an ice pack. My heart sunk when I turned to my father. He was eying me with skepticism, his lips pursed, eyebrows drawn in, eyes narrowed. He no doubt didn't believe a word that left my mouth, but I also knew he wouldn't call me out on it the way my mother would if she hadn't believed the lie.

I excused myself to my bedroom once Mom had returned with the icepack. I maneuvered my way through the maze of boxes in my room and for the bathroom at the other side. I hesitated before I flipped the switch and a sob quickly rose in my throat when I saw my left cheek. It was still a bright red, but when I moved the hair fanning over my ear, I could see the imprint of Dalton's fingers.

My own curled into a loose fist, tears finally falling and burning against my tender skin as they rolled. I quickly shut the light off and pressed the ice pack my mother had handed over to my cheek as I crossed the room to my messy bed. I didn't bother to try and fix the disheveled sheets and comforter, I just laid down on top of them, my free hand resting on my protruding stomach, the other growing numb from the coldness of the ice pack with every passing second.

My phone buzzed against my breast, and I quickly picked it up from where it lay on the bed, not surprised to find an influx of apologies from Dalton and my best friend's number lighting the screen.

"Hey, Har." There was a loud slamming followed by a groan before Ash continued. "You okay? I think you lost reception or something in the car."

I stayed quiet for a while, aware my best friend knew me well enough to hear the fear in my voice the second I spoke. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Of course she heard the waver and catch in my words and immediately snapped, "What'd he do?"

"Nothing." I assured. "He didn't do anything, Ash."

"Bullshit." She answered angrily. "Anytime you sound like this it has to do with him."

I shook my head despite her not being able to see me. "I'm fine, Ash."

"If he touched you, I will drive my happy ass over there and kill him myself. I thought I made that clear."

I sniffled and tightened my grasp on the ice pack. "We just got into an argument. It was nothing, Ash. I'm okay. Danni is fine."

The lie hung heavy in the air inside my bedroom long after she'd accepted it with as much skepticism as my father and hung up.

This was the first time Dalton had ever laid hands on me, but it was also the first time in my life I'd ever looked my parents in the eyes and lied to them. The first time I'd ever kept anything from Ashley.

I had to pray it would be the only.