by M. A. Stone
"We need to go to the store," she whispered, inches from my face. I could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke on her. It made my stomach lurch.
"NO."
"Yes Bleu. We need to. Now." She poked my shoulder with her finger.
"Uh why? Can it wait?" I asked. She grabbed my hand and hoisted me up. The room spun and I felt like I was going to throw up. If I did, I was going to make sure it was on her.
"Shh. Your brother and Jack are in the dining room. I don't want them to hear us!"
"Abby, unless you need to buy meth, I don't think they are going to care. Seriously!" She looked at me.
"Don't you remember our conversation last night?"
"You are going to have to be a bit more specific than that!"
"You and I were talking about Jack. And the conversation about the whole I love you baby thing. You said that you thought you might be pregnant and I said I thought I was too. You thought we should find out," she said slowly.
"What the hell Abby? I do not remember that at all!"
"Where are your clothes Bleu?" she asked, ignoring me and searching for our stuff.
"Okay fine. I don't remember everything."
"When was the last time you got your period?"she asked.
"Oh I am not sure. Maybe eight weeks ago? Maybe more. But with all the stress, it can be late," I said. Then I remembered. We had made it to the beach; someone had made a bonfire on the beach. Lots of wine had been involved and some Patron. She had been staring at me, studying me after I had gotten quite after talking about wanting to have kids with Jack.
What?” I asked.
“When was the last time you got your period?” she asked.
“Uh why?” I asked. I placed the glass on the table next to my full wine glass and looked at her.
“I think you’re pregnant,” she replied. Shaking my head, I laughed.
“No way. Nuh uh,” I responded. She looked at me thoughtfully.
“About two months or so. Right before I had sex with Jack,” I replied after a few minutes. She nodded.
She shook her head. She grabbed my brother's truck keys and dragged me out the front door. We stepped over Chloe and I hobbled to my brother's truck. When she struggled to slide the key in the ignition, we decided to walk to the store three blocks over. As painful as that was going to be, it was better than driving.
"Okay, we are adults. Why are we buying extra things to disguise that we are buying pregnancy tests?" she asked. I shrugged. Our cart contained body wash, a box of Kleenex, bug spray and self tanner.
"I honestly don't know, but it makes me feel better," I said. She giggled and then burped. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and she rolled hers.
"Okay have it your way," she said. We walked to the checkout counter and I put everything on the moving belt. Five minutes later we were on our way back to my brother's house.
"Shit," I said. Axel was standing on the front porch. So was Jack.
"Quick, shove the bag into my purse!" I hissed. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
“We have other shit in the bag and the bag is grey. Stop freaking out!” she hissed back at me. I grabbed one of the pregnancy tests and quickly shoved it in my purse. We slowly walked up the front porch steps. Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked. Axel started his deranged bouncing again.
"Well look Jack, its Lucy and Ethel, if Ethel got her haircut by Edward Scissor hands that is.” Axel said loudly with a laugh.
“Could you two please tell me why you decided to steal my clothes and leave the house?" he asked, his arms crossed. Jack shook his head.
"We needed to get coffee," I said.
"But you two don't have any coffee," he pointed out.
"Oops. We must have left it at the coffee shop," said Abby. She giggled and nervously twirled an escaped strand of hair around her finger. We pushed past them and made it halfway into the house until Jack grabbed my arm. I looked into his eyes and he gave me a small smile.
"Bleu, what's going on?" he asked softly. I attempted to dislodge his hand from my arm and it knocked my purse off my shoulder. It was like the slow motion scenes you see in the movies. Abby and I both watched in horror as my purse kind of turned on its side and landed on the floor, the contents spilling out. The pregnancy test coming to rest on the toe of Jack's boot. He bent down to pick it up and held it in his hand, giving me a questioning look. I snatched it from him. I grabbed Abby's arm and we raced into the house and made a beeline for the bathroom. I shut the door and I breathed a sigh of relief. Abby looked at me like I was deranged, but proceeded to yank down the shorts we had stolen from. She shrieked when the door swung open and Jack stalked in. I had forgotten the door lock was broken. She shot him a dirty look.
"Bleu?" he asked again. I looked at Abby for help and she shook her head. She had no idea what to do either.
"You don't talk to me, and now you want to be a part of this?" I asked. He looked down.
"I am going to pull my shorts up if that’s alright," blurted Abby. I nodded.
Sitting down on the toilet, I felt a bit dizzy. Shaking my head, it passed after a bit. It was probably the combination of the wine and stress. My stomach lurched and I swung around, and gave up my lunch in the toilet. Jack bent over and grabbed my hair, holding it away from my face with one hand and rubbing small circles on my back with the other. Then I felt a cold washcloth on the back of my neck.
“If I was not concerned right now, I would be on my ass laughing,” he said with a smirk. Groaning, I rested my head against the toilet seat. He came over and knelt beside me trying not to laugh. I leaned up a bit and rested against the wall next to the toilet, tying my hair up into a messy bun. Abby was perched on the side of the tub, somehow sitting Indian style with that ridiculous ski cap on her head.
“Are you seriously okay?” he asked, sitting down next to me. I looked at him, felt the dizziness again and retched into the toilet. Jack held out his hand and hoisted me up slowly.
“Yeah I think you are pregnant." Abby said from over by the shower.
“How? I was on that stupid shot. And did you forget the massive amount of alcohol we consumed last night? ”I asked her. She frowned.
“When was the last time you had it?”asked Jack.
"The shot?" I asked.
"No Abby. I was talking about scarlet fever. Yes we meant the shot," snorted Abby. I stuck my tongue out at her and she smiled innocently.
“Four months ago,” I said quietly. Abby shook her head. She stood up. Jack looked at both of us and shook his head.
"Can everyone stop looking at me and shaking their head? It’s getting annoying," I muttered. Jack came closer to me. He grabbed my head in his hands and kissed my forehead. Bringing up my hands to wrap around his shoulders, I fell against his chest and sighed. It felt like home.
“I am so sorry,” we both said at once. I laughed and pulled away from him. He pulled me back to him and hugged me tight.
“No Bleu. I was an asshole. I truly was. I did not totally understand what had happened to you to make you skittish about emotional stuff.”
“I should not have expected you to automatically understand something that I did not say directly to you. I think we both messed up,” I replied. He nodded.
“Wait a second though. Are you just saying all of this because there is a possibility that I might be pregnant?” I asked. He looked down at his feet and then back at me, biting his bottom lip.
“I don’t know. I was so mad at you. I thought you were just playing me. That I was the rebound guy,” he answered.
“Well at least you are being honest,” I replied sarcastically. Abby snorted. I shot her a dirty look.
“I am sorry. Do you want me to be honest or blow smoke up your ass?” he asked.
“No, I don’t want you to lie to me. But it hurt so much when you did not talk to me. You would not even look at me Jack. I did not cheat on you. I gave you something so special, something I had not given anyone else. I wanted to make sure t
hat it was real, that I felt safe. I was not trying to pull anything over on you,” I replied.
“You had to know how you felt, if you gave that to me,” he whispered. I nodded.
“Holy shit! She gave you her v card you douche nozzle! You guys are making me sick,” yelped Abby. Jack frowned at her.
“I missed you so much. I have been sleeping with one of your shirts. I miss sleeping next to you, smelling your skin,” he whispered. I was shocked at this outpouring of emotion from my tough boyfriend.
“Same here. In fact, I have not been able to sleep at all. I missed you so much. Abby was so pissed at my sulkiness, she threatened to strangle me.” Abby nodded in agreement.
“Yeah me too. I have to admit, I was kind of licking my wounds. I just wish you had told me that you loved me before you told your brother. But I understand now why you didn’t,” he said. I looked into his eyes.
“I love you Jack. So much,” I whispered. He smiled and kissed me.
“I love you too,” he said, kissing my forehead
“When you two are done with your soap opera reunion, can we please get this shit done?” Abby sniffled from the shower, tears running down her cheeks, wiping her nose on a bath towel. I laughed and she hopped out of the shower. She hugged us and then I was crying.
“You guys are overdramatic assholes. Lamar gets pissed, we fight, I break something, and then we have killer make up sex. You guys are like Telemundo, but not as fun,” she muttered. I looked at Abby and started laughing.
“You seriously need to fix your hair,” I said with a snort. Abby glared at me.
“Yeah yeah I know I look like a train wreck,” she responded. Jack shook his head and smiled.
“Something you forgot that we have to do right??” Jack asked.
“Oh yeah, that.”
"You kind of have to leave in order for us to do that," Abby said.
"Uh Abby, obviously I have seen her naked," he told her. She rolled her eyes.
"I think I might be pregnant too you douche," she replied. His eyes widened. He looked at me again and grabbed me, hugging me tightly.
"Well I am not leaving,” he replied. She frowned.
"That's fine with me. I just don't want to hear you bitch when I flash you my beav," she remarked with a shrug. Jack laughed.
“Seriously?” I muttered. We had both peed on a stick and now we were huddled by the sink waiting for the results of the pregnancy test. Jack was sitting in the bathtub; she had made him cover his head with a towel when it had been her turn to take her test.
“It says three minutes. Three minutes! What the hell is taking so long?!” she yelled. I laughed. Nothing was happening on the stick, so she grabbed another one and thrust it at me.
“Calm yourself Miss Paragon of Patience.” She started rooting around at the sink, opening pregnancy test boxes.
“I think it was broken,” she said. I removed the foil wrapper, sat on the toilet and did my thing. Why I was doing this a second time? Sometimes, with Abby, you have to humor her.
“Stop staring at me, you are making me nervous,” I told her.
“I have seen you in the full Monty. We took baths together as kids. Shut up and pull your shorts up,” she replied. I stood up, placed the test on the bathroom counter and yanked up my shorts. She grabbed a test out of a box and ripped open the package. She yanked down her shorts, plopped down onto the toilet and held the test stick between her legs. Like I said, she was nuts.
“She has lost her mind,” muttered Jack. I smiled and Abby threw an empty pregnancy test box at him.
“What in the hell??” I asked her. She finished and placed the stick on the counter, on the opposite side.
“I did not want you to have more tests than I did," she replied.
"It’s not a competition Abs. This is not the third grade," I moaned. Jack cracked up from the bathtub. From under his towel.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall near the toilet. She sighed.
“You are seriously unhinged,” I remarked. She laughed.
“Uh I believe I already said that,” called out Jack. I looked down and gasped.
“Uh Abs..,” I whispered. She looked up from reading one of the boxes and gave me a puzzled look.
“Hmmm?”
“Yours is done,” I said softly. She frowned and grabbed her test stick from me. A few minutes passed as she stared at the stick and her hand started to shake. I put my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me...slowly sitting down on the toilet. She looked like she was going to pass out.
“How is this possible? I took one last week and it was negative,” she said softly.
“Well, do I need to tell you where babies come from?” I asked in a sugary sweet voice. She snapped out of her trance and smacked my arm.
“That’s the Abby I know and love,” I said as I rubbed my arm.
“I have to go call Lamar! Oh my god!!” she screeched as she flung open the bathroom door and ran from the bathroom. Shaking my head, I bent down to pick up all the empty boxes that held the pregnancy tests. The test stick on the counter caught my eye. Mine. Taking a deep breath, I peered over at the result window on the test. Positive. I was pregnant. Pregnant? I was pregnant! Holy shit! Jack stepped out of the bathtub and came over to me. I handed him the pregnancy test and he looked at it and then squeezed me so tight. He started kissing me all over and I giggled. Axel raced in.
"What the hell is going on?!" he asked. Abby was squealing in the living room. Jack handed Axel the pregnancy test. He looked down and his eyes widened.
"You're going to be an uncle!" I said with a smile. This was going to be okay. I could do this, right? Axel shoved Jack out of the way and enveloped me in a bear hug. I was crying and I am pretty sure he was too.
"Shit sis, now I am crying," he said softly.
"Good job Bleu, you’re going to make his eyeliner run," snorted Abby. Axel pushed her lightly.
"Watch it buddy. I am knocked up too you know. Oh and your sister peed on that stick," she said softly, tears in her eyes. Axel dropped the test stick on the counter and wiped his hands on his jeans. He pulled Abby in for a hug and Jack too. Kumba fucking ya.
“When all this shit with your brother Axel is taken care of, you need to get checked out,” Jack told me the next morning in our bed. We were in our bed, together. Kind of naked. I kissed him softly and nuzzled up to him. My phone buzzed and I grabbed it from the night stand.
“Hello?”
“Hey honey its Dad.”
“What’s going on Dad?” I held my breath.
“Everything is fine. Axel handed over the money and this Cyrus asshole tried to shoot Axle and the police got him,” he replied, his voice sounding clipped.
“Is he in jail Dad?” I asked. There was silence on the other end.
“No. The police shot him honey. He’s dead. He apparently fired on Officer Banks, and his partner shot Cyrus.”
“Wow, piece of cake right? Just like Officer Banks said,” I remarked sarcastically. Dad laughed.
“Like something out of a crime show on TV huh?”
“Yeah, something like that,” I replied.
“Your brother is in the hospital. That jackass got shot in his foot,” he said after a minute, laughing.
“Really? This has been some month!”
“Well when are you planning on coming back to work?” he asked.
“I am back here with Jack and Chloe. Things are much better. And I have some news for you. How about we meet up for breakfast later?"
“You are so much like your mother. She would worry herself sick over the people she cared about the most. There were so many nights that she would pace the floor, worried about someone or something. She used to drive herself crazy and no matter what I did or said, she would do it anyway. You were so worried about your brother, me, and everyone else, that you did not take care of yourself honey. “
“I know Dad, but that was how I dealt with everything, I guess,” I said softly.
“Well you did a good job.”
“Thanks Dad.”
“Okay sweetheart I have to get going around here, I will see you soon,” he said and hung up.
“Was that your Dad?” asked Jack. I looked up and wiping the tears off of my face, nodding.
“Yeah. Axel got shot in the foot and Cyrus is dead. He tried to shoot the cops.”
“I am, glad that is over. This has been some past few months!” he said with a laugh.
“Yeah well at least Axel can bring his daughter home now. And I can spoil her!” I said with a laugh.
“And I get to spoil you right?" he said. He kissed my lips, and then moved lower to kiss my belly.
“Hi baby,” he said softly. God I loved this man! I pulled him to me and kiss him deep and with all the love in my heart.
Before meeting up with my Dad, I wanted to talk to Axel. Jack drove me. We pulled up to my brother’s house. Candi was sitting on the porch with my brother. Jack put his hand on my leg. Axel had this boot thing on his foot and crutches were propped up next to him.
“She is helping him Bleu. Play nice,” he whispered. I stuck my tongue out at him. He gave me an evil smile. He kissed me and drove off, to the shop. My dad was going to pick me up here.
“Hey sis!” called out Axel. Candi gave me a shy smile and I waved a bit. What the?
Hobbling up to the porch, I sat down on the bottom step and watched Jack drive away.
“How you doing sis?” asked Axel.
“Peachy,” I replied darkly. He sat down next to me.
“What is she doing here?” I asked. Axel smirked.
“Someone is acting real mature,” he remarked.
“I am here to apologize,” replied Candi, coming over to us. I looked up at her.
“Really?”
“Yes really. All that I did, that was an act. We had to make sure that you were safe. If I showed that there was discord, we were hoping that they would leave you alone,” she replied.
“You’re not a gallery owner are you?” I asked. She shook her head.
“I am a detective. I have been working undercover for a year. Cyrus was my target. He and his family were heavily involved in a meth production and delivery business. Once I saw that he was also targeting your brother, I pulled him in. Cyrus was also responsible for multiple counts of rape and murder, including his own sister and his mother,” she replied.