by K E Osborn
I look at my guitar and I flare my nostrils. Walking over to my guitar, I pick it up and slam it into the wall as hard as I can. The sound of the wood breaking against the plasterboard reverberates through the house and I hear Indi scream, then running footsteps as I drop the broken shell to the floor while I turn to face the door. She runs in, looks at me and stops as my eyes flow over and a tear runs down my cheek. I continue to stare, needing her so much right now.
“Oh my God, Caleb. What the hell is going on?”
I shake my head as she rushes across to me and looks down at the smashed guitar and places a hand on my cheek trying to pacify me as I breathe heavily through my nostrils trying to calm the fuck down.
“Caleb, baby, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”
I look down and shake my head slightly. “Annie’s birth mother…” I trail off and Indi looks at me.
“Yeah?”
“She kidnapped her, tortured her, drugged her, and held her for ransom while we were gone,” I murmur and her eyes open wide and her hand shoots up to her mouth.
“Wait, is she okay?” she asks and I nod my head and run my fingers through my hair.
“She’s in the hospital with a broken thumb and God knows what else,” I reply and Indi’s eyes water as she moves in embracing me tightly. I hold her to me, feeling her body against mine is easing my rapidly beating heart slightly.
“Jesus Christ,” she whispers.
“She was suffering, Indi. All the time we were getting married and having the best time of our lives, she was being tortured and having the worst time of hers. Her mother was shot and killed. I don’t know the full story, but Annie would be…” I can’t finish my sentence because thinking of how Annie is feeling right now is making me feel sick.
“I know, baby, but we’ll be there for her now. And you can’t feel guilty. We didn’t know. We couldn’t know that was going to happen to her while we were away, and it’s not your fault in any way shape or form.”
I nod and take a deep cleansing breath. “I just hate that I was so happy when she was feeling her worst, you know?”
“I know babe, but you can’t take that on. Otherwise, it will spoil our special memories. But right now we need to see what we can do to help. You need to pull yourself together and call Colt to see what we can do.”
“You’re right. I need to do something. What about a surprise party for Annie for when she gets home from the hospital? So she knows we’re all here for her. We can get everyone to come so when she arrives home she’ll knows how loved she is.”
“You have such a big heart, Caleb. I think that’s an excellent idea. Run it past Colt and see what he thinks.”
I nod, kissing her on her forehead, then grab my phone to dial Colt’s number.
I talked to Colt and we arranged a coming home party for Annie at the manor in Oxfordshire. I’m here now and I have all the food and everything prepared, and Indi helped with everything. Everyone is here except for the family who are with Annie, and we’re all in the kitchen waiting for when they get home. Lia text messaged me and said they were pulling down the road so they should be here any minute.
“You okay, babe? You look nervous?” Indi asks.
“Yep, I’m okay. Just want Annie to know how loved she is, even though her birth mother turned out to be the wicked witch from hell. I want her to know real family love, and that we only want her to be happy. I just want this to be right.”
“I’m so proud of you. Instead of letting this beat you down, you let your love for your cousin shine through and you’ve turned this into a show of support and love. She’ll appreciate this, I’m sure. And I’m very glad to be a part of it.”
“You’re my rock you know that?” I know without her I would never have gotten through this.
“I think we’re here for each other equally,” she replies.
I hear the front door click and we all quiet down so we can surprise Annie as she comes in.
I look around the room and smile at Chad as he stands with his parents and Aston’s parents. Annie’s grandparents are here and my grandma is here too. She was elated when she saw Indi was here. She always loved her. We all keep dead quiet as Annie, Aston, Ella, Colt, and Lia, walk into the kitchen.
“Surprise,” we all yell and wave our hands in the air as Annie’s eyes open wide and she smiles looking around at all of us.
“Oh Annie, we’re so glad you’re okay,” Indi says.
Annie raises her eyebrow slightly at seeing Indi here.
“I was so worried when Dad told me what happened. He said Colt rang him and he was a mess, so we decided to throw you a welcome home party. We hope it will help cheer you up from all the shit you’ve been through.” I lean forward and hug her tightly.
“Thanks, Caleb. Indi is here?” she whispers in my ear. I pull back from her and smile nodding my head as she winks at me.
She moves over to Indi and takes her in a tight embrace. “It’s so good to see you, Pixie,” Annie says making Indi giggle.
“No Annie, it’s so good to see you doing okay. I received a referral letter about your thumb and it looks like it should heal perfectly. So don’t go worrying about the band, okay? You’ll be back and playing before you know it,” Indi says and Annie smiles wide which makes me smile in return.
“Thanks everyone for coming. I really appreciate you all being here and supporting me,” Annie says turning and glancing around the room.
“You’re family, Annie,” Anna, Aston’s mum says and we all nod in agreement.
“Yeah, we all love you, Annie,” Sia says and I chuckle.
“Let’s all sit down and have something to eat, yeah?” Lia says and I can’t help but look at Aston and notice that he looks like shit. Colt told me that Loretta hit him over the head with a brick, so I’m wondering if he’s suffering from that when Annie reacts to it too.
“Shit Ast, are you okay? Is your head hurting?” She caresses his cheek and he looks like he’s about to throw up.
“Ast, talk to me,” she begs and he clears his throat.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please,” Aston calls out then shocks me by proceeding to ask Colt in front of us all if he can ask Annie to marry him. I take hold of Indi and wrap my arms around her waist holding her from behind as I watch Aston declare his love for my cousin.
I’m so happy for her right now. I move my hand to Indi’s that’s resting on top of mine and I twirl her wedding ring on her finger remembering our wedding night only two days ago.
I tune out to Aston’s declaration of love, but Indi leans into me and I know she’s thinking about our wedding day too. How beautiful it was and how perfect. We still need to tell everyone, the only people that know are my parents and Rob. But now definitely isn’t the time to tell everyone, today is Annie’s day. Indi and I have the rest of our lives. What’s one more day?
“Annie?” Aston asks and it breaks me away from my memories of my own wedding.
“Mmm,” Annie murmurs.
Everyone laughs as I try to figure out what’s going on.
“So um…Will you marry me?” he asks again.
I chuckle figuring out she obviously hasn’t answered him yet.
“Oh God sorry, yes, of course, a million times, yes,” she replies.
I cheer and everyone claps as Aston rushes to his feet picking her up and twirling her around in a circle. It makes me ecstatic to see her so happy. Especially after what’s just happened to her. And especially after the roller coaster she and Aston have been on.
Indi turns to look at me and I smile as I lean down and kiss her. She brings her left hand in between us so no one can see and she looks at me raising an eyebrow. I nod knowing exactly what she’s thinking and I bring my left hand in between us. We both take off our wedding bands and I give mine to Indi and she places them in her purse so no one can see. She leans in and gently kisses me, we don’t say anything, we don’t need to. This is Annie and Aston’s moment, we won’t take it from them
.
Annie comes rushing over and she lunges at me and hugs me tightly.
“Cuz, I just saw you two kissing. You’re back together, aren’t you?” she asks and I smile as Annie stares at Indi waiting for an answer.
“Yes, we’re back together. But, oh my God, Annie. You…you just got engaged!” Indi says sounding excited. It makes me smile at her enthusiasm.
“Thanks, Pixie, I can’t believe it. I know you two will get there one day too, you’re perfect for each other!” she says and lunges at Indi and hugs her tightly. She whispers something in her ear and then runs off to assault someone else. Indi laughs awkwardly like she’s nervous about something Annie just said.
“What did she say?” I ask and she shakes her head as Aston walks across to us.
“Thank you for making me realise that Annie was it for me that night at Colt’s party. If it wasn’t for you, today might not have happened. So thank you,” he says and I smile at him.
“Hey, you and Annie were meant to be, just like me and Indi.”
Aston looks over at Indi, who’s chatting with a happy Lia.
“So you are you and Indi good?” Aston asks.
“Yeah, me and Indi are good. I have so much to tell you, but today is your day, my news can wait.”
“Well, I look forward to hearing all about it, but for now I have a fiancée to attend to,” he says and I slap him on the back.
“Go get her rock star.”
Dad walks over and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “So are you going to spill the beans about you and Indi?” he asks and I shake my head.
“Nah, let Aston and Annie have their time. Indi and I can announce it later. We have the rest of our lives to tell people. I’m sure another day won’t hurt.”
“You really are a great kid, you know that? You care about Annie like she’s your sister. I’m proud of you,” he says and it fills me with pride.
“Thanks, Dad, that means a lot.”
Indi comes over and Dad smiles at her.
“You know Mace is wondering about when we can expect the pitter-patter of little feet. Just a warning so you know what’s coming,” Dad says and Indi blushes.
“Well, we’ll see,” she says and I smirk at her uncomfortableness.
“Just be prepared. Macy will be onto you soon enough about it I’m sure,” Dad says and winks at me and then walks off. I wrap my arms around a slightly paler Indi and nuzzle into her hair.
“Don’t worry, babe. We don’t have to think about babies just yet,” I say and she chuckles.
“Well, actually there’s something I need to tell you,” she says looking up at me and my body stiffens.
“Indi?”
She smiles and pauses for longer than normal. “I’m late,” she says and I swallow hard.
“Okay, how late are we talking?”
“Two and a half months,” she says and I smile.
“So when I came to visit you on tour—”
“I should have gotten my period then, but I haven’t,” she says.
I smile so brightly that my cheeks hurt. “But shouldn’t you have checked after a couple of weeks?”
“Well, at first I was so scared and you were on tour, so I wanted to wait until you got back. Then you got back and everything happened with Annie and the wedding, and I just never had a chance. And yeah, two and a half months is pretty damn late.”
“Don’t mess with me. Are you messing with me?”
“Not messing with you,” she says and giggles.
She laughs against my lips and I hold her as tight as I can without putting pressure on her stomach.
“So are you? Do you know for sure?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“No, I haven’t taken a test, and with everything that’s been going on I didn’t know when to tell you.”
“Fuck Indi, this is the best news I’ve heard all day,” I say and she smiles like she doesn’t believe me.
“Really? You’re not mad?”
I furrow my brows in confusion. “What? Why would I be mad, this news is fantastic!”
“Oh, thank God, I thought with the band, and with people not knowing about us officially yet you might be upset about it—”
“Indi, how can I be upset about you bringing into the world a part of you and a part of me. That’s just…unbelievable. I can’t even…God…I’m so happy!” I burst out and kiss her again strongly.
She giggles against my lips and pulls back. “But I don’t know for sure, so don’t get your hopes up.”
I smile and take her hand pulling her toward the front door.
“Whoa where are we going?” she asks racing behind me to keep up.
“To the pharmacy to get a test,” I say and she laughs.
“It’s the middle of your cousin’s welcome home party, Caleb. We can’t just leave,” she says and I turn to face her.
“Watch me.” I pull her with me out the front door and toward the car.
“Surely it can wait till the morning. We should at least say goodbye.”
“Indi, I need to know. Then we will really have something to celebrate. And I tell you now, if the test is a positive then we’re coming back to the party and telling everyone. I’m so fucking happy right now, Indi, and if we are pregnant, then I need the world to know. You okay, with that?” I ask, hoping like fuck she is.
She smiles and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. She takes my breath away. “I’m good with that.”
I pull her to me and kiss her like there’s no tomorrow. She’s carrying my child and nothing in the world could make me happier. I stop and turn around to face her. “Wait what did Annie say to you?” I ask and she smiles.
“She knew I was pregnant,” she says and I furrow my brows.
“What? How?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“I don’t know she said that my tummy was a little rounder and the way I kept holding it was a dead giveaway,” she says. I look down at her tummy and now that I see it, it does seem a little different. Not much, hardly at all, but just a tiny bit.
“Huh!” I murmur in surprise. I take her hand and as we get to the car, I open her door for her and she turns to me and pulls on my leather jacket stopping me in front of her.
“Are you really happy about this? I mean, we’ve only been married for two days.”
“Indi, to me you’ve been mine for years. Having a marriage certificate doesn’t change that fact, it just makes it official. Adding a baby to the mix just makes it perfect. Now stop the delaying tactics so we can get a test.” She lets my jacket go and slides into the car. I close her door and race around to the driver’s side and get in.
Fifteen minutes later, pregnancy test in hand and we’re back at the manor in the downstairs bathroom sitting on the bathtub waiting for a smiley face to appear. I made her pick that one because it’s such a great thing that is happening, I thought it was much better than a pink line or a simple yes appearing.
“How long has it been?” I ask as I stand up and pace the bathroom floor.
“Calm down, Caleb, it’s been like thirty seconds,” she says and I look at her raising an eyebrow.
“What, really? It’s going so slow,” I say.
She laughs and stands up wrapping her arms around my waist and nuzzling her head into my chest. “Do you want a boy or a girl?” she asks and the thought calms my erratically beating heart.
“A boy I think. I don’t know how to handle girls. Plus, then I’d have to worry about her dating and I would suck with boyfriends. She wouldn’t be allowed to date until she was like…thirty, maybe forty,” I say and Indi chuckles.
“What if it’s twins?” she says and my heart race spikes again.
“Shit, hadn’t thought of that, but actually how cool would that be?” I say and she giggles and raises her head looking up at me.
“You’re handling this so well.”
“Well, my sweet Indi. You, me, and a baby or two sounds perfect to me. I can’t wait to see you as a
mum, and I certainly can’t wait to be a dad,” I say. She bites her bottom lip and exhales trying to fight back the tears I can see welling in her eyes.
“Did you ever think we would get here? To a place where we would fully trust each other and love each other enough not to run when it got tough?”
“We were destined to be together, Indi. This was always our happy ever after. You, me, and little Hendrix.”
“We are not naming our boy, Hendrix,” she says and I laugh.
“It was worth a try.”
She looks at her watch and smiles. “It’s time,” she says and let’s go of me and walks over to the stick. I move up behind her and we both take a deep breath as she turns it over to reveal a happy bright blue smiley face.
“Yes!” I cheer loudly and almost jump on the spot as my hand shoots into the air in excitement.
Indi turns to face me and the tears she was trying to hold back break free.
“Oh baby,” I say and race forward hugging her. “What’s wrong?” I ask, suddenly very concerned.
“No, no, nothing. I’m just so damned happy. I was worried you wouldn’t want this, and look at you. You couldn’t be happier. I’m just so deliriously happy,” she says and bursts into a full-on blubbering mess of sobbing tears.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry,” I say rubbing her arms trying to make her feel better.
“It’s okay, it’s just the hormones. This is normal.”
“Is that nurse Indi talking?” She sobs. “Oh come here,” I say and hold her to me tightly giving her a squeeze.
“We’re gonna have a baby, and we’re gonna call him Hendrix. How cool is that, babe?” I say trying to lighten the mood. She slaps my arm hard making me chuckle, as she slows her sobbing, and as she pulls back, I see a hint of a smile.
“He’s not going to be called Hendrix,” she says and I grin and shake my head.
“Okay, what about Cobain then?” I ask and she bursts out laughing.
“No fucking way. Anyway, it’s going to be a girl,” she says.
I raise my lip and shake my head. “Oh, Madonna then, or Brittany? Shakira?” I ask and she wipes her face laughing and shakes her head.
