Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4)

by Marita A. Hansen

  Sledge screwed up his face. “Everyone gets mad at me. I dunno what’s right or wrong to say anymore.”

  “Oh, darling.” She moved around to Sledge’s side of the bed. “I understand you’re finding this hard,” she said, sitting down next to him, “but there are certain topics you have to keep to yourself.”

  “Then what do I say if someone asks what we were doin’ and we were kissing or fucking?”

  She breathed out. “You can tell them it’s a private matter. Can you do that?”

  “But I often speak before I think.”

  “I understand, sweetie, but please, with anything to do about sex, don’t talk about it with anyone other than Corey.”

  He nodded. “Can I have a drink of pineapple juice, and Corey, too?”

  “I don’t have pineapple juice in the house, but I’ll buy some for you in my next shop. Will orange juice do instead?”

  He opened his mouth.

  “Sledge, don’t say it,” Corey growled, hoping he didn’t tell her why.

  Sledge breathed out. “Orange juice is cool.”

  Smiling, she patted his leg and pushed up. “Wipe your shirt, darling, you’ve got something on it.”

  Sledge looked down at it. “It’s Corey’s cum.”

  “Sledge!” Corey yelled.

  Sledge screwed up his face again. “I didn’t meana say it.” He turned and pushed his face into the pillow.

  Corey looked at his mother. “I’m sorry, Mum,” he said, not knowing what to do, absolutely horrified over the whole situation.

  She breathed out. “Comfort him; this all must be very hard on him. I’ll leave now, and next time I won’t enter unless you say it’s clear. Though, I did warn you not to have sex here.” Mumbling under her breath, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Corey wrapped his arms around Sledge’s back. “Don’t get upset, I know you can’t help it.”

  “I don’t wanna say the wrong things,” Sledge mumbled into the pillow, “but they just come out, and your mum didn’t say we couldn’t have sex. She just said we couldn’t share a room, so how wuz I s’posed to know?”

  Corey kissed the back of Sledge’s head. “It’s not your fault, and you’ll learn, it’ll get better.”

  Sledge turned around, making him let go. “People are always gettin’ mad at me, I can’t say anything right.”

  “You sayin’ you wanting to suck my cock wuz right,” Corey smiled.

  “That’s not helping.” Sledge frowned. “I just wanna be able to talk without people yellin’ at me.”

  “You’ll learn.”

  “But what if I say the wrong thing in front of your father? He’ll make me leave.”

  “Then I’ll leave with you.”

  “We can’t afford to get a house on our own, we need others.”

  “We’ll flat.”

  “With who?”

  “We’ll decide that if we hafta, but for now we’re fine.”

  “I’m not fine, I feel useless. I can’t do fuck all. I get so bored.”

  “I’ll spend lots of time with you.”

  “Thanks, you’re great.” Sledge leaned over, using his good arm to hug him, his injured one moving a little to rest on Corey’s lap. Sledge had gotten back some movement in it. The doctor said it would take a while to fully heal, along with his left leg, the nerve damage extensive.

  Sledge pulled back. “Can you get some people to visit me?”

  Corey nodded. “Who do you want?”

  “Ash, Juliet, and my dad visited a lot, but Dante hasn’t been in a coupla weeks. I wanna see him.”

  “Beth said he’s been in the psyche ward.”

  “What! Why?”

  “He had a breakdown, but got discharged today.”

  “Is he all right?” Sledge asked, looking worried.

  “Yeah,” Corey replied, not knowing. “He’s fine.”

  Sledge breathed out, looking relieved. “Cool. Can you get him to come over?”

  Corey nodded, praying that Dante would.

  9

  Beth

  Beth entered the doctor’s office alone.

  The doctor pushed up from his desk. He was a slim, fifty-something man, with a balding patch and a big smile. “How are you feeling today, Beth?” he asked.

  “Not too good,” she replied, taking the spare seat next to his desk. “I’m feeling nauseous, plus I had a bit of spotting yesterday.”

  The doctor sat down, his smile disappearing. “The nurse didn’t mention that.”

  “I didn’t tell her, just said I needed to see you.”

  “The next time you have spotting, mention it to her. I would’ve found an appointment for you yesterday knowing that. How much spotting is there?”

  “Just a couple of drops.”

  “It may not be from the pregnancy, but to be safe, I’d still like to check the baby. I’ll call a nurse in while you go lie down on the bed. Lift your shirt up and hitch your skirt down to just below your hips.” He picked up the phone and asked a nurse to come in.

  Beth went to the bed. She toed off her sandals and climbed onto the thin mattress as the doctor pulled the curtain around to shield her, disappearing from sight. Beth hitched her blouse up to her bra and shimmied her skirt down. The doctor returned a moment later, pulling back the curtain, a nurse accompanying him. He told the woman a few things Beth didn’t understand. The matronly-looking nurse, who was wearing a lilac dress, pulled a machine closer.

  Beth’s attention returned to the doctor as he ran his fingers over her stomach, his expression surprised. He turned to the nurse, asking for a couple of things Beth couldn’t pronounce. The nurse handed over a tube to the doctor, who squeezed some clear gel onto her stomach. He handed the tube back to the nurse, swapping it for a cylindrical instrument. The doctor placed the end on Beth’s stomach as the nurse switched on the small monitor attached to the machine. A swooshing sound started up. Beth turned her head towards the monitor, seeing a black and white image of what looked like a...

  Her eyes widened. “Is that my baby?” she asked, astonished. She hadn’t expected to see anything this soon in the pregnancy, but then again, she didn’t know anything about pregnancy, so hadn’t really thought about it.

  “Yes,” the doctor replied. “A perfectly healthy baby.”

  “She looks so big.”

  “I don’t know the sex; you’ll have to come back in three weeks to find that out.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know you could find out the baby’s sex until ages away.”

  The doctor focused on her. “It’s not ages away; your baby’s fifteen weeks old.”

  Beth froze. “What?”

  “You got the date of conception wrong. You’re in your second trimester.”

  Beth shook her head, knowing the doctor had to be wrong. “I can’t be. I had unprotected sex ’bout six weeks ago with my boyfriend. It had to be from then.”

  “I can tell you one hundred percent that the baby you see on the screen is not six weeks old. It’s almost four months.”

  Beth continued to shake her head, panic now rising up. “It can’t be. It has to be Dante’s baby...” She went quiet, her heart almost stopping. Her mind went to the party she’d drunk too much at, both her and Ash... Her hand shot to her mouth. “No!”

  “Do you want me to call anyone for you?” the doctor asked, looking concerned.

  Beth’s mind went to her mother. She shook her head, tears already welling up in her eyes.

  The doctor handed her a tissue. “I think it would be wise if you had someone come get you.”

  “I can’t,” Beth sobbed. “I can’t.” She pushed off the bed, making the doctor back up. She yanked down her blouse, not caring that the doctor hadn’t wiped off the gel. Quickly hitching up her skirt, she jammed her feet into her sandals.

  “I would like you to come back in three weeks,” the doctor said.

  Beth grabbed her purse. “Fine,” she said, taking off for the door, f
eeling like her world had just ended.

  ***

  Crying, Beth drove towards Dante’s new home. She hadn’t even considered that the baby could be Dante’s brother’s, because Ash had always been careful after she’d stopped taking the pill. It had made her sick, so Ash wore condoms instead.

  She clenched the steering wheel and screamed, letting out all her emotions, her mind going wild. It must have happened at the party for one of Ash’s friends. She wasn’t usually a drinker, but they’d played a drinking game, the both of them getting so drunk she couldn’t remember much of the night. They’d woken up in their bed together, naked and not knowing how they’d gotten home. They’d found out later that one of Ash’s friends had called a taxi for them, saying that they were so drunk they’d been mauling each other to the point that everyone had kicked them out. She’d been horrified, while Ash had laughed it off.

  It must’ve happened then.

  She stopped at a red light, mentally counting the weeks back to the party...

  She screamed again, the party just over fifteen weeks. She started sobbing, full out crying, knowing she couldn’t tell Dante ... because she would lose him. He was only with her because of the baby, Kara his first choice.

  A horn blasted behind her, making her jump in her seat. The light had turned green, but all she saw was Dante walking out of her life and right into Kara’s arms.

  In a daze, she drove for another minute, then did a U-turn. Fifteen minutes later she arrived home, noticing a police car parked across the road from her flat. Her mind went to Saul, fear now replacing sorrow. She pushed out of her Volkswagen and headed down the driveway, relieved to see a female officer in the police car.

  Recognising the woman, Beth crossed the road, stopping by the driver’s window. “Hello, I saw you earlier at the police station. Is there a problem?” she asked, noticing a policeman sitting next to the woman, holding what looked like a coffee.

  The woman wound the window down further. “We got a call about a suspicious male lurking in your neighbourhood. My partner and I are just here to make sure your street’s safe.”

  “Oh, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am. Have a nice evening.”

  Beth nodded at the policewoman, saying thank you again. She turned back to her house, relieved it had nothing to do with Saul. She unlocked the front door, calling out for Josie. Her cousin didn’t answer. Beth called out again; surprised that Josie wasn’t home, since her car was parked outside.

  Beth went to Josie’s room and peeked inside, spotting clothes tossed all over the place, a bra even hanging off a lampshade. Remembering Josie was meeting some friends, Beth headed for her own room, closing the door behind her. She lay down on the bed and placed a hand on her stomach. Tears began to well up again, fear quickly following. She curled into a ball, her tears lulling her to sleep, knowing she could never tell Dante.

  Ever.

  10

  Dante

  Dante followed L and Jade into the Korean restaurant, annoyed that he had to go with them. All he wanted to do was sleep, especially since the new meds he’d been given were making him feel shit-tired. But Jade had insisted on celebrating L’s arrival, turning it into a big deal. Fuck, Jade was worse than a girl, waving his hands about, all excited as though they were going to some major event. He was also dressed to the nines in black pants and an open neck white silk shirt, which Jade had said he’d gotten from the Army ... no, it was Armani, whatever the hell that was.

  They stopped in front of the restaurant hostess. Jade started jabbering to her in Korean, probably asking for a table. L was standing next to him. She flicked her long orange and gold hair over her shoulder, which stopped right above her tasty little arse. Shit, she wasn’t a she; she was a he ... but that arse... Dante bit his bottom lip, thinking that L had to be a lady, because no dude could have an arse that fine. Plus, L’s waist was tiny, not straight up and down like a man’s. Day-yam, she was fine as fuck.

  “Dante!”

  He looked up, finding Jade glaring at him. “What did I do?”

  “If you don’t know the answer, I have nothing to say about it.”

  Dante screwed up his face. “Fuck, you’re worse than a chick. I never know what I do wrong with them either, yet I still get yelled at.”

  L placed a hand on Jade’s arm. “Let’s just sit down, Jade,” she said.

  No, L was a he! Dante grimaced, feeling like nature was playing with his head. He’d seen a lot of trannies and they sure as hell didn’t look like L. Instead, L really did look like a drop-dead gorgeous chick, and it didn’t help that she ... he dressed like one. Well, sort of. She ... Goddammit! HE had hot red leather pants on and a flowing white blouse, which made something glorious stand out—besides Dante’s cock.

  Tits.

  Jugs.

  Melons.

  Cock Warmers.

  Breasts.

  And they were as perky as her tight little arse.

  Dante hadn’t noticed them at home since L had been wearing a vest, plus he’d been half-asleep. But he fucking noticed them now, especially since L wasn’t wearing a bra. And they were definitely not man-boobs, because man-boobs weren’t perky looking B cups that gave him a hard-on. He wondered whether they were natural. He flexed his fingers, aching to do a grab-test.

  “Dante!” Jade snapped.

  He looked over at Jade, who was glaring at him—again. “What did I do now?”

  “You were staring at L’s chest.” Dante looked back at L, whose face had gone a splotchy red, the colour even running down her ... his neck. Dante smiled, finding it cute.

  Jade grabbed his arm and yanked him to a chair.

  “Jesus, you’re a bossy twat,” Dante said, sitting down next to Jade. “I just got outta the loony bin, so you could at least be nice to me.”

  Jade’s face dropped. “Oh, of course, I’m sorry. I just… I’m just sorry.” He patted Dante’s leg, leaving his hand there.

  Dante moved it off. “Public affection not approved of, stalker.”

  Jade’s eyes widened. “Don’t call me that! We’re friends—”

  “—without benefits, so don’t touch me again.”

  L slipped into the seat across the table, looking amused. She dropped the smile when Jade looked her way. Oh, hell, he was calling L a she again. Fuck it, until he saw a dick she was a chick.

  Dante smiled back, the chick definitely eye-candy.

  Jade elbowed him.

  Letting out a yelp, Dante rubbed his side and glared at him. “Stop pissing me off,” he snapped, aching to punch the twat.

  Jade indicated to something ... no, someone. Dante turned his head, finding the Korean hostess, who’d been talking to Jade earlier, staring down at him. She had long black hair, which was tied into a ponytail, and a tight little body like L ... just with smaller tits, her white blouse hiding nothing. Still, she was worthy of fucking at least once, although he knew he wouldn’t, because Beth was his future now, and he couldn’t afford to screw up a second time.

  The hostess smiled at him. “Are you ready to order?” she asked, sounding Kiwi, taking Dante by surprise.

  “I want to order one of you,” he said, jokingly. He yelped as he got another elbow in his side. “Quit it, Jade, cos the next time you elbow me, you’re gonna get your arse kicked back to Yank town.”

  “Don’t be insulting.” Jade looked up at the hostess. “I do apologize. Please give us a few minutes.”

  She nodded and walked off.

  Dante glared at Jade. “You needa stop bein’ a jealous twat. Get it into your thick head I’m straight and with Beth.”

  “Then stop hitting on L and every chick you see.”

  “I’m not hitting on L.”

  “Well, you kissed him.”

  “There’s nuthin’ wrong with kissing a chick when it’s platonic.”

  “L isn’t a chick and it wasn’t platonic; you kissed him on the lips.”

  “Still platonic.”

>   “No, it’s not, it’s cheating.”

  “Bullshit, I wuzn’t doin’ it to get off; I just wanted to check if she still wore Cherry Chapstick.” Dante smiled over at L. “And she does,” he said, winking at her.

  L’s blush spread, making Dante grin wider.

  “I told you, L’s not a she,” Jade snapped. “So stop treating him like one.”

  “She’s got tits; that makes her a she to me.”

  “And a cock.”

  Dante looked back at L. “That hasn’t been proved yet.”

  L’s face dropped.

  “Oh, shit, honey,” Dante said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it as an insult.”

  L shifted about in her seat. “Can you please stop talking about me?”

  “Yeah, sorry, gorgeous.”

  “And stop calling me names.”

  “I didn’t insult you.”

  “No, you keep calling me female endearments.”

  Dante shrugged. “It’s just how I talk to chicks.”

  “I’m not a chick.”

  “Well, until I see a dick you’re a chick.”

  L frowned. “I told you this was a bad idea, Jade, plus I’m not really hungry. You two can stay. Just give me the key and I’ll let myself in the house.” She went to push up.

  Not wanting to be left alone with Jade, Dante quickly shifted to L’s seat, trapping her in. He bumped his hip against hers to move her over. As soon as their hips touched, L shot across the seat, pushing herself into the wall, looking scared.

  Dante frowned, wondering what the fuck he did wrong. He didn’t push her hard, it was only a tap, and it wasn’t like his hand went anywhere near her. His gaze moved to Jade, who also appeared surprised.

  “Are you okay, Llewellyn?” Jade asked, sounding concerned.

  L glanced at Dante, her eyes so round, a touch of fear in them, like there had been when he’d caught her outside his bedroom. She returned her gaze to Jade. “I’m just a bit jumpy because I’m tired. I really would like to go back and sleep.”

  “Let’s just grab a quick bite, then we can leave,” Jade said.