by T. O. Smith
She pressed her thumb and forefinger together in what I guess was supposed to be a measurement, but it didn’t really work out. “Only a little bit.” She lied.
I grinned. “Sweetheart, you definitely had a lot more than a little bit. I think it’s time for you to get some rest.”
I moved to sit up, but she groaned. “No.” She whined. “Movement makes me feel really, really sick.”
I sat back in my chair again and cradled her on my lap. “Alright then. I’ll sit right here. But you need to sleep.”
She nodded, her head falling onto my shoulder, already beginning to doze off. Hatchet flickered his eyes to her, guilt shining in his eyes for a moment before he smothered it. Though he and Lex had held numerous conversations about what occurred that day, he still felt extremely guilty for all she had lost, just as I knew she felt guilty for what happened to Layla.
But both of them had survived, so I knew with time, everyone would move past it.
Matthew stormed down the stairs. “Dad, Alexandra is being a brat.”
Hatchet ruffled his son’s hair. “Kid, she’s a girl. Girls are complicated and troublesome. It’s just something you have to learn to deal with.”
“You smell like dog poopy!” Xandra screamed down the stairs. “You big whiny baby! You tattle tale!”
My body shook with laughter. Alex leaned back in his chair with a proud grin on his face. Alex spread his arms out. “My work here is done, boys.” I laughed as did everyone else, even Hatchet.
Matthew scowled at Alex, but Alex only grinned back at him. Trixie sauntered over and plopped herself in Alex’s lap. “Why is my daughter yelling mean things down the stairs?”
“He started it first,” Alex said with a shrug, childishly pointing at Matthew. Matthew stuck his tongue at Alex before turning back to Hatchet.
Hatchet ruffled Matthew’s hair. “Just ignore her,” Hatchet told him. “You know arguing with Xandra only gets her fired up more.”
Matthew sighed but nodded. He looked at Lex in my lap. “Is Auntie Lex okay?” He asked me.
I nodded. “She’s okay, kiddo. She’s just very drunk.”
He pressed a kiss to Lex’s cheek before he went back up the stairs. That kid was too damn sweet for his own damn good. Lex groaned softly as she woke up. Then, she suddenly jumped out of my lap and stumbled to the bathroom.
And that’s where we stayed for the next couple of hours as Lex threw up all of the alcohol that she had consumed that night.
Thor stood behind me with his arms locked around my waist as we waited for the results of Trixie’s pregnancy test. Eleven days later, and we were finally allowed to let Trixie take a pregnancy test. I bounced my foot impatiently, extremely nervous to find out the results.
“Breathe,” Thor commanded softly as he pressed his lips to the curve of my neck. “If it doesn’t work this time, then we’ll keep trying.”
I blew out a harsh breath and pushed one of my hands through my hair. Trixie was sitting on the couch. She had left the pregnancy test in the bathroom, and we were waiting the recommended three minutes before one of us went to check.
“Relax, baby.” Alex soothed as he knelt in front of Trixie. Her eyes locked on his. Thor tightened his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck. “Lex is just as nervous as you are. But if you are pregnant with their kid, stressing over this test isn’t healthy.”
The timer went off on Thor’s phone. Trixie and I both jumped, so lost in our heads that it scared us. Thor instantly released me and turned the blaring alarm off. “Which one of you are going to look at the test?” Alex asked. “Because if Trixie has to wait any longer, I think she’s going to lose her mind.”
I shook my head, fear of it being negative keeping me from wanting to look at it. I looked up at Thor. He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I’ll go.” He told me softly.
I watched Thor’s back as he walked to the downstairs bathroom, disappearing inside. He came out a moment later holding the test with a solemn expression on his face. My own face instantly fell at the look on his. “It didn’t work,” I whispered.
He walked towards me and held the test out in my direction. I looked down at it and sucked in a sharp breath at the results.
Trixie was pregnant.
She was pregnant with our baby.
“Oh, God.” I choked out, tears instantly welling up in my eyes and spilling over to my cheeks. “It’s real. It’s officially happening.” I cried.
Thor dropped the test into the trashcan before he strode over to me and wrapped me up in his arms, his own grin spread over his lips. Trixie was looking at us with a hopeful expression. Thor nodded at her. “You’re pregnant, Trixie.”
“Yes!” She screamed as she threw her arms around Alex’s neck. He laughed as he caught her in his arms, falling onto his ass on the floor.
“We’re going to be parents, Thor,” I said as I reached up and cradled his face in my hands.
He nodded. “That we are.” He agreed before he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
Trixie clutched the rim of the toilet as she threw up everything she had just eaten and then some. I rubbed her back soothingly as she gagged and retched again. Alex stepped into the bathroom and nodded once at me. I moved out of his way so he could take my place. “I’m here, baby girl,” Alex said softly as he wrapped his body over hers.
I stepped out of the bathroom. Thor was waiting at the end of the hall for me, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “How is she?” He asked.
I shook my head at him. “She’s not any better,” I told him honestly. “The baby is just making her sicker and sicker.”
Thor drew me into his arms and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Alex will make sure she’s okay, sweetheart.” He assured me when I worriedly glanced back at the bathroom when I heard Trixie retching again. “This isn’t Trixie’s first rodeo with a baby, and it isn’t Alex’s first time experiencing a pregnancy with her. He knows when enough is enough.”
Grave stepped out of his room without a shirt on. His hair was still messy from sleep, and he was scratching his stomach. “Fucking put a shirt on.” Thor snapped as he turned me into his chest so I couldn’t face Grave. I laughed. Thor knew by now that I didn’t want anyone but him, but he was territorial.
Grave released a husky laugh. “Whatever, brother.” He must have put a shirt on because Thor released me. “How’s your little one treating my favorite girl this morning?”
Thor sighed. “Like shit, obviously.” Thor grumbled, the sound of Trixie retching again reaching our ears. I frowned. This was getting really bad.
Grave sighed and disappeared into the bathroom. “Might be good to take her to a doctor.” I heard Grave say to Alex.
Thor led me away from the hallway. “You ate yet this morning?” Thor asked me.
I rolled my eyes. This was becoming more and more of an issue between us. I wasn’t used to eating so much, and he wanted me to eat all of the time. Not to mention the fact that I was still trying to lose weight, but Thor seemed to be blocking me every step of the damn way. “Thor, I’m not hungry—"
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve been doing so good, sweetheart.” He told me quietly. “Don’t backtrack now. You’re perfect – told you this a million times. You need to eat.”
I rubbed my hands down my face, tired of having this same conversation with him. “Thor, I’m not discussing this again.”
He gripped my arm, turning me to face him. “We’ll discuss this as many times as it takes to get this through your skull, Lex.”
I shoved his hand off my arm, angrily narrowing my eyes at him. “My fucking body.” I snarled up at him. “If I don’t fucking like it, I have the right to do with it whatever I damn well please. And no one – including you – will fucking stop me.” I snarled, fucking tired of him trying to make decisions about my body for me.
“Starving yourself isn’t the answer, Alexia.” He snapped back, getting angry as well.
I turned to storm away from him, but he grabbed my arm again, yanking me back around to face him. I smacked his hand off of me, glaring up at him. “Keep your fucking hands off of me!” I yelled at him, not giving a fuck if people were still asleep. “I’ve been controlled by a man before, and I will not go through it again!” I shouted. “So, stop telling me to eat, stop telling me to learn to love my body! I’m done having this conversation with you!” He opened his mouth to speak, but I threw my hand up at him, narrowing my eyes. “One fucking word about my body, Thor, and I’ll walk the fuck out of here,” I warned him. “I’m tired of this same fucking discussion.”
“I’m not standing by while you fucking destroy yourself!” Thor shouted down at me.
I stormed away from him, pulling my car keys from my pocket. “Alexia!” Thor’s voice boomed through the club house, drawing everyone into the bar room. My body trembled under the force of his shout, but I continued forward. I wouldn’t back down. “Don’t you fucking dare fucking walk away from me!” He barked.
“Let her cool off, brother.” I heard Grim say as I strode out of the clubhouse, not wanting to hear another fucking word from Thor’s mouth.
If he really loved me, he would support my decision. Instead, it only felt like he was trying to keep me fat so I wouldn’t ever feel worthy of anyone but him.
“What the fuck?!” I shouted at Grim, shoving him off of me.
“Hey!” Alex roared as he stepped between us, shoving us apart as Grim and I both stepped closer to each other, both of us ready to swing at each other. “Both of you fucking cool it!” He barked.
“He fucking let her walk out of here!” I roared, glaring at my president.
“She was fucking right, Thor.” Grim snapped at me. I clenched my fists at my sides. “You keep trying to control what she does to her own body. If she’s fucking unhappy with herself, she has the right to change it.”
“Not by starving herself!” I shouted at him.
“Shut the fuck up!” Alex shouted, pointing at both of us. “Both of you get in the fucking chapel.” He snapped as he strode towards the chapel, expecting us both to follow him.
“You heard your fucking VP.” Grim snarled at me as he shoved past me, shoulder-checking me as he did so. “Get the fuck in the chapel.”
I grabbed the back of his cut and swung my fist out, sending Grim crashing to the ground. He grabbed my leg and pulled it out from under me, sending me crashing to the floor next to him. He slammed his elbow against my face, and blood instantly spurted from my nose.
“Fuck you.” I snarled as I quickly shoved my fist into his face.
I knew I had started a fight that I wouldn’t win, but I was pissed. I was beyond any measure of reasoning. I knew Grim could fuck me up badly. He may be smaller than me, but Grim had grown up on the streets, had learned from an early age how to protect himself against fuckers bigger than him.
Grim didn’t have his name for no reason. He took fucking souls just like the Grim Reaper.
He slammed the heel of his hand into my chin, sending me sprawling off of him across the floor. He quickly straddled my waist and sent blow after blow to my face. “Grim, get the fuck off of him!” Alex roared. “Fucking hell, brother!”
“Grim?” Trixie asked softly.
He instantly stopped his movement, his fist raised in midair. I groaned as I let my arms drop to the ground beside me. I turned my head to the side as I spit out blood. Grim stood up and rolled his shoulders before he held his hand out to me. With a grunt, I let him pull me up from the floor.
“Bet you won’t try that shit again,” Grim said as he clapped me on the back.
I dropped into a chair, and Grave handed me a wet towel. “You’re pretty fucking bloody, brother.” He said. “Need to clean up. Your old lady comes back in here and sees you like this, she’ll flip her shit.”
I laughed softly as I wiped the towel over my face, staining the once white towel red. Hatchet snorted. “Nope. Alexia is still going to flip her shit. Grim fucked you up, Thor.”
“Had it coming to me,” I admitted. It was a dumb ass move to swing on Grim like I had, but I was itching for a fight.
I got one, too, and I got my ass handed to me in the process.
“Chapel.” Grim commanded as he strode towards the doors, walking inside.
With a sigh, I stood up from the table and strode towards the chapel doors. Alex walked in behind me, shutting the door, closing the three of us into the room. “We need to talk about Alexia.” Grim stated as he lit a cigarette, his bloody hand staining the end of his cigarette red.
“My woman, my business,” I remarked.
Grim pointed his bloody finger at me. “I’m stepping in as family, Thor, not your president.” I stood down.
“One thing that I’ve learned about women with insecurities is that you have to step back and assess the situation, put yourself in their shoes the best you can,” Alex spoke up, drawing my eyes to him. “Lex is unhappy about her body, and until she’s allowed to make that change, she’ll continue to be unhappy. If you keep stopping her, it’s going to draw a rift between you two.”
“Already is.” Grim corrected. “You need to support her, not stop her, Thor.” He told me.
“How am I supposed to support the fact that she wants to fucking starve herself, Grim?” I demanded angrily.
“Nobody sitting at this table has said you need to support her decision to starve herself.” Alex snapped at me, getting angry as well. He leaned forward in his seat. “She wants to lose weight. Support her, but you also need to make her understand that she will lose weight healthily, not by skipping meals and starving herself. She needs to see a dietician, get put on a proper meal plan for her body type, and train with a physical trainer.”
“Thor!” Lex yelled, interrupting our discussion.
I jerked up from my chair and rushed out of the chapel, afraid something had happened while she was gone. Her face was a mask of rage as she glared at me. “What were you thinking?” She shouted at me as she thrust her phone up into my face.
I looked at the video in her hand before I looked at the contact name. I looked over her head, narrowing my eyes at Ink. He only shrugged with a smirk as he relaxed back in his chair. “Are you out of your mind?!” Lex yelled at me, drawing my eyes back to her.
I grabbed her face in my hands and slanted my lips across hers. Even though I knew she was absolutely furious at me, she still wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss me back. I gripped a handful of her ass in my hand, tugging her up hard against me as I slid my other hand into her hair, deepening the kiss.
“I’m sorry.” I quietly said once I pulled back from those damn enticing lips. She opened her eyes to look up at me again. “I don’t want to control you, sweetheart. I just want you to be happy – never want you to be anything but content. I’m just going about it all wrong.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but I pressed my finger to her lips, letting her know that I wasn’t done talking. She narrowed that angry, green-eyed gaze at me. “Grim and Alex put a lot into perspective for me.”
She snorted, eyeing my face with an arched eyebrow. I scowled down at her, but she only shot me an innocent grin that instantly wiped my scowl away. “If you want to lose weight, then I support you,” I told her. Her eyes widened in shock. “But,” I said before she could respond, “we do this my way.”
“And your way is what?” She demanded to know.
“The proper way. A dietician and a physical trainer.” I told her.
She nodded. “I can agree to that.” She said with a shrug, not at all bothered by what I had proposed.
I wrapped her up in my arms. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around me as well. “Just please know that I love you no matter what your size is,” I assured her. “That will never change.”
Trixie suddenly gagged and got up from the table, but she didn’t make it two steps before she threw up.
All over Grim�
�s shirt and cut. I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from grinning. Grim only sighed when Trixie burst into tears. “Come on, girly – to the bathroom.” He gently told her.
“I’m so sorry.” She cried.
“Easy now.” He soothed, placing his hand on her back. Alex rushed over, nodding once at Grim. Grim gripped Trixie’s chin and tilted her head back to look up at him. “Dry those tears, girly. Shit happens. You don’t feel good. A quick shower and a change of clothes will solve this. Let your man take care of you.”
She nodded. Alex drew her against his side as he led her down the hall to the bathroom. Grim pointed his finger at me and Lex. “You better be happy with one child because she’s never carrying another one.”