Heart of a Stripper

by Harris, Cyndi

“Is she really—God, I can’t even say the word.” She scoffed.

  “Don’t worry. I went to see her today, and I took care of it.” Bruce retorted.

  “So she’s going to get rid of it?” Kaitlin asked.

  “Kaitlin, I promised you everything will be fine and it is.”

  “Bruce, just tell me!” Kate snapped.

  “She had an accident—” he started as he heard noise. Adam had brushed up against the table and it made noise.

  Bruce turned and peered down the hall. Walking towards Adam’s direction, Adam ducked deeper into the corner. He heard Bruce’s footsteps grow closer and knew he would be busted. His heart hammered against his ribcage as he held his breath. Luckily a couple was coming down the hall after coming out of their apartment, so Bruce stopped. Smiling at them, he walked back to Kaitlin as Adam slunk from the corner.

  “Look, I’ll talk to you later. Just focus on keeping Mitchell happy with you.” Bruce replied stalking off.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Adam pounded on Mitchell’s door and waited. The door sprang open and Mitchell had an evil glare on his face that instantly melted away when he saw Adam.

  “Why are you pounding on my door like a maniac?” he asked walking inside and Adam followed, closing the door behind him.

  “Mitchell, we need to talk.” He replied standing near the kitchen counter.

  He watched Mitchell stop right before he got to the bare Christmas tree. He had obviously planned to decorate it because there was a box of ornaments and lights scattered on the floor. The tree was white, not a traditional green.

  “No.” Mitchell said shaking his head. “Every time someone starts a conversation like that with me it’s always bad news. I can’t take any more bad news.”

  “I’m sorry Mitchell, but I got to tell you this.” Adam said walking over to him.

  Mitchell sucked in a hard breath and held it before he nodded.

  “I saw your dad and Kate together tonight.” He started.

  “Again?” Mitchell asked heart broken and Adam cocked his head to the side confused like a dog would.

  “What do you mean again?” Adam inquired.

  “She promised she wouldn’t do it again!” Mitchell shouted before turning and throwing the green ornament he was holding in his hand.

  It flew clear across the room and shattered on impact as it hit the wall. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he panted angrily as his best friend watched in wonder.

  “Mitchell, tell me what you mean.” Adam insisted.

  “I know all about their affair ok? The night of the party, that was why I left. I saw her and my dad—together. They had no idea I was hiding in the bathroom.” Mitchell answered turning back to his friend.

  Adam’s jaw dropped and Nevaeh’s warning suddenly made sense. Gritting his teeth, Adam wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. He knew Kate was a bitch, but he never pegged her to be that bad.

  “Then why’d you take her back?! And why didn’t you tell me?!” Adam barked.

  “I wasn’t—but when Nevaeh ended things, I had nothing else to lose.” He mumbled looking down.

  “Do you love Nevaeh?” Adam asked.

  Mitchell looked up with trepidation in his eyes. It was obvious he was afraid of his own answer. Just by the look, Adam knew the truth.

  “I’m not allowed to love her. She’s younger—”

  “I didn’t ask you about morals or what everybody else will think. I want to know if my best friend is in love with a girl who left him.” Adam insisted.

  Looking at Adam, Mitchell sighed.

  “It doesn’t matter if I love her or not. We’re not together.” Mitchell responded sucking up his emotions.

  “It does matter. What I’m about to tell you is what I wanted to talk to you about.” Adam retorted.

  “Something about Nevaeh? So it wasn’t about Kate and my father?” he asked embarrassed as his cheeks turned a rosy red.

  “I saw Nevaeh yesterday and she told me to tell you she needed to talk to you.” Adam said. “I told her to leave you alone.”

  “Why would she need to talk to me? Why did you tell her not to? She has been missing school the past few days.” He said pacing back and forth. “Do you think her dad hurt her?”

  Mitchell was livid and Adam could see fire behind his glare.

  “I don’t know. All I know is, I found her crying outside and I gave her a ride. She got sick to her stomach and hopped out of my car embarrassed. I didn’t think anything of it ‘til today.” Adam replied.

  “Today? Why, what happened?” Mitchell asked impatiently.

  “I went by Kate’s place because we were supposed to meet up to go over details of a surprise party for you. When I got there I saw her and your dad in the hall talking. It was obviously about Nevaeh. Mitchell, I think she’s pregnant.” Adam said seriously.

  “Pre—pregnant?” he asked sinking into the couch behind him. “Are you sure?”

  Adam nodded as he let his friend gather his thoughts.

  “How would they know and not me? Even if she is pregnant that doesn’t mean it’s mine. She started dating another guy.” He said placing his face into his hands.

  “Mitchell I’m sure your dad and Kate wouldn’t be talking about her if it weren’t yours. I overheard Kate say that Nevaeh called you, but she answered because you left your phone home. I’m guessing that’s why Nevaeh really wanted to talk to you. But that’s not all, I heard your dad say she had an accident.” Adam replied bearing more bad news.

  “An accident? What kind of accident?” he asked shooting his glare up to Adam.

  Before he could answer, the front door opened and Kate walked in. She had a huge smile planted on her face, and that pissed Mitchell off more.

  “Adam, I thought we were meeting at my place.” She said.

  Mitchell shot to his feet angrily and stalked to her, making her feel uncomfortable.

  “Tell me what you need to tell me.” He barked, bawling his hands into fist.

  “Ok, we were planning a party for you.” She said walking past him. “I thought it was supposed to be a secret Adam.”

  “Not that!” Mitchell shouted, turning and looking at her.

  “What the hell is your problem?” she snapped.

  “You are! You’re such a deceitful bitch!” he growled.

  “How dare you—”

  “No, how dare you?! Tell me the truth for once Kate. Tell me what you know about Nevaeh or so help me…” he replied trailing off.

  Swallowing hard, she glared at Adam, then Mitchell.

  “She called you yesterday.” She sighed.

  “What about?” he pushed.

  “She didn’t say, she just hung up and that’s the truth.” She insisted getting teary eyed.

  “Tears are for the weak.” Mitchell barked coldly. He sounded just like his father.

  “What did my father do to her?” he growled.

  “I don’t know.” She sniffled.

  “Tell me!” he shouted.

  “I don’t know!” she screamed.

  “For your sakes I hope not.” He replied turning to leave, but she caught him by the arm.

  “Please don’t go Mitchell.” She begged. “Stay with me. Don’t let her ruin our relationship.”

  “You did a pretty good job of that, not her. I want you out of my house by the time I get back.” He said pulling away from her and leaving. Adam followed him quietly.

  Adam drove Mitchell to the strip club, only to run into Honey. She’d told him what had happened to Nevaeh, and Mitchell nearly buckled. Just to know she had fallen down some stairs had killed him inside. After calling around to a couple of hospitals, Mitchell had a bit of luck. Adam had driven to see her. Making it to the right floor, he had run into her doctor. Telling him that he was her fiancé had been the only way they allowed him to see her.

  “How is she?” Mitchell asked as they stood near the waiting area.

  “The fall she had was pretty bad. She lost a
lot of blood, and hasn’t woken up yet.” Dr. Ferguson responded.

  “Will she be ok?” Mitchell asked nervously. “Is the—” he didn’t know how to phrase the question about the baby.

  “I’m sorry, the baby didn’t make it.” Dr. Ferguson informed and Mitchell fell to his seat as the news seeped in. “Being that she was in the early stages of the pregnancy, the placenta detached from the uterine wall during the fall causing her to miscarry.”

  “Oh God…” he mumbled.

  “We haven’t told her yet so—”

  “I’ll tell her. It will be better coming from me.” He whispered as Adam touched him on the shoulder to show his support.

  “You can go in and see her. But as I said, I don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

  “Thanks.” Mitchell mumbled gathering himself before getting up.

  “I’ll be out here waiting.” Adam replied and Mitchell nodded.

  Walking into the room, he saw Nevaeh lying peacefully in the hospital bed. His heart shattered into a billion pieces as he walked over to her. Leaning over her, he kissed her cheek and then her lips.

  “I’m sorry.” He whispered in her ear, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him.

  Sitting in the chair beside her, he grabbed her hand and kissed it. He felt horrible about the situation even though he had no clue what truly happened. But all in all he felt guilty.

  “I knew I’d find you here.” Bruce’s voice replied, startling him.

  Mitchell growled furiously as he shot to his feet and walked over to his father.

  “You have no right to be here.” Mitchell bit.

  “You’re starting to sound like her.” Bruce replied, meaning Nevaeh. “Come talk with me in the hall son.” Bruce ground out.

  “Yeah, let’s do that.” He agreed and they stepped into the hall.

  “Kate called me and told—”

  “Fuck Kate! You tell me what the hell happened between you and Nevaeh.” Mitchell shouted.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bruce answered.

  “Bullshit! Don’t be a pussy now, you tell me what happened you son of a bitch!” Mitchell yelled.

  Bruce smiled and applauded his son.

  “Bravo. Could that finally be the man I know exists inside you?”

  “Stop toying with me and tell me.” Mitchell insisted.

  “Kate told me Nevaeh called you. Then I heard some interesting news from her father.” He gritted.

  “That she was pregnant.” Mitchell said as a matter of factly.

  “Yes, that she was pregnant. So I went to ask.” He answered.

  “What did you do to her?” Mitchell grumbled.

  “Nothing, other than tell her to get rid of it.” Bruce said truthfully.

  “How dare you try and force her to get rid of my child?” Mitchell asked shoving Bruce.

  “That’s why, right there. I knew once you found out, that you would throw away everything I worked hard for you to get.” Bruce snapped.

  “I worked hard for it! Not you!’ Mitchell corrected. “You never gave me anything without making me beg for it.”

  “None the less, you’re still the screw up I knew you’d grow up to be.” Bruce sneered.

  “I’m done trying to please you. Anything I do isn’t good enough.” Mitchell responded.

  “You took your mother away from me, so no. Nothing you do will ever be good enough.” Bruce ground out and that was like a kick in Mitchell’s chest.

  “It was an accident.” Mitchell whispered as tears burned his eyes.

  “And so was what happened to Nevaeh. She refused to get rid of the thing inside of her, so we argued.” Bruce bit.

  “You killed your only grandchild just because you want to dictate my life? How can you hate me that much?!” Mitchell pondered.

  “It was an accident—she fell.” Bruce insisted coldly.

  “It was my child dad. Not a disposable “thing”. You had no right to try and force her to get rid of it.” Mitchell repeated trying to get him to realize his faults.

  “There was no way she was giving birth to a bastard!” Bruce shouted and that was it for Mitchell.

  Seeing red, he threw a punch at his father. Hitting him in the mouth, blood spurted out as Bruce fell on his ass, to the floor beneath them.

  “Stay away from her and me.” Mitchell ordered before walking back into the hospital room.

  “Why waste your time on someone who told you she never loved you?!” Bruce shouted with a laugh.

  Mitchell froze before spinning around furiously.

  “How do you know she said that?” Mitchell barked as he stalked to his father and stood over him.

  “I didn’t, so it must be true.” Bruce lied.

  Sucking in a shaky breath, Mitchell didn’t know whether to believe him or not. So instead, he shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand.

  “You stay away from her. Do you hear me?” he ordered before disappearing into the room and closing the door.

  Sitting back in the uncomfortable chair, he grabbed Nevaeh’s hand and prayed for her to wake up quickly. He knew the longer she stayed unconsciousness meant more complications. His mother had taught him that lesson years ago. That was something he didn’t want to go through again.

  “Come on sweetheart.” he willed. “Open your eyes.”

  Pulling her hand closer to his face, he kissed it gently and closed his eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nevaeh moaned as she tried to move. Her body was sore all over, and she felt like she had been in an accident. Fluttering her eyes, her vision went from blurred to clear in a matter of moments. Hearing the heart monitor, she realized she was in a hospital. The first thing that crossed her mind was how she was going to pay for the hefty bill. Being a retired stripper left no room for health benefits. Searching her surroundings, she found Mitchell sitting in a chair beside her hospital bed. He was slumped over in the hard chair, with his head lying on her bed. In his hand was hers. A smile touched her lips as she realized he’d obviously stayed the night with her.

  Trying to sit up, she groaned in pain, startling him. Mitchell jolted upright and stared over at her. Relief washed over him as he saw her awake. Getting up out of the chair, he immediately wrapped his arms around her. Holding him back, she groaned again and he let her go immediately.

  “Sore?” he asked concerned and she nodded.

  “I’ll get the nurse.” He replied turning quickly and leaving the room.

  She wanted to say that she could’ve pressed the buzzer for the nurse, but had already disappeared. Sitting for a moment, she tried to gather her thoughts. Closing her eyes briefly, the memory of her tumbling down the stairs flashed through her mind. Letting her eyes spring open, she sucked in a frightened breath as Mitchell rushed back into the room with a nurse trailing him.

  “Good to see you awake.” The nurse smiled. She had a white outfit, and was carrying a few tools. There was obviously going to be an exam done.

  “Very.” Mitchell chimed in. “You scared me.” He said running a hand through his hair.

  Nevaeh could tell he had really meant it because he had always ran a hand through his hair when he was worried.

  “Can you give us a moment?” the nurse inquired turning to Mitchell.

  Nevaeh saw the angry glare he shot at her. It was obvious to both of them that he was going to refuse.

  “I’d rather not leave me fiancée alone.” He barked. “She’s been through enough already.”

  Fiancée? Nevaeh found that interesting to say the least. Looking at her hand, she didn’t see a ring. Suddenly she realized he must’ve felt obligated to marry her for getting her knocked up. If that was the case, she wasn’t going to accept it. Getting married over having a baby was irresponsible to say the least.

  “I understand Mr. McCallister, but I need to examine her.” The nurse insisted politely.

  “I’ll give you a minute.” He insisted.

>   “That’s all I need.” She smiled walking him to the door, and once he was out she closed it.

  “How do you feel Nevaeh?” she asked turning and walking back to the hospital bed.

  “Like I had a fight with the stairs.” She shrugged.

  “I’ll give you some pain meds in a minute. My name’s Alexandra, but you can call me Alex.” She smiled taking her blood pressure.

  “How’s the baby?” Nevaeh whispered touching her stomach.

  “Your fiancé out there has been a worry wart. He stayed with you all night and barely let anyone in to see you.” She smiled bypassing the question.

  “Sorry.” Nevaeh blushed.

  “No, it’s cute. Most men don’t do that.” Alex insisted placing the thermometer in her mouth to take her temperature.

  After doing her vitals and checking her eyes, she gave her the pain medication just as she promised before letting Mitchell back into the room.

  “Everything ok?” he asked concerned.

  “Fine.” Alex smiled shaking her head. “You have a good one here. Don’t let him go.”

  With that, she sauntered out of the room.

  “You hungry?” Mitchell asked walking over to the bed.

  “Yeah, but I think we should talk.” She whispered.

  “After you get something to eat, you need your strength.” He insisted.

  “I’m guessing you know I’m pregnant.” She blurted out.

  Waiting wasn’t an option to her. She wanted to get everything out in the open.

  “Nevaeh, please.” He insisted not looking at her.

  “We need to talk about it Mitchell.” She said.

  “And we will, but let me feed you first.”

  “It is yours, I know I’ve been dating Jaxon, but we’ve never had sex. I’ll do a DNA test as soon as they’ll let me.” She responded.

  “I would never ask you to.” He said walking to her. “I believe you. I take your word.”

  “Just like that?” she asked narrowing her glare at him.

  “You’ve never lied to me before—well…” he trailed off.

  “Mitchell, I know I hurt you—I’m sorry.” She said looking away from him ashamed.

  “After everything, you’re still here with me. I’m such an idiot.” She muttered.