by A. E. Neal
"Sometimes you can bleed a little at first, most women mistake it as a period and as for your birth control, I don't have a viable answer, but I know there has been a recall. I can check with Doctor Keller to be sure, she might know better than I would."
"Yeah, that'd be great. Uh...not that it matters now, but sure."
"Maybe my swimmers just kick ass, babe," Zac said proudly.
"Simmer down, Hercules. I'm sure my shitty birth control just opened the door for them so they could set up camp in my uterus," I joked.
"It's not uncommon, Miss Allen. I've seen it more often, than not," the tech said.
"Well, that's reassuring."
She gave me a moment to clean up and left the room, giving Zac and I some time alone to look at the ultrasound picture.
He pulled me into his arms and held me there for a while. "I'm so happy, right now, I could break out in song and dance."
"Oh God, please don't."
He released me, planted a wet kiss on my cheek and proceeded to do 'The Carlton' and he looked absolutely ridiculous.
"Dork."
"Yeah, but you love this dork and I'm gonna be a daddy," he said, smiling.
Chapter 26
Kennedy
"Zac? You awake?" I whispered.
He rolled to his side to face me and yawned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, really. I can't fall asleep."
"It's three A.M., Ken. You haven't slept at all?"
"I've been thinking."
He propped himself up on one elbow. "Yeah?"
"What was that song you were singing in the cantina that night?"
He chuckled. "Really? That's what's keeping you up?"
"I'm serious. I didn't even know you could sing and I thought you gave up learning to play the guitar a long time ago," I rambled. "But it's stuck with me, ever since that night. Did you write it?"
He laughed again, "Yeah." He rolled onto his back and tucked his hands behind his head. "After I moved out, I had a lot of time to think."
"Understandable," I said.
"I was listening to this random song on the radio one day and I was like, hey I can write a song like that. It might not be a number one hit, but..."
"I loved it."
"It's called, Keep You," he said softly and smiled.
"And it's about me?"
"Yeah," he said before he slid out from underneath the sheets and padded to the kitchen in the pitch black. I laid there, wondering what the hell he could possibly be up to.
A few minutes later, he returned with his guitar, sat on the edge of the bed and began to play.
I closed my eyes, listening carefully to each word and when the song ended, I caught his dark blue-gray stare.
"What?" he asked.
"I can't believe you wrote that and I really had no idea you could sing. Your voice is amazing. I kinda wanna hear you sing all the time, now."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm serious."
"It's nice of you to say so, but you don't have to lie to make me feel better. My singing isn't worth a damn. I sound like Kermit the Frog after smoking a carton of cigarettes."
I laughed. "I think it's sexy. Promise you'll play it for me again, sometime."
"It's not a very happy song, Ken."
"I know, but it'll remind me of how we ended up here. All the heartache, lonely nights and knowing you felt that pain. I want to be reminded of it, so I don't do it again. I'm so sorry I hurt you, Zac. I wasn't ready for us...this...I still don't think I am, but I'm willing to lay everything I have on the line to make this work."
He leaned closer, cupped my jaw in his hands and pressed his lips to my forehead.
"And this is why I love you, Kennedy Allen."
I giggled. "We'll see about that in a few months. You'll probably want to tie me up, gag me and ship me off to a deserted island in the South Pacific."
"Is that a promise?"
We laughed together, and I finally understood what it felt like to have your best friend as your soul mate. We'd been through everything together, the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly. But as we lay in bed and laughed together, nothing else seemed to matter. None of it, because I was right where I needed to be.
"I'm calling your sister tomorrow," I whispered and he took a deep breath.
"Either she'll disown me as her flesh and blood or..."
"She'll clam kick me and hate me for eternity," I interrupted.
"Clam kick, huh. That's a new one." We laughed again. It was nice to know he'd always be there for me, even if Ally did decide to disown both of us.
"You know, I think she'll actually be really excited. She's always wanted to be an aunt," he said, smiling.
"I hope you're right." And with that, he pressed his lips to mine, positioned himself between my legs and made love to me until we were both spent.
I'd slept in the next morning, and it was around ten o'clock by the time I dragged myself from Zac's warm, comfortable bed. I padded into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and popped one of Doctor Keller's miracle pills and swallowed. She'd told me the nausea and morning sickness would go away in time, but since I'd started taking the little pills, I felt a thousand times better than I had in the last week.
"Morning," Zac whispered into my shoulder as he kissed my neck.
"Hey," I said and turned to face him. His messy hair fell over his crystal blue eyes and he flashed a sexy half-grin.
"You look beautiful."
"You're just being nice," I teased and he pulled me into him by the waist.
"Your phone has been going ape-shit for the last hour."
My eyes widened. "The blood test." I hurried into the kitchen and swiped my phone off the counter. I took a deep breath and listened to the voicemail I'd missed from the doctor's office.
"Miss Allen, this is Tammy from Doctor Keller's office. We have the results of your blood work. Please call us as soon as you can to discuss further. Thank you."
"What?" Zac asked as he watched me intently.
"She didn't say. I have to call the office."
A look of panic washed over him as I dialed the office's number and waited for an answer.
"Doctor Keller's office, how may I direct your call?" the female voice asked.
"I received a message from Tammy about my blood test results," I said nervously.
"And your name?"
"Kennedy Allen."
"Just a moment, Miss Allen." I was immediately placed on hold. Cheerful music played as I held the phone to my ear.
I covered the microphone and whispered to Zac, "I'm on hold."
He nodded and began pacing the kitchen. Like that was going to help me feel better.
Two songs later, a woman picked up the line and asked, "Miss Allen?"
"Yes," I said, motioning for Zac to quit walking circles around me.
"Your test results came back and everything looks normal. Doctor Keller wanted me to make sure and tell you that we found no reason to believe you or your baby are at risk."
"What?" I asked in shock.
"We did a very extensive work-up and your blood looks normal. Your iron count is a bit low, but nothing a good prenatal vitamin can't take care of. Have you started taking them, yet?"
"Uh...no, I'm still kinda new at this whole thing. Where can I get those?"
She laughed a little. "You can pick them up at any drug store or I can have Doctor Keller write you a script for some, if you'd prefer."
"Yeah, actually that'd probably be better. I don't wanna screw up and get the wrong ones."
"Of course. I'll have her send it to the pharmacy within the hour. Are there any other questions I might be able to answer for you?"
"No, thank you, Tammy. Thank you so much."
"You have a good day, Miss Allen, and we'll see you back here in a few weeks."
"Thank you again. Bye."
I ended the call, turned to Zac and burst into tears.
"Oh fuck. What? What'd she
say?" He pulled me into his arms.
"Good news. It's good news," I choked between sobs.
"Jesus, Ken. Then why are you crying?"
"I-I don't know. I can't help it."
"God, you freaked me out. You're gonna give me a heart attack if you keep that shit up."
"I'm sorry."
He kissed the top of my head. "So everything is okay? The baby? What?"
"She said they didn't find anything wrong and the baby is healthy."
He wrapped his arms around me, gripping my ass and lifted me onto the counter. He dropped down to my belly and kissed it. It was the first moment I'd realized I was actually going through with this. I was pregnant. And another wave of emotion hit me, tears streamed down my face as Zac whispered to our tiny Skittle, "Quit making Mommy cry."
I laughed and he nestled between my legs. His bright blue gaze found my tear-clouded one and he smiled.
I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand and smiled back.
"We're gonna be parents," I said.
"Fuck yeah, we are," he said excitedly.
"Zac," I scolded.
"What? He can't hear me, he's like the size of a jelly bean. Jelly beans don't have ears."
I rolled my eyes. Yep, he was going to be the father of my child. Someone cue the orchestra.
Chapter 27
Zac
"Will you just call her, already?" I asked, holding the phone out to her with my sister's number on the screen. "All you have to do is hit the 'call' button."
She shrugged. A few months ago, she was terrified to tell Ally about us, but now, she looked totally petrified. She stared at the phone like it was a diseased rat with a flesh-eating virus.
I waved the phone in front of her again. "Just do it."
She stepped back into the edge of the counter and she didn't have anywhere to escape. "Take the phone, Ken."
"Fine," she snapped and snatched the phone out of my hand.
She hopped onto the counter, stared at the screen for a moment before hitting the 'call' button. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and held the phone to her ear.
"It's ringing," she offered and I nodded.
A moment later, "She's not answering." And after another second or two, "Voicemail."
"Leave a message," I said.
She waved me off, hopped off the counter and walked slow circles around the kitchen island as she left my sister a message.
Kennedy
My heart was pounding in my chest as soon as Ally's voicemail picked up. What would I say? Would I tell her about the baby, Zac and I over voicemail? Maybe she already knew, and that's why she wasn't answering. I felt my mouth go dry as the tone— indicating it was time to leave my message— beeped.
"Hey, friend. It's me, Kennedy." Duh. "Just needed to talk to you. Call me back, okay?" I quickly ended the call and held the phone in my hand, completely frozen.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
I walked over to Zac, punched him in the arm as hard as I could and slammed my phone into his chest. "Worst thirty seconds of my life, thank you very much." I stormed off into the bathroom, slammed the door behind me and locked it.
"Skittles?" Zac called from outside the door.
"I just need a minute, Zac. Please."
"You sure?"
"Yes, just leave me alone, okay?"
"Okay," he said, sounding defeated.
As I stood in the shower, letting the hot water wash over me, I thought of every possible scenario in my head. Would Ally freak out and hit me? I'd duck if she did, I was always faster than she was. What if she didn't say anything? That would be the worst possible scenario, ever. If she said nothing and just walked away, I'd never forgive myself.
My head began to hurt and as I rubbed my temples, I came up with the perfect plan.
With a towel wrapped around me and hair soaking wet, I bounded into the kitchen.
"Zac! I've got it!"
Zac
"This better work," I said. I was still skeptical about Kennedy's plan about how we'd break the news to my sister.
I had to admit, it was pretty clever. We'd worked on our little project all day and Ally had yet to return her call.
"It will...or at least, I hope it will," she said sweetly as she glued the photograph onto a large piece of heavy card stock.
Our project was rudely interrupted by the ringtone I'd forgotten to change.
"Sexy Back? Really?"
"It's Kirsten's doing," I said sheepishly as I reached for my phone.
"Hello?"
"We're back. I just wanted to let you know," Kirsten said. "You have a few things here, I'll pack them up and bring them over. Are you home?"
"Uh..." I ran a hand through my hair as Kennedy stared at me with wide eyes. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I'll be over to grab them in a little while, okay?"
"You know, Zac. I could just chuck your favorite guitar in the dumpster, throw your clothes off the balcony or take the keys to your car and drive it off a cliff."
"What's your point, Kirsten. Please tell me you have one."
She laughed. "Oh, I do. Trust me."
"Fine, I'll be over in a minute, okay?"
"The door's unlocked," she said and hung up.
"Fucking psycho bitch," I grumbled.
Kennedy shook her head and laughed. "You want me to come with you?"
"No. I can handle this."
I grabbed my t-shirt, slid it over my head, shoved my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and took a deep breath.
"I'll be back in a minute," I said as I leaned down and kissed her soft lips.
"Okay. But please be careful."
"Yeah, yeah. I will."
I rounded the corner and stood in front of Kirsten's door. Should I knock or just go in? I lifted my hand to knock and as my knuckles pressed against it, the door swung open.
"Kirsten?" I called.
Paolo came rushing into the entryway, teeth bared and growling.
"Little shit," I said as I kicked at him.
"I'm in here!" she called from the bedroom and I'd already had a bad feeling in my gut. I knew I shouldn't go in there, but what choice did I have? I could live without my clothes, but my guitar and car keys were another story.
"Damn it," I mumbled under my breath.
I stopped at the edge of her doorway and peeked in. Kirsten lay on her stomach on the bed, scrolling through pictures she took from Cancun.
"Hey, baby," she said, tilting her head toward me. "I was just making a photo album of our trip, wanna see?"
Bipolar was the only word that came to mind.
"No, Kir. Just give me my stuff and I'll go."
She jutted her bottom lip out and whined. "Please?"
"I don't have time for this. Where's my shit?"
She raised herself on her knees and leaned toward me with her arms outstretched. "Come on, baby. Just a peek. Please?"
"Fine. Show me," I said and edge closer to her bed.
As she scrolled through the photographs of her and her friends by the pool, beachside and everywhere in between, she stopped and turned the laptop toward me.
There, as clear as day was a series of pictures of us...having sex.
"What the fuck, Kirsten? Where'd these come from?"
"Oh, you like them, don't you? I can make you copies, if you like? I'm sure your slutty friend, Kennedy, would like them too, don't you think?"
"Goddamn it, girl! What part of, 'we are over' didn't you understand?" I snapped.
"It's funny you say that because, well, here's the thing, I'm the only one who gets to say we're done," she said calmly, switching between photos. "And we're not done, Zac. I always get what I want, you'll see."
"You're out of your fucking mind."
"One click and I'll make these public on Facebook."
I was out of options. Sure, I didn't want my friends or sister to see sex photos of me and some girl I hardly knew. But it was probably just the first of many blackm
ail schemes she had worked up in that head of hers.
"What do you want from me, Kirsten?"
"Just you, baby."
"Well that's not gonna happen, so if I can just get my stuff..."
"Sure, you can have your stuff. It's on the coffee table in the living room, but..." She slid to the edge of the bed, spreading her legs wide as she hung them over the side. She lowered the cotton robe she was wearing to reveal nothing but a lace bra and matching thong underneath.
"You have to do me a favor?"
"No. No favors. I'm done with this fucking game you're playing." I turned and headed straight for the living room.
I saw a box on the table and my guitar propped against the wall.
"We both know it won't last, Zac. You need things she can't give you. You need me," she snapped as she sauntered into the room with a hand perched on her bare hip.
"I love her, Kirsten. The sooner you understand that, the better," I shot back, grabbing the box and my guitar by its neck. "Where are my keys?"
She had a hand behind her back and slowly reached out. My keys dangled on the end of her finger. I leaned forward to take them and she stepped back.
She was really testing my patience and I'd had enough. "Fucking hell, woman, I'm done with your bullshit! Give me the goddamn keys, now!"
"Fine. Just know this, Zachary. I will see you again. I promise you that."
She placed the keys in my hand and scooped the devil dog into her arms.
"Not if I can help it." I turned and walked out of her apartment, without looking back.
Kennedy
I knew he hadn't been gone for long, but I couldn't help think, what if she'd really gotten her claws into him that deep? When I was fat and bloated from head to toe, would he run back to her? She was prettier than I, younger and probably more agile. What if he really did love her, even though he said he didn't? What if he was only staying with me because of the baby?
As I glanced down at the picture of us, his hand over my belly, mine over his, I really wondered if it was all an act. I knew I couldn't raise a baby on my own, but if it came down to it, I could face the world of being a single mother head on.
My heart raced as panic set in and I felt tears burn in my eyes. "No! I'm sick of fucking crying!" I shouted. I shot up from the couch and hurried into the bathroom.
