Kane

by L. A. Casey

  Kane was looking at me, but his eyes were distant.

  “Branna is the one who is pregnant?” he murmured.

  I felt like I was about to throw up but forced my feelings aside to notice Kane looked... sad. Really sad.

  “Thanks for today, it was fun,” he murmured. “I’m going to go back to bed. I don’t feel so good.”

  “But your injection—”

  “One will be enough for me today. See you later.”

  He turned and walked down the hallway then up the stairs. I was frozen to my spot as I watched him go. I couldn’t open my mouth to say anything because if I did, I was going to vomit everywhere.

  “Ryder,” I heard Branna’s voice say from the kitchen, her voice not raised anymore. “I am not pregnant. Me and the girls are meant to take tests tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait until then. I took one a few days ago and it was negative. I didn’t tell you because you were so focused on Kane.”

  Silence.

  Oh. Christ.

  Oh. Fuck.

  “You aren’t pregnant?” Ryder repeated. “The test I found was positive though. If you’re not then who took it in our house? Who is pregnant?”

  “Bronagh or Aideen. It’s one of them.”

  Oh.

  It wasn’t Bronagh who took the test Ryder found, it was me... and he said it was positive!

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I literally couldn’t breathe.

  I had to get out of the hallway because it felt like it was closing in on me.

  I all but ran out of the house, closing the door behind me. I bent forward and pressed my hands on my knees and sucked in huge gulps of air.

  Calm down.

  I repeated the thought over and over in my mind then stood upright and looked directly across the road to the lights of the Jeep that were pulling into Keela and Alec’s driveway. She was home.

  Thank God!

  I took off out of the garden, ran straight across the road, and up their driveway.

  “Aideen!” Alec snapped when he got out of his car. “You scared the shit out of me. It’s dark out. Don’t do that again, I could have reacted out of reflex and hit you.”

  “Sorry, flower,” I said, breathing heavily. “Open your door.”

  Keela walked around the car and frowned. “Where did you come from?” she asked.

  I pointed to the house across the road.

  “Have you been there since I left hours ago?” she asked, wide-eyed. “It’s nearly seven.”

  She didn’t need to know that Kane and I watched the entire first season of Sons of Anarchy in his bedroom all day. Nobody needed to know that.

  “I gave him his second injection,” I lied, avoiding answering her question directly.

  Keela watched me for a moment then nodded at me. “Okay, so why are you here, breathin’ like you just ran a marathon?”

  Uh.

  “I need... to use your bathroom,” I said, then smiled.

  Alec sighed as he walked forward and opened the front door of his house. He entered and turned off the beeping of the alarm by entering the alarm code onto the keypad.

  “Why didn’t you use the toilet in Branna’s place?” Keela asked as we went inside.

  Because I know you recently stocked up on pregnancy tests, and I couldn’t stay over there because everyone was seconds away from finding out who was really pregnant.

  I knew deep down it wasn’t Bronagh who was pregnant like Branna suggested, but I refused to believe it was me who was pregnant until I saw the proof for myself.

  “Go on then,” Keela said, waving me up the stairs when I didn’t give her a reply.

  “Thank you!” I shouted as I ran for the stairs.

  “Turn on the fan if you have a shite!” Keela bellowed up the stairs after me.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay!”

  “Is that what you came here for? Next time take a crap in Ryder’s place!” Alec’s voice hollered up the stairs after me.

  I heard Keela’s laughter and Alec’s bickering, but both of them faded away when I entered their bedroom and ran into their bathroom. I knew I could have used the bathroom on the first floor, but I knew Keela’s master bathroom was the one with the pregnancy tests. She wasn’t planning on getting pregnant anytime soon—she had an implant in her arm to prevent pregnancy—but she had to stock up on tests because the girls and myself used up the ones she had last week.

  When I closed the door of the bathroom, everything became deathly silent. Even my breathing slowed down. It was like my body knew I was about to do something huge, and it wasn’t taking a crap like Alec thought it was.

  I took slow, deep breaths and walked over to the his-and-hers set up. I placed my hand on the marble counter and looked into the mirror at myself. I didn’t look like the twenty-eight-year-old woman I was. I saw a scared little girl who was at a loss. I frowned at myself then shook my head.

  You can do this.

  I believed I could, but hell, it was still terrifying. I reached up to the medicine cabinet above the sink and opened the door. I spotted the un-opened box of the digital Clearblue pregnancy tests. I reached up and took the box in my hand, quickly undid the wrapping, and pulled out a covered pregnancy test. I removed the packaging on it and stared at the test.

  This was it.

  I walked over to the toilet, pushed my leggings and underwear down to my ankles, and then sat down. I knew the gist of taking a pregnancy test; I’d taken two in the past nine days, but finding out the results had never come easy so hopefully the third time would be a charm for me. I needed to know if I was pregnant.

  It took a few minutes for me to be able to go—my nerves caused me to lock up, but luckily, I eventually peed on the stick. I capped the test end and placed it on the counter next to me. I finished my business then pulled my underwear and leggings back up. I walked to the sink where I spent a great deal of time thoroughly washing my hands. When I was finished I dried my hands and turned and stared at the test on the counter across from me.

  I didn’t know how long I had to wait for the test to be ready, and I didn’t want to pick up the box and read it because, with every passing second, I felt more and more sick. I needed to do this, but that didn’t make me feel any better about doing it. It actually made me feel worse. If I was pregnant then I was completely fucked. I was twenty-eight years of age and I was well aware that I wasn’t getting any younger, but I could barely take care of myself. I had a grown-up job, and a grown-up apartment, but I didn’t feel like the adult I was. I enjoyed having fun and doing stupid things regardless of my age, but this? This was serious because if I couldn’t get a dog to like me, how in the hell would I get a baby to?

  I shook my head and forced all the ‘what if’ thoughts away. If I was pregnant, then I was pregnant. I would deal with it—probably not in the most mature way—but I’d deal with it nonetheless. With a firm nod of my head, I walked over to the counter facing me and picked up the pregnancy test. I put down the seat of the toilet and sat on it. I stared at the back of the test and tried to pluck up the courage to turn it over.

  I closed my eyes.

  This was it.

  “I can’t do it,” I whined to no one and closed my eyes.

  Just fucking look!

  With a firm nod of my head, I opened my eyes and looked down to the stick in my hands. I held my breath as I flipped the stick over and widened my eyes as I read the results.

  Oh, Jesus.

  “Oh. My. God,” I whispered as I stared down at the pregnancy test before me.

  The positive pregnancy test.

  I rubbed my eyes with my balled up hands and blinked profusely, hoping the words on the digital test would change, but no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes it read the same thing: Pregnant—3+ weeks.

  “KEELA!”

  I screamed her name as loud as I could. Not long after, I heard the loud patter of clumsy footsteps come up the stairs then into the bedroom. A few seconds had passed before the
bathroom door was flung open as my best friend all but dived into the room ready to face the possible danger that caused me to scream so loudly.

  “What is it?” Keela asked with her arm raised in the air.

  I looked up at her hand and blinked in confusion. She had the television remote in her hand, and from the looks of it, she was prepared to use it as a weapon. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t. I knew if I opened my mouth all that would escape would be a terrified sob.

  “Aideen, what’s wrong?” Keela asked me, her tone laced with worry.

  She knelt down in front of me and placed her hands on my cheeks. I momentarily wondered where she put the remote, but I forgot about it when Keela shook my head and got my attention.

  “Honey, you’re scarin’ me. What is it?”

  I blinked and flicked my eyes towards the bathroom counter next to me where I’d flung the test in a panic. It sat a mere foot away, mocking me with its presence. Keela followed my gaze and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when her eyes locked on the small white stick. She leaned over to the counter and tilted her head to get a better look at the test.

  I knew the moment she realised what she was looking at when she gasped. I stayed put on the toilet while Keela jumped to her feet and snatched the test from the countertop. She raised the test right up to her face and narrowed her eyes at the little window that hadd already told me that my life as I knew it was over.

  “It’s you! You’re the one who is pregnant!”

  Even though she was in shock, I felt like Keela was accusing me of hiding a secret from her and that was the farthest thing from the truth. I was just in the same state of what-the-fuck shock as she was. To soothe her though, I blinked my eyes and opened my mouth to answer her, but a muffled and terrified cry escaped my mouth instead of words.

  “Oh, baby,” Keela whispered and quickly knelt back down in front of me.

  I wrapped my arms around her when she pulled me into her chest and held me there. My whole body shook violently as sobs wracked through me and tears flowed from my now red-rimmed and swollen eyes.

  I was pregnant... really pregnant.

  Fuck me.

  I cried harder than I ever had before and Keela held me the entire time. My thoughts were a mess, my stomach hurt, and my chest felt like it was about to cave in on itself. As much as I wanted to scream and let all my fear and shock out, I just couldn’t, so I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on breathing. If I freaked out and had a panic attack, it wouldn’t be good for anyone, especially Keela. She would have a heart attack if she thought there was something wrong with me. The guards, firemen, paramedics, and the Army would be at my door in minutes if she had the slightest inkling that I was about to lose it.

  What felt like an hour later instead of just a few minutes, I peeled myself from Keela’s arms and wiped my tear-streaked face with the back of my hands. I knew it was a foolish attempt to wipe away the evidence of my mini break down—I could feel how swollen my eyes were from crying and I could only imagine what all the salty tears had done to my make-up and overall appearance, but I had to try to compose myself.

  “I c-can’t believe th-this,” I stuttered.

  Keela sat back on her heels and looked at me with her big eyes.

  “Do you think it’s a false positive?” she asked, curiously.

  My heart skipped a beat for a moment, but I knew the odds were stacked against me. Not only did this test come back positive, but so did the mixed-up one I took nine days ago in this very bathroom. I heard Ryder and Branna arguing about a positive test he found in their bathroom. Another test I took. My throwing up and feeling like utter crap throughout the past few days pointed towards pregnancy. So did the fact that I had unprotected sex a few months ago.

  Reluctantly, I shook my head at my best friend.

  Keela was stunned. “You’re really pregnant?”

  That sentence churned my stomach.

  I gently nodded my head and accepted this fuck-up like a woman.

  A very emotionally unstable woman.

  “For who?”

  Oh, Jesus, the father.

  I instantly began to sob again.

  “For the Devil, th-that’s who.”

  “Aideen... who is the father?” Keela pressed.

  I had taken a few deep breaths before I whispered, “Kane Slater.”

  A few minutes of silence passed by, but it might as well have been an eternity.

  “WHAT!?”

  I winced and hunched my shoulders forward at the volume of Keela’s screech. She was silent for a solid five minutes after I whispered my horrifying reality to her. I calmed down enough to speak during that time, but her delayed scream caught me off guard and freaked me out again.

  “Kane Slater, as in me fiancé’s brother? That Kane Slater?”

  I blinked my sore eyes. “How many lads named Kane Slater do you know?”

  Keela slapped my shoulders. “This is not the time for sarcasm, you dick!”

  She was right, I knew that, but I couldn’t help it; it slipped out.

  “Sorry.”

  Keela’s eyes were wide with shock. “You want to talk me through how Kane Slater came to be the father of your unborn child?”

  My stomach churned at her choice of words. Pregnancy usually involved an unborn child, but hearing ‘Kane’ and my ‘unborn child’ in the same sentence made me feel physically ill. I never in my wildest nightmares thought I’d hear myself say anything even close to that sentence.

  “If I have to talk you through how I got knocked up by Kane, then Alec is doin’ somethin’ seriously wrong in the bedroom.”

  Keela looked like she was about to blow a fuse and jump on me so I held my hands up and said, “Sorry, sorry.”

  She stared at me and patiently waited for me to speak. All that came out of my mouth was a loud groan though.

  Keela dangerously pointed her finger at me. “Don’t even think about it, lady. I thought you didn’t like Kane. You can barely tolerate being in the same room as him without a world war eruptin’, so you can understand why I’m havin’ trouble wrappin’ me head around the fact that you’re pregnant by him.”

  I winced and murmured, “It was an impulse. All the fightin’ and arguments over the past year just exploded. It was either murder one another or fuck each other’s brains out—we chose the latter.”

  Keela face-palmed herself, which was exactly the reaction I deserved.

  “You didn’t use protection?”

  Evidently not.

  “Wait, he was the one-night stand you had a few weeks ago?”

  I groaned, again.

  “You’re goin’ to ask me enough questions to make me relive that night, aren’t you?”

  Keela folded her arms across her chest. “Yeah, I am, so you might as well start your once-upon-a-time story because I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

  Stubborn bitch.

  “Okay, okay,” I muttered. “I’ll tell you.”

  A smile stretched across Keela’s sadistic face as she jumped to her feet and grabbed my hand. She pulled me upright then all but dragged me out of her bedroom, down the stairs, and into her sitting room. I sat on the large settee while she dived onto the lounge chair and crisscrossed her legs over one another and stared at me expectantly.

  “Where is Alec?” I asked, curiously.

  “Takin’ Storm on a walk,” she replied with a wave of her hand.

  “We don’t have much time then, he can’t walk very far.” I grinned.

  “Aideen,” Keela said in warning tone. “Don’t pick on Storm.”

  I winced. “My bad.”

  Keela nodded her head giving me a rare pass then suddenly shouted, “Wait!”

  I raised my eyebrows at her.

  I wasn’t even speaking yet.

  I watched as she jumped up and ran out of the sitting room. I sat and stared at the doorway for at least a minute until suddenly Keela reappeared with two mugs.

  “We need tea for story time,” sh
e chirped.

  My one night-stand with my archenemy that resulted in my pregnancy meant story time?

  This lass was all kinds of messed up.

  “Pre-warnin’,” I said holding my hands up, “if I consume anythin’ right now I will puke.”

  Keela placed both mugs on the coffee table next to her. “Okay fine, I’ll drink them while you talk. Go.”

  I blinked my eyes and licked my suddenly dry lips.

  “Okay.” I swallowed. “It was about three months ago that I fell into sin. Do you remember when I went out on that date with Skull—”

  “You shagged Kane on the night you had a date with your ex? You slag!”

  That wasn’t bloody helping.

  I felt my eye twitch. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”

  “Every. Dirty. Detail.” She grinned wickedly.

  Every detail?

  “Okay, you asked for it,” I said and exhaled a deep breath. “So like I said, it happened about three months ago in that stupid bloody nightclub, Darkness.”

  About three months earlier...

  “I can’t believe you’re givin’ Skull another chance,” Keela grumbled to me as she zipped up the zipper on the back of my skin-tight dress.

  I grinned and turned to face her. “I’m not givin’ him another chance, but I haven’t had sex with him in over a month, and he gives me amazin’ orgasms... Need I say more?”

  Keela deadpanned. “There is more to life than orgasms, Aideen.”

  My girl had jokes.

  I burst into laughter. “Good one.”

  Keela rolled her pretty green eyes at me and it made me smile.

  “Don’t get your knickers in a twist with me because you don’t get to date anymore. You chose to settle down with that fine hunk of American man-meat in the sittin’ room.”

  Keela glanced at her closed bedroom door. “I’m tellin’ him you said that.”

  “Go for it. Maybe he’ll come to his senses and leave you for me.” I wickedly grinned.

  Keela giggled and exited her bedroom calling out to her piece of Grade A American man-meat as she walked down the hallway.

  “What?” he shouted from the sitting room.