by K. C. Crowne
Glad to hear. He’s a good kid.
You’re right about that.
I wanted a glass of wine like crazy. But that wasn’t an option, of course.
I was thinking I might bring by dinner tonight. Figured you wouldn’t be in the mood for cooking. What do you think?
Part of me wanted to keep some space between the two of us. But the bigger part wanted to see him again. He’d been such a help and support at the appointment, and his words let me know that he’d thought about the way he’d acted the previous morning.
I smiled, typing up my response.
I think heck yes. Not sure what you had in mind, but I could go for some Italian. Maybe some extra tiramisu if you don’t mind.
Don’t mind one bit. How about seven?
Perfect.
He sent me a thumbs up emoji and I still had that big smile on my face. It was a little after five-thirty, which meant I had some time to get showered and dressed and tidy up a bit before he came over. The place had been a little bit of a mess with my mind being occupied by Adam, so I was happy to have an excuse to clean.
I threw on some Taylor Swift and sang as I dusted and vacuumed, making the living room spotless. The night ahead sounded amazing. We’d have some dinner, watch a movie, then spend some time afterward making up.
Hell, maybe we could skip all the rest and get right to the making up. That didn’t sound bad at all.
Once the house was reasonably clean, I checked the time and saw that I had forty-five minutes to get ready before Ryan showed up. I hopped in the shower and got clean, and when I was out and naked, I caught a glance in the mirror and noticed the first sign of a tiny bump.
I stared at it for a long while, still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that a little person was growing inside of me. The thought made me so damn happy I could hardly think straight.
Once I was dry, I hurried into my bedroom and picked out some clothes to wear. First, I went with my pair of favorite skinny jeans from H&M, but as soon as I had them up to the middle of my thighs, I knew something was wrong.
They were way, way too tight.
I grabbed a pair of lounge pants to step into. They weren’t the sexiest thing I had to wear, but they were comfy. And most importantly, they fit.
Once I had them on, I heard the front door open then shut. I froze in place, trying to figure out who it might be. Adam was off on his date, and unless he’d realized he’d forgotten something, there was no reason for him to be back so soon. It might’ve been Ryan, but he’d never been the type to just march in – he’d call or text first to let me know he was a few minutes away.
Staying still, I heard a thump, thump, of heavy footfalls coming from the living room.
“Hey!” I said, stepping out of my bedroom and into the hall. “Feel like eating no –”
I stopped, frozen in place when I glanced up to see that the person who’d come into my house wasn’t Ryan at all.
Brandon stood in the middle of the room, his shoulders slumped forward, and his eyes fixed on the ground. He had a faraway look on his face, one that made him seem like he was in a daze, as if he was possessed or something.
My first instinct was to hurry back into the bedroom before he noticed me, to shut the door and call the police. But when he turned those dark, glassy eyes onto me, I knew there was no getting away.
“There you are,” he said, his voice gruff, his body swaying as he spoke. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Brandon,” I said, my voice calm. “This isn’t acceptable. You need to leave, right now.”
He swayed his head slowly. “No, not until you get it.”
“Get what?”
“That prick who’s always around here. He’s shit, no good for you. He won’t treat you the way I will.”
However scared I may have been before, this took it to another level. He was delusional, totally out of his mind. I glanced over to the bat near the door, realizing that there was no way I’d get there in time. And even if I did, he was far more powerful than me.
“You need to leave now Brandon. How about this – go over to your place and I’ll come find you when Ryan gets here later, OK? We can talk about how you feel about me, and you can tell Ryan why you’d be better for me than him.”
I had no plans of doing any such thing, of course. But it’d buy me some time to call the cops.
His face twisted with anger, and I realized that I’d said the wrong thing.
“He’s coming over here now?” he asked, rage in his voice.
Nothing to do but double-down. “He’s coming now. And unless you want to be here when he arrives, you’d better go –”
I didn’t get a chance to finish. Brandon’s eyes lit up with pure anger.
“He doesn’t deserve you!” the words exploded out of his mouth as he rushed toward me.
All I could do was scream.
And then run.
Chapter 29
RYAN
I had only been parked for a moment when I heard the scream.
There was no doubt in my mind what was happening – Carly was in danger.
I burst out of the car, slamming the door shut before rushing to the front of the house. The door was ajar, my stomach sinking as nightmare images of what might be on the other side filled my head. I ran, shouting, into the house, making my presence known.
“Think you’re too good for me, huh? Snooty bitch!”
Brandon was at the entrance to the hall, not even noticing me as I entered. He had to have been drunk or on something – no other way he wouldn’t have reacted to me barging into the house like that.
Carly screamed again, the sound filling me with a rage I’d never known. Knowing she was in danger, that our baby was in danger…it awakened something deep inside of me, something primal and ferocious.
“Hey, prick!” I shouted, my booming voice filling the house.
That got his attention. He swiveled toward me his eyes glassy. He was drunk, no doubt. But that could’ve very well meant he’d do something reckless and stupid. I had to take him down before he had a chance.
“You…” he said, raising his finger toward me. “You arrogant ass –”
He didn’t get a chance to finish. As he spoke, I closed the distance between us with long strides, pulling back my fist and swinging it forward, connecting with his jaw. I felt the bone fracture against my knuckles as I finished the arc of the swing.
He stumbled backward, slamming into the cabinet near the kitchen. The piece of furniture shook, plates falling inside of it.
But Brandon was still standing. I wasn’t going to stop until he was down.
I closed the distance between us once more, giving him a quick jab to the face that likely smashed his nose. His neck snapped back, the back of his head slamming against the cabinet.
That did the trick. The light went off in his eyes and he collapsed into a heap, still as a stone. I quickly checked his pulse to make sure it was steady – it was – then hurried around the corner to find Carly.
She was on her butt, her eyes wide and a red smear on her arm.
“Are you alright?” I asked, dropping to my knees, and looking her over.
“I think so.”
There were tears in her eyes, and I didn’t need to be a doctor to know she was likely in shock. I glanced at the wound on her arm and, between that and the broken glass on the ground from a fallen picture, put together what had happened.
“One sec, alright?”
“Where are you going?” she asked with wide eyes as I rose.
“Just to the bathroom. I’m not leaving.”
I hurried into the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel. Then I rushed back to Carly’s side and tied the towel around her wrist, covering the wound. The gash wasn’t anything more than a flesh injury, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.
“We’re leaving now, OK? I’m going to carry you to my car and then we’re going to call the police.”
I h
ated the idea of Brandon coming to and getting away before the cops showed up but would’ve rather risked that than not getting Carly the care she needed in time. I scooped my arms under her body, and as I did, she placed her hand on her belly.
“It hurts,” she said.
Her words sent a surge of panic through me.
I hurried with her to the car, stepping around Brandon. Once she was in the back and I was behind the wheel, I called 911 and let them know there was a home invader who needed to be apprehended and gave them the name of the nearest hospital along with my number if they needed to contact me.
Once that was taken care of, I called Adam to tell him what had happened. I hated laying such stressful news on him so soon after he’d had a cardiac event, but he needed to know. He told me that he’d be calling Carly’s friend Allie, and that he was coming straight to the hospital.
I arrived at Barnes Jewish Hospital, a location where I didn’t know any of the doctors or have any strings to pull. But that didn’t matter. It was the closest and Carly needed treatment right then and there.
I pulled in front of the ER, the nurses rushing to the side of the car with a wheelchair.
“She’s been attacked,” I told the lead nurse. “Superficial cut on the arm, could be in shock. And she’s pregnant, complaining about stomach pains.”
“We’ll get her looked at. Are you the husband?”
We crossed the threshold of the ER.
“No. But I’m the father of her child.”
She nodded. “If you’re not family, then we’re going to have to ask you to wait here. We’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop, OK?”
I opened my mouth to speak, wishing I could give them the name of some doctor who worked here. But I couldn’t. And I knew her hands were tied.
I nodded and thanked her, and soon she was gone with Carly.
Adam texted, letting me know he was only a few minutes away. The police called in the meantime, informing me that they’d been by the house and had Brandon in custody.
Major fucking relief. I thanked them as well, Adam appearing in the ER as I shoved my phone into my jacket pocket.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“They’re treating her now. I can’t see her since I’m not family.”
“But you guys are having a kid together – you’re family as far as I see it.”
I smiled, pleased to hear him say the words.
Adam shook his head.
“This is my fault.”
“What?” I asked. “What’re you talking about, mate?”
“The door. Carly’s always getting on my case about leaving the door unlocked. That prick got in because I was careless.”
“No reason to think about that now. That man,” I didn’t want to swear in front of the kid, even as mature as he was, “was a time bomb waiting to go off. Only a matter of time.”
Adam scowled. “I wish I could’ve been there to kick that fucking asshole right in the dick.”
Allie arrived soon after, and we filled her in on the details. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long for a doctor to arrive.
“She’s fine,” she said. “She’s going to need a few stitches on that cut, but otherwise she’s only a little shaken up.”
The relief was instant. But as soon as she spoke, another question came to mind.
“The baby?” I asked. “What about him? Or her?”
“We ran a quick ultrasound and the baby’s fine.”
The relief was so intense that I had to sit down.
The baby was fine. Carly was fine.
“She’s OK for all of you to come see her now, if you’re ready.”
“So ready,” Allie said. “Let’s go.”
I had to really put some effort into it to get to my feet. But I was soon up, the three of us on our way. The doctor led us to a small room, the door already opened. Carly was there, a bandage on her forearm and some Band-Aids on her cheek.
Her face lit up when she saw us.
“You guys!” she smiled. “You’re all here!”
As I took in the sight of her, knowing just how close I came to losing her, I knew without a doubt how I felt about her.
“Carly,” I said, shaking my head almost in disbelief at the strength of my feelings. “I love you.”
Every pair of eyes snapped right onto me.
Chapter 30
CARLY
All I could do was stare at him.
Ryan Anderson stood before me, his words of love in the air.
Maybe it wasn’t the best time to say something like that, but I didn’t care. Because after a moment of wrapping my head around what he’d just spoken, I knew what I wanted to say next.
Adam and Allie and the nurse watched me with wide eyes and slightly open mouths, all of them eager to hear what I was going to say.
“I love you, too.”
I was a bit scared to say the words at first, but as soon as they were out in the open, I knew I meant them, that I loved Ryan.
The small crowd watched as he stepped over to me, leaned in slowly, then planted a kiss on my lips. The kiss was chaste, but even so there was enough passion and romance and love in it to make me feel a way I never had in my entire life.
Adam and Allie and even the nurse cheered.
I was happy. The baby and I were healthy. I was in love.
I wanted to go home, but the staff at the hospital said it would be a better idea to keep me overnight. My first inclination was to tell them “thanks but no thanks.” But when I thought about the baby, I reconsidered.
That was my life now. That was our life now. We were no longer making decisions for just ourselves – we had a whole other person to consider.
And there was another reason why I ought to have stayed over. Ryan got in touch with Dr. R. and let her know what had gone down the night before. The doctors at the hospital had given us the all-clear with the baby, but a second opinion couldn’t hurt.
That morning, a knock sounded on the door to my room. Ryan opened it and stepped in, a tray of coffees in his hand and a bag of something good and greasy in the other.
“Alright, beautiful,” he said. “We’ve got regular coffee for me, decaf for you, and McGriddles for the both of us.”
“Oh…gimme-gimme-gimme.”
He handed over the greasy package. But before I could take it, he held up a finger. “Now, as a doctor I’m going to suggest something a little healthier for lunch. When we get out of here, I’m taking you out for a nice, big salad.
I laughed. “Deal.”
I tore into the McGriddle, the sweet and sticky and delicious taste making me roll my eyes back into my head. “Oh my God,” I said. “This is better than sex.”
Ryan chuckled as he opened up his food. “Not sure if I should be offended by that or what.”
I laughed. “Maybe we’ll have to incorporate some maple syrup into our bedroom activities.” I winked after I spoke.
“Challenge accepted. Might be a little sticky but could be fun.”
I chuckled, then took another bite. Ryan’s expression turned serious, and I knew the time for joking was over.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Talked to the police before I came here. They’ve got Brandon, and between what he did last night and the warrants he had out, he’s not going to be leaving jail anytime soon. Turns out you weren’t the only woman he’d stalked and made unwanted advances toward.”
“Good. That’s really good.”
“They’re going to need you to give a statement, and you might need to ID him at the station. But I told them that you’re going to be spending the weekend recovering, so the soonest you can come in is Monday.”
“Thanks. That was the right call.”
“But here’s the thing – I want you and Adam to come stay with me. And I’m not demanding like before. Just asking. Firmly,” he added with a grin.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Never been more so. It might
be a little soon, but it’d be for the best. I don’t like you being in that neighborhood. But that’s only a small part of it. I love you, Carly. And I want us to start our lives together, to go on this amazing journey hand-in-hand. Nothing would make me happier.”
I smiled, tears in my eyes.
“I’d like that.”
He squeezed my hand. “We’ll have to talk it over with Adam, make sure he’s cool with it. But assuming he gives the go-ahead, I can’t think of any reason why you guys couldn’t be over by the end of the weekend.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled. He may not say it, but he likes having a guy around. Big sisters can only do so much, you know?”
He smiled, then leaned in and kissed me.
A knock sounded at the door, snapping us out of the moment.
“Woah!” Dr. R’s familiar voice sounded. “Didn’t mean to interrupt the lovefest.”
She entered, a nurse pushing an ultrasound machine in after her.
I chuckled. “It’s fine. Just talking over weekend plans.”
Dr. R. smiled, then sat on the edge of the bed.
“So,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear about what happened last night. Awful business.”
“Thanks,” Ryan said. “But it’s over now.”
“Good, good. Anyway, I wanted to give you a checkup, and do a quick ultrasound to confirm everything’s tip top. Sound good?”
“Perfect,” I said.
With that, Dr. R went to work. She had me pull up my gown, and the nurse lowered the lights then helped her get the machine ready. I was excited, eager to learn whatever I could about the baby.
Dr. R. placed the sensor on my belly, moving it around until we could see a shape on the screen. But it looked strange.
“OK, hold on,” Dr. R. said, her expression turning serious. “What did they say to you last night?”
“That the baby was fine,” Ryan said. “But it all happened so quickly. Is something wrong?” He got up to look at the ultrasound, a look I couldn’t quite identify crossing his face.
Fear gripped me. Had there been a mistake? Had the baby been hurt, and they’d read the screen wrong?