Wuther

by V. J. Chambers

  And, good god, what were her parents going to say? Not just one of their children, but both of them? They’d be so mortified. They’d hate her.

  Isabella pulled on the pair of stretchy pants she always wore these days and hugged herself. She wouldn’t say anything yet. She could hide it a little bit longer. She’d keep quiet until the very last minute.

  * * *

  Heath slapped the results down in front of Matt. “Thanks for your help, guy who is completely not related to me in any way shape or form.”

  Matt was holding a glass of whiskey in the kitchen of the farmhouse. He sighed and picked up the paper. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing. I never wanted us to be brothers.”

  Heath smiled. He hadn’t been in this good of a mood in a long time.

  “But you remember the deal, right?” said Matt. “I gave you that DNA sample, and now you never come back to this farmhouse.”

  “I remember,” said Heath. “I don’t ever want to come back here, anyway. Bad memories.” He picked up the results paper and folded it, tucking it away in his pocket.

  “You’re gonna go to Cathy, aren’t you?” said Matt.

  “I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t,” said Heath.

  “She’s eight months pregnant and on bed rest,” said Matt. “You think this is a really great time to mess up her life?”

  “I already messed up her life by leaving her. I’m going to her to fix things. We’re supposed to be together.”

  Matt laughed. “Right, because given the choice, she always picks you, doesn’t she?”

  “She will now,” said Heath, his mouth dry. “She’ll have to.”

  “She won’t,” said Matt. “But as long as I never have to see your sorry ass again, I don’t care.” He peered out the window. “There’s a storm brewing. They say it’s going to be a bad one. Leftovers from that hurricane off the coast. You can see the trees blowing around out there. We’re not going to have one leaf left after this is over.”

  Heath rolled his eyes. “As fascinating as your weather report is, Matt, I think I’m going to be going.”

  “Good riddance,” said Matt.

  * * *

  The rain was blowing sideways as Heath pulled up to the Linton house. He wasn’t sure the best way to go about this. Should he sneak into the house and try to find Cathy secretively or should he march up to the door and announce himself?

  He liked the idea of shoving all of it in Eli’s face, and he’d like it if Eli answered the door.

  But if Isabella did…

  He didn’t want to see her at all.

  So he parked away from the house, and he crept up to the room where he’d found Cathy before. He knew that there were glass doors there, and that it would be easy to break in.

  When he got out of the car, the rain drove into him like icy needles. He thought it was interesting that it had been storming the night he left. Now, four months later, he was back, and there was another storm. Like they punctuated his and Cathy’s story.

  As if to emphasize his thought, lightning forked across the sky above him.

  He hurried through the rain, fighting against the wind, which was fierce and strong.

  When he got to the glass doors, he was drenched and shivering. The wind cut into his wet clothes. He wouldn’t let any obstacles get in the way of getting to Cathy, though.

  He busted open a pane of glass using a rock. He figured they’d think the wind had done it. He reached inside and unlocked the door.

  He let himself in.

  The room was dark and empty, but the door was open to the hallway, and he saw a sliver of yellow light out there.

  Quietly, he crept to the hallway, and he peered out side.

  Empty.

  It was much warmer than it had been outside. He was grateful.

  He stepped out in the hallway, realizing he was leaving a trail of wetness behind him because he was dripping on everything.

  He ducked back into the room. He remembered there was an adjoining bathroom, with towels. Cathy had given him one before. He’d been soaking wet that night as well.

  As he toweled off, he thought of the despair he’d felt then. Now, he was overjoyed and excited. He had to find Cathy. Everything was going to be okay now.

  * * *

  When the door to her room opened and Cathy saw Heath there, his hair and clothes damp, she thought she was dreaming. He looked almost exactly the way he had the last night that she saw him. She thought about that night so often. How she’d let him go. She shouldn’t have done that.

  Things between her and Eli were strained, despite the fact they’d been joined in holy matrimony by a justice of the peace standing over her bed. She’d been married in her nightgown. Not exactly the wedding of her dreams.

  She still loved EIi, and she knew that he loved her as well. And she knew that they’d be able to make it. What they had was strong enough.

  But it would never be the same. She couldn’t forget the night she’d spent with Heath. She thought about it and missed him. Yearned for him. Eli couldn’t forget about it either. She knew he was hurt. She knew he thought about her infidelity. He seemed to have forgiven her, but it wasn’t without a price. Their relationship would never be as carefree or as easy as it had been before. Neither of them could truly heal.

  Not that she expected Eli to bounce back as if nothing had happened. It couldn’t be easy for him. She didn’t deserve how good he was to her.

  The way she’d behaved, she didn’t deserve any of the good things that had happened to her.

  Maybe she was being punished.

  She lay in bed. She wasn’t supposed to get up and move around very much. Sometimes, she felt like the baby was getting bigger and bigger and crushing her.

  Sometimes, she only felt excitement at the prospect of meeting the tiny little being inside her. She whispered to her little girl, promising her all the things they would do together when she came out.

  If she ever came out.

  Sometimes, Cathy thought the pregnancy was never going to end.

  She would lie in bed and daydream about being a little girl again herself, running through the fields with Heath, making mud pies on the bank of the creek, filling up water balloons and dropping them on Matt when he wasn’t watching. Everything was simpler back then. She and Heath loved each other the only way they knew how. There was nothing wrong or unnatural about it. It didn’t hurt anyone. They didn’t hurt each other.

  And when she saw Heath standing in front of her, in the doorway to the room, she thought he was just a daydream, just her mind showing her the things she wanted to see.

  But then he was next to her, on the bed, his arms around her, his mouth on hers. He was wet, and the coldness seeped through the covers on her bed, through her clothes. But she didn’t care.

  She gasped. “Heath.” She touched his face. Was he really here?

  “Oh, Cathy, I missed you so much.”

  “You said you wouldn’t come back. You said you were gone forever.” He couldn’t be here after all. It was a cruel dream, and when she woke up, she’d sob for him.

  “You’re not my sister,” he said. “Floyd wasn’t my father.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, but it was soaking wet, and he couldn’t open it. It fell apart in shreds. “Shit.”

  “What was that?” she said.

  “It was the results of the paternity test I got done,” said Heath. “They were able to use Matt’s DNA to figure it out, and I wanted to prove it to you. But it doesn’t matter. There are other copies, and—”

  She stopped his mouth by kissing him hard. She had known being his sister couldn’t be right. She knew that there was nothing unnatural about her and Heath together. They shared a soul. They were meant for each other.

  He pulled back. “Come with me.”

  “Where?” she said.

  “I don’t know. Anywhere. Wherever you want to go.”

  “When?”

  “Now.”

&nb
sp; “But… the baby?”

  His hand caressed her swollen stomach. “If it’s part of you, I want it. I should never have been such an ass before. I love you, Cathy. I love everything that’s inside you and everything that pops out of you.”

  She laughed. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  She kissed him again, and everything felt right, like the universe was realigning, like things were finally clicking back into place. The dark times were over. She and Heath would be together, and they’d finally be happy. After all this time, everything would sort itself out right. “Yes, I’ll go with you. Of course I will.”

  He closed his eyes, sighed in relief and happiness. “Thank god.”

  And their lips met again, slower this time. They explored each other’s mouths, sweet and slippery and soft, and she felt the bonds that tied them together again, so strong. Impossible to break.

  “Only,” she said, “I sort of got married.”

  He pulled her covers aside. “Doesn’t matter. You’ll get divorced.”

  “And I’m not supposed to walk around a lot because I might lose the baby.”

  “I’ll carry you.” His arms went under her knees.

  “I’m kind of heavy right now.”

  He picked her up anyway. He gave her a strained smile. “So you are.”

  She laughed. “Put me down. I can walk to the car.”

  “There’s a storm out there,” he said. “And there’s a lot of rain. Plus I parked the car down the road so no one would see it.” He put her down. “I’ll bring the car up. And then I’ll come back for you.”

  “I’ll meet you at the front door,” she said.

  “Does that mean there’s going to be messy confrontations?” said Heath.

  She shook her head. “Eli has a class. He’s not home yet. And his parents will probably be glad to be rid of me.”

  Heath took a deep breath. “You know I could give a flying fuck about Eli. But I know you care about him. So… do you need to say goodbye to him?”

  She swallowed. “Yes. But not now. And… it’s like you said before. It’s his baby. He’s going to be part of our lives.”

  Heath grimaced. “That’s true.” Then he brightened. “But if it means I get you, then I’m willing to handle it.”

  “Get the car,” she said.

  He kissed her again—a brief, bright bit of bliss. And then he was gone.

  Cathy waddled around the room, packing herself a bag of some clothing. She didn’t want to leave completely unprepared.

  She didn’t make it too heavy, however, because she wasn’t supposed to lift heavy things or strain herself too much. And she’d been on bed rest for so long that she wasn’t strong anymore.

  She took her light bag and went to the front door of the house.

  No one was there.

  Good.

  She could hear Mr. and Mrs. Linton in the den. They were watching America’s Most Wanted.

  Cathy leaned against the wall and looked out the window in the door. It was raining really hard outside. She could see that the trees were being blown this way and that, bending over like old ladies. She bit her lip.

  Was this a good time to be driving?

  “What are you doing up?”

  Cathy jumped, startled. “Oh. Isabella, it’s you.”

  Isabella was standing across the foyer. She looked sullen and tired, the way she usually did. She was also putting on weight. It wasn’t that much, and Isabella had always been thin before, but Cathy had noticed.

  “Why do you have a bag? Are you going somewhere?”

  Cathy sighed. “Oh, Isabella, I don’t know how to tell you. I’m leaving. Heath is here and we’re going—”

  “Heath?” Isabella’s voice broke. “You’re going with Heath?”

  “I… I love him. I always have. And I couldn’t admit to myself how badly I needed him for so long. I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t just… go, but—”

  “Heath is here?” Isabella darted forward, looking out the window.

  “Yes.” Cathy twisted her hands together. “I was going to call Eli. I know I owe him more, but—”

  “Oh, you’re such a selfish bitch,” snapped Isabella. “I don’t care about you, and I don’t care about Eli. You can both go to hell for all I care. And Heath… I want to kill him. I want to wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze until he stops breathing.”

  Cathy furrowed her brow. “Isabella—”

  “He hit me, did you forget that? Your knight in shining armor is violent and scary. His idea of fun is hurting people.”

  “He doesn’t hurt me,” said Cathy. “And he only did those things because we were apart. When we’re together, everything will be okay. He’s the other part of me, Isabella. He makes me complete. I need him.”

  “What about what I need?” said Isabella. “You’ll leave, and Eli will be so upset. And who will take care of me? Who’s going to help me? You’ll have Heath, but I’ll be alone.”

  “No, I’ll still be… Isabella, we can be friends, even if Eli doesn’t want to see me. You and I—”

  “I’ll be alone,” said Isabella. “With this.” She pulled up her shirt.

  Cathy gulped.

  The door opened.

  A gust of wind blew in several dead, sodden leaves. Heath stumbled inside. He shut the door.

  Cathy covered her mouth with one hand.

  Isabella turned on Heath, her eyes flashing.

  And Heath gaped at her.

  “Hi,” said Isabella. She ran her fingers over her swollen stomach.

  “Shit,” said Heath.

  Isabella leaped onto Heath, pummeling him with clenched fists. “You bastard. You fucking bastard.” She was crying.

  Cathy pulled at Isabella. “Stop. Stop, we’ll figure this out.”

  Isabella hit Cathy in the face.

  Cathy cried out and backed away.

  Heath grabbed Isabella’s wrists. “Don’t hurt her.”

  Isabella laughed at him. “Oh, of course, you only care about her. You did this to me to make her jealous. That’s what you said.”

  Heath’s face twisted. “I’m sorry. I wish it had never happened.”

  “Gee, thanks,” said Isabella. Her whole body sagged.

  He let go of her wrists. “I’m sorry.”

  Isabella looked at Cathy. “Are you jealous? Because I would hate for all of this to have happened to me for no reason.”

  Cathy didn’t know what to say. Isabella was pregnant with Heath’s baby. It was awful. But was she jealous? She wasn’t sure. She only knew that everything was screwed up, and that it was somehow all her fault. She’s started all of this by getting involved with Eli in the first place. It was because of her that all of them were so entwined.

  Cathy touched Heath’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  Heath gestured at Isabella. “But… she…”

  “Yes, she’s pregnant. She’ll still be pregnant after we get out of here and get a chance to regroup. And you’ll help her. You’ll be there. And we’ll all… work this out. But let’s go, now. Because I don’t want to be here anymore.”

  Heath looked back at Isabella. “Isabella, I’m sorry—”

  “Fuck you,” she said. “Fuck you both.” She threw open the door and ran outside into the rain.

  Heath grabbed Cathy by the hand and dragged her out too.

  “Isabella, wait!” Heath called.

  But she was running, disappearing into the storm.

  Cathy huddled close to Heath. The rain was cold and wet, and it was blowing in her face. “Leave her. Let’s go.”

  He wrapped his arm around her.

  * * *

  Heath drove. The windshield wipers beat out an insistent rhythm, but it was still tough to see. Rain pelted the car in sheets, and the wind whipped at the car, making it hard to steer.

  Isabella was pregnant.

  He didn’t like to think about having sex with Isabella. It was that disgusting thing he’d done.

/>   Well, that thing he’d done—the thing that made him sick, the thing he was the most sorry for doing—was now memorialized with living consequences, ensuring he’d never be able to forget it.

  Irrationally, he felt angry with her. Why had she stayed pregnant? She clearly didn’t want the baby. She should have gotten rid of it. He would have helped her with that. Of course, she hadn’t known where he was. It wasn’t really her fault.

  Except that she was stupid. And shallow. And the most frustrating girl in the history of stupid girls.

  Goddamn her.

  “I don’t know why she didn’t say anything,” said Cathy. “Maybe she was afraid of her parents. They weren’t very happy with Eli and me.”

  No. Cathy didn’t need to do that. She didn’t need to say things that might make him feel sorry for Isabella. He was doing his best to hate her, to make all of it her fault.

  “Heath?”

  “What?” His voice came out harsher than he meant it to.

  “Why did you hit her?”

  “I told her to leave, and she wouldn’t,” he said. “I warned her. I told her I’d hit her if she didn’t go.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “There’s a lot of things I shouldn’t have done.”

  She was quiet for a minute. “Heath, I want you to tell me something, and I want you to be honest.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Were you planning to kill Daddy? Were you waiting to get revenge on him for what he did to Mama?”

  He turned to look at her. Why was she asking this? “Of course not.”

  “You swear?”

  “I swear.” He turned back to the road.

  There was a loud cracking noise, followed by the sight of a huge tree falling in the road in front of them.

  Heath slammed on the brakes.

  The car skidded, turning sideways, tilting up on two wheels.

  For a breathless second, Heath was afraid that the car was going to tip over. But it didn’t.

  Instead, it came to a stop, throwing him against the steering wheel and Cathy into the windshield.

  Her head cracked against it, and it came back bloody.

  God damn it. Why hadn’t he made her wear a seat belt?

  He put the car in park. “Cathy?”

  “I’m okay.” She leaned back, wincing. She touched her head. “Ow.”