They all laughed at my embarrassment. I couldn’t help laughing along with them, but I gave them the middle finger before returning to my gifts.
“I’ll give you your gift tonight,” Lara whispered to me in my head.
I nodded to her as David handed me his last gift. “Trust me—you will like this one,” he promised.
“Oh, really? Is this what I think it is?” I asked.
Before he could answer, Lara happily called out, “Hey, Lance, is this nice or what?” She held up some maternity clothes that the rest of them had gotten her.
“Yeah, I’m digging the skirt,” I said, and I winked at her.
Lara opened another box and exclaimed, “Oh, wow!” She held up a check saying, “This is too much, guys.”
“How much is it?” I asked as the others looked on happily.
“Five thousand crome.”
My eyes lit up in surprise. “Wow, thanks, guys!” I shook David’s hand, and Lara hugged the girls.
Then Lara cleared her throat as she opened the card and read it aloud. “This is from the four of us, from the bottom of our hearts. We hope it helps our two best friends overcome a few of the financial obstacles in the future of taking care of your little one. Always remember that whatever you two need, we will always be there for you.”
“Thanks, guys!” we both told them again.
They nodded, telling us it was no problem.
“I’m going to go try this on,” Lara told us, excitedly grabbing her new set of maternity clothes. “I’ll be right back!”
“Sweet—now’s the time to take a quick look,” David urged me.
I laughed, opening up my last present.
“Oh, my God, David, you didn’t actually get him that, did you?” Carana hissed as I pulled a magazine out of the gift wrapping—it had a nude girl draped across the hood of a car as the cover page.
“Hey, the poor guy has a pregnant wife. He needs something to take his mind off things every once in a while,” David said with an innocent shrug.
He and I laughed as I flipped to the first page.
“Men are so disgusting,” Tracy grunted.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I heard Lara’s voice ring out angrily.
I felt a sudden gust of wind around my hands, which ripped the magazine out of my grasp. It flew through the air and into her outstretched hand. She looked down at the magazine in disgust—it was turned to a picture of a half-naked girl on a motorcycle. She growled angrily at me as her rage boiled over. The magazine ignited into flames. “Merry Christmas, you filthy pig,” she said, angrily tossing the burning magazine into my lap.
I swiftly brushed it off my lap, crying out in surprise. “What the hell, Lara?” I yelled angrily. “It was just a magazine. I didn’t break any of the stupid laws of Dracona.”
She glared at David and me, as he sulked about the ruined magazine. “Damn, Lara, that cost me seventy-five crome,” David muttered.
At first, I thought she was going to lose it and kick everyone out, but her tough demeanor quickly faded. Her lips quivered and tears ran down her cheeks. She angrily punched the wall with her fiend strength, putting a hole in it. Then she disappeared back into the bathroom, where crying could be heard a short time later.
“Don’t worry about it, guys. I’ll deal with her,” Carana said, as I was about to comfort Lara. Carana got up and knocked gently on bathroom door; then she disappeared behind it.
“Well … um … Merry Christmas,” Tracy said with a smirk. The three of us sat listening to the dull unintelligible sounds coming from the bathroom. We laughed, sipping on our drinks. I felt so bad; I should have known better than to open that gift, but I guess I wasn’t thinking.
“I’m sorry about that, man. I should have gotten you a T-shirt or something,” David said.
“It’s all good, man. At least we know no pornos for next year,” I muttered, making the two of them laugh.
“I’m baking cookies next year, so don’t worry about it,” Tracy joked.
Lara and Carana came back in the room shortly after, and although I was nervous, Lara smiled at me, and I knew she had gotten over it.
She was wearing her new maternity skirt and looked more beautiful than ever. She sat on my lap, and I cried out in mock pain, “Ow! My leg!” Everyone burst out laughing, even Lara. She hit my chest playfully and then gave me a loving kiss on the cheek and whispered in my ear that she was sorry. “It’s just … well, you know. I sometimes lose my temper. I’m not mad at you; it just happens. I hate these damn pregnancy hormones.”
I nodded and wrapped my hands around her belly as I returned to my conversation with David.
“So are we going to this party or what?” Tracy asked impatiently.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Lara agreed. She jumped off my lap and put on her coat. We all hurried along the street, across the basketball court where Tracy and I used to play, and then went into the bar. We sat down at an empty table in the back corner and ordered drinks. Lara was forced to get a Coke—she couldn’t drink while pregnant, which was kind of a drag. She seemed to have a good time, though, as the night went on, and that was all that mattered to me.
Tracy eventually ditched us for a guy she met at another table. David and I drank, while Carana and Lara talked to one another in Jural. A few hours later, I was pretty buzzed.
“Hey, check out that one on the pole,” David whispered drunkenly as we stood at the bar. I glanced over at the stripper in the middle of the bar. She was wearing a Santa hat, and I quickly nodded in approval. “If we weren’t tied down by two girls who could kill us with a blink of an eye,” David said, “I’d be all over her.”
“I’m sure you would,” I laughed, grabbing our drinks and paying the bartender. We returned to our table with the drinks, which David and Carana chugged down. They’d decided to dance for a bit—and by “decided” I mean that Carana told David they were going to dance. I felt bad for him; I knew his case was completely different from mine. He didn’t really have feelings for Carana, and from what I’d heard, she usually treated him like dirt. On the other hand Lara treated me as if I was the world.
I was tempted to go mingle at the bar, but I didn’t want to leave her alone, so we sat in silence, sipping on our drinks. I could tell that Lara felt guilty for tying me down, as she occasionally glanced up at me without saying anything. Then she’d smile faintly and stare at her Coke. “Would you like another one?” I asked as she finished her drink, hoping to spark a conversation.
“No, thank you, I’m fine,” she said, glancing around the bar. “You can go up and dance with those girls if you would like,” she finally said. I think guilt overtook her.
I glanced at the group of girls, eighteen or nineteen years old, in the middle of the dance floor. I shook my head unhappily, knowing that was not what she truly wanted. “The only girl I want to dance with is sitting across from me,” I told her, leaning across the table to place my hand on top of hers.
She smiled, and I think she was debating whether or not to dance with me. She got up energetically, surprising me as she held out her hand for me to get up. She giggled and grabbed my hand. “Come on … let’s party!”
I chugged down the remainder of my beer and followed her onto the dance floor. The rest of the night was kind of a blur to me, as we danced and drank happily. Carana and David found us a little while later, looking surprised to see us dancing.
“We are heading home, if you two want to come with us,” Carana offered.
“Nah, we’re fine,” Lara told her.
I had a feeling it was a horrible idea for us to stay, but we were having such an awesome time together that it didn’t seem right for me to interfere with her decision. I couldn’t even remember the last time Lara and I had this much fun together.
�
�Are you sure?” Carana asked. She glared at me, trying to persuade me to get Lara to go home.
“Yes, we are having fun. We’ll see you guys later,” Lara told her firmly. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, clearly getting annoyed by Carana’s persistence.
Carana seemed to pick up on Lara’s tone, so she and David said their good-byes.
“God, she can be so annoying sometimes,” Lara whispered to me. She rested her head against my chest as we bobbed back and forth to the song that had just begun.
“Mm-hm,” I muttered. “I’m pretty drunk, though. We should probably go home in a bit.”
“In a little while,” Lara said, swaying happily to the music. I accidentally bumped into her belly, and she flinched. “Whoops. Sorry!”
“No problem. Just be careful, please.”
“I’m having an awesome time!” I told her happily. “You’re the coolest girl ever.”
As the song came to an end, I gave her a light kiss on her forehead. She smiled at me happily, comforting me with the warmth of her body. “One more song,” she whispered, and I agreed, continuing to dance with her.
I sipped on my twelfth beer as a club song came on. Lara began to jump around ecstatically, waving her arms. Suddenly, she stopped and clutched her stomach.
“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.
She nodded and straightened up. “I’m a little tired. I think I’m going to sit down,” Lara told me. She grabbed my hand and led me over to our table, looking grateful that she could sit down. I finished my beer, and she stroked her stomach, gently calming Rashellia, trying to get her to go back to sleep.
“Let’s go home,” I said when I realized I had nothing left to drink.
“What? Why? I thought we were having fun!” Lara patted my hand lovingly.
“I’m having an awesome time with you,” I told her happily. I accidently knocked over a few cans on our table and cursed under my breath. “I just think maybe I should walk you home, so you and the baby can get some rest. We can do this again some other time.” I picked up the empties that had fallen on the floor and put them back on the table. “Besides, I’m out of beer,” I laughed.
When Lara looked at me, she seemed unhappy for a second, as she seemed to be debating her options. “Trust me, buddy. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” She got up and left the table momentarily. When she returned, she had a fresh beer for me.
I laughed, thanking her for the beer she handed to me. “You look beautiful tonight,” I said as I cracked open the beer.
She smiled and blushed shyly. “Want to go play some pool?” she asked.
“I don’t know—I’m kind of drunk,” I admitted, not wanting to play poorly—my competitive side took over.
“What? Are you scared?” she challenged me playfully. She helped me up and nodded toward a free pool table near the entrance of the bar.
“Fine, but I don’t think you can handle this,” I teased, messing up her hair and wrapping my arm around her waist as we slowly waddled over to the pool table. I showed Lara how to hold the pool cue since she had only played once before. “Aw, damn it,” I muttered, glancing at the floor and realizing I had just spilled my beer.
“Ha-ha. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get you another one,” Lara said. She momentarily left my side and returned with a new one.
“Thanks. That’s just downright depressing,” I muttered, staring at the puddle of beer by my feet.
She giggled and took her first shot. I know that I won the game, but that’s about all I could remember, as the last beer messed me up pretty badly.
“Where is your friend?” some girl asked me. She was stroking my head as I came to.
I lifted my head off the bar table, realizing I must have passed out. “I’m … I don’t know … ungh … my head,” I muttered unhappily, plopping it back down on the counter and trying to block out the club’s music.
“I think she left you,” the girl said, placing her hand on my knee and rubbing my leg affectionately.
“I’m … I’m … so tired, Lara. Take me home,” I whispered sleepily, glancing at the girl unhappily.
She smiled and kissed my neck. “I’ll take care of you,” she promised me as she rubbed my back.
“Get off him!” someone screamed, and I felt myself being hauled away. There were blurry figures, and then the cold night air hit my face.
“Get off me!” I cried in a panic, ripping myself away from the stranger. I stumbled for a few steps before passing out in a snowbank.
I heard Lara crying, which brought me back to my senses, as I realized one blurry figure was her. “Lara!” I cried out in a panic, trying to get up, but it was useless—I could only lie face down in the snow. I rolled over, the world began spinning around me, and I passed out momentarily.
“Lance, please get up,” someone whispered.
“Tina?” I muttered hopefully.
“Please, Lance!” the quivering voice begged.
“Don’t cry, Tina. Ungh … my … my head hurts. Go to school. I’ll meet you there,” I promised her, closing my eyes. I felt her hands trying to lift me up.
I heard distant voices for a second, followed by silence. I lay there shivering for what seemed like forever. I then felt someone grab me and lift me up, slinging my arm around the stranger’s shoulder. I glanced over at the figure. “Help me … I’m so cold,” I muttered as fear gripped me. I didn’t know what was going on.
“You will be fine, Lance,” the voice promised me.
I felt the warmth of the indoors hit my face and then I fell face first onto a mattress. “I’m … sleep …” I whispered—and that’s the last thing I could remember.
I woke up with a start the next morning. I looked around the room nervously but was happy to find out that it was my house. I glanced over at Lara, who was sleeping beside me. “Thank God,” I whispered as I stared at the fan slowly spinning overhead.
I was extremely hung over. The room was still spinning as I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, unhappily accompanied by the pounding headache of last night. “What the heck?” I muttered, looking at my hand—it was covered in purplish fiend blood. “Oh, my God! Lara! Lara, wake up!” I yelled in a panic. I jumped out of bed and ripped the blankets off, exposing her nude, curled-up body. I let out a sigh of relief as she opened up an eye. “What the hell happened?” I gasped, looking down at the bloodstained sheets.
“It was nothing. I just leaked a little last night when we slept. It’s no big deal,” she told me, uncurling herself.
“A little?” I mimicked her. “It looks like someone got murdered!” I was working myself up into a frenzy. “Is Rashellia okay?” I asked.
“Yes, she’s sleeping. Calm down, buddy. You’re starting to act like a girl.” She tried to joke with me as she brought my hand down to her belly.
As a response to my touch, Rashellia kicked against Lara’s stomach. I saw Lara wince as more blood came out. “You’re not fine, you liar!” I shouted angrily. I clicked a button on our phone in a panic. She stared at me, embarrassed. “Why would you push yourself? You could have killed our daughter or yourself!” I yelled angrily. A voice on the automated machine asked me the name of the person I would like to contact. “Dr. Green,” I muttered, holding up my hand as Lara started to protest.
The holographic image of Lara’s doctor appeared out of the machine in front of me. “Hello, Lance,” Dr. Green greeted me.
“Hello, Dr. Green.”
“What seems to be the problem?” she asked me.
“I think Lara pushed herself too hard last night when we went out,” I said, nodding toward Lara, who was lying there, humiliated.
The hologram of Dr. Green turned toward Lara. When she saw the blood, she quickly turned back to me. “I’ll be right over.” With a dull click, the image faded and the
calling system shut off.
I dampened a rag to clean the blood off Lara’s body as my anger was replaced with concern for her and the baby’s well-being. I lifted her off the bed; she stared at me apologetically, trying to kiss me as I set her down on the floor. I recoiled, still angry with her. “Don’t move,” I ordered her.
Lara nodded obediently, sighing unhappily as she stared at the ceiling. I remade the bed with fresh sheets and then returned to Lara. I picked her up and laid her back on the bed, propping her head on a pile of pillows. “Why did you do this to yourself? God, sometimes you can be so stupid,” I scolded her, half-mad and half-concerned. I sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, finally giving her a kiss. I wiped her hair away from her face as she looked up at me apologetically. A couple tears trickled down her face in embarrassment at what she had done. “So what happened last night?” I asked her.
She sniffled, wiping away a few tears. “I pushed myself,” she admitted, but I could tell she wasn’t being completely honest with me. “I tried to bring you back here, but I wasn’t strong enough, and you passed out. Luckily, Tracy was there, and she helped me get home. Then she went back for you.”
“Okay. It’s okay now. You’ll be fine. I’ll take care of you,” I promised her, stroking her hair and sniffling happily as a few tears sprang to my eyes.
She gave me a kiss. “I knew I kept you around for a reason,” she giggled affectionately.
The doorbell rang, and I got up to answer it. “Hopefully, that’s her,” I said. I was ecstatic to see that it was Dr. Green. “Thank you for coming so quickly,” I told her.
Dr. Green went right to Lara’s side and examined her. I decided to stay out of the way—I leaned against the wall and watched anxiously, waiting for her to finish.
“Take these two pills,” Dr. Green instructed Lara. “Your baby will be fine. You tore your uterus, which is what caused the bleeding. Those pills will repair it.” I almost jumped for joy at the news that Rashellia would be all right. Dr. Green packed up her stuff to leave. “I’ll be back in an hour. You can comfort her now, Lance. She is going to be in a lot of pain soon,” Dr. Green warned us.
The Unexpected War Page 16