by Lane Hart
"For the first time in my life I did what I wanted to - I married a man that I love. I don't care if you approve or not, it's done."
I hear his exhale through the phone. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do. I'm happy with Jax, and he's more important to me than my law license."
"At least he's wealthy, so he can take care of you."
Oh. My. God. "I didn't marry him for his money! You just don't get it do you? Well I'm tired of trying to explain it." I disconnect the phone before handing the phone back to my brother.
"I give up," I tell him.
"He'll come around," he says.
Yeah well, even if he doesn't I don't care. There's nothing he or anyone else can do about me and Jax now. I feel lighter because of it, and everything would be perfect if he was here with me now and not stuck in a tiny cell. He's probably freaking out, but trying to act all tough like he's fine. It's not fair that he's going through this hell for something he didn't do.
"Page?"
"Huh?" I ask when Logan calls my name.
"Are you hungry?"
My stomach growls, responding for me. "I'm starving…oh no! I bet the food is terrible…and…and they don't give him any dessert," I say, imagining what Jax is going through.
"And here we go again," Jude says when I fell back in bed boohooing.
In bed is where I stay for the next several hours, until Jude's phone rings.
"Hello?" he answers from the sofa on the other side of the room.
"Hey bro! How's life on the inside?" he asks. I make a run for his phone, snatching it from his ear.
"Jax? Is it really you?"
"Hey, my wifie! How are you holding up?" he asks.
"Me? You're the one…that's...locked up."
"You're not still crying are you?"
"No," I say, even though my voice shakes with that one word.
"I'm fine, princess. It's…it’s not as bad as before. I called your phone but it went to voicemail so I figured you'd be there with Jude. They're getting ready to transport me to the processing facility in Trenton, and then I'll receive a prison designation. So you may not hear from me for a few days. When I get to the assigned prison I won't be able to call and tell you where I am because the account has to be set up like the one here. God, it's so fucking frustrating. But listen, don't worry. This is going to fly by like you wouldn't believe, and then we're going to make up for lost time, okay?"
After several sniffles I agree. "I love you and can't help worrying about you. You don't get any dessert do you?"
Jax laughs on the other end of the phone. "Actually there was some type of pie today at lunch."
"Liar."
"I think it was homemade apple with ice cream on top."
"Really?"
"Sure."
"Liar."
He laughs again. "Sorry, princess, but my time's up so I've got to go. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Okay." I think about telling him our idea for a private investigator but I know all inmate conversations are recorded. "I love you."
"Love you, too, wifey. Tell Jude and my dad not to worry."
"I will. Bye."
The crying goes on for a few more hours. Logan fields calls from our parents, so I won't have to deal with them. He also talks to three PIs in the area and schedules for them to meet us in the hotel lobby the next day.
…
Jax
Thirteen hours in and I have to say, prison life sucks. If one of my fellow inmates isn't talking or singing loud enough to annoy the fuck out of me, I'm bored out of my mind. Last night I was put in a cell with six badass dudes. I always acted like I was badass, but compared to these guys, I'm a pansy.
There, I admit it.
These men would no doubt stab me in the eye over an orange. No shit.
No one has messed with me, at least, either because of my reputation as a crazy motherfucking fighter, or because of my size. Everyone in this place is angry, myself included. They all bitch about their boys snitching on them, their court appointed lawyers being slack, the judge being racist…the list goes on, blaming everyone but themselves for landing their asses in the slammer.
I feel like I have an actual reason to be pissed since a lying bitch put me in here. But really, after hours of some self-reflection, since there's nothing else to do but count bars, I can admit that my womanizing ways played a part in my downfall. If I hadn't been so quick to fuck anyone that came my way, I wouldn't be here. I should've held out for decent women, or one woman, like my gorgeous wife. I decide starting now that I won't give Jude hell ever again for keeping his dick in his pants.
Speaking of dicks in pants, mine's still thinking about being inside Page last night, how good it'd felt, and the bastard is damn eager to get it in again. I haven't had the heart to tell him he'd be going through a dry spell for the next six months.
Six. Fucking. Months. Twenty-four weeks. One hundred-eighty days.
I'm going to lose my fucking mind before I get out.
The only thing that cheers me up is looking at the ring on my finger. The one the guards know about, but thankfully, let me keep for whatever reason. When that day that right now seems so far away finally comes, I get to go home to someone. It'll be a whole new life waiting for me. But fuck if it doesn’t blow to know I'll never be able to fight professionally again. Guess it's time to start thinking of a new career. Start coaching instead? Help Jude become the best in the welterweight class? I have no idea, and my choices are fairly limited since fighting is all I've ever known.
And Page, God I hate that she might have to give up practicing because of me. All those years of her hard work in law school, right down the motherfucking drain. Maybe her brother is right, and now that we're married she won't get suspended.
…
Page
I'm standing in the lobby with Jude and Logan, waiting to meet with the second PI when the hotel starts rocking like it's out to sea in rough waters, or we're having an earthquake.
"Whoa!" I exclaim, grabbing onto Jude's shoulder to keep from falling. "Did you feel that?"
"Um, feel what, Page?" Jude asks.
"The floor rolling!" How did they not feel it? I glance around and no one in the whole place seems to be panicking or freaking out.
"Have you been drinking?" Logan asks.
"No. Alcohol is a depressant. I have enough of that, thank you very much."
"Do you need to sit down?" Jude asks.
"When was the last time you ate?" Logan questions me.
Now I feel like I'm on trial.
"I had some toast and a banana at lunch."
"You probably need to eat something else," Logan said.
When the walls start spinning around me like I'm on a tilt-a-whirl, I begin to think there might be something seriously wrong with me.
"Um, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the hotel's not really spinning either?" I ask them.
"That's it, you're going to the urgent care," Logan says. "Jude, you take her and I'll stay to talk to the PI."
"What? No!" I exclaim. "I'm fine. I just need to eat. Maybe sleep. Try not to cry as much."
"Take her," he says to Jude, ignoring me.
"I agree with Logan. You're going to get checked out even if I have to carry you there over my shoulder, and you know I'll do it."
"I don't need to go to the doctor!"
"You are whether you like it or not. Do you need your purse or any other shit?" Jude asks.
"Yes," I huff, and start for the elevator to go hide out in my room, but Jude grabs my arm and stops me.
"I'll go get it, you sit your ass down," Jude says, pointing a finger at me before heading off to the elevator.
Logan stares at me like I'll disappear if his eyes aren't on me.
"What?" I yell at him.
"Just worried about you, sis. You've got a lot on you."
"Yeah, I do. I'm glad you're here to help," I tell him honestly. This whole new
helpful Logan is not one I'm used to. I'm used to the criticizing, condescending, and making fun of me Logan. The one I’ve known all too well for the past twenty-four years. I'm sure that he's now on our dad's shit list for helping me, and marrying me, but he doesn't seem to mind. The old Logan would never think of stepping a toe out of line for fear of our dad's wrath.
"All right, woman, are you going to walk on your own two feet, or am I going to have to drag you?" Jude asks when he comes back with my purse thrown over his shoulder.
Laughter bursts from me at the sight; a big, tough guy with my very feminine white leather purse hanging off of him. It's such a nice feeling to be laughing that I can't stop, even after tears start rolling down my face. "Oh God...it's too funny!"
"Um, Page, I'm glad to see your mood improved and all, but people are starting to look at us, and they might recognize you," Logan warns.
"That's right, everyone, I'm the attorney who fucked her client, an innocent man who's serving time behind bars! But at least he's my husband now!"
"Page!"
"I've got this," Jude says before he hefts me up on his shoulder and walks out the front door.
"Don't worry, he's my brother," I tell the strangers who gives us strange looks.
"You okay to walk?" he asks a block later.
"Yes, put me down."
Finally on my feet, I'm a little unsteady, so after Jude gives me my purse, he puts his arm around my shoulders to make sure I stay upright. We walk since the closest urgent care is only three blocks away.
"Should've got a cab," Jude mutters.
"It's not that far. And I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am. This is such a waste of time."
"What else do you have to do?" he asks.
"Well, there's some more wallowing in self-pity I need to do later, and I should be at the hotel talking to the PIs."
"You can wallow tonight. Logan's got this shit."
The facility luckily isn't crowded since it's the summer. Apparently not many people get sick at the beach this time of year. I check in, fill out all the pages of medical forms, and sit down to wait. My shoulders hunch over and my eyes water again when the silence leaves me thinking about Jax, remembering the day he brought me in here with the jellyfish stings.
"Am I gonna have to wear your purse again?" Jude asks. "Because I will to keep you from having another crying fit."
I give him a half-smile and shake my head. "I miss him," I mutter.
"I do too," he says with a sigh.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't start that shit again."
"Mrs. Malone," the nurse calls from the door. It takes me a second to remember that I put my unofficial but new name down on my forms.
I jump up out of the chair. "That's me!" I say, and then the floor rolls.
"Easy does it, sis," Jude tells me, helping me find my balance.
"Experiencing dizziness?" the nurse asks with a smile.
"Um, a little."
"Here, have a seat, so I can take your temperature and get your blood pressure," she instructs, nodding to a plastic chair.
"Huh," she says a minute later, looking at the blood pressure gage. "Your blood pressure's only eighty-two over sixty. That might explain the dizziness."
"What causes low blood pressure?" Jude asks.
"A variety of things, so we'll try to narrow it down. Are you okay with him staying with you?" she inquires of Jude.
"Oh yeah. He's my brother-in-law."
"I'm watching out for her while my brother does hard time in the state pen."
"Jude!" I exclaim.
"I thought you looked familiar. Jackson Malone's attorney?" the nurse asks. "Don't worry, we'd never disclose any of your information or that you were even here today."
"Yep, I'm his attorney. Oh, and his wife now."
"Congratulations. He seems like quite a catch," she replies with a smile.
"He is, and he really is innocent," I tell her. Then the waterworks are turned back on.
"Has she been overly emotional?" the nurse asks Jude.
"Um, considering the circumstances, I'd say about the right level of emotional. Maybe a little…heavy on the tears."
"I'm going to go ahead and draw a little blood from you, so we can run some tests, okay?" she asks, handing me a tissue. I nod my agreement.
She's good, and after the swabbing, I barely notice the sting of the needle.
"All right, the doctor will be in as soon as he has the blood work results," she says, leaving us in an exam room.
I hop up on the table and lay down on my side while Jude wanders around the room, fidgeting, and bouncing on his feet.
"When's your next fight?" I ask him, to have something to pass the time.
"Not sure. I had one scheduled in October but…I may postpone it with everything going on."
"Jax wouldn't want you to postpone."
"Yeah, but it also depends on how much time I have to train, and here lately, it's not been much."
"Oh, I guess that's true."
Finally there's a knock on the door, signaling the doctor.
"Hi, Mrs. Malone. How are you feeling?" a young man about five years older than me asks. He's wearing the standard white coat and gives me a friendly smile. I’m glad it’s not the giggling doctor from a few weeks ago.
"I’m a little dizzy but it's probably just lack of sleep and eating. I've had a lot of stress on me," I explain, pushing myself up into a sitting position on the exam table.
"I think we've found another cause as well," he says with an even bigger grin. "Congratulations, you're pregnant."
"Um, no I most certainly am not!" I reply automatically, shaking my head. "That's impossible!"
"You are most definitely pregnant," he reiterates, and his smile slips.
"But…but how did that happen?" I ask, and Jude starts laughing.
"Have you had unprotected sex?"
"Only just two nights ago! It doesn't happen that fast, does it?"
"TMI!" Jude exclaims, covering his ears.
"Ah, no," the doctor laughs. "It doesn't happen that fast. When was your last period?"
"Ha! I'm not even late! I'm not supposed to start until Friday!"
"Then you're only a few weeks along."
What the hell is up with this quack?
"No, no, no. You don't understand, we always used condoms! Always!"
"Oh," the doctor says, forehead creasing in contemplation. "Let me guess…Magnum Thin condoms?"
"How'd you know?" I gasp in amazement. There had to be at least fifty choices or more of rubbers, but I've seen the boxes and wrappers Jax uses and they're always Magnum Thins.
"Unfortunately, they've had a recall. A bad batch, that were later deemed as porous somehow snuck through quality control. They're thought to be a little less than ninety-nine percent effective. More like...fifty."
"Ha!" Jude busts out, having doubled over shaking with a fit of laughter. I'm not as amused.
"This the father-to-be?" the doctor asks.
"Um, no, uncle-to-be," I mutter in shock. Bad condoms. What the fuck!
"Hey!" Jude pauses in the middle of his outburst. "I'm going to be an uncle!"
"Are you sure?" I ask the doctor. "Maybe it’s a false positive?"
"Yes. You are very much pregnant. We ran the test on your blood three times to be certain. Based on your last period, I'd estimate your due date to be sometime in April."
"Hey, look on the bright side, Page. At least Jax will be out of prison before the baby's born!"
"Oh God," I groan, covering my face when more tears escape. How am I going to tell Jax he's going to be a father on top of everything else?
"I'd recommend that you start prenatal vitamins immediately, eat every few hours, and take it easy. You should go ahead and find an obstetrician. In early pregnancy, increases in progesterone can cause the widening of your blood vessels, and that sometimes can reduce your blood pressure. Try sitting up and sta
nding up slowly to let your body adjust."
"Come on, hot mama. Let's get you back to the hotel so you can rest," Jude says, jumping up out of his seat, acting way too excited and happy about our predicament caused by ineffective prophylactics. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now add to that a baby on the way.
"Oh God. I'm going to have a freaking baby," I mutter.
"Um, doc, does pregnancy cause brain damage?" Jude asks. I swat at him.
After checking out and paying the bill we start walking back to the hotel.
"Do we need to get a cab?" Jude asks.
"Really? I can see the lobby of the hotel from here," I tell him, and instead of laughing and joking he seems oddly serious as he stares straight ahead. "What…what do you think Jax will say?"
Jude finally smiles. "He'll be surprised I'm sure, but also ecstatic. He'll worry about you, both of you. He'll be pissed that I was with you when you found out, and he wasn't."
I choke on the air in my lungs, knowing he's right. Jax should've been the first one to find out. He should've been with me.
"I'm sorry, Page," Jude says softly, putting his arms around me.
"That stupid bitch," I mutter against his chest.
"Hey, if it wasn't for that bitch, you and Jax wouldn't be together," he reminds with a smile.
That's true. "I guess this also explains how Jax's DNA was found in the bitch."
"Damn." Jude laughs. "I guess you're right. Oh shit, I hope there aren't any more little Jaxes on the way."
That thought sends me into a panic, and then later that night I had horrible dreams about diaper wearing babies cage fighting.
Chapter Seventeen
Jax
I've been in the prison in bum fuck for two goddamn days, after a three day stay at the intake facility. I haven't been able to talk to Page, Jude, or my dad since the day I was moved. Each second that goes by makes me angrier. I can't call them except collect, and apparently that doesn’t work on cell phones. Despite having millions of dollars in the bank, I don't have any money on my account here, so I can't even buy a damn stamp for a letter to tell them where I am. The lack of control, loss of freedom, and shitty conditions are wearing me down, quicker than I thought possible.
"Yo, Malone. I got a magazine you might want to see," my cellmate says. He's a scrawny blonde kid, several years younger than me, and according to him he's in for selling drugs.
