“Your throat is looking angry, his hand prints are pretty clear,” he says, looking to the female cop taking down notes.
“Miss…”
“Jensen,” I tell her.
“Miss Jensen, could you tell us what happened here this morning?”
I nod my head and relay to her what happened since I woke up to find a very clearly intoxicated Trent in my house.
She nods her head and looks to the other officer that's walked up now and listened to my recap.
“Would you like to press charges, Miss Jensen?” he asks me.
“Yes!” Carter yells as I open my mouth.
“Carter, please,” I beg for him to let me answer for myself.
“I don't think that's necessary. I just want him to leave me alone. Today was supposed to be an exciting day for us and I don't want to ruin it any more than it already has been,” I say, looking to Carter as he puts his hands on his head and clenches his jaw. It's clear he doesn't agree with my answer.
“Starfish, are you sure?”
I nod adamantly. “I'm sure. Please just get him out of here.”
“We will do our best to not have him bother you again, Miss Jensen. This report will be generated and if there are any other incidents after today, I suggest a restraining order. Without you pressing charges for his actions today, I'm afraid all we can do is detain him for a few hours.”
I nod my head in understanding as Carter wraps his arms around me, tightly holding me to his side.
“You have her Carter?” he asks, looking to him protectively holding me to him.
“I won't be leaving her side.”
The two officers nod to each other and turn to leave with Trent in the back of the cruiser.
As he opens the door to get in, I hear Trent laughing. He yells out, “I'll see you later, sweetheart. It was all just a big misunderstanding.”
His words send chills down my spine.
***
Pulling up to Dr. Shin’s office a few hours later, I'm still a little shaken up from the events of the morning.
Carter had me take a relaxing bath and made me some tea to try and calm my nerves. I've been shaky and on edge. I need to see my baby on the screen, hear the heartbeat, and know that he or she is alright. I haven't felt much more of the bomp bomps. Only sporadically.
I've taken in my fair share of water as advised before coming today.
Signing in, I sit down in the waiting room next to Carter. His hand goes to my leg as it's jumping around. I can't sit still, my nerves have the best of me.
“It's going to be okay. Pretty soon we get to see our healthy baby and hopefully know what the sex is.”
“I have to pee,” is all I can answer. My bladder is full and wants a release. I hope I don't have to wait much longer.
Carter just lets out a laugh and I start to laugh too. Only it makes the need to pee even more prominent. “Please don't make me laugh, I'm gonna pee my damn pants,” I say on a snort of laughter.
“Andrea?” The medial assistant calls from the doorway. I haven't seen her before.
Carter and I both get up from our seats and go to the door she's holding open.
“Right this way, room 3,” she instructs as she follows behind us to the door on the left of the hallway.
We walk in and I go to the bed lined with paper to sit down, Carter taking the seat next to the bed.
“I just need to get your weight and blood pressure before Dr. Shin comes in. We can get a urine sample when you're clear to use the bathroom,” she informs me.
I get up and go to the scale in the corner of the room.
“I hope it doesn't take too long before I'm clear to pee. I feel like I'm going to explode,” I tell her stepping on the scale. She just laughs at that.
“I'm sure you're feeling quite full. Shouldn't be too long,” she tells me as she writes down my weight in the chart. 135. I've gained ten pounds since my pregnancy started.
I go back to the bed as the paper crinkles under my weight.
She brings over the thermometer and blood pressure cuff as she sticks the thermometer in my mouth and proceeds to take my blood pressure.
“Good, everything is normal,” she tells me after a moment while releasing the loud Velcro of the cuff from my arm.
“Dr. Shin and I will be back in a moment and we can take a look at your baby. Do you want to know the sex if the baby lets us see?”
I look to Carter who just smiles big, his dimples on full display. I nod my head. “Yes, we would like to know.”
She nods and leaves the room.
I can't help the smile that comes over my face as I sit back a little and think about my tiny baby.
A few minutes later there's a little knock on the door and Dr. Shin peeks his head in.
“Hi, Andrea, it's great to see you again,” he says as he wheels in a big cart with a computer on it.
“Hi, Dr. Shin,” I answer back with a smile.
He rolls the machine over to the end of the bed and pulls his stool up as the medical assistant plugs it in. “I'm just going to have you lie back and pull your shirt up to expose your tummy. Push your pants down to your pelvic region as well.”
I lie back and pull my shirt up and tuck it under the underwire of my bra, then tuck my yoga pants down into my underwear.
He grabs a small towel and tucks it into the waistband of my pulled down pants, and grabs a small bottle from the cart. “I'm going to squirt this gel onto your tummy to help us get a clear picture of your baby. I'll take some measurements and then I'll let you see your baby,” he tells me as he squirts the gel onto my stomach.
It's cold, and my intake of breath must tell him I'm feeling it.
“I'm sorry it's so chilly, it should warm up in a moment as I pass the wand through it.”
I just nod my head and turn my head up to look at Carter sitting quietly in the chair next to me.
It seems like it takes forever as he passes the wand around, does some clicks on the keyboard, and then types some things in. Is something wrong? What's taking so damn long?
Just as I'm about to ask, he leans forward and turns a dial. The room is suddenly filled with a wooshing sound.
“That sound is the sound of your baby's heartbeat. It's holding strong at 173.”
I can't help the smile that splits my face at hearing the sound around the room. Looking to Carter I see he’s looking at me with the same smile. He just nods his head and gives me a little wink.
Dr. Shin turns the computer slightly and the medical assistant turns on a tv on the top of the wall I didn't notice before. I can see it clearly from where I'm laying on the bed.
I'm not prepared for the image of a tiny little body moving around on the screen. It's a small blob, but has arms very clearly with little tiny hands. The hands are moving around and the little head keeps nodding up and down. Tiny little feet are pulled up to the blob body. My heart soars at the sight of my baby, a tear trickling down my face and dripping into my hair. Carter is next to my head now kissing my temple and looking at the screen.
“There is your baby, Andrea,” Dr. Shin says with a smile. “It likes to move I see,” he says on a small laugh.
“I've felt little bomp bomps here and there, but he can't feel them on the outside of my tummy. I thought I was crazy.” I laugh through my tears.
“Most times it's too early to feel anything at eighteen weeks, but you're feeling your baby alright. It should be more prominent on the outside of your tummy in a few more weeks to be felt by others. Would you like to see if we can get the sex?”
“Yes please,” I say on an excited squeal.
He moves the wand around my belly a little and taps the screen. It freezes a moment and then returns to the movement of my baby. “I'm taking some pictures for you so you can take these images with you today,” he tells me as she does this a few more times.
He points to the screen in front of him showing me the spine, the heart that's beating, and all the tiny finger
s and toes. I just smile and nod, not tearing my eyes away from my baby on the screen. I wish I had one of these machines so I could see he or she every day this way.
The picture zooms in a little and she moves the wand a little lower toward my hips and pelvis area.
“It looks to me, if I am seeing this right that you are having a boy,” he says as she points to a little line under the legs. “That looks like a tiny little penis to me.”
Carter comes to kiss my lips, a smile on his face and his own eyes filled glassy with unshed tears. “I love you,” he whispers quietly.
“I love you,” I say, kissing his big pouty lips.
Dr. Shin does a few more clicks to take pictures and turns the machine off. Paper starts to print as he reaches to grab a towel to hand to me. “You can wipe the gel off and are free to use the restroom.”
“Oh thank God,” I announce as I quickly wipe the gel off abs sit up.
“Make sure to leave a sample for us,” he tells me as I get off the bed to go into the hallway to the restroom.
“I will, thank you, Dr. Shin,” I tell him as I pass him quickly on my mission to free my full bladder.
ANDREA AND CARTER sending me to cool off in the tank did little to deter me from my end game. I will get Andrea back from the spineless fuck, and my baby too. I won't have this baby being raised without me.
I've let a few months pass now, but I've been working on just how I'll get her back and when. It's springtime now. Time for the romance to blossom between us once again.
I won't listen to any more of my family raking me over the coals about not being a man and taking care of my responsibilities.
School is in full swing and moving toward graduation. I've spent less time actively participating in the business venture I've had as of late. I've left much of it to Ed and the others to run. I have a plan and it can't be known where I'm involved if I'm to get her back. It's a good thing I know Andrea's class schedule well, it's here that I know I can get to her.
I've let Marissa and Tabetha go. I need to keep my distance from them. They do have each other after all and don't need me for their playtime, they play just fine together. Damn, those two are something.
Time to be the Trent I let her see when she first met me. Time to make my life the best it can be with Andrea by my side where she belongs.
It's a decently mild evening in March for Michigan weather, and I'll just catch her rushing off to class. Lifting the bottle of Jack to my lips in a big swig, I turn off to the U of M Dearborn campus and into the parking lot where I know she has English tonight.
Just as I'm swinging in, I see her rushing from her car crossing the parking lot. I swing into a spot closer to the building so she won't have any choice but to pass me. Jumping out of my truck, I step right into her path.
She looks up to see me standing in front of her, a look of sudden shock and panic crosses her face. Oh good, she's missed me and is excited to see me here.
“Hello, sweet cakes,” I greet her with a smile as she quickly stops a few feet in front of me. She's looking frantically around the parking lot.
“What do you want, Trent? You are supposed to be leaving me alone,” she says as she puts her hand to her much more protruding belly. She's gotten fat but it doesn’t matter. I'll make do with her new plumpness. More cushion for the pushin’, right?
“Is that any way to greet your man after not seeing him in so long?” I ask her, tsking and shaking my head.
“You aren't my man anymore, Trent!”
“But of course I am. How's our little boy doing?”
“H...how did you know it's a boy?”
“Oh come on, Andrea, you don't think people don't talk to me about you do you? Your friends? They make quite the conversation as I'm fucking them senseless. Now again, how's our little Jacob?”
“I need to go, Trent. You need to go!”
I weave back a little, the Jack doing its job and lightening the pounding in my head.
“Carter is meeting me here, he should be here any minute. He was just running behind from work,” she stammers and tries to cover quickly while looking around. No one is here, and no one will help her now.
“He knows you're crazy and you've kept sending Marissa and her friend over to him to try and get him away from me. It won't work, Trent, he loves me and wants only me!”
“You think I'm stupid, Andrea,” Trent growls, practically spitting in my face.
“N...no Trent. But I know you're clearly losing it and everything is not adding up. You've changed. You aren't the man I once loved,” I tell him while trying to hold my ground. Running my hand over my slightly rounded baby bump, I feel the need to protect my baby.
He turns around to pace the parking lot as I watch him, eyeing him cautiously. He's become more and more angry and irritable lately in calls and texts and it's clear he’s drinking so much more. So much more. I'm afraid for my child, for myself. Holding onto Carter has never been hard for me. He's been there my whole life. I needed out and away from this. I'm so glad I did. This man I once thought I loved has become a maniac.
“So your little boyfriend tells you something and you just believe him? Is that what our relationship has become, Andrea?” With a little bit of a crazy laugh, he turns to brace the car. “You think I'm fucking Marissa still? Is that what you think of me, Andrea?” he screams at me as each word grows in anger.
“Nothing you do makes any sense, Trent. You're clearly losing it and I know you've been with Marissa. And I don't even care! We don't have a relationship, we haven't for a long time now! I'm happy with Carter and we are going to raise this little boy right, and away from you,” I scream at him, hoping to garner some attention to get out of this.
The hatred I'm met with in his eyes frightens me. Who is this man? Coming at me quickly, he grabs my arm and starts to drag me to his car door.
“Well, why don't we go ask her?” He opens the passenger door of his truck, all but shoving me in. I quickly put on my seat belt and hold my hands protectively over my stomach. I need to guard Jacob from this man, from his father. Jumping in the truck, he brings the engine quickly to life, and flies out of the parking space of his apartment way too fast.
Looking to me with a look of disdain I don't understand, he weaves in and out of traffic. I don't even know where he's heading, but I'm holding the door and Jacob as we go too fast down the winding back roads of Hines Drive. Pulling my phone out, I quickly send a text to Carter to let him know I need him. I'm scared and don't know what's going to happen. It's clear Trent has been drinking and is a whole lot off. He's off the rails angry and I haven't helped this situation.
Andrea - I don't know what's going on but I'm on Hines Drive with Trent. He's driving crazy and been drinking. I'm scared. Please track and find us, he needs to be stopped before someone gets hurt. He found me at school in the parking lot.
Just as I hit send Trent looks over and snatches my phone out of my hand. Weaving out of the lane and almost clear to the other lane, he reads my text to Carter. Laughing, he opens the window and throws my phone out.
Shit!
“How's your precious Carter supposed to save you Andrea? Huh? Little Starfish is scared? Poor fucking you,” he yells while grabbing my face hard. “You're mine, Andrea Jensen, you're carrying my baby and you're going to quit being stupid,” he says, spitting in my face.
I can't do this. I can't live like this. I think fast. I hope to get out of this alive but I need to end this right now.
“Carter is his dad,” I yell before I can think too much on it.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he shouts at me.
“I...I lied to you. This baby isn't yours, Trent. I was with Carter again just before we got together,” I lie.
The backhand comes out of nowhere and I hit my head against the window. My vision is spotty and he yanks my hair so my face is across the console between us and to his. He kisses me hard on the mouth and laughs. It's a laugh that will forever haunt me.
<
br /> “He can't have you. You're mine and I will crash this fucking truck right now before I ever let him touch or see you again,” he says as he shoves his foot further down on the accelerator.
Grabbing for his arm, I beg, “Trent, please slow down and let's talk about this baby.” I have to do something, anything to get him to stop the truck.
He just shoves me back across the console away from him. The look of pure determination on his face and the speed of the trees going past me in the passenger window have me cold sweating with fear. Please, someone see us and save me and my baby from this man. A man I thought once loved me.
“I won't lose you to that fancy detective. Stupid fuck thinks he walks on water around here, and you look at him the same. You know Marissa tagged him too, right? She's been with both of the men you've ever given your body to.” He laughs hysterically while smacking the steering wheel.
While the thoughts hurt my heart at Carter touching anyone else or Trent using me all this time, I have bigger problems, like staying alive. I've long been over what happened between Carter and me before.
His laughing gets more hysterical as we turn the winding bends of the road. It's getting a little darker, the sunset just stretching its orange arms across the sky. I keep my eyes on that and focus on breathing. Rubbing my belly with Jacob tucked deep inside, I begin to pray. I beg God to let my baby and me come out of this alive.
“Prayers won't help you now, you little cunt. You should have just kept up the stupidity and stayed away from him. You were supposed to be the doting wife of a prominent attorney. The one they can look at and think well of me for. I never would have given that sweet pussy of Marissa’s up. That bitch likes it kinky,” he says while looking at me all red face and giggling. Giggling.
I don't know where the strength suddenly comes from but I slap him. Hard. Right across the face.
His laughter suddenly stops. He yanks me to him again by my hair over the console and kisses me so hard I think he cut my lip. The final goodbye.
Into Your Hurricane Page 14