Chapter Seventeen

Noella

Two weeks later

I'm late. I'm four days late. Pacing in the bathroom, I buried my arms into my chest, heart racing wildly. You can't get pregnant that soon, can you? No. That shit takes time. I've read about it in those pamphlets at the doctor's office.

Every year at my annual— spread your legs so I can insert these metal pliers and make you really uncomfortable— appointment, I pick up the tiny booklets and scan them. They all talk about how pregnancy can take time, and not to get discouraged. They said that for some woman it could take up to a year before actually getting pregnant.

Stress, I bet I'm late because of stress.

Between my mom, and the shit with Hegan... To say I wasn't stressed would be a lie. Hegan and myself stayed at his mansion through the weekend, and it was the best two days of my life.

And after leaving there, we've seen each other pretty much everyday. It was nice to have someone in my life. Someone who actually seemed to enjoy the real me.

That didn't happen, ever.

I was able to cut down on my shifts at Tigress, only needing to work one night on the weekend now. Hegan didn't actually know how much I owed Gloria, and I wasn't going to tell him. That was my debt, not his to clean up for me.

He repeatedly laid the offer on my plate, giving me the out of my debt to her. But I didn't feel comfortable having him do that. He already set up the future treatments for mom, and that was more than I could ask for.

But I was getting nervous. I had agreed to do this, to have his child, but that didn't mean I wasn't scared shit to think I could be pregnant.

My eyes kept flickering back and forth between the floor, my fingers, and the small plastic strip on the sink. Three minutes, wait three minutes. Fuck you would think with all the medical advances there would be a test that could tell you instantly.

The ringing of my phone shot through my ears, my body shuddered instantly. I had been so far inside my own head it scared the piss out of me.

Fumbling my cell, I almost dropped it in the toilet. “Hello?” I said, before actually clicking the answer button. I thought my thumb was going to crash through the screen as I hit the button again. “Hello?”

“Hey, it's me. You alright? You sound like you've been running a damn marathon.” Hegan's soothing voice flowed through the speaker. My nerves spiking and calming in the same breath.

“Hi, yeah, I'm fine. Just... Just had to run for the phone is all.” Clearing my throat, I didn't want to tell him exactly what I was doing. If it came back negative, there was no reason to get his hopes up.

It was strange really, having only known him for such a short time, and yet I felt like we had known each other for years.

“You're still coming tonight right?” he asked.

Pausing briefly, I'd forgotten about his family's Christmas party. “Yeah, yeah. I'm still coming. It's at six, right?” Biting my thumbnail, my eyes kept glancing over at the pregnancy test.

“Sure is. Get ready for the wildest time of your life with these old prestigious drunks.” A nervous giggle escaped my throat. “You sure you're okay?” The concern in his voice peppered his tone.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going to hop in the shower and I'll see you later, okay?” Trying to ground myself, I leveled the butterflies swarming in my belly.

“Alright, see you tonight, Babe.” I could hear the smile in his words. I wished I could pull one out of my thoughts, but the only thing coating my brain at the moment was the terror of waiting for that test to finish.

Hanging up the phone, I closed my eyes tight. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see a positive result or not. Exhaling a heavy burst of air, I opened my lids.

One.

Two.

Three.

Forcing the muscles in my neck to loosen, my head fell forward.

And...

***

My car felt out of place, a grain of dirt in a sea of glass. Turning my head to a soft tap against the window, a man stood outside dressed in a crisp tailored suit.

Rolling down the glass, I asked, “Yes?”

“Can I park the car for you, Miss?” The gentleman hovered forward, hand on my door handle.

Seriously? Valet parking, are you fucking kidding me?

“Okay.” The words drew out over my tongue. It was such a bizarre thing to see at someone's home. Granted, this wasn't your typical house, it was another mansion beyond anything I'd seen before. It had to be ten times bigger than one I stayed in with Hegan on Martha's Vineyard.

As the valet opened my door, his hand came down to aid me out. Dropping my heels to the cold pavement, a brisk wind flew over my skin; the touch of winter in New England.

“I got it, Anthony.” The deep baritone voice crept in from the shadows. Hegan was standing behind the young man, a shadow in the dark night sky.

“Oh, sure, Mr. Alexander. Sorry.” The boy, who looked no older than seventeen, stepped to the side.

“May I?” Hegan said, his hand held open with the palm up, free hand draped across his lower back.

He looked amazing; a well fitted black blazer hung over his tight blue t-shirt. Even in the dark driveway, the ripples of his chest stood out, hugged by the fabric perfectly.

“Why thank you.” Smiling, I gripped his hand and exited the car.

His eyes rode the length of my jacket, slowly climbing back up to my face. “I can't wait to see you what you have under that.”

“Well don't get too excited. It's much more appropriate compared to the second skin I wore to that lunch with your parents.” Chuckling, I turned to the valet driver. “Careful, sometimes first gear sticks, so go easy with the clutch.” Tossing him the keys, I cupped my arm in Hegan's.

“When are you going to let me buy you a new car?” Hegan asked.

“Why? This one runs fine.” Arching my lip, I clasped my hand around the muscle of his arm.

Hegan let out a light laugh as we made our way up to the house. “My mom's been asking me about you.”

“Oh yeah, and what have you said? All good things I hope.” Veering up at him, my heels clicked across the smooth granite steps.

“Good things?” Cocking his head to the side, he said, “I told her the truth. That you're a serial killer stalker, who won't leave me alone.”

Grinding my elbow into his ribs, I huffed under my breath. “I thought that's what you liked about me?”

Hegan chuckled, scooping his arm around my waist, and pulling me in tighter. It felt good being in his arms, everything around me melted away. All my fears, all my doubts, they all disappeared when we were together.

Opening the door, I was hit with the sound of music, glazed in laughter and loud voices. It streamed through the wave of warm air and scent of cinnamon. Now this is a party. I thought as my coat was stripped off my back by another servant of the Alexander family.

Walking through the great room, there were people everywhere. Hoards of unfamiliar faces filled the space. Looking around, the place was brightly lit in white lights, holly berry bushels, and decorations out the ass.

To top it all off, there was the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen set in the middle of the room. It had to be fifteen feet high, blaring in all its glory.

“Wow.” The only sound I could make, barely audible out of my lips.

“You can say that again,” Hegan said, eyes eating me up as I stood beside him. “That dress is amazing.” He studied the rich purple teacup dress I was wearing.

I could feel my cheeks flush red, bowing my head into my chest, I pushed back a curl of hair behind my ear. “Not me, this place. It's incredible.”

“Yeah, I guess. They do this every year, throw a huge party for all their socialites.” Hegan buried a hand in his pocket, the other falling to his hip. “To be honest, this is the first one I looked forward to.”

“How come?” Tilting my head, I fingered the cuff of his sleeve.

“Because I don't feel completely alone.” His fingers glided between mine, squeezing firmly. “You're here with me.”

From the far side of the room, a loud burst crushed through the air. Snapping my head to look, I saw his dad holding a bottle of champagne, tipping it into glasses for a small group surrounding him. His head turned towards us, mouth opened in a wide smile.

Waving his arm over his head, he flagged us over. “Welcome, Noella!” His half drunken speech bellowed through his lips.

“Merry Christmas, Sir.” Folding my hands in front of my waist, I twisted my toe against the tile nervously.

“Please, call me Brandon. Champagne?” Holding the bottle, he rocked it side to side.

“Sure, thank you.”

“Let me introduce you to the group,” he said.

Before he could say another word, Hegan cut in. “Dad, let me.”

“No, no, no. Hegan, you can do what you do best. Nothing.” Wagging the bottle by the neck, he dipped his head. “Everyone, this is Noella, my son's girlfriend.”

Lightly, I lifted my hand barely higher than the buckle on my dress and waved. “Hello.”

There were about ten people who all said hello at the same time. Their varying tones all blended together in one massive heap. Waiting for Hegan's dad to tell me who each person was, a smug grin sat across my face.

I'd thought the world of the strip club was a weird place. But here in this mansion, even in all its beauty; I could see the fake emotions resting on all their faces.

Don't get me wrong, everyone looked like they were having a good time, but in the recesses of every expression was a false and feeble attempt to pretend. Pretending to like each other, pretending to be a big happy slue of friends.

“Dad, can you please try and be nice tonight. It's a party, you don't need to put me down in front of everyone.” Hegan sent the fiery whisper at his father, trying to not bring any attention to what he was saying.

Brandon's face went taut. His lips pulled back, teeth slowly emerging. “Sure, sure, Son. Anything for you.” Resting his hand over Hegan's shoulder, his nails dug into the muscle. “So would you like to go ahead and tell everyone how you guys met?”

Hegan's neck muscles began bulge, the veins enlarging to their limit. I watched him swallow hard, his mind racing to think of something to say.

Lifting my hand, I said, “We met at coffee shop.” Shooting a glance at Hegan, I gave the unofficial story of how we got together. “It was funny, I was going to leave, he was coming in, and we collided at the door. I lost a whole cup of coffee and...” Rolling my wrist, I joggled my head. “He ended up needing a new shirt.”

The small crowd began to giggle, tossing short eyes at each other. Brandon let out a gut wrenching chuckle. His chest heaved up and down, the laugh turning into a cynical rumble.

Resting his hand on the back of his neck, he said, “Really? Is that so?”

Hegan nodded his head. “Yup, it was a hot mess. Literally.”

“So, Noella, if that's how you two met, then tell me something.” I watched his face turn to stone, the same look he had at the table during lunch. “Who's Gloria then? Because from what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong.” He turned his attention to the people around us. “You're a stripper. Is that right?”

All the air from my lungs seeped out. My entire body numbing as the room began to grow silent. I stood in disbelief, complete shock turned in my gut.

How? How did he know?

Hegan's mouth hit the floor, his fists balling up by his sides. “Dad! What the hell are you doing?!” He yelled as his body went stiff.

“Well, Hegan, you should know this stuff. I'm sure she's just using you, like most girls would with the money our family has.” He spoke as if I wasn't standing directly next to his son. As if because I didn't have the wealth like they did, I couldn't understand him.

“You're a real asshole, you know that?” Hegan spit out through gritted teeth.

“Hegan, it's fine.” I muttered, lips angled down.

“No, no it's not.” He stepped in closer to his father, standing face to face.

“You should probably get her to her car, Son. She might have clientele she needs to serve.” Brandon lifted a finger, pointing towards the door.

Shifting my eyes around the crowd, they all held smug grins on their faces. One man had a shit eating smile painted on his face, another tried to hide his with a hand over his mouth, resting on his forearm.

And all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole, and bury my head so their eyes would stop burning me at the stake. I was never ashamed of being a stripper, I did what I needed to do. And none of these people had a fucking clue about what was going on in my life.

But in that moment, with every eye just gazing at me; the judgments of their thoughts coated their expressions and made me feel smaller than life itself.

Inhaling a deep breath of air, I started to turn and walk away. I was going to leave, there was no need for me to stay and listen to a barrage of ridicule from those fucking people. But something inside me ignited, the small voice turning into a loud scream.

Whipping around, I held my hand up. “You know what? Fuck this.” Pointing my finger directly at the mass of eyes, I said, “You people live like the real world around you doesn't exist. You don't know me, and for you to stand here on your mighty pedestal and think you can cast one ounce of judgment on me, you can take your money and shove it up your ass.”

“Excuse—”

Slashing Brandon's words, my back firmed, spine standing up as tall as I could lift it. “I'm not done. You think your son is a failure, that he won't live up to your standards, but you know what, Brandon?” Glaring at him, I took a long stride, bringing me right in front him. “You don't get to decide his life. Take a look at yourself for once, you want to talk about pathetic? This...” My hands guided them around the room. “This is pathetic. And so are you.”

In one swift motion I spun on my heels and stormed towards the door. I heard Hegan's feet closely behind mine. But I didn't turn around to look, I had the exit in my sight.

And for the first time a familiar face appeared. Stefan was standing at the door, arms folded behind his back. As I approached, he held his hand out to stop me. “Noella, you have a phone call.”

Twisting my head, I tried to pass by. All I wanted was to be as far from that place as possible. Not one second longer did I want to be there, with the rich assholes looking down on me like I'm some piece of trash off the street.

“Noella,” he said, fingers tugging on my shoulder. “They said it's important, please come with me.”

Hegan stepped besides Stefan, his frame made Stefan look so small. “Stefan, we're leaving. Move out of the way.”

“Sir, I'm sorry. But Noella has an urgent call.”

“Urgent? Who is it?” I asked. I couldn't think of any reason someone would be calling me here. The only people who knew where I was going was my parents.

“It's the hospital, they need to speak with you immediately.”

My heart dropped from my chest into my stomach. The tingles of anger turned to electric fear. “What? Why?”

“I'm not sure, I didn't ask. But, you can follow me.” Turning to another doorway, he looked over his shoulder. “This way.”

Looking up at Hegan, wide-eyed, my arms began to shake. He ran his hand over my shoulder and down my back. “Alright, I”ll come with you.”

“Sir, maybe you should wait here.” Stefan looked blankly at him. “You might have to do some damage control with your father.” Nodding his head towards where we just were, Brandon had begun to flail his arms in anger. His hands were wildly flying around, gesturing towards me.

“I'll be back. I'm sure it's nothing, go,” I said as he twisted his head between his father and me. “Go.”

Hegan leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I'll catch up with you in a minute, and you Stefan...” Holding up his finger, he stuffed it in Stefan's face, almost touching his nose. “I have a few things to say to you too after.”

With long strides, Hegan started back to where his dad was. The noises of the room were stirring with happy and angry voices. Some people stood oblivious to what had happened between us, others were gawking between Brandon and myself. Their mouths hung open, pointing in my direction and whispering with cupped hands into ears.

Huffing loudly, I turned to Stefan. “Let's go, where's the phone?”

Holding his arm out, I followed him down the hall. My entire frame was shaking, I could feel it all the way to my toes.

Why was the hospital calling me here? Is it my mom?

God, let everything be alright.

This was a fear I had tried to imagine myself dealing with, tried to prepare for.

That call. That voice on the end of the line telling me the news I never wanted to hear, but knew it was always a looming possibility.

As my lungs struggled to keep my breathing at a steady pace, I consciously tried to sooth my heart.

The beating drummed through my head, the pounding hitting my ribs so hard I thought it might break through.

It's fine Noella. I'm sure everything is fine.

Please let it be fine.