by Cassy Roop
I shoved against his chest hard sending him stumbling backwards and that was all it took before we went to blows, each of us fighting for one mutual interest that had brought us to this moment.
Ashley.
Swing after swing we traded blows, knocking over table lamps and knickknacks before we both came crashing to the floor with me on top of Rownan. I held him down with every ounce of strength I could as my fist collided with his face and jaw in a torturous rhythm. I was so caught up in my quest for revenge against him that I didn’t hear or see Knox and Toby come rushing into the apartment. I heard the sound of female squeals as Kelly and Ashley joined them moments later.
“Dominic, stop!” Ashley pleaded with me and I turned toward the sound of her voice giving Rownan open opportunity to land a hard blow against my jaw. Knox and Toby were on me the moment it happened knowing that his punch would only anger me more.
“Dominic, stop please,” Ashley pleaded with me again and after looking around at the mess Kleinfield and I had made of the apartment, and the now bruised, bloody and swollen face of Rownan, I lifted my hand in surrender and climbed off of him, as Knox and Toby both lifted me up to assist.
“Jesus Christ, Nic. What the fuck? Assault charges on top of everything else? That is just what you need,” Toby said leaning in so that I was the only one who could hear. The girls stood there staring, not believing what they had just witnessed. The door to the apartment was still open and I knew that the other tenants had to have heard the ruckus that went on. Toby was right. What the fuck was I thinking? That was the thing, I wasn’t.
Ashley made a dash for the kitchen before coming back and producing two cold, wet towels, one for me and one for Rownan. I was handed mine while Ashley seemed to pay special attention to Rownan’s wounds as she held up the towel to his busted lip and cheek in a comforting, and intimate way. My blood seethed in my veins to watch the interaction of the two. Ashley was saying something to Rownan, while Toby and Knox were desperately trying to get me to leave before the cops showed up due to one of the other tenants in the building calling the police, but all I could do was stare and watch the interaction between Rownan and Ashley.
“Nic, I think you better go before the police get here and you get into more trouble,” Kelly suggested and I was temporarily broken away from my stare down between Ashley and Rownan.
I nodded in agreement, but I wasn’t leaving here until I knew the truth and heard it from her lips.
“I know why you were in my club last night,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. An almost unnoticeable gasp came from Ashley, but I didn’t miss it.
“Tell me, Ashley, why did you do it?”
I didn’t mean to be more attentive to Rownan’s wounds, but I did if for the reasons that Rownan’s injuries were far worse than Dominic’s, and also that I knew that if I got close to him, I would want to touch him, reach out to him to seek the comfort of his arms.
I was trying to attentively clean up the cuts on Rownan, trying to ignore that fact that Dominic was just a few short feet away from me. The blood that ran down Rownan’s face made my stomach turn. I had never been turned off by the sight of blood before, but for some reason the metallic smelling, red fluid had me feeling a little green. I had to hold onto Rownan’s forearms a little tighter to try and hold back from getting sick.
“I know why you were at my club last night. So tell me, Ashley, why did you do it?” Dominic’s voice boomed through the apartment. Freezing in place, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. How could I admit what I had done? My best friend’s life was at stake from a vicious, sick as fuck, delusional woman who thought that she had some weird chance in hell to make Dominic love her.
I looked at Rownan, the only person in the room who did know what I had done at the club last night, and tried to seek help from him with my eyes as to what to do. He registered the panic in my face, but didn’t say anything, possibly due to his jaw being broken. He just nodded at me to indicate that everyone was staring at me.
I felt myself shrink as everyone and everything around me started to spin. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and my chest felt tight. I could feel a full panic attack coming on and knew I was going to be sick. I sucked in as much air as I could. Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Kelly, Toby and Knox all begged to try and get Dominic to leave. I needed to get him out of here.
“I don’t owe you or anyone else in this room an explanation. If you will excuse me,” I said sternly before I walked past all of them and ran down the hallway to the bathroom. Before I got the chance to shut the door, I heard everyone trying to coax Dominic out the door before the police arrived. I prayed in my heart that Rownan wouldn’t seek charges against Dominic. I had put him through so much already, and the last thing he needed was to have more charges brought against him. I barely made it to the toilet in time, knocking items off of the sink along the way before I got violently ill. I threw up so long, that all that was coming from me were dry heaves. I don’t understand how I could even throw up anything in the first place, when I hadn’t eaten anything at all today.
Kelly knocked on the bathroom door before entering and came in holding a tall glass of water. I used some toilet paper to wipe at my mouth before accepting the glass from her and hoping that if I drank it would stay down.
“Did he leave?” I asked Kelly knowing she would know who I was referring to.
“Yes, Toby and Knox got him out of here. The police are on their way though. Old woman Billings next door peeped her nosy ass into the apartment and said she called due to all of the commotion. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw how bloodied up both Nic and Rownan were.”
It was when I leaned my hands against the sink to try and gather my composure, that I saw the pregnancy stick that had fallen between the sink and the toilet. Kelly’s eyes zeroed in on the stick laying on the floor about the same time that I did and reached down to grab it. When she stood back up, she flipped the stick over to reveal the results. Her eyes grew wide and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth.
My heart pounded forcefully in my chest. Did I want to see the results? Was I prepared to bring a child into this world where I was surrounded by people that were forcing me to make horrible decisions? Or could I take the baby and Kelly far away from here so that she could live and we could escape all of our problems?
Rownan entered the bathroom and tried to mumble something about the police being here while he tried to keep his jaw in one place. His brows furrowed together when he took in Kelly’s shocked and my anxious expressions. Kelly looked up at him from staring at the stick in her hands.
Rownan nodded towards the test in her hands and she returned her gaze to it briefly before she handed it to me. I closed my eyes and accepted the tiny plastic indicator of what my future would hold. Letting out a long breath that I was holding onto, I opened my eyes to read the results. All the air left my lungs to where I had felt like I was punched in the gut, knocking the wind out of me. Sweat formed on my brows and upper lip as I saw the one word that would change my life forever.
One week, five days, and fourteen hours have gone by since I found out I was carrying Dominic’s child. I placed my hand over my belly in a protective move over my child, the tiny bean that I saw in the fuzzy black and white photograph that I held in my other hand. Something so small, so significant that I couldn’t help the feeling of pride that washed over me.
A mother.
I am going to be a mother.
I haven’t told Dominic that I was pregnant. I made Kelly and Rownan promise to keep it a secret with the promise that I would tell Dominic prior to the trial.
Two days after I found out I was pregnant, I made copies of the video and had one sent to Asher. I told him that if he ever threatened me again, I would go straight to the police with my copy. I never heard anything back from him or Drake, for that matter, since then. However, that still didn’t help the situation I was in. I got one person o
ff of me, but now I had Victoria to deal with. She constantly taunted me by sending me pics of her and Kelly out and about hinting that she could take care of Kelly at any time. Kelly trusted her too, which made it even more difficult. If I tried to warn Kelly away from Victoria, she would question it and wonder why, and I couldn’t give her an explanation for it. Kelly was the type of person who would confront you in a heartbeat over something and I couldn’t tell her to avoid Victoria without her asking Victoria why I thought she should.
I just left the doctor’s office. Rownan had offered to go with me, to be my comfort, but out of respect for Dominic, I didn’t want to do it. I loved Rownan, more than anything, but not in the way I knew he was hoping that I would. He still offers nearly every day to help me raise the baby and to let him take care of me, or us I should say. I was fortunate enough to convince Rownan not to file charges against Dominic for their fight. Also, I was very pleased that Rownan’s jaw wasn’t broke, just severely bruised.
The trial started tomorrow. I had until then to come up with a plan to get out from Victoria’s influence or I was going to be seriously in trouble. I was pregnant. I couldn’t go to jail, and that is exactly what was going to happen when I had to get up on the stand tomorrow and say that I lied about the whole situation and that I had planted the file for evidence.
I drove on autopilot to the studio for my art class. I told Ginny about my pregnancy because sometimes the materials that we used gave off a foul odor that would send me to the bathroom to puke. Morning sickness was kicking my ass. Rownan always made sure I had some ginger ale or saltine crackers nearby. He and Kelly had been pretty wonderful these last few days, but I could also feel Kelly growing distant, as the trial date got closer.
After class, I went to the art studio to help Rownan set up the rest of the gallery for the exhibit that he had there later tonight.
I found Rownan in one of the back galleries putting the finishing touches on some of the decorations. I was welcomed with a firm hug as he folded me into his tanned muscular arms. I welcomed the warmth of a man who in the absence and distance between Kelly and I, had become one of my best friends. Even though I knew that his feelings for me went beyond just friendship, I had come to lean on him for support, needing someone to fill the void that was left in my heart from this fucked up situation I was in.
“So how did the appointment go?” Rownan asked me as he released me from our embrace and rubbed one of his hands on my belly. I smiled as I reached into the back pocket to retrieve the ultrasound photo that the doctor had given me. He took the photo from my hand and a gorgeous smile crossed his face. The next thing I knew I was lifted into his arms and he swung me around in a big circle before planting me on my feet again.
Laughter and happiness that seemed so foreign to me nowadays burst forth from me as we both once again glanced at the tiny little bubble on the fuzzy photo.
“She said I am six weeks along, which is why I have been getting so sick. It is about the time when women who have morning sickness start to feel the symptoms. She said it was important that I eat often and drink lots of water to keep from getting dehydrated.”
“Ah, yes. I remember Colleen getting sick all the time. She used to keep saltines and ginger ale next to the bed at night so she could eat them first thing in the morning. It helped her from getting sick so often,” Rownan said as he remembered his late wife. The smile that he had been bearing soon fell from his face as he remembered. In natural Rownan fashion, he shook it off, as if putting the memories back into a compartment in his mind.
“Ashley, love, I am so happy for you. You have told me how you have always wanted to be a mother, and now you are getting your chance to be one,” he paused as he looked me dead in the eyes and a serious look crossed his face. His gorgeous eyes shined bright as he looked at me with intent. He placed one of his big hands on my cheek in a soft caress.
“My offer still stands. I will gladly help you with this baby. I would take care of both of you; all you have to do is say the words.”
My heart melted once again from the sincerity and thoughtfulness of this man. I cannot say that I hadn’t developed deeper feelings for him since we had been spending so much time together, because I had, I just couldn’t let go of my feelings for Dominic. I froze in place as his name crossed my mind and thoughts of the trial beginning tomorrow. There was a good chance that the prosecution wouldn’t call me to testify tomorrow, so I was still safe, but I felt so anxious and worried because I still had no way of getting out from under Victoria’s threat. Having to choose between my best friend and the man I loved was almost more than I could bear. But in true Ashley fashion, I was once again sacrificing my wants and needs for others, whether forced or not.
“What’s wrong, love?” Rownan said as he took in my sudden change in mood.
“The trial starts tomorrow. I-just don’t know what is going to happen. I promised I would tell Dominic tomorrow that I am pregnant. I guess I am just afraid of the outcome.”
I was once again wrapped in the comfort of his arms. I snuggled into his chest as the sobs threatened to escape from my chest. It was harder with these damn pregnancy hormones to keep my emotions under control. Rownan placed a tender kiss on the top of my head.
“Remember, no matter what, I am still here.”
I nodded into his chest as the silent hot tears rolled down my cheeks. No one knew about Victoria, not even Rownan. It was too great of a risk to involve anyone. Especially since seeing how demented Victoria was, I knew she would put actions behind her threat.
The only thing I could do was hope for a miracle.
I made my way over to Dominic’s apartment to meet up with him, Knox, Toby, and Victoria so that we could all go to the courthouse together. I hadn’t spoken to Ashley in a few days, and keeping the pregnancy a secret from Dominic, was nearly killing me. He had a right to know that she was pregnant with his child, but she promised me that she would tell him today.
I had no clue how this trial was going to go. Finding out that Nic thought that Ashley was the one who put the fake evidence in the file cabinet at The Celtic Knot devastated me. Ever since her divorce from Jared, Ashley had become a whole new person. Someone I no longer recognized as my best friend. It was getting more and more difficult to try to choose between my love for her, and a man that I was falling in love with. Sure, Knox still held me a little at arm’s length, but I could tell by the way that he looked at me that he cared for me more than he even realized.
I guess you could say that I was a girl with “daddy issues.” Meaning, I didn’t have one, at least not in my eyes. He ran out on my baby brother, my mom and me when I was seven years old. My mom tried to tell me that he had an important job that would keep him from us for a while and that he loved us very much. I believed her at first, until year after year went by and not a word from him came. Mom finally told me the truth on my sixteenth birthday that he told her he had met someone new and that he realized that he wanted to go out and live life with her, and not be tied down with burdens, like his kids. She also told me that the woman was fifteen years his junior. I watched year after year as my mother busted her ass, sometimes working two or three jobs at a time to provide for my brother and me. So that is how my trust in men had become compromised.
Meeting Knox was like a punch in the gut. He overwhelmed me, didn’t put up with my bullshit, and gave just as good as I did. I know that the woman he had considered the love of his life ran off on him and that was his reason for not being with one woman for any particular amount of time. I guess you could say that we were two kindred, fucked up souls who had found some solace in each other no matter how dysfunctional and strange our relationship was at times.
I parked my car behind Victoria’s white BMW convertible and locked my car before heading up toward Dominic’s apartment. It was getting to be the end of May and the sun was getting hotter. The comfort of the air conditioning felt soothing as I entered the building. Dominic’s penthouse was on one of th
e top floors in the building. I pressed the button on the elevator, watching the arrow that pointed skyward light up. Waiting for the car to arrive, I heard some whispered voices from around the corner of another hall that lead toward the adjacent building. They sounded like a couple arguing, as they engaged in a heated discussion. Being the nosy person I was, I walked a few steps toward the hall and peeked around the corner to see what was going on.
I froze when I saw Victoria and that douchebag Asher in what looked like a heated argument. I hid back behind the wall so that they couldn’t see me as I tried to pick up on what they were talking about.
“I don’t give a shit what kind of tape she has on you Asher, stay away from her. I am warning you. I have her right where I want her and I will not have you messing up everything just because you have some obsession with her. What the fuck is wrong with all of these men wanting her? You, Nic, and that Kleinfield guy. Does she have a fucking golden pussy or something?” Victoria said.
“We had a deal Vic, if Drake and I helped you get her and Michaels apart, you would help me have her. I want her. That is what I have been doing all of this for. That is what I have been paying Drake for,” Asher replied back with irritation.
I tried to hold back a gasp. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Victoria was trying to keep Dominic and Ashley apart? Why?
“I have hated that little bitch from the moment she walked into my club. I was so close to having Dominic. We had made so much progress in our relationship and she came along and Wham! All my progress went out the fucking window when he decided to actually want to be with her. Do you know how fucking hard it was to watch him and her on the monitors while they were in the Rapture Room, knowing he should be with me not her?” Victoria said in a whispered rage.
“Vic, you really are sick in the fucking head you know that? You watched them on the monitors? Even I am not that hard up. Sure, I want her, and want to make her my pet, but I’m not delusional that she is going to fucking fall in love with me. I don’t even want that anyways. I just want to fuck her. Make her mine. Make her my slave. We had a deal,” Asher said again.
