“Yo, J!” I heard my brother call out, striding towards me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Matt called and said you requested this fight, what the fuck, man? Rose is going out of her mind. She’s worried.”
“I’ll be fine. You can go.”
“You know that’s not how this works. Someone fights we all have to be here. There is some crowd forming. You sure you can do this?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then, let’s go.” He slapped me on the back and I walked up to the ring and climbed in. I tried to keep my body warm by staying light on my feet. I looked around for Dominic and couldn’t see him. Jacob was close to the edge of the ring.
“Where is he?” I shouted. Jacob nodded his head and I looked in the same direction. Dominic had one of the girls bent over the arm of a sofa and he was slamming into her from behind. She was screaming out every time he pounded into her.
“Come on, man. Let’s go.” Ethan called out to him.
“Almost done.” He grunted back. It felt like we were waiting ages. When he had finally finished, the crowd cheered. He left the bunny lying there with her ass up in the air.
“Looky what we got here, a boy who thinks he’s a man.” Dominic goaded me.
“Let’s just do this, old man.” He laughed and the fight started. I stayed on my toes dodging his swings and kicks. After a few minutes, he pulled out a move that floored me, one I wasn’t expecting. He sat on top of me so I couldn’t move and threw punch after punch to me. I didn’t fight back just held up my guard. I let him hit me, it was what I deserved. I’d hurt Bonnie so I needed to be hurt, too. I heard people calling out for me to fight but I had given up. A few minutes later Dominic was being pulled off me by two guys and I just laid there, too tired to get up. My whole body hurt and I knew the pain probably wasn’t as bad as what Bonnie felt.
***
“Oh my God, Joseph.” Rose cried as Jacob and Matt carried me into their flat. “Why isn’t he in hospital?”
“He refuses to go.” Matt answered.
“Get him into the spare room. We need to clean him up. Has someone called Bonnie?”
“No.” I croaked. “Don’t call her.”
“She’ll want to know.” Rose argued.
“Fine, then I’m going somewhere else.” I tried to stand up from the bed, my head spun and I cried out in pain.
“Ok, I won’t call her. Lie down.” I winced as I tried to get comfy. “Get his shoes off.” She told Jacob. She pulled my t-shirt up.
“Hey, if you want me, all you have to do is ask.” I winked at her.
“Shut up, I’m trying to see if you have broken ribs.” She pressed against my ribs and I winced from the pain. “Just bruised, I think. You are going to need to rest. Babe, can you get some ice?”
“Yeah.” Jacob left and Rose looked at me.
“I just need to clean up your face. This may sting.” She began cleaning up my cuts and it stung like a son of a bitch. “They aren’t too deep. You shouldn’t need stitches… What happened?”
“He was a stronger fighter than me.” I shrugged my shoulders. Even that hurt. I kept telling myself that I deserved the pain.
“Why don’t you want Bonnie here?” She asked, placing her hand on my arm.
“I’m tired, I’m gonna get some sleep.” I heard the door open and Jacob walked in with a bag of ice and handed it to Rose. She placed it on my ribs and I flinched from the cold and the pain.
“Trust me, it helps.” Jacob said as he pulled Rose up and walked out of the room.
Chapter 24
Bonnie
Hey babe, you back? I’ve missed you x
Matt had been texting me constantly. After Joseph broke my heart, my parents were going away to see my grandparents. My Grandma hadn’t been very well and they said she was deteriorating quickly and that all close family needed to be around her. So, I left with them three months ago. My Grandma died two weeks ago and we stayed there to help my Grandpa settle into life without her and help with the funeral. I felt nervous to be at home, my heart was still broken and Matt seemed to think that, as Joseph walked away he automatically got the role of boyfriend. The truth was I couldn’t stand the thought of being with anyone else apart from Joseph.
Yeah, do you want to meet for coffee?
Absolutely. When? x
10 mins? Coffee Bean?
See you then x
I pulled myself together and drove to the coffee shop we arranged to meet at. I constantly looked around, I didn’t want to bump into Joseph. The thought of seeing him with another girl made me feel sick. As I parked the car, I saw that Matt was waiting outside for me. I took a deep breath and stepped out. I walked up to Matt and saw he had a big smile on his face. He grabbed me and pulled me closer for hug. I clung onto his arms, so I didn’t fall.
“I missed you.” He whispered. He pulled away and kissed me, when I didn’t let him deepen it he looked at me confused. “You ok?”
“Yeah, let’s go in.” I nodded towards the door.
“You find a seat and I will grab us some coffee.”
“Can I have hot chocolate? With cream and marshmallows?”
“Sure, babe.” He kissed me again and I felt bad for letting him do it. I sat down and pulled my phone out of my bag.
Hi, I’m back. Sorry I haven’t spoke to you in a while. You ok? x
I’m glad you’re back. Come over tonight? x
“Who’s that?” Matt asked, placing my drink down and a muffin too.
“Rose. Thanks, I’m starving.” I quickly pulled the wrapper off of the muffin and began eating it. “I just need to reply to her.”
Sure. See you later x
“I’ve missed you so much. Let me take you out tonight.” Matt said as he grabbed my hand.
“Listen, Matt, this isn’t going to work. You assumed as Joseph walked out that you automatically got to be my boyfriend. I’ve realised over these last few months that I can’t be with anyone else, not for a while. I’m sorry.” I felt awful, he looked crushed.
“You still want him?”
“He hurt me, so no. But I do still love him, I can’t just turn that off.”
“I can wait, I want to be with you, Bonnie.” Matt pleaded.
“No, Matt. I’m sorry. I hope we can still be friends?”
“Friends? What, a brush off? You led me on, gave me hope over these last couple of months. Get over him, Bonnie, he doesn’t want you.” Matt snarled at me before he walked away. I sat there on my own and cried.
“Bonnie?” I looked up and saw Rose and Jacob standing in front of me. I wiped away my tears.
“Hey, how are you?” I stood up and gave Jacob a quick hug and Rose a slightly longer one.
“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, looking at me concerned.
“Nothing, I’m ok.” I pulled away from her. I looked over her shoulder and saw Joseph walk in. “Shit.”
“What is it?”
“Joseph, I don’t want to see him. Please, get me out of here.” I pleaded looking from Jacob to Rose.
“Fine, but you are going to explain why to me.” I nodded in agreement. “Babe, go and distract him and I’ll see you at home.” Rose kissed him quickly. Before he walked away I added;
“Please, don’t bring him with you.” He nodded and I saw him walk up to Joseph, he had his back to us so he wouldn’t see us disappear.
***
Rose had driven my car home as I was in a bit of a state. We got to her flat and I went straight to the bathroom to clean myself up. Once I was more presentable, I opened the bathroom door and saw Rose standing there holding out a glass of wine for me. I took it and we went to sit on the sofa.
“Now, talk to me. Is this about your Gran?” I shook my head. I placed the wine on the coffee table and took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you want to see Joe?”
“He didn’t tell you?” I asked, surprised.
“Tell me what?”
“I picked him,
I wanted to be with him. I was ready to trust him completely… When I went to tell them, he said I didn’t deserve him, he was walking away and that Matt had won. I told him he didn’t get to decide for me. He cheated on me, Rose, the week we were together, he slept with someone else. He broke my heart.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.” She placed her arms around me and comforted me.
“It’s like de-ja vu all over again.” I sobbed.
“What are you talking about? Damien?” I nodded. “No, it’s not like that at all.”
“I’m pregnant, Rose.” All I heard was a gasp. “Apparently, when taking anti-biotics it cancels out the pill, we had unprotected sex a couple of times. I didn’t know, I thought I was covered with the pill.”
“How far along are you?”
“Twelve weeks. I’ve got my first scan tomorrow.”
“You need to tell him.”
“I can’t. He doesn’t want me, he isn’t going to want this baby… Will you come with me? Please?”
“Yes, of course I will. I can’t keep this from Jacob.”
“Just for a few more days, please?”
“Ok… Why were you crying in the coffee shop?” I explained to her about what Matt had said and how much he had upset me. “You need to calm down. Your body doesn’t cope well with stress and I want my niece or nephew to be safe.”
“I like the sound of that. Auntie Rose.” I smiled.
“You hungry?” She asked, I shook my head. “You need to eat. I will make something small.” We both walked into the kitchen as Jacob arrived home.
“In here, babe.” Rose called out from the kitchen. I held my breath as he walked in, waiting to see if anyone came home with him. I let out a sigh of relief when he was alone.
“Everyone ok?” He asked as he kissed Rose.
“Yeah, just doing some pasta and sauce. Joe ok?” I saw her eyes shift to me as she asked.
“Yeah, he seemed distracted. He has been since that fight, where he refused to go to the hospital.”
“Hospital? Fight? What happened?” I asked panicked.
“Bonnie, calm down. He was angry for some reason asked Ethan to set up a fight. Then he let the guy beat on him. Bruised ribs, cuts on his face but he refused to go to the hospital.”
“Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“He asked us not to.” Rose explained.
“Oh.” He didn’t want me to know, did I really mean that little to him? I couldn’t raise a baby with someone that didn’t even want to be near me. I would have to leave and never tell him.
“Let’s go eat, before this gets cold.” Rose said as she handed us each a plate and we made our way to the table.
***
“Rose, that was great. I’m sorry to eat and run but I should get going. I’m so tired. I’ll do the dishes first though as you cooked.”
“Nonsense, Jacob can do them.”
“What?” He complained.
“Honestly, I don’t mind.” Rose glared at Jacob and he started clearing the dishes away. “You got him well trained.” We both giggled as Jacob didn’t look impressed.
“What time is the appointment?”
“Half past four.”
“Are you really behind on all of your college work?”
“No, luckily my teachers were very understanding and they e-mailed me my work.”
“So, you’re going to be at college tomorrow?”
“No, I’ve still got enough work to keep me busy for the minute.”
“Ok, pick me up from there at four and we will go to the doctors together.”
“Doctors? Who needs a doctor?” Jacob asked, drinking a beer.
“Um… Women’s problems.” Rose answered.
“Enough said. I’m gonna see what’s on TV.”
“I’m off now anyway. See you later.” I hugged Rose and called out goodbye to Jacob.
Chapter 25
Bonnie
I was sitting in my car with the engine running while I was waiting for Rose to come out of college, I kept looking around as I still didn’t want to see Joseph. I had managed to compose myself for this appointment and knowing that if I saw him, I would be a mess again.
“Hey, sorry. Let’s go.” Rose said as she jumped into my car. I wasted no time in getting out of there. “Are you excited?”
“Yeah, I am. Nervous too… What if I lose this one too?”
“It will be ok. You’ve made it further than the last time already.” I nodded. I was still nervous and couldn’t help but think of the what ifs.
We pulled up outside of the doctors and I didn’t move. “Come on, sweetie. I wanna see my future niece or nephew.” I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I was still looking around furiously, I didn’t want anything to spoil this day but I had the feeling like someone was watching me.
We had been waiting nearly twenty minutes when my name was called out. Rose and I both stood up and walked back to the exam room.
“Hi, Bonnie. Jump up onto the table and make yourself comfortable. The doctor will be in shortly.” The nurse said.
“Thank you.”
“Look at all these photos of the cute babies.” Rose gushed.
“Do you want kids?” I asked her.
“Yeah, someday. It would be nice for me and Jacob to be married first.” I was about to reply when the door opened.
“Hi, Bonnie, are you ready to see your baby?”
“Yes. This is Rose.”
“Hi, Rose. No Dad with you?”
“Not today.” Rose answered for me.
“Ok, Bonnie, lift up your t-shirt. We will place some of this gel on your tummy and have a look at your baby.” She was tapping things away on the computer while she moved the stick across my stomach. Then we heard it.
“Is that the heartbeat?” Rose asked, excitedly.
“It is, a lovely strong heartbeat… And here is your baby.” The doctor angled the monitor towards us so we could see. It was a grainy picture but once the doctor pointed out the small shape we could see it. “I’ll print you out some pictures to take away with you.”
“I had a miscarriage over a year ago. What can I do to make sure I don’t miscarry again?”
“There are no guarantees you won’t miscarry. But this baby does look healthy and the heartbeat is very strong. Just relax, not too much stress, eat healthily. No alcohol or smoking.”
“Thank you.” The doctor handed me some copies of the scan and I held them close to me. I was excited and had a feeling that everything would be ok.
“Make an appointment to have your next scan. As you have miscarried in the past, we will do one at sixteen weeks.”
“Thank you.” Rose and I walked out of the doctor’s office both with smiles on our faces. “You’re right. I should have told him. He should have been here. Just hearing that sound.” I was amazed at how hearing the little heartbeat made me feel, I felt bad for keeping this from him.
“It’s nice to see you with a smile on your face. So when are you going to tell him?”
“Now. Do me a favour text him and find out where he is. If I do it, he probably won’t reply.” Rose nodded as she dug around in her bag for her phone. I watched as she typed and then we waited in silence for her phone to beep with a reply.
Joseph
I walked into the Coffee Bean to meet Jamie-Lee. She was sitting in a booth staring down at her phone.
“Hey, miss me?” I joked.
“Yes, I did actually.” She stood up and gave me a hug.
“I’ll grab us some drinks. Caramel latte?” She nodded. “Won’t be long.” As I was stood in the queue waiting for our drinks to be made, I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out to see it was a text from Rose.
“Caramel latte and black coffee?” The barista called out.
“Yeah, thanks man.” I carried the drinks back to the table and slid into the booth opposite Jamie-Lee. I pulled my phone back out. “I just gotta see what Rose wants.” I opened the message.
Hey, where are you? x
At the coffee bean. Why? You ok? x
“Rose?” She asked.
“My sister-in-law.”
“Jacob’s married?”
“No, engaged. Sorry.” I couple of minutes went by and she still hadn’t replied.
“You ok?” She asked.
“Yeah, just waiting for her to reply, to make sure everything is ok. Oh, there it is.”
Yeah, just checking in on you. Love ya xx
I chuckled as I put my phone away.
“How have you been?” I asked her, sipping my coffee.
“Good, have you told Jacob about me yet? I’m really keen to meet him and Rose.”
“No, I haven’t. I will, soon. I promise.” I looked up towards the door as I felt her enter, my body tingled and came alive, there was Bonnie standing in front of me, not looking happy.
“Having a nice date?” She bit out.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Is that her? The one you cheated on me with? Bit old for you isn’t she?”
“Bonnie, stop that. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I have nothing to say to you. I only came to give you this.” She slammed something down onto the table and then stormed away.
“So, that’s Bonnie?” Jamie-Lee asked.
“Yeah, that’s her.” I smiled.
“A bit of a wildcat.”
I chuckled. “You could say that.” I picked up what she slammed down onto the table and froze, was this what I thought it was?
Bonnie
I jumped back into my car and started the engine. Tears streaming down my face. I didn’t look at Rose.
“Well, what did he say?” She asked. I shook my head. “Bon?”
“He was with her.” I sobbed.
“Who?”
“I don’t know, fuck buddy, girlfriend. The one he cheated on me with.” I pulled up outside of Rose’s place and waited for her to get out of the car.
“When did he sleep with this girl?”
Giving A Chance (Chance Series Book 2) Page 13