Scarred

by K. Webster

  I heard the apartment door slam shut. Bursting into tears, I let Bray hold me as I cried.

  “Bray, this is exactly what I was afraid of. If Pepper is this pissed, maybe we didn’t think things through,” I said sadly, sniffling.

  “Hell no. Don’t let her make you feel bad. I’m going to fucking call Andi right now and tell her. This is fucking stupid to hide this from her. Pepper is blowing it way out of proportion,” he declared loudly, still riled up over our fight with Pepper.

  “No! Please, Bray. Let me tell her in person. I hope Pepper doesn’t tell her. God, I feel like I’m going to throw up,” I shakily told him, bolting to the bathroom. He hurried after me, holding my hair back as I emptied my lunch into the toilet.

  “Shit, Olive. What the fuck is wrong with you? I’m taking you to the doctor. You clearly have a stomach bug or something. If stress is doing this to you, I will be so fucking pissed. Between us, Drake, and Pepper, you are getting yourself too overworked,” he said anxiously.

  I didn’t say anything back to him. Hugging the toilet, I tried not to worry about everything.

  “Olive?” he asked quietly.

  Turning my head, I looked into his beautiful blue eyes. They were regarding me with an unreadable emotion.

  “Olive, is there any way you could be pregnant? We were both pretty shitfaced that first time and I don’t remember using protection,” he explained softly.

  My mind reeled at his proclamation. Instantly I thought about the baby I’d lost when I left Drake. It would explain the sickness and tender breasts. If Pepper was pissed about us being together, she was going to be livid if I was carrying his baby. Bray’s baby. For some reason, my heart soared at the possibility. A tear trickled out and rolled down my cheek.

  “There’s a good possibility since I’m not on any type of birth control. They make me gain a lot of weight, and with modeling, I couldn’t handle the weight fluctuations so I don’t use them,” I admitted.

  Several looks crossed his face, and I chewed my lip nervously. Finally, he broke into a grin.

  “That would be better than an illness or stress,” he told me, eyes twinkling. I couldn’t help but smile broadly back at him.

  He suddenly jumped up and went into the other room. When he came back into the bathroom, he had on his coat and shoes.

  “Where are you going?” I questioned.

  “I’m running to the drugstore to buy a pregnancy test,” he beamed at me.

  My heart fluttered as I realized how happy this had made him.

  Thirty minutes later, we sat on the bathroom counter waiting for the test to produce its results. Bray had bought the test that was digital and said plainly whether or not you were pregnant. No confusing blue lines to contend with.

  “What’s it say?” he asked excitedly.

  When I picked it up from the counter, my jaw dropped as I read the results.

  “It says you’re going to be a daddy,” I gasped in disbelief. I turned to look at him, and he was grinning like a fool.

  Putting both hands on my cheeks, he brought his face to mine and kissed me tenderly. “Olive, I’m so fucking happy right now. You’re moving in with me—end of story. I’m going to take care of you and my baby,” he said sweetly. His hand made its way to my belly and he rubbed it gently. It was incredibly intimate and sweet.

  “Me too, Bray. I’m so happy too. I do want to be with you. As happy as I am about the baby though, I’m really upset about Pepper. What am I going to do about it?” I asked sadly.

  “We’re going to sit down and talk to Andi about it. Let’s invite her and Jackson over for dinner tonight. She might be upset, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We want to be with each other, and if they care about us, they’ll be understanding. We’re having a baby together. If they want to be a part of its life, then they’ll have to be okay with it.”

  Andi, Jackson, and I were all sitting at the kitchen table of my soon-to-no-longer-be-my-apartment when Bray walked in with the takeout. He distributed it all and sat down with us.

  “So I was thinking we could do this theme for her bridal shower,” Andi said, holding up a picture on her phone for me to see. I cringed because I wasn’t sure how to tell her that Pepper and I had had a major blowup about her.

  “Yes, I like that. We could make those,” I told her, pointing to the party favors. She nodded, grinning.

  After we finished eating, Bray cleared his throat, grabbing their attention, and my tummy did a flip-flop in anticipation.

  “Listen, guys. We wanted you to come to dinner because we needed to discuss something with you, Andi,” he said quietly.

  Andi and Jackson exchanged a look. He’d already visibly tensed up. She looked incredibly nervous.

  “Andi, you know we would never intentionally hurt you. Fuck, I’m just going to come out and say it. Olive and I are together,” he huffed out.

  Andi was silent for a moment as she looked back and forth between us. I pleaded with my eyes for her to understand.

  Calmly, much different than Pepper’s reaction, she reached over and took my hand into hers. “Olive, I’m happy for you guys,” she said honestly. I exhaled loudly and grinned. “You two have been inseparable for two months. I kind of had a clue. It makes me happy for you guys to have each other.”

  I turned to Bray, who was cheesing with an ‘I told you so’ look on his face.

  “I have Jackson now and even though he can be a prick, he’s my prick. Right, Jackie?” she asked, sending him a wink. He grumbled his affirmation, clearly unhappy with our announcement.

  “Andi, I love you. We have something else to tell you though,” I said, now growing excited. She smiled happily. “Bray and I are going to have a baby.”

  She squealed and jumped from her chair, nearly tackling me with a hug. Jackson just sat quietly with his arms crossed, frowning. Obviously he didn’t share the same feelings as her. Bray was watching him from across the table, his jaw clicking.

  “Olive, this is so freaking exciting! When are you going to tell Pepper? She’ll be so happy!” she babbled. I sighed as I prepared myself to tell her the next part.

  “She sort of walked in on us today and learned it on her own. To say she’s pissed is an understatement. She kicked me out of the apartment. Looks like I’ll be moving in with Bray. Even though she doesn’t live here, her dad still pays the rent.”

  “What? She kicked you out? Knowing you were pregnant? What’s wrong with that girl?” she asked angrily.

  Bray shook his head, still pissed with Pepper.

  “She’s worried about you just like Bray and I were. I think catching us in the act was a surprise, and she didn’t take it well. Plus, I didn’t know I was pregnant yet when she came over. I’m just so glad you don’t hate me,” I confessed.

  She grinned at me. “Of course I don’t hate you. I know Bray is a different person than he was back then. Plus, I love Jackson, so I only want for you and Bray to be happy. Olive, you’ve been so lonely and afraid since the moment I met you. These last two months, you’ve been going out more often and seem so happy. Bray is the cause of it, so I could never be upset about it. I’m going to be an aunt!” she squealed.

  We hugged again, and I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. Bray and Jackson were still glaring daggers at each other. Those two had issues to work out.

  Our conversation quickly turned from weddings to babies. The only thing that was missing was Pepper, and I felt sick about it.

  “Mom, I would like you to come over for dinner tonight,” I told my mother on the phone the next day. Ever since our conversation about Olive a couple of months ago, she’d assumed I had dropped her and moved on. I hadn’t talked about her to my mother. She was going to be in for a surprise.

  “Well, son, why don’t we just meet at our favorite restaurant? No sense in you cooking anything for just the two of us,” she told me.

  I looked at the design on my computer and made a quick change on something before answering h
er. “Mom, I’m seeing someone. I thought you could get to know her in a more intimate setting. We can still order food from there. I’ll pick it up on the way home,” I suggested.

  She went quiet for a moment. Quiet was never a good sign when it came to my mother.

  “Hmmm,” she said as she analyzed what I was saying. Mom was a smart cookie. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. “Okay, sweetie. I’ll meet you at your place around six then.” We hung up and I tapped my pen nervously on the desk.

  Olive didn’t know that Mom already didn’t like her based on our prior conversation. Mom didn’t know that the person I was seeing was Olive. This probably wasn’t going to end well, but I didn’t see any other way to get through it. It was pissing me off that all of these people were so damned disapproving of our relationship. Olive was worth fighting for, so they could all go to hell.

  “Bray, here’s a new client file I started for you. The meeting notes are included as well as the pictures of the lot.” Andi tossed a folder on my desk. “What’s got you making that face?” she asked, laughing.

  “Dinner with Mom and Olive tonight. This will be the first time for them to meet,” I told her, rubbing my stubbly cheeks with my hands.

  “Well I don’t see why that would have you stressed looking. Olive is a sweetheart. Everyone loves her. Connie will eat her up,” she told me knowingly. “Plus, once she gets wind of a grandbaby, she’ll go nuts.”

  “Andi, there may be a slight problem. See, when Olive and I got together a couple of months ago, I told Mom. She flipped her shit because I finally told her what happened with me and you. Of course she thought Olive was a terrible person and told me to end it with her. We pretty much did end things romantically until yesterday. Mom doesn’t know that the woman I’m seeing is Olive,” I explained.

  She frowned and crossed her arms. “Great, so now Connie is going to freak out once she realizes you’re with Olive? Can’t you just tell her I’m fine with it all? I don’t understand why everyone is so upset about it. Even Jackson is angry with the two of you. I’m going to figure out a way to get the girls together so they can talk it out. Pepper overreacted.”

  “I don’t know, Andi. What’s even worse is that Olive will be blindsided. I never told her about what Mom said. It would only hurt her feelings. I just hope Mom has enough respect for me that she won’t be rude to her,” I sighed.

  “I’m sorry, Bray,” she said, coming over to my chair. Leaning over, she hugged my neck.

  “Wish me luck,” I teased, and we both laughed.

  “You guys having fun?” Jackson asked irritably from my doorway. Andi jerked away and sauntered over to him. He hugged her but glared at me while he did it. That guy was such a dick.

  “I always have fun with your girlfriend,” I said, hoping to push his buttons. He muttered something while Andi pushed him out of my office, but not before throwing an annoyed look in my direction. I still wondered what she saw in that guy.

  My phone rang and I grinned when Olive’s face popped up on the screen.

  “Hey,” I said, happy to hear her voice.

  “Hey, Bray. I was going to let you know I called the doctor. They had a cancellation this morning and could get me in at two. I know it’s last minute, but I thought you might want to go. If you’re busy, I can go by myself. No big deal,” she sputtered out in a rush. I loved the excited edge her voice carried.

  “Of course I’ll be there. Do you want to meet me there or should I pick you up?” I asked.

  “I know you’ll need to get back to work, so I’ll just grab a cab there. You can run me home after if you want.”

  “Okay, babe. See you in a bit,” I told her, and we hung up.

  “And that there is your baby,” the doctor told us, pointing to the screen. She was using a wand internally since the baby was still small. Olive had already taken the urine test, which indicated her positive pregnancy, in the office. She was smiling blissfully at the monitor while I was trying to figure out why our blob baby looked like an alien.

  “Nothing on that screen looks like a baby,” I told her honestly. They both laughed.

  “Well, sir, the baby is still very small. I gave Miss Redding a packet of information. In one of those pamphlets, you can see pictures of what your baby looks like at each stage. That might be helpful for you,” the doctor informed me.

  I nodded and kept squinting at the screen, trying to make sense of the picture.

  “What’s that blinking area?” I asked.

  “That would be your baby’s heartbeat,” she said before turning a knob, filling the room with a beating sound.

  Olive turned to me with tears in her eyes. “Our baby,” she whispered. The sound was beautiful, and I frowned when the doctor turned the speaker back off. I would never get tired of hearing that sound.

  “You’re a couple months along. The baby is due on September twelfth. We’ll see you in a month, Miss Redding,” the doctor said. After printing something from the computer, she handed me a picture. My heart swelled when I realized it was our little alien blob. Olive grinned when I showed it to her.

  After Olive dressed, we left the office hand in hand. I’d never understood the pregnancy glow until now. Olive didn’t just glow, she fucking shone. Her smile had been a continuous one since the moment we’d found out.

  Stepping out of the building, we were hit with a blast of icy February air. Pulling her to me, I kissed her forehead.

  “How is it possible to love something so tiny already?” she asked dreamily. Her lips glistened, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to pull one into my mouth and suck on it.

  Fighting the urge to do just that, I answered her. “That’s our baby, love. I love little AB too,” I agreed, smiling.

  “A.B.?” she asked, sounding puzzled. I laughed because she probably wouldn’t like my nickname.

  “Alien Blob,” I chuckled.

  She tickled my ribs and pushed me away. “God, you are such a dork,” she said, strolling to the car, leaving me to admire the view of her ass.

  I glanced at the mirror for the hundredth time this evening. Bray’s mother would be here soon and I wanted to look my best. Since my relationship with Momma had been severed, I at least wanted our child to be close to one grandparent. My nerves were on overdrive, making my sensitive stomach churn uneasily.

  “Olive, relax,” Bray instructed. “She’ll love you.” He walked over to me and placed his hands on my hips. I rested my head on his chiseled chest. He was rubbing circles on my hipbones with his thumbs, and suddenly I wanted him very badly.

  I kissed his collarbone, which was exposed just above the top of his sweater. His thumbs made their way up my body and stroked my skin under my shirt just above the waistline of my jeans. I was starting to throb for him. Dragging my tongue up his neck, I found a fleshy part of him and sucked it into my mouth.

  He groaned and pulled me close to him. I could feel his hardened cock pressing against me. My hands slithered around the back of his neck and gripped his hair. He dipped his head down and met my lips with his before we hungrily kissed each other.

  His hands slid around to my ass and gripped me hard. I gasped.

  “Olive, I’m going to fuck you hard. I want to be inside you so badly,” he growled, biting at my lip with his teeth. He jerked away and grabbed my hand, drawing me hastily to the bedroom. Once inside with the bedroom door shut behind us, he didn’t waste time and unfastened my jeans, pushing them down my thighs. While he fumbled with his pants, I yanked mine the rest of the way off.

  When he easily picked me up, I wrapped my legs around his hips and he rammed his cock into me.

  “Bray!” I screamed in pleasure. His cock filled up every inch of me and my pussy clenched every time he pounded into me. Bouncing on his length, I could feel my orgasm reaching towards me. When he pulled one hand from gripping my ass to thumb my clit, I completely lost it and my body convulsed with shudders from my orgasm.

  “Oh, baby,�
�� he groaned as he followed quickly after. I waited until he’d finished pumping into me before I slid down off of him. He hurried into the bathroom to grab a washcloth to clean us up with.

  “Come on. Let’s hurry before your mom gets here,” I said, grabbing my jeans and pulling them on. He quickly dressed knowing we were running out of time. Walking hand in hand, we exited his bedroom only to see his mother sitting primly on the sofa.

  “Mom!” he exclaimed when he saw her sitting there.

  Her face morphed from shock to anger when she saw me. My cheeks burned from embarrassment, knowing she had heard us loud and clear. Standing from the sofa, she came over to Bray and gave him a hug. Recovering, he cleared his throat.

  “Mom, I’d like for you to meet my girlfriend, Olive. Olive, this is my mother, Connie,” he spoke nervously.

  She flinched at my name and jerked her gaze back to mine. “Nice to meet you,” she said coldly.

  I raised my hand to shake hers but dropped it once I realized she had no intention of shaking it. Bray was glaring at her because of her blatant rudeness. Not giving him a moment to say anything, she turned on her heel and strode into the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, Olive,” he mouthed to me, and I swallowed back the disappointment of the distaste his mother already had towards me. I had experience with disapproving mothers though, so I would smile through it. We followed her into the kitchen.

  “How’s Andi?” she asked Bray, pretending I wasn’t in the room. Shaking his head, he pulled a few plates down from the cabinet and slammed them down, rattling them. Both Connie and I jumped at his sudden anger.

  “Dammit, Mom! Get over this. Andi is fine. Olive is here with us and you’ve barely said two words to her. She is my girlfriend, whom I deeply care about. If you can’t get over your attitude, then please just go home,” he growled. My heart swelled at his protectiveness over me.

  Connie’s mouth gaped open and I stared at my feet. The awkwardness of the situation was overwhelming. Risking a glance at her, I saw that she was watching me with guilt written all over her face.