Westlyn doesn't come by the house after our fight and even Maddy notices, "where's your girlfriend?" she asks in a sing-song voice that she always used to use when she would try to taunt me when we were kids. The voice would always end up with one or both of us sent to our rooms, possibly without dinner.

"She was never my girlfriend," I say obviously annoyed.

"Okay," Maddy says with an eye roll, "but she's been here for the last few weeks and now she's not. So what did Laney do?"

I don't answer her.

"Better question, what did you allow Laney to do?" Maddy smirks.

"Maddy, not now," I say.

"Hey, talk to me," Maddy says her tone changing.

"Tell Westlyn the whole truth."

"No," Maddy says her eyes narrowed.

"Maddy, you're the reason she left. Not Laney and not what Laney made me do."

"She doesn't need to know everything, Finn. She isn't even your girlfriend."

"I like her, Maddy." I'm trying to reason with her. Maddy doesn't like to be told what to do so I have to try to convince her to do this without her feeling forced.

"I don't want you liking her, Finn. I'm fine with you guys doing whatever you're doing but I don't want West as basically my stepmom," Maddy laughs and walks away from me.

Maddy and I have a good relationship. We try to get along because if we don't we'd both be left with basically no one. But there are times like this when I don't know what to do or how to react to her. She is difficult at best and selfish most of the time. And I can't fault her for it.

"Then I'm going to tell her," I follow her into the kitchen. She spins around, leans against the counter, her smile vanishes and is replaced by another smirk.

"Do it. See how long she lasts once she realizes you've been lying. Plus we are going out tonight."

"Who?"

"West and I and some guys. A double date." And that explains the look.

"Then why the hell did you ask if West and I were still seeing each other?" I ask.

"I don't know." She walks away and slams her bedroom door.

I punch the wall.

***

Maddy agrees to watch Peyton the next morning while I meet Laney to try to figure out details of our new arrangement. We decide to meet at a coffeeshop not too far from my house incase Maddy needs me or decides she doesn't want to babysit anymore.

Laney is already sitting at a table when I get there. She waves at me and it feels like we are back in high school, hanging out for the first time, and still trying to figure each other out. The nerves in my stomach are not from excitement this time around though and her smile doesn't make me feel anything like it used to.

"Where's the baby?" She asks when I sit down with my black coffee.

"Her name is Peyton," I mumble.

She rolls her eyes, "Obviously I know that. We picked it together."

I laugh at her, "no we didn't. I listed names and you ignored me, then got pissed and stormed out of the house."

"Finn, I didn't want her. I told you that from the beginning. I didn't want a baby. I didn't want to buy stuff and figure out names and all of that crap. I just wanted it all to end and that was something you wouldn't and couldn't accept." Laney closes her eyes for a minute and controls her breathing.

In the beginning of Laney and I's relationship we never fought. We talked and discussed and then walked away when everything got to be too much and we continued that through the pregnancy, besides the first fight and the last fight. Laney and I have never been on solid ground, we always avoided anything that could potentially hurt us or our relationship because we needed each other to feel whole.

"Then why now, Laney?"

"I want to be a part of Peyton's life now."

"Why? It's been over a year."

"Sometimes I think about how different you and Maddy might be if you'd known your parents. I just abandoned my kid. And it kills me sometimes, Finn." My breathing slows and I try to control the anger that is simmering beneath the surface.

"Don't worry about Maddy and I. And that still doesn't answer the question. Why now?"

"I can't let Peyton grow up without a mom like Maddy. That's why," she says.

"Maddy is fine."

"No she isn't. Maddy has never been fine. You've known that forever. You've always worried about her turning into them."

"You don't get to care or know about any of that anymore. You chose this!" I'm pissed. I try to figure out how to calm down but all I can think about is everything I shared with Laney and how she is using my secrets, our secrets, against me.

"Laney, why now?" I ask one more time. My voice is anything but calm but I'm trying to control my volume because the coffeeshop is starting to fill up.

"I saw you guys," she sighs, "at the field party. You were looking for Maddy and you had Peyton with you. She is so beautiful, Finn, and she's mine and it really hurt to see her again. She is nothing like I remember and it's all my fault and it's all my fault that you had to drag our daughter out in the middle of night when if I was around she could have stayed with me."

"You were there?" I don't understand why she was at a high school party in a town where she doesn't even live. But before I have time to ask that she is changing the subject.

She nods, she opens her mouth to say something, closes it, then says, "is she stalking you?" Her tone has turned bitter.

I look over to the counter to see Westlyn watching us then she turns around to place her order.

"I'll be right back," I say and ignore whatever comment Laney makes.

Westlyn tries to avoid eye contact with me until I am right in front of her, "hey," she says and looks towards the floor.

"West," I run my fingers down her arm from her elbow to her wrist then grab her fingers, she lets me take her hand, "we're trying to figure some things out." I say nodding towards where Laney sits staring at us.

"I hope it all works out," she is still trying to look everywhere but at me.

"I tried to talk to Maddy about telling you everything."

"Stop, Finn. I don't care." She pulls her hand back and grabs her togo cup of coffee.

"Westlyn," I say.

She shakes her head and walks away from me. I almost follow her but then remember I still have to talk to Laney about everything.

I need Westlyn to wait until I figure everything out, unless I lost her already.