by Dawn Martens
I look to my father, whose face is pale, and he also has tears in his eyes. “If you hate me now, I understand. You always sheltered me and Emma too much growing up, and I got it, ‘cause Mom is a cunt. But you should know. Emma and Seth have been dating a year now, and not a few weeks like you thought. And yea, I’m knocked up.”
“Sweetheart, no, I could never hate you. I gave those rules so you two could find yourselves before settling down. I didn’t want you to wake up one day and come to the same decision your mother made.”
He walks me into the house, closing the front door, not letting Ava in, and makes me sit on the couch.
“If you’re mad at them, you may as well be mad at me, too. I knew. Emma admitted to me what she did a few months ago. I didn’t say anything because you were so happy, and when you two visited I saw the love between you two. I even told Bryce he had to tell you. I’m not saying what he did was right, or what your friends did was right, but their hearts were in the right place, not at first, but after. They all love you, I love you. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you when I found out.”
I stare at him in shock, grinding my teeth. “I’m going to bed, I don’t’ want to see or talk to you right now. I can’t believe every person in my life has betrayed me. Maybe Mom had the right idea to leave you, after all.” I know those words hurt him when I see him flinch. I instantly feel like shit, but right now, I really don’t care.
Chapter 21
Bryce
It’s been a fucking week without Kristi, I’ve gone to her apartment, nothing, tried the school, nothing. Hell, I even went to Haylix Salon to ask to the girls if they heard from her, and all I got was a, ‘Get the fuck out of my salon before I take these scissors to your dick.’ So they were no help.
I pull into the apartment complex that Seth lives in, hoping to find Emma here and charge up the steps, banging on his door.
As soon as it opens I push through, “Where the fuck is Emma?”
“She’s in the bathroom,” Seth says hesitantly.
“Emma! Get the fuck out here,” I roar.
She walks out, her robe tied tight, her face pale.
“Where is she?”
“She went home, she’s not letting anyone talk to her, Dad even banned me from being there right now,” she replies quietly.
“This is all your fucking fault! I never should have let you talk me into this. And then you had to be the one to open your fucking mouth. I was actually on my way to talk to her about it all myself, but no, you had to ruin everything!” I shout in her face.
“Back the fuck up, man, seriously.”
“You back the fuck up; did you know about this shit?”
“Yeah,” he sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I told her this would backfire, but she didn’t listen.”
The second those words come out of his mouth, I slam my fist into his face. “Next time, keep your bitch on a leash.”
I look to Emma, who is crying, give her a disgusted look and leave.
**
As I’m about to throw my duffle bag into the trunk of my car, headlights blind me. I look up, hopeful that it’s Kristi, but it’s not. “What do you want, Alana?”
“Have you heard from her?” she asks.
“No, but I found out she’s staying with her dad, so I’m heading there now.”
“I’ll go too, might be best if you let me talk to her first. Maybe I can smooth things over more?”
“Or you could make it worse,” I mutter.
“Bryce, seriously, I love Kristi too, and I hate that she’s hurting because of us. If she ends up forgiving me, her dad, her sister, then it might make it easier to forgive you. Stay with your brother for a few days, let me get control of the situation with her. You know how stubborn I can be, and then you can make her hear you out, too.” She’s got a point.
“Fine, do you need her address?”
“Nope, I already got it from Ava. I’ll head to my place to pack a bag, and I’ll get on the road right away. Maybe text me your brother’s address, in case I get the same boot that Ava and Emma got.”
I nod at her and get in my car. Getting my phone out of the pocket I call Vinny.
“Yeah?”
“Vinny, Bryce, mind if I crash with you for a bit?”
“Runaway woman?”
I laugh, “Yeah.”
“You’re welcome here, see you soon, I’ll have Lilly get the guest room ready.”
I hang up the phone and drive off. I hope like hell, Kristi forgives me, I don’t want to be without her.
Chapter 22
Kristi
For two weeks I’ve been hiding out at my dad’s house. Emma came by last week, but Dad kept her away, said it would be best if I didn’t see her right now. I loved him for it, but at the same time I was so angry at him too. Even he fucking knew what was going on. My own father. How could he do that to me? It’s like everyone in my life was out to hurt to me.
I turned my phone off the second I was on the road home and haven’t turned it back on since. That hasn’t stopped the house phone and my dad’s cell from going off constantly. After the first two days, Dad stopped coming to ask me if I wanted to talk to Ava, Emma, Alana, or Bryce. Of course, I said no each and every time.
Now I’m laying on my bed, staring blankly at the wall when my bedroom door crashes open. Sitting up, I look, and narrow my eyes. My anger is boiling at the top now.
“What the fuck are you doing here, you bitch?” I snap at Alana.
She crosses her arms and glares back at me. “Trying to make this shit right, obviously. You are going to hear me out, and I’m not leaving here until we’re best friends again, and I’m taking you to your doctor’s appointment tomorrow. So sit there and keep your mouth shut!”
I snort, “Seriously? You think you have a right to even be in my room right now? Talking to me? Fuck you!” I throw my pillow at her, but miss as she steps to the side, leaving the pillow to fly out my door.
“Yeah, well fuck you too! I know what we did was wrong, okay. Bryce and I didn’t want to do this at first. The second Emma showed him your picture, and he remembered you from when you were kids, I saw it on his face that he wanted you. I didn’t want to admit it at the time; my relationship was over then and there. But it was. Should he have taken the money from your sister? No, he shouldn’t have, he should have just dated you on his own accord. Because he’s in love with you. And just so you know, we broke up the very next morning, officially, after you two made love, made that baby. Should we have broken up way before then? Damn right we should have. But we can’t go back. We didn’t so much as kiss each other the entire time you two were together. Sure, we lived together, but that was it.”
Rolling my eyes, I sit on the edge of my bed, getting close to her. “What about the money, huh? Did you and Bryce get a bonus for that? Now that I’m pregnant, will he get extra cash for that, too?” I sneer at her.
I didn’t see the slap coming, the second my head snaps to the side, I pounce. Toppling her over, I bitch slap the hell out of her. “I fucking hate you, do you know that!?” Slap. “I hate what you all did to me.” Slap. “You got my best fucking friend to lie for you.” Slap. “My dad.” Slap. “I fucking hate you!” I scream again, as I slap her some more. I don’t even realize that tears are pouring down my face until I’m lifted off Alana, into my dad’s arms.
“Hush, baby girl. Think of the baby. Calm down,” he whispers into the back of my neck.
I look to Alana, her face is red from my hand, and she’s crying like I am.
“I’m so sorry, Kristi. If it makes you feel any better, Vinny ended up giving Emma back all her money, and he’s paying for the shop construction. Bryce didn’t turn him down for the offer, because he wanted to make it right. He felt like if he kept that money from Emma, he would always feel dirty for doing this to you, more than he already does.”
My dad lets me go and I collapse on the bed, sobbing. He helps Alana off the floor. “You can
stay in Emma’s room tonight. Give her some time, what you all did was shitty, but I know Bryce loves her, and she loves him. My girl is stubborn, but I have faith she’ll get her head out of her ass.”
As they walk out of my room, I hear Alana whisper, “I’m so sorry, Kristi, I love you. Please forgive me.”
Could I though? Could I forgive her?
I don’t have the answers right now. But I can say that slapping the shit out of Alana felt good, even though my hands are stinging right now. Maybe I can do the same to Emma.
Chapter 23
Bryce
My phone chimes from the living room table and I stare at it. I’ve heard from Alana twice since we’ve been in Airdrie, once when I texted her I was coming over, because I desperately need to see Kristi, Alana quickly texted back saying that would be a horrible idea. So I listened, even though I didn’t want to. Fuck, it’s killing me being in the same damn town as Kristi and not being able to talk to her. But here I am, staying at my brother Vinny’s waiting on standby.
Staring at the phone, I’m nervous about picking it up.
“You gonna check that or just keep staring at it?” Vinny snidely asks.
Sighing, I grab it and then laugh. “You were right. Apparently, Kristi bitched slapped the hell out of Alana.”
“Just think, if you had gone over there, it would have been you.” He chuckles.
“I hate just sitting here and not being able to go over to see her.”
“Just give it some time. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you. Kristi doesn’t seem the type to want men begging after her.”
That’s true. She’s more the dominant type.
“How about you let me go over? I can talk to her. Hell, maybe even Lilly?”
That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
“Go for it. She might respond to you better than anyone else right now. Don’t be too late though, apparently she has a doctor’s appointment early tomorrow morning.”
He gives me the finger, laughing, “Yes, Dad. I’ll be home by curfew.”
Little shit.
I prop my feet up on the coffee table when Lilly comes into the living room with a beer. “Here, figured you could use this. I hide the booze when the kids are awake, but bring it all out once they’re down.” She smiles at me and plops down on the couch next to me.
“So you pulled a Vinny, huh?”
“Something like that.”
She gives me a sad smile. “If Vinny doesn’t get through to her, I’ll go over. Since I was once in her position, only worse.”
“What Vinny did to you was shittier, but you still took him back.”
“I hate remembering those times. For years afterward I still thought back on them, and almost walked away a few times because of those memories. Finally, after some serious chats, and therapy, I got over it. Does it still hurt? Sometimes when I look at his daughter with Kayla, but I love Vinny. Sure, people still think I’m stupid for forgiving him, but I don’t care anymore. If Kristi loves you, the way I love Vinny, she’ll forgive you. It will just take time.”
I don’t want to talk about this anymore. This guilt, depression feeling is killing me. “Want to watch a movie until Vinny gets back?” I ask her.
“Sure, nothing romantic, cuz I don’t want to see you cry.”
I laugh at her. “Such a goof.”
Kristi
I’m still holed up in my room when there is a knock on the door. “For fuck’s sake, leave me the hell alone!” I yell.
The door opens slowly. I swear to God if that is Alana again, I’m going to kick her so damn hard in the box.
“Mind if I sit?” a voice I don’t recognize asks.
I quickly sit up and my eyes widen in shock. “Holy shit, Vinny?” I whisper. “What are you doing here?” He’s still on the skinny side, but he pulls it off. Skinny guys don’t do it for me, but the way Vinny carries himself, it works. If I wasn’t in love with his stupid brother, I’d fight Lilly for him. Not really, but a girl can dream.
“Thought we could talk.” He shrugs as he sits next to me on my bed.
“Did that asshole cuntface send you?”
He chuckles. “No, I came on my own. I know what Bryce did was shitty, and I won’t try to defend his actions to you. But I do know that my brother loves you. Hell, he already asked your dad for permission to marry you.” I stare at Vinny in shock.
Bryce asked Dad if he could marry me? After only four and a half months of dating? Holy shit.
“What he did was bad,” Vinny continues, “But what I did was even worse. Not sure what all you know about what happened between Lilly and me. But it was worse than Bryce being with you, while dating Alana. I knocked up two women, at the same time, going back and forth between the two for years. I never thought Lilly would ever forgive me, let alone take me back for what I did to her. But she did. The difference with Bryce, he didn’t continue fucking Alana while he was with you. Not that it makes it any better, but it’s better than what I did.”
I heard a bit about him going between the two women for a while, but I didn’t know the full story. I guess what Bryce did really isn’t as bad. But doesn’t mean I should forgive him. Lilly is a stronger woman than I am.
“Just think about it. Don’t completely shut him out, I get it, you need time to heal. Lick your wounds and what not, just…Fuck, I sound like a little bitch. The guys are gonna hang me by the balls for this conversation, so you better keep your mouth shut,” he says, giving me a dirty look.
For the first time in weeks, I laugh.
“Nice chat, now I need to go fuck my wife so I can get my balls back.” He gives me a wink and walks out of my room.
I shake my head, smiling. What a moron.
Chapter 24
Kristi
My alarm clock goes off and I groan. Dad brought me in some food last night, and I pretty much went to bed as soon as I was done eating. I shuffle out of bed and grab a quick shower. I don’t want to spend too much time on how I look, so I just grab some sweatpants and a hoodie from my dresser and toss my hair up into a ponytail.
Opening my bedroom door, I roll my eyes at Alana, who is standing against the wall. “Ready to go?” she asks, sounding happy as hell.
The whole way to the doctor she doesn’t shut the hell up, constantly talking, and giggling when all I do is grunt at her. She’s making it really hard to stay mad at her.
It’s not until we hear the heartbeat that I reach over and grab her hand, giving it a squeeze that I finally do. Damn baby is making me forgiving. Stupid hormones.
After the appointment, we decide to walk to Denny’s to get some breakfast, and talk. Just as we’re about to head inside, I stop, frozen to my spot.
“Kristi,” my mom sneers as she notices me.
Alana grabs my arm, giving me a squeeze.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her.
“Just passing through. Didn’t expect to see you, last I heard you were living in Calgary, making something of yourself, instead, here you are.” She looks me up and down and narrows on my stomach, that has a small bump. “Looks like it didn’t last though. Got knocked up. Children ruin your life. I should know. Good luck with that.”
“You fucking bitch!” Alana roars, and quickly gets in her face. “How dare you? Children don’t ruin lives, ugly, good-for-nothing women like you ruin lives. Just like you ruined your own.”
“How dare you speak to me like that?” my mother starts but I interrupt her.
“Enough. Seriously, enough. If children ruin lives, then how come Dad’s life is flourishing? Yet here you are, looking like a junkie, needing your next fix. You left us, because you wanted something better out of life, yet you never got that. Grass isn’t always greener, is it? I’m just so thankful you did leave so I could become the person I am. A good person, with a good career, a loving family, and this wonderful bundle of joy. Hell, if you stayed, my life probably would have turned out shit. So thank you. Thank you for leaving, because we
all became better without you.” With that, I grab Alana’s hand and we walk into the restaurant.
After some silence, halfway through our meal Alana speaks up. “You okay?”
I shrug. “I knew this day would happen at some point, I’m glad it’s over now.”
Chapter 25
Two months later
Bryce
Two damn months and Kristi still hasn’t talked to me. I get little text updates from her, letting me know the baby is doing fine. But that’s it. Why the fuck can’t she just talk to me? She forgave Emma, Alana, her dad, Ava. Everyone. Everyone except me.
“Knock, knock.” Alana says, coming into my house.
“Get out,” I slur at her.
“Nope, you’re gonna get sobered up, and finally try and talk to Kristi. I think she’s ready for you.”
“I blame you too, you know. You were so excited for this whole charade to start up. Tell me why.”
She looks down, guilty. “When Seth started working for the shop, I met Matt a few times and started falling for him. I sort of saw this as an opportunity to have you fall for someone else so I wouldn’t feel so bad.”
“So instead of having the balls to tell me you wanted to break up, you went along with this whole thing!” I shout, throwing my half-empty bottle of Jack at the wall, shattering it.
“Don’t shout at me! You did the same thing, you were falling for Kristi since the day you bumped into her, and wouldn’t break up with me!” she screams. “You even admitted that you were jacking off in the shower thinking of her, before this thing started!”
“Fuck you!”
“No, fuck you! You keep blaming everyone else, except yourself. You are just as much in the wrong as the rest of us. Deal with it!” She turns around and walks out the front door, slamming it behind her.
