Masked Feelings

by Lechna Baram

  “I can walk,” I said as I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment.

  “I want to carry my sick baby to bed,” he said. “I mean, my sick baby and my baby,” he told me carrying me as if I were light.

  I love him so much.

  Chapter 5 9

  Good Morning

  “Wake up.” I heard someone say.

  I groaned then growled like a freaking dog when I felt someone poke me.

  “Wake the hell up, Athena!”

  I opened my eyes to glare at a sexy Damian. He grinned then grabbed my feet. He pulled them so I was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “What do you want?” I snapped as I rubbed my eyes, then slowly opened them again to let them adjust to the light of the room.

  He stared at me in amusement when I pouted. I couldn't stay angry at the him. He was so cute.

  “We gotta go to my parent’s today.”

  “Why?”

  “You don't want to visit Thomas?” he asked, then rolled his eyes when my mouth opened in a silent oh.

  “Thank you for waking me up,” I said as I stood up. “And do you know that you may harm the baby when you pull me by the legs?” I lied and watched as his eyes widened and his eyes drifted to my belly.

  “Are you serious?” he asked, and I could detect worry in his tone.

  “No. But it's not a good way to wake me up,” I said as I started walking to the bathroom. Before I could go a step further, I was pulled back. I crashed in Damian's chest. I chuckled as he pecked the side of my head.

  “You're wicked,” he said slowly, moving my hair off my shoulder so he could bite my earlobe. I yelped a little when he pulled on it, making him chuckle.

  “I'm going to take a shower,” I whispered as I slowly got out of his grip.

  He sighed then pulled on my hand slightly. I turned to see a grinning Damian.

  “Can I join you?” he asked, then quickly frowned. “I mean just to take a shower,” he quickly said. “Is sex safe during pregnancy?” he asked. I burst out laughing because Damian looked so confused and far from the arrogant jerk I first knew.

  “Yes, it is safe,” I said with a grin before running to the bathroom.

  “Sex might be safe but running is not.” I heard him say as he walked to the bathroom.

  I smirked at him, then slowly took off my top, letting it fall on the floor. My shorts soon followed. I watched as he gulped while I stood in front of him in nothing but my undies.

  “Are you joining me or not?” I asked.

  Damian clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath.

  “I wanna join you. But not here.”

  I tried to understand his words but he walked towards me then picked me up. I chuckled as he walked back to the bedroom. He settled me lightly on the bed, then kissed me on my neck. I laughed as it tickled. He pulled away to look at me, then smiled.

  “You're so beautiful,” he said, pecking my lips.

  “You make me feel beautiful.”

  I moved so I was now straddling him. He put his hands on my waist. The smile on his face made me bite my lips. I was so happy. I was finally in a relationship with him and I was about to have his baby. Losing no time, I crashed my lips against his. He sat up, wrapping his arms around me. I quickly took off his shirt as I pulled away. He lifted himself slightly so it was possible for me to pull down his jogging pants. I chuckled a little bit as we both seemed to be in a hurry. I needed his lips on mine at that moment. Once he was sitting bare naked under me, I smirked and returned to attacking his lips. He growled when I bit on his lip and pulled it.

  Oh, that sexy growl.

  Damian's hands found the clasp of my bra and quickly took it off. We were both soon out of breath so he pulled away to attack my neck with his delicious lips. He bit and sucked on my skin. I didn't care whether I was going to have marks again. I simply needed him. Soon, my panty was gone too. He lifted me up and thrusted into me, making me gasp a little bit. My nails dug into his skin. I was pretty sure he was going to get marked too.

  “Are you good?” Damian asked as he rested his forehead against mine. He wasn't moving. I could sense the control in his voice. I knew he wanted to take me hard and fast by the shaking in his breath.

  “Yeah,” I responded staring into his eyes. I smirked slightly, then moved upwards. He groaned, then gripped my waist tighter.

  “Fuck,” he swore as I increased the speed.

  I bit on my lips to stop myself from moaning. We could hear the sound of my skin and his, slapping against each other. His eyes were fixed on mine. When I couldn't take on all the emotions, I closed my eyes and kept on the speed. When I felt him increasing the pace, I knew that he was close. I could feel myself building inside as well. I held onto his shoulder, then buried my face in the crook of his neck. I slowly kissed his skin, hearing a little moan from him. I bit his skin, lightly, rolling my tongue over and over again on it. Then I felt him explode inside of me. After a few seconds, I joined him. I sat still. We were both breathing heavily. I pulled away to look at him. I smiled when I saw a hickey on his neck.

  “That was definitely a good way to wake up,” I said teasingly and watched as he grinned while nodding. He pecked my lips.

  “Good morning baby,” he said, making me chuckle.

  Slowly, I got off him, again wincing when he was out of me.

  “We really need to take a bath now,” I said, taking his hand in mine as we got off the bed.

  Chapter 60

  Annie

  “Athena!” I heard Thomas shout from his room.

  I was still standing by the stairs. He most probably heard my voice. A smile stretched on my face. Damian and I smiled at his parents before walking up the stairs. I quickly ran to my brother's room. I smiled when I saw him trying to put his sandals on. When he saw me, he let go of his sandals and ran to me. I chuckled and pulled him in for a hug.

  “How are you little guy?” I asked as I let him sit on the bed. I helped him with his sandals, standing up when he did.

  “I'm fine! I was going to play with Annie,” he exclaimed. He then turned to look at Damian and waved at him.

  “Who's Annie?” I asked, curious about that new person.

  “She's a girl,” Thomas said with a small smile. He seemed to like that girl very much.

  “And?” I prompted.

  “Her mother works here,” he said.

  “Can I meet Annie?” I asked, and he shyly nodded.

  He took my hand in his, then we walked down the stairs together. Damian was walking behind me. He seemed to be watching every single one of my steps. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he glared.

  “Watch where you're walking.” He scolded.

  I was not even three weeks pregnant and he was already protective. I rolled my eyes but still smiled when I turned my back on him. Soon, we were down by the stairs where I found a little blond girl smiling.

  “Annie!” Thomas shouted as he let go of my hand and ran to the little girl. I smiled when I saw him wrapping his arms around her petite self. Annie smiled then hugged him back before letting go. She turned to look at Damian and me.

  “Hello,” she greeted as she waved. I smiled then got on my knees so I was the same height as her.

  “Hello,” I greeted back.

  She seemed to be mesmerized by my eyes. Annie lightly tilted her head as she studied me.

  “You're so beautiful,” she whispered and gave me a toothy smile. I could see Damian nodding in the corner of my eye. I smiled back, then took a strand of her blond hair in my hand.

  “You're really beautiful too. How old are you, honey?” I asked.

  I watched as I saw her cheeks redden. She hid her face shyly by looking at the floor. Her hair fell all over her face.

  “I'm six,” she said.

  “You should never hide such a beautiful face,” I told her as I placed my hand under her chin and gently lifted her face up.

  “That's what I told her.” I heard my little brother say fr
om next to me.

  I chuckled when I saw Annie blushing even more from Thomas's comment.

  “Can we go play now?” he asked as he pulled on the little girl's hand. I nodded then stood up. Damian was simply watching us with a smile. When the kids were gone, Damian took my hand in his and we walked to the living room where we found his parents sitting on the couch. They were both watching a movie. Jeff quickly put it on pause, then his eyes drifted to our interlinked hands.

  “I knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Celina suddenly gushed, staring at us too. “The way you look at each other,” she said to her husband. “Didn't I tell you?” she asked him happily. I didn't know that Celina would be so happy to know that Damian and I were dating.

  “Yeah, she did,” Jeff said, wearing a huge grin on his face. I turned my head slightly to look at a smirking Damian. He shook his head gently.

  “Athena and I are inviting you home for dinner,” Damian told his parents.

  “That's nice,” Celina said as she motioned for us to sit down. Before I could say something, Damian declined the offer.

  “We need to go right now,” he told them.

  “We need to?” I asked, not knowing what he was actually planning.

  “Yeah,” he said. Celina and Jeff walked to us, then pulled me into a hug.

  “We'll see you later,” Jeff said as we made our way to the door. I nodded then waved at Annie and Thomas who were playing in the play yard.

  “Where are you going?” I asked when we were by the car.

  “We're going to pick Rose up.”

  “What about Isaac?” I thought he was coming to.

  “He'll be there too,” he mumbled, making me chuckle.

  We both got in the car and I quickly put on the radio. When the music blasted in the car, I smiled then started dancing in my seat. Damian moved his head to look at me. I gave him a bright smile then shrugged. He simply shook his head and put the music louder.

  I was happy. Damian was my boyfriend. He wasn't running away from his responsibilities. I knew that there were other things to worry about but right now, I needed to be happy with whatever I was being granted. Life was not all about sadness and deception. Life could be good too. I needed to be happy with whatever I was being given to me. I was lucky to have awesome friends and family. I was lucky to have a caring boyfriend. There were butterflies in my stomach when I realized that he was my boyfriend.

  “What are you thinking about?” Damian asked.

  “How do you know that I'm thinking about something?” I asked as I lowered the volume of the music to hear him.

  “You are smiling with that distant look on your face.” Damian noted. “And you stopped dancing,” he added. I rolled my eyes but still continued smiling.

  “I was thinking about how lucky I was to have you guys in my life,” I told him sincerely.

  Chapter 61

  Announcements

  I was seated next to Damian. All the important people in our life was there. Isaac seemed to be uncomfortable by the way his eyes were moving from one person to another. When his eyes met mine, I offered him a smile. He smiled back then turned to look at Rose who just poked him. Dinner was being served. Everyone was talking with each other. To be honest, it was a pleasure to be surrounded by all the people you valued in life. Damian looked at me, silently asking if it was the right moment to announce the pregnancy. Alena was staring at us with a knowing grin. I nodded, making Damian turn to face everyone.

  “Guys,” I said, trying to get their attention, which surprisingly worked. Everyone turned to look at me. “Damian and I have something to tell you.” I started.

  “Yeah, we know that you two are in love!” Celina exclaimed as she raised her glass of champagne in the air.

  Well, I was in love. But I don't know about Damian.

  “Yes. Athena and I are together,” Damian told them.

  No one was really surprised except Isaac who was looking at me with wide eyes.

  “I knew it!” he suddenly exclaimed. “I mean, I had my doubts. But it's the same thing,” he rambled.

  Damian stared at the guy with no particular emotion while I chuckled. Rose shook her head, staring at her plate. I somehow knew that Isaac was nervous and uncomfortable. Rambling was my thing too when I got nervous.

  “It's about something else,” Damian said. I felt him take my hand under the table. I smiled and squeezed his. He gently rubbed his thumb back and forth on my skin, soothing me slightly.

  “What is it?” Dean asked. Alena hadn't told him yet. He looked so clueless. Everyone had a frown on their faces now.

  “I hate suspense. Even in movies, it's like this.” I heard Thomas mumble while twisting the noodle in his fork.

  “Well,” Damian started as he looked at me. He gently squeezed my hand, then took a deep breath.

  “I'm pregnant,” I told them. At first, nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were only blinking at us. No words were said for like one minute. Rose was frozen while Isaac seemed completely normal. He seemed to be assessing everyone's reaction as well.

  “No freaking way!” Celina exclaimed. There was happiness in her voice.

  “Granny! Mind your words.” Thomas scolded. I laughed then watched as tears filled Celina's eyes. Wait what? Granny?

  “Oh my God! I'm going to have a grandchild!” she squealed and hugged her husband.

  “I'm the one who got married and you're the one who's going to be dad?” Dean asked teasingly. No one laughed.

  “I made that joke too. Athena didn't like it,” Alena told her husband as she pouted.

  “Congratulations,” Jeff said. The big smile on his face showed how happy he was. To be honest, I wasn't expecting these reactions. I was expecting them to be Like 'Yeah, that's cool'. No big emotions like they were currently showing. Rose was still frozen. Isaac sighed then rolled his eyes. Before I could even blink, I watched as he lifted his hand and slapped the hell out of Rose.

  “Asshole!” Rose growled when she was finally out of her trance. Isaac smiled sheepishly then shrugged.

  “Language!” Thomas shouted before crossing his arms, glaring at Rose.

  “He slapped me!”

  “You deserved it,” Thomas said as he put food in his mouth.

  “And why is that?” Rose asked in disbelief.

  “Because you use a lot of bad words!”

  “I do not!” Rose exclaimed.

  “You just said asshole!”

  “Thomas, language!” Celina scolded.

  “I just repeated her words! Why didn't you scold her?” Thomas asked, glaring at Rose.

  “Because she's bad and you're not,” Isaac explained, earning a slap from Rose. We were all watching them in amusement.

  “Why did you slap him?” Thomas asked.

  “Because he said I was bad.”

  “He's not a liar,” Thomas said.

  Rose was about to open her mouth to argue but I quickly stopped her. She was like a kid.

  “Stop,” I quickly said. “Thomas, you shouldn't argue with adults.”

  “You mean old people,” he mumbled, his eyes on Rose.

  I chuckled but quickly recovered when I saw Rose staring at my brother in disbelief.

  “You're so mean,” Rose said, faking sadness. She knew that it was the way to Thomas's heart. “You broke my heart.” She sighed. Thomas stared at her, then at Isaac.

  “But you were being mean to him,” Thomas said softly.

  “He slapped me first.”

  “Why did you slap her?” Thomas asked Isaac, now glaring at him. Rose grinned wickedly when my little brother decided that it was best to scold Isaac rather than her. “And you stop grinning,” Thomas said as he looked at Rose.

  “Okay, Thomas. Stop scolding them,” I requested softly. He turned his face in my direction, then his eyes softened. He nodded but still glared at the two idiots.

  “If Athena hadn't told me to stop, I would have shown you my worst side,” Thomas grumbled. Dam
n. Who taught him to talk that way?

  “And what is your worst side?” Jeff inquired with raised eyebrows. Thomas shrugged then carried on twisting the noodles in his forks.

  “I don't know yet,” he said with a smile. “If they continue, I guess I'll make them stand in the corner,” he continued.

  “Why in the corner?” Dean asked. He seemed actually interested in whatever Thomas was saying.

  “I don't know. Annie's mom says that bad kids go to the corner,” Thomas simply told us as he shrugged. Oh, Annie's mom.

  “They do,” Celina said in a warning tone. Thomas simply gave a little smile.

  “I'm a good boy,” my little brother told Celina as he smiled sheepishly. Yeah, he was. I noticed that he seemed better since he moved to Damian's parents.

  “Congratulations!” Rose finally exploded after all the arguments.

  Chapter 62

  Where Is He?

  It was around ten already. I was not sleepy. I was nervous. More like anxious. Where the hell was Damian? He was usually home by nine. Three weeks already passed by since the announcement. Nothing happened. Everything had been going perfectly well, until now. I tried calling Damian several times but he wouldn't answer. My phone rang in my hand, giving me hope that it was him. But my hope was soon crushed when I realized that it was my sister. Maybe she would have an idea as to where my boyfriend was.

  “Any news from him, yet?” she asked, crushing that hope as well. I sighed and walked to the balcony.

  “No.” It was so unlike him not to answer a call. I could hear Alena shuffling in the background.

  “I'm coming,” she said suddenly.

  “What?” I asked in confusion.

  “I'm coming to stay with you until he comes,” Alena said. I sighed. A little company wouldn't hurt. Rose and Isaac were back at my apartment. They both told me they felt weird staying there, knowing there was a creep in there.

  “I'll wait for you,” I simply said and ended the call.

  I tried calling Damian again but again, he didn't answer. My eyes drifted to the gate where I found Liam standing. I had to inform him that Alena was coming. So I put on a jacket, then walked downstairs with my phone in my hand. I kept on trying to call Damian. Was I being paranoid? Maybe he was held up in a meeting? But he would always send a message to inform. I opened the front door then made my way to where Liam was standing. When he saw me approaching, he smiled.