One Night

by K. L. Humphreys

  I swear, that family is like poison ivy, they poison and destroy anyone and everything they fucking touch. I never thought that I could ever reach this level of hate, but that family brought out the worst in me.

  “So, she pushed you down the stairs on purpose?” The unhelpful officer taking Brianne’s statement asks again for the hundredth time. What the hell is his problem, does she need to keep repeating one thing over and over again? It’s bad enough that it took them two days to finally come to the hospital to take the statement, so Brianne can open a case, now the fucker is asking the same question over and over like a motherfucking broken record.

  “Yes, like I told you the first few times. Sabrina came into my house uninvited, started accusing me of all kinds of stuff, pushed me off the top of my stairs and then took off running.” I can see that Bri is starting to get irritated as much as I am.

  “Are you sure?” The officer asks again, and Brianne reddens slightly, and I feel the anger starting to boil inside. “Because Mayor Ashwood came to the station to tell us that his daughter has some problems but is seeing someone about it. Said that whatever happened between you and his daughter would not have been on purpose,”

  Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!

  “Not. On. Purpose?” I say the words slowly, trying my damnedest not to lose my shit. Is he fucking for real, not on purpose?

  “Yes, she has suffered some kind of breakdown and isn’t functioning well,” he says without even looking at me. “And if I have all the information, Miss Ashwood’s breakdown was caused by you Jaxon, I mean if it wasn’t for breaking the poor girl’s heart, this wouldn’t have happened” This time he looks me dead in the eye, his eyes full of rage and hate. This asshole is talking more like a scorned lover rather than a man of law here to fucking do his job.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Bri says before I get the chance to tell this jackass of a cop to go fuck himself, slightly wincing as she tries to sit up on the hospital bed. “You are blaming us for me landing in a hospital and almost losing our babies?” The venom in Bri’s voice is evident, and I’m right there with her.

  “No Miss, I’m blaming Jaxon,” he deadpans, his voice emotionless.

  “Fu-”

  “Is judging and accusing people of breaking someone’s heart part of your job description officer Crighton?” Bri cut me off just as I’m about to curse him to hell.

  “I… N-”

  “Because that’s what you are doing right now Officer,” Bri cuts him off with a killer glare.

  “What, N-”

  “Look here officer Crighton, either you do your job without letting your personal feelings for that bitch get in the way, or I’ll call the station and ask for someone more professional in doing their damn job, got it?” Wow, the mother of my kids is badass, I’m so proud right now.

  “I don’t-”

  “Hey Crighton, you still at the hospital?” This time the poor idiot excuse of a cop is cut off by the radio strapped on his uniform by a laughing voice.

  He holds up a finger indicating to give him a minute before pressing on the device. “Yeah, I’m still at the hospital, what’s up?” He asks. I have never seen such unprofessionalism from law enforcement in my life.

  “Well we just got a violent disturbance call, your little Ashwood crush is apparently getting her ass whooped by some redhead tiger right outside the hospital, care to check it out?” The guy on the other side says before actually bursting into a fit of laughter.

  “Redhead?” Bri and I say simultaneously as we look at each other in horror.

  “Dammit, we’ll finish this later,” the officer says as he takes off in a sprint.

  “Oh no, Livie!” Brianne exclaims.

  “Shit, I’ll be right back babe, you gonna be okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah, go. Stop her before that lovesick jackass arrests my best friend.” I give Bri a quick peck on the forehead before running out of her room and down the corridor towards the exit.

  As soon as I step outside I’m met with the most satisfying sight, Olivia straddling Sabrina on the ground, red, curly hair flying all over the place as Liv delivers blow after blow to Sabrina’s face.

  “Damn, the woman has a killer right hook!” I whistle as I come stand next to a smiling Carson. My intentions when I left Bri’s room was to come out here and stop Liv from kicking Sabrina’s ass, but I didn’t expect to feel happy and satisfied with the sight.

  He glances at me, and the smile turns into a grin when he sees that it’s me. “She amazing, isn’t she?” Carson says as he looks back at the scene in front us. The look in his eyes one I have never seen while looking at Olivia. He usually looks at her with irritation, but not now, now he’s looking at her with nothing but lust.

  “Miss, get off of her!” Officer dickhead shouts as he tries to move Liv off of a screaming Sabrina.

  “Don’t you fucking touch me, or I’ll kick your ass twice as hard!” Liv seethes as her wild eyes land on the Officer who actually takes a hesitant step back. Liv glares back down at Sabrina before slapping her across the face over and over again.

  Wow, not only is he a dick, but he’s a ball less dick!

  Carson and I burst out laughing and so does the rest of the onlookers outside the hospital. The whole town has found out what Sabrina has done, and now they are all team Bri again.

  “So, are we just gonna stand here and watch?” I ask, just for the sake of making conversation I have no intention to lift a single finger to stop this fight.

  “Yip, the bitch needs a good ass whooping it’s not like I or you can do it. By the way, Liv’s ass from this angle is just… um,”

  “Her ass is just what, Carson?” I look at him intrigued.

  He clears his throat, “Nothing,” he doesn’t even glance my way as he answers.

  “You and Liv have been spending a lot of time together lately, is there something you wanna share with me?” I smirk at him.

  “Maybe we should stop her now, she just might kill the bitch,” Carson tells me, ignoring my question.

  “If I ever see you anywhere near my friends again I will fucking beat the snot out of you again you jealous little hussy!” Liv shouts, and I wince at the kick she gives Sabrina.

  “Yeah, maybe we should, think maybe that might be enough,” I say starting to make my way toward the angry redhead.

  “Nah, don’t worry about it. I got her.” He stops me as he walks quite awkwardly towards them. I swear he’s walking like someone with a raging boner.

  “Okay Liv, that’s enough,” he says as soon as he is close enough.

  “No, it will never be enough!” Olivia delivers another kick. Carson doesn’t even hesitate; he bends then picks up Olivia who starts kicking and screaming and throws her on his shoulder before making his way into the hospital.

  “Well, that was very entertaining.” I laugh as I watch the cop that I had even forgotten was here rush to Sabrina’s side, pick her up then rushes her inside the hospital.

  “She’s lucky she got her ass kicked in front of a hospital,” one of the onlookers say before laughing.

  Yeah, we laugh now, but Liv is actually in big shit, she beat the shit out of someone and threatened a police officer in the process. I have no idea how we are gonna make this right, but personally, I think it was all worth it, Sabrina needed to pay for what she did to Bri. She almost killed my kids.

  I make my way back into the hospital and find Carson and Liv standing outside Bri’s room in an embrace. What the hell is up with these two? They seem to have gotten close overnight.

  “So, Liv, I never knew you were this badass.” They jump apart, causing me to chuckle under my breath. Something is definitely up with these two.

  “Are you guys just gonna stand out there the whole time?” Bri shouts from inside, and Liv is the first one to shuffle inside, running from my accusing eyes.

  “What the hell happened out there?” Bri sounds frustrated
as she asks when Carson and I walk inside.

  “Nothing much, Sabrina just got what she deserves that’s all,” Liv shrugs before taking the seat at the side of Brianne’s bed. Causing Brianne to groan and me and Carson to laugh. “So, what’s this big thing that you summoned me here for? This secrecy shit has been driving me nuts!” Live exasperates.

  “Yeah, Jaxon you also summoned me here, what’s going on?” Carson asks me, and I just smile at him. Bri and I haven't had the chance to announce our babies’ names because everyone is taking turns visiting and we need them all here for the announcement, so we took the decision to ask them all to come here today.

  “Well you’ll have to be patient a little while longer, mom and dad aren’t here yet,” Bri says with a sly smile forming on her sweet lips. “What I need to know is what the hell happened out there Livie?” Liv rolls her eyes before sighing.

  “I was on my way into the hospital when I saw that hussy outside talking to some girl, so I went closer to ask her what the fuck she was doing here after I warned her two days ago to stay away from you when I overheard her conversation with hussy number two.” She pauses before continuing, “She was talking shit, saying how Jaxon told you that it was over, so you faked an injury just so that he wouldn’t leave you for her,” Brianne gasps and I can see the anger rising in Liv again, it looks like she is about to jump up and go give Sabrina seconds.

  “And then she said Jax fell for it and started fake crying, I lost it and decided to give her a reason to really cry.

  “There is something seriously wrong with that girl,” Mr B says from the door, startling us all.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more darling,” Bri’s mom shakes her head.

  “Ugh I’m done talking about that damn hussy, so Bri, Jaxon what’s the big announcement?” Liv’s anger and annoyance from second ago dissipated into thin air.

  “Well,” I go and take my place next to Brianne who’s smiling from ear to ear. “We’ve decided on the names.” I continue.

  “Ooh great, so you have gone with Dick and Fanny, right? Epic!” Liv says, her eyes full of mischief.

  “Oh, dear God no, please tell me you didn’t?” Mrs B starts fanning herself as her horrified eyes fixed on us.

  “No mom, we didn't name the kids Dick or Fanny,” Bri laughs before taking my hand in hers.

  “The little boy’s name is Phoenix Forrester Carter,” I tell them.

  “Really?” Mr B asks, tears shining his eyes.

  “Yeah, I feel my kid should be named after the one man that was there for me throughout my puberty years well into my manhood,” I say.

  “Thank you, son,” he comes and gives me a bear hug.

  “Okay, so that’s not a bad name compared to Dick did you at least name her Fanny?” Liv smiles, that mischievous glint still shining brightly in her eyes.

  “No, her name is Phoebe Olivia Carter,” Bri says knocking the wind out of Liv and leaving her speechless, for once.

  “Oh honey, those are wonderful names. I love them!” Bri’s mom says dabbing at her tears with a tissue.

  “I love those names guys, it suits them,” Carson says a huge smile on his face.

  “You named her Olivia?” Liv asks, her voice breaking at her name.

  “Of course, she’s going to be a wonderful person just like her aunty,” Bri smiles and for the first time in my life, I actually see tears running down Olivia’s face.

  “Well, that’s definitely better than Fanny,” Liv sniffs through a laugh, and we all burst into a fit of laughter.

  This is how I want things to be for my kids; this is the kind of people I want them to grow up around. No crazy ass Sabrina’s or abusive grandfathers and most definitely no conniving grandmothers, just this happy and loving family standing around us laughing and having a great time.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Brianne

  “I can’t believe the babies are six weeks old already!” Livie says with a smile on her face; she loves cuddles with them, she’s been to visit every day. It's become our new thing, she’ll come during her lunch break, and we’ll have lunch and have a catch-up.

  “I know, I’m just glad they’re home.” They only came home last week, Phoenix had trouble keeping his temperature up, and Phoebe is a little behind with her development, but they are both doing so much better now, and both are healthy and thankfully piling on the pounds.

  “So, are you breastfeeding?” Trust Livie to be so damn nosey.

  “Yeah, when they were in NICU, it was better for them to get my milk and I’ve been feeding them ever since.” I look at her, and I know that face, she’s got something to say, “Why?”

  “Is it weird? I love when a man sucks on mine, I mean Cars… Umm, yeah umm, let’s just say that I’d feel weird having a baby suck on them when I know how much I love when a man sucks on them.” She starts blushing whereas I want to gag, that’s way too much for me to know about my brother. “Does it feel weird?”

  “At first it did but now I really like it as it’s making me bond with them, I like that I have that time with them. What the hell is going on with you and my brother?” I’m curious, Jaxon and I both know they’re together we’re waiting to see which one cracks first. We have a bet; I think it’s going to be Carson. He’s more sensitive than Livie is.

  “Eww, nothing. We’re friends. So, does Jaxon bond with them? Seems as you hog them all the time.” She swiftly changes the subject, and I let her, I don’t want to lose my bet, and if I push her, she’ll spill everything.

  “I don’t hog them, they need to be fed, and at the moment I’m the only one that can do it. Jaxon does, he bathes them.” I may hog them especially when Carson’s around because I know what he's like and I'm afraid he may accidentally drop them or something.

  “So, your mom said that the police finally caught up with Sabrina. What I don't understand is why they didn't arrest her in the beginning!” Livie’s still so angry as are we, but Livie was arrested for assault, and thankfully the charges were dropped.

  Sabrina went into hiding after the fight; her parents rented her a house in Santa Barbara. So, by the time, I had finally spoken to an officer that wasn't thinking with his dick, and they put out a warrant for her arrest she was long gone. A huge investigation is ongoing, and it seems like Mayor Ashwood paid off a few Officers, so they wouldn't arrest Sabrina.

  Of course, the Ashwood’s are trying to get Sabrina off the charges by saying she's mentally ill. She might be, and if she truly is, I hope she gets the help she needs. I don't think I can ever forgive her for that day, because of her I could have lost my babies. We won't know what will happen until the trial which is in a few months.

  “Other than being a human milk dispenser, how are you?” Livie’s been really worried about me since I came home from the hospital.

  “Tired, so damn tired. No-one tells expectant mothers about how tired you're going to be. Thank God for Jaxon is all I'm saying. He's there no matter what especially when it comes to changing their diaper explosions.” Thinking about yesterday brings a smile to my face, Jaxon shooed me into the bathroom telling me to relax for a bit, so I ran a bath and did just that. I could hear gagging noises coming from him, turns out that the babies did simultaneous diaper explosions.

  “But you’re all healed now?” She’s acting weird.

  “Yeah, I got the all-clear two days ago.” I see the sweet smile on her face, and I know she’s up to something, “Why?”

  Her smile turns from sweet to cheeky in a matter of seconds, “So have you and Jaxon done the deed?”

  I roll my eyes; I should have known that’s where her mind was going, “It’s none of your business.”

  “It is my business. It’s a vital piece of information that I have to know.” Damn, she’s like a dog with a bone, she’s not going to shut the hell up about it unless I tell her. “So?”

  “No, we haven’t had the time, we’re so busy with the twins and then
when we finally get around to go to bed we’re so tired that we fall asleep.” I’m a liar, well kind of. We have done the deed, but most of the time we fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

  “That’s a sin! What the hell you need to get back on that horse and ride the hell out of it.”

  “Who’s going horse riding?” Oh great, my mom’s here, I don’t turn around to see her because I’m looking at Livie whose face has just lit up.

  “I’m trying to get Bri, to get back on the horse,” Livie says with that cheeky grin of hers, and I want the ground to open up and swallow me.

  “Back on what horse?” Oh my God! My dad’s here too! Kill me now.

  “Bri had her six weeks check-up, and she and Jaxon still haven’t had any alone time yet, so I’m encouraging her to get back on the horse, it’s like riding a bike.” She winks at me, and I really want to cry, why does she not have a filter?

  “Olivia do you have to be so crass?” Mom asks her, and she sounds as horrified as I feel. “Where’s my grandbabies?”

  “Hi to you to mom, it’s nice to see you,” I say sarcastically, Jaxon and I hardly exist anymore, all they want is to see the twins.

  “Oh, hush you.” Mom shushes me with a wave of her hand, “Where are they?”

  “Asleep, Bri only put them to bed twenty minutes ago,” Livie tells her as dad helps himself to the cookies on the kitchen counter.

  I watch as mom gets that weird look on her face, one that I have come to know so well the past week, “No! No, no, no, you are not going to look in on them, you can wait until they wake up.” I’ve had enough of mom waking the twins, so she can hold them.

  “But…”

  “No buts mom, please can you do as I ask? Let the twins sleep; you can hog them when they wake up.”

  “I won’t wake them up, I just want to look at them, I’ll be ever so quiet.” Why? Why won’t she listen to me?