The Family Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  As the night wore on, Patrick seemed to be drowning himself in alcohol. Katie spent most of the night sipping water. She had told Patrick that she just didn’t feel right. Her stomach was bothering her, and she didn’t want to get sick on the wine. He grumbled something to her about not wanting to come to the party in the first place, but she brushed it off.

  ooooooooo

  “Hey, come with me for a minute,” Patrick grinned wickedly as his obvious inebriation was apparent to his wife.

  “Come where?” Katie glanced around the living room, and then back at Patrick. “How many of those have you had?” she pointed to the bottle in his hand.

  “Enough,” he tossed his head back and sighed. “Just come with me,” he tugged her arm as he pulled her behind him and headed for the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” Katie yelped as she tripped over the first step.

  Patrick shook his head and laughed, “I need an escape.”

  He pulled her along behind him as he stomped up the steps, and pushed open the door to his childhood bedroom. Katie giggled as understanding dawned on her. It was just like old times.

  Once in the room, Patrick shut and locked the door. He placed his beer on the chest of drawers by the door, and then turned to look at her with a predatory look in his eyes. Katie giggled as she slowly began shuffling backwards.

  “Wanna watch a movie?” she pointed to the TV across the room. “Maybe Footloose?”

  “Not really,” Patrick licked his bottom lip as he watched her backpedal toward the bed. “I had something else in mind.”

  “Oh?” she darted her eyes around, “like what?”

  As he moved closer to her, fear began to creep into the recesses of her mind. Her body was changing due to the pregnancy, and she was afraid her ever observant husband would notice despite being drunk at the moment. For every step that she moved back, he advanced forward.

  Without noticing the hockey stick that was protruding slightly from under the edge of the bed, Katie slipped on her last step and fell backward onto the soft mattress. Patrick chuckled as he too stumbled toward the bed, and crawled up over her.

  “Patrick,” Katie pressed on his chest. “I don’t think we should be doing this here.”

  “Doing what?” he leaned down and whispered into her ear. “We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re married now,” his breath feathered across her face, and she shivered. She could smell the beer on him, and it was causing her stomach to roll in protest.

  As she fought to control herself, Patrick pressed his lips to hers in a rough kiss, “Relax,” he coaxed.

  This side of him was something she rarely saw. Patrick only got this way when he drank a lot, and usually she was drunk, too, so it didn’t bother her. Now as she lay there completely sober, and trying to hold him off, a slight panic began to ensue.

  “Seriously Patrick, your parents are right downstairs,” she pushed against his chest, but he outclassed her in both weight and strength.

  Ignoring her protests, he ran a hand up her side, and began kneading her breast through her shirt as he tried to deepen the kiss. Katie moaned. It did feel good, and it had been days since they’d been together. Hearing her make sounds of pleasure encouraged him to continue. When he squeezed harder, she flinched. The pregnancy had caused some tenderness.

  Patrick’s head snapped up when he felt her jolt as if in pain, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “It’s ok,” she reassured. “You didn’t.”

  “Yeah I did. I’m sorry. I just wanna be with you so bad, and you don’t seem to want to lately. Did I do something to cause this?” he rolled to the side and rubbed his fingers across his eyes as he tried to focus in his drunken state.

  “No,” Katie shook her head at him. “I’ve just been busy at work. Tired is all. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she leaned forward and pecked his lips as she silently added we’re just going to have a baby is all.

  He pushed himself to a sitting position on the edge of the bed, “Can we go home now? I really just want to get out of here,” he pulled his car keys from his pocket and handed them to his wife.

  “Yeah…let me go say our goodbyes, and I’ll meet you at the car,” she stood and moved to stand at the door. When she turned back to where her husband was sitting, he looked like a child that had been scolded. His head was bent down as he rubbed his palms up and down his thighs. When he lifted his head, he had an expression of remorse.

  “Whatever has you so worried, you need to stop. I’m not mad at you,” Katie reassured and then turned to leave.

  As Patrick sat in his old room berating himself for his behavior toward his wife, he couldn’t help but wonder why she kept reassuring him that he didn’t do anything wrong. Her desire to make sure he understood that was odd. Normally, she would have let him stew about it for a while, and then it would have turned into a joke. She had been acting so odd lately, and he was determined to find out why.

  As he stood, he shook the thoughts from his head, and began to stagger out of the room and make his way down to his car. They could finish what they started when they got back home. Maybe if Katie was in her own bed, she would be more into the idea of being with him tonight.

  Chapter 10

  The next several months passed much as January had, with Katie avoiding intimate contact as much as possible. There were a few times that she pushed her fear of Patrick noticing her slowly expanding waistline to the back of mind, but their sex life had dwindled down to a night here and there. Patrick began finding reasons to work late in order to avoid the uncomfortable evenings at home where his wife would keep to herself only speaking to him when needed. It was as if they had turned into a completely different couple, and neither knew how to fix it.

  Spring was fast approaching, and the warmer weather was slowly becoming the norm. Katie stood in the bathroom, preparing for her shower as she turned to look at her profile. At four months pregnant, she was just showing signs of a barely there bump. Patrick hadn’t said anything to her, and she’d been covering it with bulky sweaters. She knew she’d have to switch to light clothes as the summer months approached. Hiding this baby from everyone was slowly becoming impossible.

  ooooooooo

  As a tear made its way down her cheek, she climbed into the shower. Patrick had gone into work early that morning to go over some information about a drug study in which the clinic was participating. Katie shuddered at the idea of Patrick working so many long hours with Tinsley. He hadn’t said much, but she knew whenever he was there that they were working together. She figured he kept it to himself in order to keep from upsetting her. He knew it bothered her, but he’d told her more than once that she didn’t need to worry.

  When she stepped out of the shower, she dressed quickly and sent Patrick a text. She’d been to the doctor for a bladder infection the day before, and wanted him to pick up her prescription on his way home. She had a procedure scheduled late, and wouldn’t be able to go by the pharmacy before it closed.

  IceKing: Sure thing. See you tonight.

  Katie glanced at the text. No, “have a nice day”, no “love you”, no nothing. It was like she didn’t know him anymore. As she grabbed her keys, and made her way out to her car, she sent him another text.

  BoSoxBabe: Wanna meet me for dinner tonight? Somewhere nice? Just the two of us?

  IceKing: Sure. I’ll talk to you soon.

  Well, that was better than a blow off. When she climbed in the car, she sighed. She needed to tell him. If she wanted the closeness that they’d had that weekend in the cabin, she needed to be honest with him and tell him about their baby. She cranked the car and mumbled to herself, “Tonight. I’ll tell him tonight.”

  ooooooooo

  It had been a busy day at the clinic, and as Patrick was packing up his briefcase to head out, Tinsley knocked on his door.

  “Yeah?” he glanced up at her but then continued to power down his laptop.

  “A bunch of us are heading
out to O’Bryan’s for drinks. Thought you might want to join,” she smiled coyly.

  “Can’t,” Patrick huffed as he wound the power cord around his hand.

  “Can’t or won’t,” Tinsley shifted and popped her hip.

  Patrick shook his head. He knew what she was trying to do, and he wasn’t going to fall for it. “Can’t. I’m meeting my wife for dinner at The Bistro.”

  “Wow…that’s a fancy place,” she gasped.

  “She deserves it,” he nodded as he snapped the briefcase shut and reached for his jacket.

  “Well, have fun,” she waved at him as she stepped back out of his doorway. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be,” she winked and then disappeared around the corner.

  Patrick grumbled to himself as he hit the lights and locked up his office. With the way things had been going at home lately, he was surprised he was turning drinks down. A night out with colleagues might have been a good choice, but Katie had sounded almost desperate when she’d called him at lunch about the reservations she’d made.

  ooooooooo

  Yes, going out with his wife was the better choice. All he needed to do now was stop by the pharmacy and pick up her prescription.

  ooooooooo

  When Patrick strode through the door of Thompson’s Drugstore, he went straight to the pharmacy. Dan, the local pharmacist, was working the counter. Both Patrick and Katie had become friends with Dan over the years. The fact that they lived right down the street from the place helped.

  “I’m here for Katie’s prescription,” Patrick called to the figure standing among the shelves of medicine.

  “Be right with you,” Dan returned as he rummaged through the basket of scripts. “So you must be pretty excited, huh?”

  “Ummm, sure,” Patrick’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “Well, tell her she can take these regularly and they won’t hurt the baby at all,” Dan smiled and handed the small white bag to Patrick. “Hey, are you ok?”

  Patrick’s face turned a ghostly white, and sweat began to appear along his hairline. Did he just hear correctly? A baby?

  “Congrats, by the way,” Dan reached to shake Patrick’s hand as he watched his face slowly gain its color back. “I haven’t seen you since I heard the news.”

  “Thanks,” Patrick mumbled, still stunned by the new information. He turned, and headed for the door, determined to cancel dinner and confront his wife.

  IceKing: Change of plans. I need you to meet me at home.

  ooooooooo

  As Katie sat on the couch staring at her phone, she wondered why Patrick would have cancelled dinner on her. She figured he would be dying for them to spend a romantic evening together, they’d had so few lately.

  Right when she leaned forward to place her phone back on the coffee table, the front door flew open. Patrick stood there, briefcase in one hand and a small bag from the pharmacy in the other. His mouth was ironed out in a thin line, and his eyes were narrowed as they pierced into her.

  “I wanna know how long you thought you could lie to me?” he ground out as he stepped forward and slammed the door behind him. “How stupid do you think I am?”

  “Patrick… I…” Katie stammered as she moved to stand up.

  “Sit down!” he commanded as he threw his briefcase to the side, and marched over to where she was. “Dan said you could take this, and it wouldn’t hurt the baby,” he growled. “What baby is he talking about?”

  “Patrick I,” she tried again as tears welled in her eyes. “I wanted to tell you…” she looked away, unable to handle the anger and contempt that was radiating off him.

  He moved to stand directly in front of her, and leaning down, he placed one hand on each side of her on the back of the couch, effectively pinning her in place. “How long did it take you to plan this? Huh? How long did you sneak around and stop taking the pills?” he demanded, his entire body was rigid and seething with anger as he leaned closer to her trembling form.

  “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I wanted to tell you. I did,” she begged. “I knew you’d be like this,” she covered her face with her hands as the sobs came harder.

  “You didn’t answer me…when did you stop taking the pills?” he ground out as his jaw ticked with tension.

  “I didn’t,” she whispered. “I didn’t…you have to believe me.”

  Patrick glanced up and squeezed his eyes shut before noticing his reflection in the mirror across the room. What he saw frightened him, and he back-pedaled, shoving himself back and away from his wife. The version of himself that was in this room was not whom he wanted to be.

  “I didn’t,” she sobbed again as she looked up at him.

  Patrick gave a quick nod as he stood, grabbed his keys off the table, and strode to the door.

  “Wait! Where are you going?” Katie scrambled to a standing position.

  “Out!” he shouted. “I need to get away from you before I say or do something that I don’t mean.”

  “We need to talk about this,” Katie begged.

  Patrick turned slowly and gestured toward her barely-there baby bump. “How long have you known about this?”

  Katie’s head dropped. “Since Joey’s birthday.”

  “You’ve had four months to talk about this with me, and you chose not to. Now, I’m choosing not to. I’m going out. I’ll talk to you in the morning when I’ve had time to cool off,” Patrick stepped through the front door, slamming it hard behind him.

  ooooooooo

  When he pulled into the parking lot of O’Bryan’s Pub, Patrick didn’t even really know why he was there. He sat in his car for what seemed like hours before he finally made the decision to enter. As he headed toward the bar, he noticed that Thomas and Tinsley were the only ones still there. It had grown late, and he figured everyone else had headed home.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Thomas laughed as he tossed some bills onto the bar.

  “Yeah, tomorrow,” Tinsley giggled as she lifted her martini glass to her lips.

  “Hey bro,” Thomas greeted Patrick as they passed by the door. “Everyone’s gone except your lunch buddy,” he snickered as if he was telling a joke.

  Patrick rolled his eyes as he made his way up to a stool and climbed on.

  “I thought you were going out to dinner with your wife?” Tinsley glanced over at him as he attempted to flag down the bartender.

  “Change of plans,” Patrick scowled as the bartender breezed by him again.

  “What are you drinking?” Tinsley cocked her head to the side as she rotated on her stool to face him.

  “Bourbon,” he scanned her form as she crossed and uncrossed her legs.

  Before he could say anything else, Tinsley got the bartender’s attention and ordered his drink. As she passed him the glass, Patrick grinned and then downed it quickly. As the amber liquid burned in his throat, he ordered another.

  “Something bothering you?” Tinsley questioned as she watched Patrick toss back the liquor like water.

  “Nope, I’m here to unwind. I need it,” he winked at her.

  “I’m sure I can help you with that,” she reached over and placed her hand on his upper thigh. When he didn’t push her away, she slid it higher and leaned into him as she whispered into his ear, “I’m real good with helping people forget their problems.”

  “Oh yeah?” Patrick grinned drunkenly at her, the bourbon taking effect quickly due to his heightened emotions.

  “Un huh,” she mumbled as she leaned even closer. “I’m good at keeping secrets, too.”

  “I know someone else who’s good at keeping secrets,” Patrick murmured as he darted his gaze between her eyes and her lips.

  “I like keeping naughty secrets. How about you?” she whispered into his ear as her hand began to slide to the inside of his thigh.

  “I need to use the restroom, why don’t you wait for me in the hallway over there?” Patrick winked as he fought for balance when he slid off the stool.

&n
bsp; “Sure thing, doctor,” Tinsley grinned wickedly.

  As Patrick disappeared into the men’s room, Tinsley stood outside the door. This is too easy, she thought. She had him exactly where she wanted him, and apparently he wanted to be there, too.

  Chapter 11

  As the evening wore on, Katie sat huddled on the couch, hoping Patrick would come home soon. He’d never done this before. Anytime they’d had an argument, they’d always talked it out. He’d never so much as left the room! She couldn’t blame him though. This was big, and it was all her fault. The longer she sat there, the worse she felt, and the sadness soon turned into worry. Where would he have gone, and when would he decide to come home?

  She picked up her cell and called him, hoping that he’d answer, but it went straight to voicemail, all six times. After drying her eyes, Katie grabbed her jacket, keys, and purse and headed to Hannah’s.

  ooooooooo

  “Mom! Someone’s at the door,” Charlie called from the living room when he heard the knock.

  “I’ll get it,” Matt stood to answer the door as Hannah finished setting the table for dinner.

  When he opened the door, he stepped back slightly to reveal a sobbing Katie. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I don’t want to bother you.”

  “Nonsense,” Matt reached for her arm to guide her through the door. “What’s wrong?”

  “Katie?” Hannah came around the corner and rushed to envelop her sister in a hug. “What happened? Did you tell him?”

  Katie only nodded as she began to cry harder on her sister’s shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?” a bewildered Charlie came running around the corner. “Is she hurt?”

  “Charlie, you can take your dinner into the living room and watch TV if you want,” Matt glanced over his shoulder at his son before turning back to the two women.