by C. A. Harms
I tickled her side and she laughed harder. “Ha-ha, real funny.”
On the drive back to the apartment, I caught Natalie watching me from the corner of my eye. I leaned toward her, taking her hand in mine and lightly kissing her knuckles.
When we pulled into the parking space, I made up my mind. This was my time. I’d been putting off the question that had been lingering in the back of my mind since we left my parent’s house. I was just going to go for it.
After I helped Natalie from the car, we made our way into my apartment. I snuck up behind her as she was getting a bottle of water from the fridge and brushed her hair to the side. She let her head fall back to rest against my chest and tilted it sideways, exposing her neck completely. I softly kissed up the side of her neck until I reached that spot just below her ear. With one last kiss, I took a soft calming breath.
“Move in with me?”
She spun around so fast we almost bumped heads.
“What did you say?” she asked.
I smiled and placed one hand on each side of her face, lowering my lips to hers.
Pulling back I repeated my question. “I asked you to move in with me.” She continued to stare into my eyes without any indication of how she felt. “Natalie, I want you here with me every night, and every morning. I wanna come home every day to you and our little boy.” I brushed away the hair that had fallen from her braid and tucked it behind her ear. “I love you, baby.” Placing my hand on her tummy, I continued, “And I love our little guy. I don’t want you two anywhere else but here with me so I can keep you safe and give you both everything you need. I need the two of you close.” I watched as her lower lip trembled. “Move in with me. Let me take care of both of you. This is forever, baby, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t start now.”
I was beginning to get a little nervous that she had yet to answer me. Instead she turned away, walking into the living room. She sat down on the couch and looked down at her hands as she held her water bottle tightly.
“Natalie, say something,” I insisted.
When she looked up she forced a smile. “I know you’re trying to be the good guy, Adam. I just can’t move in with you. I’m sorry, but I think it’s too soon, and I don’t want you to regret the offer. You’ll get sick of me, and then we know what happens after that.” I walked around the edge of the couch and knelt before her.
“I’m not asking you to move in here because I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m asking you to move in with me because I hate waking up without you. My bed feels empty and this place feels cold without you here. The thought of being able to reach over and know you’ll be there next to me is my comfort. Natalie, you’re home to me, I need you here with me always.”
Natalie was just about to say something when my doorbell rang. I had every intention of ignoring whoever was at the door, but Natalie was looking for a way out of this conversation. She stood from the couch and walked quickly toward the door.
I needed a moment to calm down. I was pissed that she thought I was asking her to move in because I thought I had to. I walked into the kitchen and took a few minutes to breathe and calm down.
“My name’s Natalie, and who the hell are you?”
That got my attention. I came around the corner just in time to hear Natalie raise her voice at whoever was on the other side.
“Well, I’m his girlfriend and I asked you what the hell you want?”
“Hey, Nat, who’re you talking to?” I asked because my girl was angry. Not often did she reach that state.
She turned to face me and placed her hand on her hip. I took another step toward her and that’s when I saw who was on the other side. My entire body tensed.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Marley had absolutely no fucking reason to show up at my apartment.
I watched as she eyed Natalie and then looked back over at me. “I came to see you and this girl thinks she can just tell me to leave. I stopped at the gym first and when I told them I was a close friend, the girl behind the counter gave me your address.”
“Well, that’s because Natalie can tell you to leave.” I made a mental note to let Kole know his airhead receptionist was giving out personal information. “Natalie’s my girlfriend and this is her place just as much as mine.” I stifled a laugh when Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at Marley as if daring her to argue.
Her feisty little attitude just happened to be one of the things I loved so much. I could see she was mentally yelling, “What do ya think of that, bitch?” I was actually pretty fucking happy she wasn’t jumping to conclusions about this entire thing.
“I just needed to talk to you. It’s important and I think you’ll be interested in what I have to offer.”
“Hmmph, well I think we both already know what you came to offer.” Natalie appeared a little more pissed then she was two minutes ago.
“Listen here, Ms. Piggy, this isn’t your choice.” Marley glared at Natalie.
“Excuse me? What the hell did you just call me?” Oh now it was on. Natalie flared up and looked ready to throw a punch.
Marley smiled. “You heard exactly what I said, fat ass.”
“I’ll show you fat-ass, you two-dollar whore.” Natalie took a step in Marley’s direction and I was momentarily shocked at the scene before me. How in the hell had we reached this point?
“Let’s see how you feel about tasting Ms. Piggy’s fist, you fucking skank.” Natalie barked as she took a swing at Marley, and at that moment I stepped in between them.
“Okay, that’s enough.” This had gone too far.
I had my back to Natalie and looked directly at Marley. I could feel Natalie pushing against my back. “Move out of the way, Adam.”
“You better be glad you’re pregnant, Porky,” Marley spouted off and I could almost feel the steam pouring off of Natalie behind me.
She laughed, and I had to glance back over my shoulder for a second. I had never heard such a sadistic laugh come from my girl. “No, bitch…you better feel extremely blessed that I’m pregnant. Because I can guarantee you if I wasn’t, even Adam wouldn’t be able to stop me from breaking your pointy ass nose.”
I needed to end this and fast. I looked back at Marley. “There’s nothing I want from you, so you can keep your offers.” I pushed backwards and nudged Natalie back inside, shutting the door just as she was about to say something else.
When I turned around, Natalie was gone. I walked toward the bedroom when I heard drawers slamming. She was digging through the dresser and by the way her nostrils were flaring, I knew she was pissed. “Nat, what are you doing?”
“What the hell does it look like I’m doing?” She looked up at me with complete coldness in her eyes. “I’m looking for the pants I left here so I can get ready for work.”
She stepped into her black stretchy pants and slipped on her oversized work t-shirt. As she walked past me in the doorway I reached out and gripped her waist. “Stop.” I waited for her to look at me and when she did, my chest tightened. “Baby, don’t cry.” Her eyes were full of tears and it broke my heart.
“You didn’t even stick up for me, Adam. Your fuck buddy stood right there in front of you and called me a pig and you said nothing to defend me.” She wiped away the escaped tear. “You’re a fucking coward! I don’t want to be with a man who doesn’t care enough to stand up for me when some bitch from his past treats me like I’m nothing.” Natalie pushed past me and I spun around quickly, following her.
“Wait a minute. What the hell do you mean?” I ran after her as she scrambled out the front door. She was a fast little shit when she was pissed. She was already half way down the sidewalk. “Nat, stop, come on…talk to me.”
I jogged to catch her just as she reached the front of her car. “I don’t have time for this, Adam. You did nothing while she stood in your doorway like she fucking belonged there more than me. You. Did. Nothing! I’m going to work.” She pushed past me roughly.
“Don’t you have a class tonight you need to get ready for anyway?”
I placed my hand on her hip and attempted to pull her closer. When she stepped back from me, I let my hand fall to my side. She wouldn’t look me in the eye. “I think we need to work this out, babe. I can call Kole and ask him to pick up the class. I don’t want you leaving upset.”
“I’m fine. You didn’t give a shit a few minutes ago, so don’t fucking worry about me now. I need to get going and I refuse to waste any more energy on this.” At this point giving her a little breathing room was most likely the best option.
She crawled into her car and slammed the door without giving me another thought. I watched as she backed out and drove away.
“Shit!” I hollered as I gripped the back of my neck and kicked at the ground beneath my bare feet.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Natalie
I refused to cry. I wouldn’t let what some bitch said upset me any further. Who the hell was I kidding? I couldn’t care less what that skank thought of me. What hurt was that Adam said nothing when she came at me.
My phone rang from my purse and I recognized the ring as Megan’s. I reached for it just as I was pulling into the parking lot of the bar.
“Hey,” I tried to hide the sadness from my voice.
“Um, Natalie, what’s going on? And before you attempt to convince me that you are fine, you need to remember that I know you better than most people. This also means I know when your ass is lying.” Megan was right. There was no point in lying to her, or Lexi, for that matter.
“I had a little disagreement with Adam and his ex-fuck buddy.”
“Excuse me, his what?” she said, sounding defensive almost immediately.
“Marley, the girl he got fired over in St. Louis. She showed up at his place tonight. I didn’t know who it was when I answered the door. He told me about her, but I never knew what she looked like. She went to the gym first and the girl there gave her Adam’s address. It turned to shit real fast and I left.” I felt a tear drip onto my hand. Silently I lectured myself. I said I wouldn’t cry damn it.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I just got to work. I haven’t gone in yet. I just need a few minutes to calm down.” I took a deep breath.
“Aren’t you supposed to be going to visit your dad?” Megan asked.
“Leaving in the morning. Why?”
“Adam is going with you, right?”
I let my head fall forward and squeezed the bridge of my nose. “Well, that was the original plan but I’m not sure now.”
Megan made me promise her that I would call her on my break so she could make sure I was okay and I agreed. I really didn’t feel like talking, but I knew she would worry and then that led to Lexi worrying. Our momma bear would be storming off to handle the situation as she always tried to and I just wanted to forget about it, for now.
“I love you,” Megan added. “Nat, you know that, right?”
“I know,” I whispered in return. “I’m fine, Meg, I promise. Don’t worry, okay?”
She laughed lightly. “Yeah, like I’m just gonna stop worrying because you said so.”
I spent the next hour standing around doing nothing. The bar was dead, three customers total were there. Apparently there was a huge event going on just few miles outside of town and no one was around tonight.
“Hey Natalie, why don’t you take off, hun? Nothing’s happening here tonight and I know you plan to leave early tomorrow. There’s no need for you to stand around all night when you could be getting some rest,” Bonnie said.
I turned toward her. “Are you sure? I don’t mind staying.”
“Go home, sweetheart.” She smiled at me as she sat down on the barstool and flipped on the TV behind the bar.
“Okay, thanks.” I was ready to get off my feet and just relax. “You guys have a good night.”
Once I reached my car, it had hit me that I never even told anyone about what we found out today. With everything that happened at Adam’s, I just let it slip my mind.
I grabbed my phone quickly and created a group message. I sent it out to everyone, anticipating the number of responses I would get in return.
Natalie: So, it looks like I’m going to have to get used to streams of pee coming my way every time I change my baby’s diaper. I hear little dudes have a hard time controlling the sporadic pee spurts.
Almost immediately, the texts started coming in from my friends. Rachel, my past roommate, was the first to respond.
Rachel: Oh a boy…I knew it. I will be sure to get you lots of baby washcloths, just throw one over his little worm and it will keep the pee out of your eye ;) R
I couldn’t help but laugh. Rachel had moved in with her boyfriend, which is why I chose to move out of the dorms and into my own apartment. I didn’t want to take a chance of getting some girl that I hated as a roommate.
I received some random messages and phone calls congratulating me. The smile I couldn’t wipe from my face made today’s earlier events a little less heartbreaking.
Before I realized it, I was pulling into the parking lot of the gym as if my subconscious was telling me what my heart already knew it wanted.
I stopped quickly and as I looked toward the side of the building, my heart sank. Adam was leaning back toward the side of his truck and that bitch Marley stood in front of him. Her hand rested in the center of his chest. His hands were shoved down into his front pockets and he was looking at her, listening to whatever she was saying.
So many emotions came at me full force. One being anger. They had me envisioning stomping on the gas pedal and making that bitch my new hood ornament.
But instead I turned my car in the opposite direction and drove around the opposite side of the building, leaving through the back alley. I fought the tears building in my eyes. I wouldn’t let myself fall, I couldn’t.
But I felt sick to my stomach.
I went to my apartment and grabbed my bag I had packed for the trip to my dad’s. After I stopped by the nearest gas station to fill my car, I made the decision to make the drive alone that night.
I had only been on the road for maybe fifteen minutes when I got a text message. Glancing at the screen I just rolled my eyes, ignoring the hurt feelings inside and replacing them with disgust.
Adam: Come to my place after work, please. You need to get a good night’s sleep if we plan on leaving by seven. Love you.
I mentally began preparing what I would tell my dad when I showed up alone. I knew he’d be skeptical already with me showing up this late tonight. I would just have to be convincing. The last thing I wanted was to worry my dad.
Then another thought crossed my mind. I plugged in my earpiece and dialed my phone. After two rings, Lexi picked up.
“A baby boy, I bet Adam is on cloud nine.” Her chipper voice filled my ear.
“Yep, a boy.” I laughed. “I’m excited. Yeah it’ll be different. I’m so used to Hanna, but it will be a good different.” I prepared to get an earful when I told Lexi my next bit of information. “Hey, is Megan there?”
“Uh, yeah she was getting ready to go home. Why?” she asked suddenly sounding curious.
“You two have to promise not to be mad at me.” I didn’t know if I could take any more sadness today.
After a pause Lexi spoke, “Nope, can’t promise that. I have a huge feeling I’m gonna be needing to whip someone’s ass. So go ahead and tell me so I can decide if it’ll be you or Adam.”
Momma Bear had just woken from her nap. “Lex, stop, seriously. I know Meg probably filled you in already.” I listened and when she stayed silent, I pictured her pacing the living room at her house.
“I left for my dad’s tonight…alone.”
“What the hell, Nat? How am I not supposed to be mad at you? First off, it’s almost ten o’clock at night and your car sucks ass. Not to mention you’re pregnant and alone on the freakin’ interstate. Does Adam know?”
“No, and you a
ren’t going to tell him,” I stated.
“Why not?” she asked.
I veered off onto the ramp when the exit showed a McDonalds. I was starving, and I needed to pull over and calm down Lexi, anyway.
Once I pulled into the parking lot, I put it in park and left my car running. Lexi was still lecturing me about how this was ridiculous and unsafe, blah blah.
“Okay, enough already.” She immediately quieted. “Lex, I stopped by the gym to talk to Adam and I found him in what appeared to be an intense conversation with Marley in the parking lot. She had her hand on his chest and he didn’t seem to mind. I needed to get away, so excuse me for not giving two shits about Adam or how he’d feel about my current situation. I know it probably wasn’t the best choice but I needed to, okay. I’m fine…I promise I only have about a half hour left and I’ll be there.”
I heard my phone beep with an incoming call and I looked at the screen feeling my stomach drop. It was Adam.
I let it go, only to have a second and third call immediately follow.
“Lex, listen, I’ll text you when I get there and please stop worrying.”
“Love you, Natalie.” She let out an exaggerated breath. “Please be careful.”
“I will…promise.” I assured her before we hung up and I read the numerous text messages from Adam.
By this point I had lost my appetite.
Adam: Where the hell are you?
Adam: Call me, Natalie…We need to talk!
Adam: What game are you playing?
Game? I wasn’t the one hanging out in a dark parking lot with someone I had once been intimate with. Just then my phone rang once again and I knew I needed to handle this.
“What?” I said hatefully.
“Where are you?” I knew Adam well enough to know he was fighting his own anger.
“I’m in my car.” I said refusing to give him more.
