by Liza Kline
I brushed away Alex’s attempt to help me into the car. I was perfectly capable of getting into a car by myself. Sure my jaw was throbbing and my heart had cracked into a hundred pieces but I was fine. We both were. The upside to having extra padding, added protection for my precious cargo but maybe I should have Alex stop at an emergency room on the way home, just to be sure. I was being paranoid. I had fallen on my ass not my stomach.
I pulled out my phone and a quick Google search confirmed that unless I was experiencing pain in my abdomen or bleeding my baby would be fine. I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, but maybe I’d call the office on the drive home. It would help keep my mind off things, at least for a few minutes.
Shouting made me look up from my phone as Alex brought the car to a stop at the exit of the parking lot. Grant was running toward the car with David not far behind him. I didn’t want to deal with either one of them right now.
“Damnit Mac! We need to talk.” Grant yelled a few feet from the car.
“What do you want me to do?” Alex asked.
“Just go.” I watched as Grant disappeared in the side mirror uncaring of the tears that had started to run down my face.
Chapter 10
Grant
I had really fucked this one up. My shoulders slumping in defeat as I watched Mac drive away from me. She had looked right at me when I shouted her name and for a second I thought she would stay, but then she had turned her face from me and I knew that I had lost her. David was right, this was all my fault. All I had done was hurt the one person that had always been there for me. I had thrown her to the ground like a piece of trash when she tried to stop me from making a mistake and hadn’t even gone to check on her.
Alex’s announcement had stunned me. Mac was pregnant? I still couldn’t believe it. Was it mine? Of course it was mine. She wasn’t one to sleep around. That had to be what her last text message had been about. I was going to be a father. That was going to take some getting used to. Unless, no, no way in hell the woman I grew up with would abort her child, our child. We needed to talk about this, like yesterday. But she had left me standing on the sidewalk looking like a fool. My surprise visit sure as hell wasn’t going as planned.
“That was my car.” David complained coming to stand next to me. “Can I hitch a ride?”
“Why not?” It wasn’t like I was going to hang around for a slice of cake. Now that I had a chance to process things I knew that I had overreacted when I had seen David. We had been friends since high school and he had never once made a move on someone I had been interested in. “Let’s go. I need to talk to Mac tonight.”
“Good luck with that.”
David didn’t try to draw me into conversation as I drove allowing me to brood over the fact that I was going to be a father. The mother of my child currently wasn’t speaking to me but that didn’t matter. We had been friends for too long for her not to give me the opportunity to at the very least apologize for my behavior.
A chuckle from David drew me from my thoughts. “What’s so funny?”
“She says she’s sorry for taking my car but not for leaving me behind.” That was my Mac, always telling it how she saw it. Now I just needed her to talk to me. The rest of the drive was made in silence and I dropped David off at Alex’s where his car was waiting for him before heading straight to Mac’s apartment.
I knocked on the door for ten minutes with no answer. I knew she was home. I could hear music playing and there had been a light on when I glanced up at her window on my way into the building. Mac was just ignoring me, stubborn brat. I finally admitted defeat when the little old lady that lived across the hall cracked her door and told me that she was calling the cops.
Before I took off I fired off a text. We will talk MacKenzie.
* * *
MacKenzie
Alex had stopped at an urgent care when he noticed how swollen my jaw was. An hour later we were on our way with an ice pack for my jaw and a reassurance that my baby was doing fine and to call my doctor if I experienced any cramping or bleeding. I had calmed down enough to send David an apology for taking his car, it wasn’t his fault I was in this mess and he had warned me that Grant was on his way to my place. I should have known he would follow me after Alex’s announcement. He wasn’t one to let things go. Well too bad for him. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. He was going to have to wait like I had to discuss the outcome of our mistake.
Thanks to David’s warning I had turned my phone off, cranked up the Bluetooth speaker I kept in the bathroom and climbed into a soothing bubble bath. I was half asleep in the tub when I heard the faint sounds of Grant banging on my front door. It would serve him right if Mrs. Gregson called the cops on him. When the water was starting to get cold I finally got out of the tub and turned down the techno blaring from my speaker. My apartment was suspiciously silent and I was suddenly worried that Grant had found a way to pick the locks on my door. Leaving the safety of the bathroom wrapped in an oversized towel I slipped into my bedroom to change into shorts and a tank top. A quick look around my apartment revealed that my door was still secure and I was alone. Grant had given up. Thank you Mrs. Gregson.
* * *
By Monday my jaw no longer throbbed but it was a spectacular shade of deep purple tinged with green. There was no way I was going to work until the bruise had faded more. I didn’t want to deal with the stares or questions. I sent an email to my boss asking if I could work from home for the week and was granted permission five minutes later. At least something was finally going my way. I still hadn’t turned my phone back on but I knew I had to soon. No time like the present. I read the texts from Kerri, Alex and David but ignored the one from Grant. I was surprised that he had only left one message.
After letting my three friends know that I was alive and well I put my phone down and started working. But I couldn’t ignore my growing curiosity. What had Grant’s message said? Did I really want to torment myself with what he had to say?
Grow up MacKenzie, you’re going to be a mother in six short months. Deal with Grant like an adult and not a little girl. You’ve gotten over crushes before. This is no different. My inner adult chided me as I sat staring at my phone. Except it was different. This time it was my best friend and it wasn’t a crush. I was pretty sure I was in love with him and had been for years. And now it just wasn’t me I had to look out for, it was my baby too. But my inner adult was right, I needed to act like a grownup. I grabbed my phone and read Grant’s message before I could talk myself out of it.
We needed to talk? We needed to talk! Was he serious right now? My outrage at his message started to boil over. Where the hell was he two months ago when I had sent him the same message? We would talk but we would do it on my terms not his. I tossed my phone aside only to pick it back up again a few seconds later.
I’ll call you. I texted and then turned my phone off.
Chapter 11
Grant
It was Tuesday night and Mac still hadn’t called me like her text said she would. This was starting to border on ridiculous. How had I let things get so out of control? My best friend was avoiding me, not that I could blame her, and I was turning into a stalker. I had sat in my car outside of her apartment building all weekend and then waited for her to show up at work Monday morning, but she had never showed. Worried when her phone went straight to voicemail I had called both David and Alex asking for any information they had on her.
Alex was still pissed at me and wouldn’t tell me anything. David, on the other hand, had taken pity on me and finally told me that she was working from home until the bruising on her jaw subsided. Which just served to make me feel even more like an ass than I already did. If Mac had been like other women I would have been able to apologize with flowers and a smile, but she would have laughed in my face if I had shown up with flowers. Not like she would even open the door for me. I needed to see her for myself, if for no other reason than to see for myself that she was okay. I called Davi
d back.
“I need to see her.” I said as soon as he answered. “To make sure she’s really okay.”
“She’ll contact you when she’s ready.” It had become his standard response.
“She shouldn’t be alone.” Maybe if I tried a different tactic he would give me something. “I won’t approach her. I just need to see her. It’s not healthy for her to be locked away in her apartment.”
“Promise you’re not going to say anything to her?” Yes! Finally, a crack in the protective armor.
“I promise.” At least for the moment. If the opportunity presented itself I was sure as hell going to approach her.
“She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow at noon. If you upset her you will answer to me. Understand MacDaniels?”
“Understood. I owe you man.”
“You have no idea.” David mumbled before ending the call.
It was a small town with only one doctor’s office, so I knew where she would be. Now I just needed to figure out how to get her to talk to me without causing a scene. I should have asked David why she had a doctor’s appointment. Was something wrong with the baby? Had I hurt one of them Saturday evening in my rage at the thought of David’s hands on the woman I loved? I needed answers but knew that it would be another sixteen hours until I got them.
* * *
MacKenzie
Two days of self-imposed solitude was mind numbing. I was actually looking forward to leaving my apartment to go to my checkup. Normally I hated the thought of going to the doctor, who likes constantly hearing that they need to lose weight? But today I would get to hear my baby’s heartbeat and possibly find out its gender. My doctor had said there was a slim possibility that she would be able to tell today, if not I would have to wait another four weeks. As long as he or she was healthy I wasn’t too worried right now about what I was having.
As I entered the building I thought I caught a glimpse of Grant across the street but when I looked again there was no one there. My subconscious was no doubt playing tricks on me, reminding me that I still needed to talk to him. Maybe I would call him after my appointment. Get the conversation over with and move on with my life. The sooner it was over with, the sooner I could start focusing on my future and that of my child. The nurse called my name, I could only hope this moment of clarity was still with me when my appointment was over.
Thirty minutes later and I was on my way home again eager to share my news with someone, but of the three people who knew my secret, the only one I wanted to tell, I wasn’t sure would care. How had life gotten so complicated so fast? I missed my best friend. Even though we rarely saw one another we had at least exchanged messages on a regular basis. Maybe I would call Grant when I got home, put an end to this nonsense.
“Mac.” Grant’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, so much for calling.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is everything okay?” He asked at the same time. “David told me where you’d be. I was worried about you. I never meant to hurt you Saturday. I needed to see you for myself and make sure you and the baby were okay, but judging from the look on your face something’s wrong. What happened? Did I hurt the baby when I hit you?”
There were unshed tears in his eyes and I couldn’t let my best friend suffer by thinking he’d injured his unborn son. That’s right the doctor had gotten a clear view of my perfect son. Just thinking about the images in my purse brought a smile to my face.
“He’s fine. Strong and healthy the doctor said.”
“I’m glad.” He looked like he wanted to reach out to me but was unsure of how I’d react. As much as I wanted the reassurance of his touch, I couldn’t allow myself to go down that path again. Not when Grant was in love with another woman.
“We need to talk, but not standing here in the parking lot. You can follow me home.” I told him, making the offer and turning away before I could change my mind. The ball was now in his court.
Chapter 12
“I wanted to tell you as soon as I took the test.” I blurted out when we were both seated in my living room. I hadn’t known how to start this conversation but now the words were just pouring out, no thought involved. “I didn’t want you to think that I was hiding anything from you, but you never answered me. I get that things were awkward but we’re adults and we need to take responsibility for our actions. David told me that you met someone you love enough to consider leaving the corps. So, I get your reluctance to want to talk to me after what happened, I do. But I don’t want to cause any drama. I just want what’s best for our son. If you want to be a part of his life, I won’t stop you. If you don’t want to be, that’s okay too. I won’t ask you for money either.”
I paused to take a breath and collect what was left of the semi-thought out speech I had created on the drive home, which was pretty pointless now that I had babbled the main points out all at once. I took a chance to look up from my hands to see Grant staring at me in disbelief. Apparently my outburst had shocked him, hell it had shocked me too. Lately, everything that happened where he was involved shocked me.
“I never meant for things to get so complicated. David wasn’t supposed to run his mouth about my plans.” Grant sighed running a hand over his close cropped hair, a telltale signal that he was about to do or say something he didn’t want to. This was it, he was going to deliver the deathblow to my dreams and walk out of my life for good.
“You know you’ve always been my best friend right?” I nodded in response, not trusting my voice to cooperate. “Good, because that will never change, no matter what happens. I guess I should start at the beginning.”
“Always a good place to start.” I couldn’t refrain from commenting.
“I’m sure by now you figured out that I had been out with the guys that night I came over to your place. After the funerals I wanted to forget everything that had happened and Alex and David were more than happy to help me. I didn’t want to bother you like I did last time but when my mind wouldn’t stop replaying the attack I knew I had to see you. Deep down I knew it was a bad idea, as drunk as I was, but it didn’t stop me.”
“When the sun came up the next morning I didn’t want to wake you after only an hour of sleep. I never planned on ignoring you for three months but the longer I was away the more I realized the conversation we needed to have should be done face to face, not through text messages or emails. I asked David to look out for you while I was gone. I didn’t tell him why but I wanted to make sure you weren’t beating yourself up for that night. I know how you get, placing the blame on yourself when it’s not your fault.”
“I planned on surprising you at your sister’s wedding. I knew how much pressure your mom was putting on you to have a date. Turns out the surprise was on me.” He let out a mirthless laugh. “I’m beyond sorry that I hurt you. Seeing you with David and then his protectiveness of you had me in a blind rage. I never, ever meant to lay a hand on you, not even unintentionally.” My hand rubbed my jaw unconsciously, makeup Kerri had given me months ago had done a good job of hiding the bruise.
“Holy hell Mac!” Grant exclaimed as he leaped from his chair and onto the floor at my feet.
“What?”
“Your jaw is purple.” How did he know that? I glanced at my hand. So much for long lasting coverage.
“It’s green too.” Great comment MacKenzie, make him feel even worse. “I’m fine. Really, it looks worse than it is. Alex took me to urgent care on Saturday and they told me to ice it and I’d be fine.”
“I should have been the one to take you.” Grant placed his hand on the opposite side of my jaw, away from the bruise and looked into my eyes. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I mumbled breaking eye contact. His closeness was making it hard to breath. I couldn’t let myself fall under his spell when he was just going to break my heart. “What about the mystery woman you and David were fighting over?”
“I’m looking at her.” My eyes flew back to Grant’s hopeful gre
en ones. Was he being sincere?
“Don’t mess with me MacDaniels.”
“This is why I waited. I knew you’d be stubborn and pigheaded about accepting the truth. I love you. You’re the one person I can always count on. You don’t put up with my bullshit, just being around you makes me happy. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I’m thrilled that you’re going to be the mother to my children.” He rested his other hand on my stomach, still gazing into my eyes.
“Get off your knees. Unless you’re going to propose while you’re down there.” I joked unable to put my feelings into words. When Grant didn’t move I started to panic. “Don’t you dare! I was kidding.” I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and tried to yank him off his knees.
He didn’t budge but a smile had crept onto his handsome face. “Tell me you love me and I’ll wait until I have a ring.”
Teasing, I was used to being teased by my best friend. He was teasing me, wasn’t he? When I didn’t answer immediately Grant started to shift so that he was balanced on one knee.
“I love you.” The words escaped before I could consider the consequences of saying them out loud.
Grant pulled me into a tight hug whispering in my ear, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Jerk!” I laughed, relieved that my son would grow up with two parents that loved him and I wouldn’t have to pine after a man that didn’t want me.
Grant released me long enough to get off the floor and climb onto the sofa, drawing me in between his legs with my back resting against his chest his arms wrapped around my stomach. “So when do we get to tell your mother that she’s going to be a grandparent?”