Knocked Up... Again!

by Lilian Monroe

  “I haven’t really been looking at my phone,” I say, glancing over towards the hotel looming behind me. Sam puts her hands on my arms and squeezes.

  “Are you ok? You look like hell.”

  I take a deep breath. Even if I had time to talk to her, the last thing I want to think about is Gram. Anytime the hint of her creeps into my mind, my whole body goes tense and my eyes start prickling. Right now, being the worst secret agent in the world is a lot better than being a grieving granddaughter. Anything is better than that.

  “I’m ok,” I finally respond. I take a deep breath. “I’m ok. Don’t worry about me. You should be enjoying married life! Aren’t you supposed to leave on your honeymoon soon?”

  “We were supposed to head out this morning but I didn’t want to leave without seeing you.”

  My heart breaks and I finally look Sam in the eye. She has so much love and concern for me and I almost fall over. The walls that I’ve built up today to avoid the reality of Gram’s death start to crack and I shake my head.

  “You shouldn’t have done that. You’ll miss your flight!”

  “We have time, and there are lots of flights. Come on, why don’t you come back to my mom’s place.”

  “You would skip your honeymoon for me?” I ask, my voice breaking.

  Sam grins. “Well, delay. Let’s not get carried away here.”

  I try to laugh but it comes out as a gurgle. I wrap my arms around her and she hugs me tightly. In that moment, I realise that I’m not alone. I’m not alone at all! This morning when Gram died, I felt like I’d lost everything, but here I am with a man who loves me and wants to be with me and our child, and a friend who delayed her honeymoon to make sure I’m ok.

  My eyes are watering and I pull away. “Go, Sam. I’m ok. Really. I would feel worse if you missed your flight for me.”

  Sam stares at me for a few moments. I watch her swallow and then nod slowly. “Okay. I’ll call you tonight. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I answer. “I’m sorry I left your wedding early and caused a scene.”

  Sam laughs. “It wouldn’t be a real wedding without some drama, right? Are you ok?”

  “I’m good,” I nod. “I think Owen and I are… going out.” In love? Together? I don’t know how grown ups talk about relationships. Sam just laughs and gives me one more hug. y heart feels a tiny bit lighter. When I say goodbye, I watch her walk away and I feel like part of her is still with me, right beside Owen in my heart. I’m not alone at all.

  With renewed courage I turn towards the Lex. I take a deep breath and start shuffling towards the building, turning the corner and slipping towards the back where the truck is parked. In a few minutes this whole thing should be close to being over.

  When I get to the truck, my hands shake as I try to unlock the passenger’s side door. Finally, the key slides in and the lock pops open. I open the door and pull the glove compartment open.

  Papers fall out all over the place.

  “For fuck’s sake,” I breathe, trying to gather the sheets of paper before the fall out of the car. I look at each of them in turn, trying to find Owen’s registration. I’ve looked at a dozen papers when I see some movement in the corner of my eye. I glance up to see someone shuffling towards the back of the Lex, carrying something heavy. I crouch down and glance up again, frowning. I can’t tell who it is, they’ve got a hoodie up and a cap on. From their size, I would guess it’s a woman.

  My eyes flick to Owen’s dash camera. Knight in shining armour after all, I think. Slowly, I move my hand to press the button. The little red light comes on and the camera starts recording. I just hope it’s good enough to catch what’s going on.

  I watch the figure move towards the building, struggling with a big box or suitcase by their side. With horror, I watch as the suitcase is overturned and liquid starts pouring out.

  It’s not a suitcase, it’s a jerry can, and that’s gasoline.

  “Hey!” I yell. “Hey! Stop!”

  The person glances at me and shakes the can more vigorously. I start running towards them when they finally lift their head. I almost skid to a stop as my jaw drops to the floor.

  “Mary?!”

  Chapter 60 - Owen

  If there was an award for watching a doorway, I would win it. My eyes haven’t left those sliding glass doors since I watched Jess walk out of them. I glance at the time - she should be at the Lex by now, if she’s not driving back already.

  If only she had her phone and I could make sure she was ok! This is killing me. I refresh the computer one more time and finally see a new email come in. My heart starts thumping as I open it up and scan the contents.

  It’s exactly what I was waiting for - immunity in exchange for the documents. I open it up and start reading more closely when I hear my name called.

  “Owen McAllister? Owen McALLISTER?”

  There’s a woman wearing scrubs and a low pony tail sweeping her eyes around the room. I cough and stand up, holding the laptop as I shuffle to my feet.

  “Yep! Here!” She motions me to sit back down in the wheelchair.

  “Hi Owen, we’re going to get you some x-rays. Can you come this way?”

  “Yeah, one second,” I say, closing the laptop and trying to gather my things and Jess’s. “That was quick!”

  “Pretty quiet today,” the nurse responds. She gets behind the wheelchair and starts pushing me. I grip the bag and laptop to my chest as we move down the hallways.

  “How long is this going to take?” I ask, looking down at the laptop and then glancing back over my shoulder towards the door. “My girlfriend will be back soon I don’t want her to worry.”

  “It’ll be a few minutes. Don’t worry, you’ll be back out there in no time.”

  I nod, and grip the laptop a bit closer to my chest. We twist and turn down stark white hallways until I see signs pointing to X-RAY. The nurse wheels me into a room and points to a hospital gown.

  “Leave your things here. Get that gown on and then come out here to the x-ray.”

  With that, she closes a curtain and I’m left to get undressed. I sigh, putting the purse and laptop down in the corner of the change room. I hate leaving it there, hate leaving the USB unattended, hate not knowing where Jess is and when she’ll be back, but there’s nothing I can do.

  I change and hop out to the main room. The x-ray technician guides me to the big table and places a heavy lead vest over my shoulders. She positions me on the table and I wince as she moves my foot back and forth, periodically going behind a wall to take the x-rays.

  It doesn’t take long before I’m back in my clothes and being wheeled back into the waiting room.

  “Doesn’t look like she’s back yet,” the nurse says with a smile. “Told you we’d be quick!”

  “Thanks,” I respond, trying to sound sincere. I glance at the door and take a deep breath. She should be here by now, she should definitely be here by now. I hug the laptop to my chest and feel for the USB.

  Everything is here, I’m just back to waiting and staring at that sliding glass door.

  Chapter 61 - Jess

  “What are you doing! Mary! Stop!” I yell, sprinting towards her.

  “Don’t move!” She shouts back, holding her hand up towards me. She drops the gas can and flicks a lighter with one hand, holding her other hand up for me to stop. I skid to a stop and stare at her, my chest heaving up and down as I pant.

  “What are you doing? Mary, stop! This is insane!”

  Mary’s bottom lip is shaking. “Don’t move,” she repeats, but this time her voice starts to crack. “I’ll do it!”

  “Why?” I ask. “Put the lighter down.”

  I try to take a step towards her but she brandishes the lighter at me and her bottom lip shakes some more. Tears start streaming down her face and I glance down at the jerry can, tipped over at her feet. Gas is still glugging out of it and seeping into the ground. I look up at th
e old timber building and shudder. If she drops that lighter, the whole thing will be gone within minutes.

  “What’s going on, Mary?”

  “You had to come back! You had to come back and fuck everything up again! Why couldn’t you just stay away!”

  She’s crying now, her whole body is shaking.

  “What do you mean? What did I fuck up?” I have no idea what she’s talking about.

  “Why does everyone love you so much? You’re always the fucking favourite and what am I? I’m always second best. You’re the daughter of a WHORE and everyone loves you! Why!” She moves the lighter closer to the ground and I try to take a step towards her. She makes a noise and I stop.

  “Is this what this is about?” I ask gently. “Are you… are you jealous of me?” She sniffles and I frown. “Why?”

  It’s a genuine question. I look at her in amazement. Never in a million years would I have imagined that Mary Hanson was jealous of me.

  “You’ve always had it all. The boyfriends, the grades, getting into college, and now you come back and everyone thinks you’re the greatest. People fall in love with you wherever you go and it’s NOT FAIR.”

  “Mary,” I say gently. “That’s not true.”

  “I saw the way Michael was looking at you. Even my own fucking fiancé is still hung up on his high school sweetheart. I’ll always be second best to you,” she spits

  “That’s not true,” I say. “You were always prettier and more put together. I had to run away to have a life, you’ve always had everything you wanted here.”

  “People don’t respect me the way they respect you. They don’t love me the way they love you. They never will.”

  Before I can stop her, she drops the lighter. I watch as the flames start, low and blue in the ground and rush along the gas puddle towards the building. Within seconds, the side of the building is one fire, and the shrubs lining the back are starting to smoulder.

  “No! Aah!” I yell. I turn around and look for something to stop the fire. A bucket, a blanket, anything. There’s nothing here. I turn back around and see Mary running back towards the street. “Shit,” I say under my breath. The fire is engulfing half the back of the building as the flames start to lick the windows on the second floor. I turn towards Owen’s truck and sprint towards it, jumping in the driver’s seat and leaning over to pull the passenger’s side door closed.

  I rev the truck to life and lurch forward, away from the burning building. I need to call the fire department. I reach in my pocket and my heart drops to my stomach when I feel nothing. Swinging the truck around the corner, I glance over at the pile of papers on the passenger’s seat and pat myself down to find my phone.

  Nothing.

  I must have left it at the hospital.

  “Shit, shit, shit! Fuck!” I yell, banging my hands on the steering wheel. I turn down Main Street towards the police station, driving as fast as I can. I jump out, leaving the car running and burst through the door.

  “Jess!” Sheriff Wilson calls out. “To what do we owe the -”

  “Fire,” I pant, breathless. “The Lex is on fire.”

  Chapter 62 - Owen

  My phone starts ringing off the hook and my heart starts pounding against my ribcage. Something is wrong, I can feel it.

  “Hello?”

  “Owen?” Says a man’s voice. I don’t recognise it. He’s panting, it sounds like he’s running.

  “Yes,” I answer, frowning.

  “It’s Sheriff Wilson. The uh - the Lexington Hotel is on fire.”

  “WHAT!”

  “The guests have been evacuated and the fire department is on the way. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the hospital.”

  “Are you ok?”

  “I’m fine, my toe is broken,” I say. I roll my eyes and sigh.

  “Ok, well, we’re going to send officers to you. We, uh, we suspect foul play.”

  My heart sinks and I take a deep breath. “What happened? Where’s Jess? Is she ok?” I can hear the panic in my own voice. It sounds like Sheriff Wilson has stopped running.

  “Jess is fine, she’s here beside me. One second.” There’s shuffling and muffled voices and finally I hear Jess’s voice.

  “Owen,” she says.

  “Jess, I was so -”

  “I’m fine,” she interrupts. “Have you got the laptop handy? I have your registration.”

  “One sec,” I answer, shifting the phone to the other ear as I flip the laptop open. It seems to take forever to boot up and finally I slide the USB into the slot.

  “Ok, go.”

  She reads out my truck registration and I click ‘OK’. The password is accepted and I breathe a sigh of relief. I slide the files to attach them to the email I’d already drafted and wait as they slowly start sending. We stay on the line to each other, breathing silently while the files attach and I click send.

  “Done.”

  “Good. Now get yourself back here. Owen,” she pauses.

  “What is it?”

  “It was Mary. She’s the one who set it on fire. I tried to stop her, but” her voice cracks. “I don’t know, she just went nuts. I have the video on your dash cam, I’m not sure how much of it the camera captured. They’re trying to find her now. Do you think…”

  “My dad put her up to it? Absolutely.” I guess that was Plan B. If he can’t have a hand in my pocket, then he’d burn my pocket to the ground. My lips purse together and I shake my head. “Sheriff Wilson said he was sending some guys over to pick me up. I’ll see you soon.”

  “How’s your toe?” Jess asks after a pause.

  I chuckle. “I think I’ll live.”

  I hear her laugh softly and my heart melts. I just need to be beside her right now. I don’t care about my toe, or the Lex, or my dad, or Mary, or the trial or any arrests, all I care about is her. I just want to hold her in my arms and make sure she’s ok. If she’s ok, if the baby’s ok, then nothing else matters.

  “Owen?” She says softly.

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too Jess. Thank you,” I add. “For everything.”

  “I’m sorry your hotel is burning down.”

  “I don’t give a shit about the hotel. I just want you and the baby to be ok.”

  I hear her sob and her strangled voice says a simple “Ok.”

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Yep,” she answers in a whisper, and then the phone clicks off. I sigh and lean back in my chair. Once again, all I can do is sit back and wait and stare at those sliding glass doors.

  Epilogue - Jess

  Three weeks later…

  Owen wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. We watch as the last of the movers empty my grandmother’s house, and I swing the small suitcase of stuff into Owen’s truck. It’s all I’m keeping - just a few small things from my childhood, Gram’s old heirloom jewellery and her faded old apron. I’m going to get it framed and hang it up in my apartment in New York.

  “That’s the last of it,” the mover says to me, thrusting a clipboard into my hands. “Just sign here and here and you’ll get your cheque from the estate sale in a couple weeks.”

  I take the pen and clipboard and sign where he’s pointed. I hand the clipboard back to him and he nods his head before jumping into the cab of the truck. The truck rumbles to life and Owen and I watch as they drive down the street and out of sight.

  “That’s everything. Sam and Ronnie signed the sale papers this morning, so that’s it,” I say. It feels strange to be here, in front of a house that my family no longer owns. I didn’t want to keep it, so I offered it to Sam and Ronnie to buy for a fair price. She was ecstatic to be able to stay in Lexington, and I was happy to be rid of Gram’s house so quickly.

  “Time to move on,” I say, stroking my stomach.

  “Too many bad memories here,” Owen says, squeezing his hand around my
waist. “We get to start fresh now.”

  I turn towards him and smile. He tilts my chin up and places a soft kiss on my lips. His lips linger against mine and I groan.

  “I’ll never get sick of kissing you,” I say.

  “Good, because neither will I.” He kisses me again and I wrap my arms around his neck. “Now let’s get out of this town.”

  A smile spreads across my face and I nod. “Ok.”

  We get into his truck and head off towards the highway. When we turn onto Main Street, the charred remains of the Lexington Hotel’s first storey rise up like an abandoned castle. Owen pulls up in front and sighs.

  I laugh. “So much for the investment. Have you found any buyers for the land?”

  “A developer contacted me. It’s actually one of my most successful investments, between the insurance payout and the sale of the lot,” he says with a raised eyebrow. “Enough to buy somewhere nice in New York. I was thinking a two or three bedroom place. You know, somewhere with room to grow?” He says the last word so tentatively and reaches his hand over towards me. He slides it over my stomach and my heart flutters.

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “Yeah,” he nods. “Nothing would make me happier.”

  We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment and I can feel the corners of my lips start to curl into a smile. My eyes mist up and I nod. “Ok,” I say. “But let’s just go to my place for a few weeks and see how we manage living together. We might hate each other.”

  “Doubt it,” Owen says simply. He turns the truck back on and we head towards the airport.

  The flight is smooth, and within a few hours we have our bags and we’re at my apartment in New York City. It feels more like home than that town ever did, and with Owen by my side I feel like I couldn’t be happier.