by Low, JA
“Behave, you hear me?” He warns before I even enter. I agree and follow him inside. Isla is sitting down on the couch, her baby bump on display. “I thought this would be a safe environment. Sit, Ragnar. And if you upset the pregnant lady I will kill you.” And with that he disappears into the kitchen. Isla and I sit awkwardly together on the couch, both of us as stubborn as each other.
“I’m sorry, Is.” She looks at me in shock. “The way I spoke to you at the hospital, I...I was in shock.” Isla’s face softens.
“I know it was kind of sprung on everyone.” She lets out a heavy sigh. “You just need to know that I have a little person coming into my life who is my sole responsibility. You can help, be the baby’s uncle, but you will not control my life like you used to.” My heart breaks at her words.
“You think that’s what I’ve been doing?” My gut twists in knots.
“Yes. Every aspect of my life you have controlled. Why do you think I left?” Her words are like daggers to my heart.
“I thought I was protecting you. I had no idea I was pushing you away, Issy. I thought I was helping.” Fuck. How did I get this all so wrong? Isla moves over to sit beside me, her arms wrap around me in a hug. I take it.
“I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but...” I see things a little clearer now. All these years trying to protect her, I pushed her away. I let her down. You’re such an idiot, Oscar.
“But I need to butt out.” She gives me a weary smile “You know I love you, Issy. And I just want what’s best for you.” I hold her hand in mine.
“I know you do. But your love seems a little controlling sometimes.”
“Shit.” I hang my head, feeling utterly ashamed. “Why have you not told me this before?” She gives me a skeptical look. “I would have...I would have at least tried to stop it. You’re my family. I never want to lose you.” Isla cuddles me again, tears falling down her cheeks. I guess the hormones are kicking in, I’ve never seen her cry so much in my life.
“I love you, Oscar. I’m about to start a new phase of my life and I need you to respect it. Respect my choices.” I can do this. I hug her tighter.
“Damn you, Ragnar, you beautiful beast.” Derrick comes out looking at the two of us, he places a couple of bottles of water on the table. There’s another knock at the door.
“I’ll be right back.” Derrick flitters off.
“I’m sorry, Is.”
“I know you are. I should have spoken up more over the years.” Footsteps echo down the hallway. Finn is standing there, what on earth is he doing here? Did she ask him to be moderator between us? I think Issy and I are sweet now.
“What are you up to, D?” Finn asks Derrick, who ignores his question and waves him into the living room. Finn takes a seat the furthest away from the two of us, that’s strange.
“Okay. Thank you all for coming here today. I will be your interrogator, no sorry, your mediator,” Derrick chuckles.
“Why is Finn here?” I look between them all. Derrick is shooting daggers at Isla, who is shooting them right back at him. Finn looks like he would rather be anywhere else other than here. Isla lets out a heavy sigh.
“I need you to not freak out.” Those words do not sound good. “All those nice things you just said to me. I need you to mean them.” Stacey’s warning of not yelling at a pregnant lady sticks in my mind. Count to ten, man. One…two…
“What’s going on?”
“Finn is the father of my baby.” Isla says it really quickly. What in the absolute fuck did she say? She looks dead serious. I look over at Derrick who is nodding. Then my attention turns to Finn, who can’t even look at me.
“You motherfucker!” I launch myself at my best friend. That fucker. How dare he? How could he? Someone is grabbing at me as my fists lay into Finn as he defends himself. Isla is screaming in the background but all I see is red. “I told you to leave her alone.” He promised me he wouldn’t touch her. He’s going to break her fucking heart like he has for years. He was supposed to stay away from her, and now, now he’s fucking knocked her up and abandoned her.
“Fuck off, man, I fucking love her.” This stops me in my tracks. Derrick pulls me off of him. I noticed Finn’s lip is bleeding.
“You are going to pay to fix this shit, you hear me, Eriksen.” Derrick glares at me. I look around the room where I have smashed a lamp and done some damage to his couch.
“I told you if you went near her I would tell your secret,” I threaten him. I don’t care that Finn likes dudes; I care that he will cheat on my sister with one and break her heart.
“She already knows,” Finn snaps at me.
“I don’t care. I’m honestly more upset that you have tried to keep us apart.” Isla points her finger at me. I’m confused. She doesn’t care? She already knows?
“I didn’t want him to break your heart.” Why can’t she see I was trying to protect her?
“So you broke it for him.” That hit like an arrow to the heart. “I’ve loved him all my life, Oscar. From the moment we saw each other as kids. There has been no other man in my life that I have loved more than him.”
“I thought...I thought I was trying to protect you.”
“You pushed us apart. You put so many barriers between us, Oscar. You gave us so much baggage that you destroyed our love.” Fuck. I rake my hands through my hair. I had no idea. I look over at Finn who looks devastated. Shit. What have I done? “Finn proposed to me when we were in England, but because I was so sick of being under your control I chose to run. I left him when my heart wanted to stay. I broke him that night and I don’t think I will ever be able to fix what I broke.” Derrick sniffles beside me. “I was so scared to tell you that he was the father that I kept it a secret. I denied him those months of being with his son.”
“Issy.” Her words rip my heart out.
“I can’t blame you for everything that has happened between Finn and I over the years, but you were to blame for a lot of my pain. Finn pushed me away out of loyalty to you. He was so scared that you would tell his secret to the world that no matter how much he loved me, it wasn’t enough. He was so scared to hurt his family if his secret came out.” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I start pacing around the room. I fucked up so badly. I had no idea they loved each other so much. I just thought it was just a phase.
“I did all this.” I thump my chest. “Fuck!” I’m almost pulling my hair out. “Fuck!” I roar through the room, tears falling down my cheeks. “I did it to protect you. I thought it was the right thing. I...” Issy runs into my arms and holds me tight, both of us crying over the mistakes we both have made with each other. “I’m sorry, Issy. I had no idea I was hurting you so much.” I look over to where Finn is; he looks so very lost. I let go of Issy and make my way over to my best friend, he flinches when I open my arms. “I’m sorry, man. I am so sorry.” I pull him into my arms, slapping him on the back. “I fucked up. I fucked up so much.” Finn’s grip tightens around me. “Do you still love my sister?”
“I do...but...” He looks over at Issy. “We have a lot to discuss.” All because of me.
“You both have my blessing. I should never have stood in the way. I could see it. I could see how much you both meant to each other. I just didn’t want anything to fuck it up, but instead I did. I messed it all up.” Derrick pulls me into his side, his tears drying up.
“I know how you can pay me for all this damage, Ragnar. But it requires you to get onto your knees.” This makes the room explode with laughter. Trust Derrick to break the tension.
23
Stacey
The last half of the year has flown by.
Finn and Isla got engaged, had a baby, the gorgeous little Easton, and threw a dart at the globe to choose their wedding destination. Thankfully, they hit Hawaii, because going to a wedding in Vladivostok wasn’t high on many of our calendars. They are getting married next Valentine’s Day, awfully romantic. It took Oscar a little while to get used to Isla and Finn being together, b
ut seeing them together now and how happy they are soon turned him around. Especially when Easton arrived. Oscar is the best uncle, he loves that little dude.
Sienna and Evan are a family of four now with Ryder and Levi. We are all taking bets on when Sienna will be knocked up again. I mean Levi is six months old. Wyld Jones is going from strength to strength too, especially in the kids department of Wyld. When the girls take photos of their kids wearing the trendiest clothes they sell out and the waitlist is insanely long.
Derrick has also become hot property within the styling world, celebrities are flocking to him. He’s expanded his styling space and employed a heap of new staff and junior stylists to help him.
Vanessa and Christian disappeared for the first couple of months after their twins, Ruby and Sadie, were born. I don’t blame them, those two girls are such a handful, but they are ridiculously cute.
Olivia and Axel got married, in France, in one of her family’s castles. How crazy is that? Their relationship is still a juggling act crossing between LA and England. The boys have opened up Dirty Texas Records London which has taken off, so Axel spends a lot of time there, at least he is in the same country as his bride. Olivia made up with her sister, Penny, who was the biggest bitch on the planet. I mean she was having an affair with her sister’s fiancé for months then told her family that the baby was his, but in fact we found out that the baby daddy was the ex-president of France. These British girls are fancy as fuck. They have a gorgeous little girl called Genevie. Not long after the birth, Olivia’s father died suddenly from heart failure. It devastated her, especially as she is the heir to the family’s estates. Thankfully everything worked out in the end and Axel and Olivia are still together.
And Oscar and I? We are still going strong. Much stronger than I ever thought possible. We still have fun at The Paradise Club, but not very often, maybe once a month. Living together has been a breeze, working together was so much fun, but we probably distracted each other too much for it to be a long term solution. Now I’m back working with Sienna and Derrick.
We have decided to spend Christmas together this year with all the family and babies. I’m a little sad that I won’t be visiting my family this year, because I really wanted Oscar to meet my parents but they talk via Skype all the time. My family are happy for me, especially my nieces who can’t believe I am dating a famous rock star. I come from a tiny little country town in the middle of the outback. My family have a sheep farm and are simple people.
It’s Christmas Eve and we have all converged onto Christian and Vanessa’s Big Bear property. It’s mayhem. The feeling of chaos reminds me of home, so it’s nice, I don’t feel as homesick. A cold front came through earlier this evening dumping a big chunk of snow everywhere. It’s nice looking out of the cabin’s windows and seeing the snow falling, it’s bloody freezing but still beautiful. Maybe because I’m an Aussie and we don’t really get snow, especially at Christmas time I find it fascinating. We just finished a traditional Christmas Eve dinner, all of us stuffed to the gills thanks to all the mothers and their awesome cooking skills.
“Time to open one present under the Christmas tree,” Christian tells everyone. The Christmas tree is a monster and beautifully decorated too, but the piles and piles of presents under it, is just insanity. Boxes and boxes of gifts for kids that can’t even walk yet.
“Ryder will hand them out.” Ryder’s face lights up as he follows Christian over to the Christmas tree. He takes the presents and hands them out to everyone. One at a time we all open our gifts, the kids going crazy over their new toys. Especially Ryder with his new kid sized car. He jumps in, hits the horn a couple of times and starts zooming around the house. That car is fast; Evan had to sprint after him as he nearly took out the Christmas tree on a sharp turn.
“Stacey hasn’t opened her present yet.”
“Yes I have. You bought me this.” The light bounces off the diamonds showering the room with rainbow light. I had a heart attack when I opened the box to find an exquisite necklace. It was the most extravagant gift Oscar has given me. It’s beautiful but way too much. He knows he doesn’t need to spend money on me to make me happy, all I need is him.
“That was only part of it.” What is he up to? I know he is excited that this is our first Christmas together but I wasn’t expecting him to go crazy.
“Open it,” he urges me to open the present. I unwrap the box and pull out an iPad. “There’s a video.” Oscar is almost bouncing out of his seat with excitement. I press play on the video. Oh my God, it’s my family. They are all dressed up in Santa hats. They are sitting on an old cart and are singing Merry Christmas to me. Mum and Dad pop onto the screen first and tell me how much they miss me. How proud they are of me making a life for myself in LA. They send their love to Oscar too. Next, my sister and her kids, each one of them doing something silly for the camera. I can’t stop crying. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until seeing them. “I know you miss your family and wish they could be here.” God I love this man. I wrap my arms around him.
“This was perfect, thank you.” I sniffle into his chest.
“I think I can do better,” he tells me. “Look over there.” He points to the large glass window behind us.” There are people standing in the snow.
“Oh my God,” I scream, realizing who is standing there. My family. My family are here in Big Bear. I can’t. I cannot believe this is happening right now. The door opens and a large gust of wintery air rushes in as my family rushes toward me. Everyone is crying, screaming, talking, yelling. So many arms hugging me. Mum, Dad. My sister Naomi and her husband Simon. My nephews, Hunter and Lockie, and my nieces, Amelia, Emma and Becca. They are all here. “How?” I stare at my windblown family.
“Oscar organized it.” Turning around I see Oscar standing there looking a little embarrassed by the attention. I rush into his arms and kiss him. I can hear my nieces and nephews making gagging sounds and the rest of them hollering as I kiss Oscar within an inch of his life. “I love you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“I thought the diamonds were an extravagant gift but this. How can I ever repay you?”
“You don’t. Just you being in my life is all I need.” I just can’t. I kiss him again. Shit. I haven’t introduced my family to him yet.
“Oscar, come meet my family, officially.” I pull him over to them. Mum pulls him in for a big hug, thanking him over and over again for his generosity. My father does the same but shakes his hand instead. My sister practically tackles him.
“Wow, he’s strong.” She gives me a wink. Her husband shakes Oscar’s hand. They introduce him to all the kids, who are a little distracted by the snow falling outside. They have never seen it before or been overseas. Oscar’s family comes over and introduces themselves too, then the rest of our friends.
“I don’t deserve you, Oscar.” I take a moment away from the chaos.
“How can you say that?”
“This. You did this all for me.”
“I would do this and more for you, Stace.” He wraps his arms around me.
“But I have nothing to offer you. I can’t compete with all this.” I wave my arms around at the luxury of the life these Dirty Texas guys live.
“I never want you too. It’s my job to provide for us.” What the? I never expected him to have such a traditional point of view. “Stacey, I can see it on your face, that you’re pissed over that comment. I love you. There is no one else I want in this world other than you. You’re stuck with me. Forever.” I hate it when he’s being all squishy and romantic when I’m mad at him. “I’m a washed up rock star. I’ve peaked. This is it for me. I have made more money in one lifetime than people make in twenty. I can’t possibly spend it all, unless you want me to keep buying you shit.” I roll my eyes at him. “Exactly. I live to make you happy, Stace. And what makes you happy is your family. I know you aren’t a fan of LA, but everyone that you love is here, expect for them. So I just thought tha
t they needed to come to you. I know it seems extravagant, but it isn’t. I mean I didn’t use the jet or anything.” This makes me laugh, him thinking not using his private jet isn’t an extravagance. “Look how happy your family is.” My family struggle being farmers so for them to ever be able to do this for themselves it would never happen. He’s right, they are happy.
“I’m sorry, I have a hang up over your money.” I snuggle into his strong arms.
“Well, at least I know you’re not a gold digger.” I slap him lightly. “The empty credit card I’ve given you is testament to that.” When I moved in, Oscar gave me a credit card that had access to one of his accounts. When I saw there was no credit limit it freaked me out. I may not earn millions like him, but I do well for myself. If I want anything I can buy it.
“This life takes a bit of getting used to. I forget sometimes who you are.”
“I can remind you more often if you like. I’m kind of a big deal.” I shake my head at him. “I know it might seem old fashioned to people like us who aren’t living a traditional relationship, but I want to provide for my woman.” It’s sexy when he gets all alpha. “Do you understand?” Not sure how I got this lucky to have him in my life, but I am so happy he is.
“I’m sorry for being weird about it all. I love what you have done for me. It’s the best.”
“Lifetime blow jobs best?”
“Of course.” He fist pumps the air.
“Does that mean you will start using your credit card or am I pushing it?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“What happens if I told you, just thinking about you using it, gets me hard.” Oscar’s voice drops low as he nuzzles my ear.
“Maybe I might have to visit some special shops that could help with this problem.”
“Yes, please do.” Oscar kisses me.
“Eww. That’s gross.” Little Lockie interrupts our kiss.
