54
Kissing my Crazy Away
The next week came and went surprisingly without much of a hiccup and I had stupidly started to allow myself the belief that maybe our problems had gone away on their own. I would find myself wondering if the Devil had kept Cronus as a play thing for long enough and now he’d had his fun out of him, maybe he’d finally killed him once and for all. It would certainly explain why I’d had no dreams for the last week or Draven’s demon hadn’t made another appearance…That, or it had something to do with us being back home at Afterlife.
For obvious reasons, I was hoping for the first.
Alright, so he hadn’t touched my neck and every time he got close to it, I would tell him I’d become really ticklish there and feeling guilty when the easy lie found itself coming from my lips one day…
“Must be another pregnancy thing.”
After that he had stayed well away from the area, no doubt fearing the hormonal wrath of his wife. I was ashamed to say it, but after the one at the castle, I’d had another two meltdowns since. The first and second being on the same day. One when we were getting ready to go to my sister’s house for dinner and Draven had bought an obscene amount of sweets for my niece. I then thought it best to address the subject in the worst way, by snapping at him. I swear it was almost like an outer body experience when I did it and it usually ended in me sobbing, telling him how sorry I was.
Which is precisely what I did in this instance. The second time however, started at my sister’s house after they had all been joking about the crazy stuff hormones had done to Libby when she was pregnant with Ella. It was strange because I even remembered what she had been like, joking with Frank at the time myself. The only difference was that we did this when Libby wasn’t around, but right now, there I was, sat there feeling worse by the second as Draven would laugh at everything Frank said.
I think it had only been my sister who had realised when they had taken things too far, nudging Frank and telling him quietly that was enough.
“Oh, but just this one more, like the time you got…what?” Frank asked when Libby started shooting him daggers from her eyes. She nodded to me and, no doubt by this point, I looked utterly depressed. Of course, there was an underlying reason today had been the day I let things get to me and like a slow burn, at some point I was going to explode.
So, it wasn’t surprising that not long after this we were thanking them for having us and making our excuses for leaving, saying I was tired. Of course, Libby knew better, being there before and knowing the signs.
One night in particular came to mind as I remembered them coming back from one of Frank’s work’s parties and Libby came storming in the house in tears. This swiftly followed with Frank slamming the door behind them storming in after. She had been heavily pregnant back then and this was a time just before I found out Draven ‘died’, so I wasn’t so much in a ‘zombie Keira like state’.
“You called me fat!” She accused dramatically making Frank release a frustrated sigh.
“No, I said you put on a good amount of baby weight…totally different thing that, Libs!” he argued back.
“Yeah fat! It’s fine, you think I’m fat, then admit it…yeah, just go ahead and man up and tell me!” she pushed, making him throw his hands up in the air before saying,
“Fine, you wanna hear that, then yeah, you got fat, but newsflash here Libs, it’s because you’re pregnant! Jesus, woman you have a baby growing inside you, what did you think would happen, you would be the first skinny pregnant woman in history?!” The second he said this she screamed in outrage, picked up a lamp and threw it at him…one he caught with what looked like ease.
“Oh, you would catch it wouldn’t you, you’re so bloody perfect? You get to keep your hot body, but one day you will get fat, and then I will be the one everyone says, ‘look how big he is’ and newsflash to you honey, they won’t mean this in a GOOD WAY!” Libby threatened, shouting this last part making even me wince before having to bite my lip to try not to laugh. So far, I had been forced to witness the whole thing as I had been sat on the couch during this time. And for some reason, they decided to have this argument in the hall between the kitchen and the living room.
“Yeah well first, I played college ball honey, so I can catch a damn lamp, something tomorrow you will be happy about because your mom bought it us and second, if I ever get fat, then you can be damn sure it won’t be from your cooking, woman!” he threw back, making her mouth drop before she burst into tears and ran up the stairs sobbing the whole way. Frank gripped the back of his hair with both hands, bent his knees and shouted,
“FUCK!” Then it was like someone finally remembered I was in the room as he looked to me as though I held all the answers. Whereas, knowing my sister as I did, I only held one,
“Well, what are you waiting for…go grovel.” I told him making him nod once before running up the stairs to catch up with her, taking three steps at a time. That night I heard lots of crying and when it did finally end, it was only for a short time before I then heard crying of a different kind. This was the point that I put on a ‘shoot ‘em up’ action movie and I did so watching it on loud.
So yes, I knew after witnessing how crazy pregnancy could make you, what I was doing now was no different. But for a woman it strangely becomes a very vulnerable time in your life.
“Hey, are you alright?” Draven asked as I stormed down their porch steps and to the car.
“I am fine,” I snapped, which was code in any scenario for ‘no, I am most definitely not’. He caught up with me and just as I was opening the door, he tried taking it from my hands so that he could do what he always did, and that was open the door for me like a gentleman.
“Its fine, I got it.”
“Keira, look at me,” he asked making me just shake my head and get in the car, trying to keep a lid on my anger. Then I tried to ignore the deep breath I saw him take next to the passenger window before coming around to the driver’s side. Then, after he folded his large frame inside, he just started the car and pulled onto the road to take us home without a word. We remained silent all the way home, with me looking out my window like a stubborn child. Then he pulled into the garage at Afterlife and killed the engine before turning to me and saying,
“Alright sweetheart, you are going to have to give me a clue on this one.” His clue in the end had been a frustrated little scream before I got out the car, slamming about a hundred thousand worth before stomping out the garage. I heard Draven closing his door behind me and muttered to himself,
“Alright then.” Then he followed me as I continued to navigate the vast hallways that would lead to our room.
“Okay, so I get you are pissed off here.” I heard him say behind me a minute later.
“Oh, you think!?” I snapped turning around a second to throw this at him and the second I did nearly walking into a sideboard. Thankfully, he put a hand to my hip and steered me to the side of it, so I missed it. But this didn’t help as it just made him even more perfect, which right in this moment just annoyed me further.
“But again, I am going to have to risk your wrath by asking why?” he said making me throw my hands up and start walking again, this time doing so with a weird hop as I bent to one side trying to hook my high heels off as I did.
“If you don’t know, then that is even worse!” I told him.
“Or is it only worse in your eyes because you’re…”
“Don’t say it!” I snapped threatening him with a heel in my hand, but he must have said ‘wrath be damned’ in his mind, because he finished it off anyway,
“Pregnant?”
“AHHH!” I said throwing my shoe at him, and like Frank had that night, he caught it without even looking. He looked so calm as he lowered it from nearly impaling his face and the sight made me feel guilty, which only managed to make me more upset, which meant I had more to blame him for.
“Feel better?” he asked again with his voice so calm. I didn’t answer him, well if you don’t count a growl and my other shoe thrown down on the ground at the height of my tantrum, as an answer anyway. I just continued down the hallway to our room getting frustrated when I didn’t recognise where I was.
“It’s that way,” he said directly behind me, making me jump from him and snap,
“I knew that!” Then I carried on, only now deciding that I wanted to talk.
“I can’t believe it.”
“What can’t you believe?” he asked like I knew he would.
“Oh, never mind, you obviously don’t think there is anything wrong with what you said, so why bother?” I argued, as if doing so more to myself.
“Well, maybe if you actually tell me what I said, then I could consider it for myself and answer that particular question.” At this I turned around again and pointed a finger at him.
“Oh no you don’t.”
“Oh no I don’t what?”
“Go and start speaking like that, with all your fancy words and old world English ways, trying to confuse me or turn me on…no, not turn me on, but you know what I mean!” I said getting frustrated with myself for not saying it right and saying way too much at that. I knew this when he raised an eyebrow down at me.
“I had no idea my, how did you put it, ‘old English ways’ was such a turn on, and now I know I can’t imagine why I would want to stop, that being the case,” he said making me now want to kiss him as much as slap him. So, I went for the latter, only on the arm not the face, like I had been tempted.
“AHH, you are so frustrating!” I shouted walking away in the direction he had told me and finally he snapped back,
“Yeah, likewise darling.”
“Okay big man, you want to know why I am so pissed?” I said, again turning back to him.
“I think evidence would suggest that is what I have been aiming for this last twenty minutes,” he said sarcastically, again only making me want to yell at him some more.
“Fine! So, Frank made that joke about Libby’s bladder and about their couch getting a monthly spraying,” I said recalling the night in detail. Draven looked like he too remembered… because yeah, of course he did, he was a freakin Jedi at everything!
“Yeah, so?” he replied frowning.
“And you said, and this is an I quote here… ‘so what are you saying Frank, you recommend I invest in some plastic sheets then?’ do you deny it?” I snapped folding my arms across my chest, cursing this tight dress that Sophia had picked out as being a perfect choice.
“Why would I need to deny it, it’s what I said?” he said now folding his arms and mimicking my stance.
“Oh my God, you are so fucking clueless!” I screamed at him this time pushing past him and finally getting closer to our door and the second I opened it, he reached around me to pull it closed again.
“I am not taking this stupid argument in that room, so say what the Gods it is you mean, woman and end this madness!” he snapped back making me scowl at him.
“Madness…is that what you think this is?” I asked in that dangerous tone. Then he leaned closer to me, getting inches from my face so he could say more firmly,
“Pregnant madness.” And in doing so, cracking what was left of my dignity. So, I screamed at the top of my lungs,
“I PEED ON OUR COUCH THIS MORNING!” And just as I did Sophia, Zagan, Pip, Adam and Ragnar all walked around the corner, hearing every bellowed word.
Then I did the only thing that was left for me and my fragile state…
I cried.
I burst into tears and threw myself into Draven’s arms.
After this embarrassing announcement to the world, Draven simply took a deep breath and lifted me up into his arms. Then, without a word to the others, he opened the door with his mind and slammed it shut behind us using the same method. Then he sat down with me in his lap on the bed and silently unzipped my dress, pulling it to the side so that he could kiss my bare shoulder. Doing this, whilst lovingly holding me to him, letting me get it all out before I could cry no more.
Then he stood me up and without another word, pulled my dress down, slowly framing each side of my body as he did, until it fell from my hips to the floor. After it was now a black pool around my feet, he stood, picked me up again and after pulling the covers back, he laid me down gently.
He followed me quickly after, so that we were both lying on our sides facing each other. He covered us both up, despite the fact that he still had on his suit and shoes. But seeing as I was only wearing a black lace underwear set, then I think he cared more about getting me warm, than getting his dirty feet in the bed. Which, in that moment, I realised was him making a statement. He didn’t give a damn about the sheets and I had no doubt that he also didn’t give a damn about the couch.
All he cared about was me.
So, coming to this conclusion by myself, I placed my hand on his cheek and mouthed the word,
‘Sorry’.
He gave me a small smile but again remained quiet as if this was what I needed, but then he ran a fingertip down my cheek, catching the tears there.
“I was just so upset and embarrassed, and I didn’t want you to look at me any differently, you know.” His frown told me that he didn’t, so I carried on,
“It’s not exactly the sexiest thing, sneezing and quickly finding yourself with no bladder control.” After this he gave me a warm, gentle smile as if the whole day’s moodiness had just been explained.
“I’m sorry for being a crazy pregnant lady again.” I told him this time voicing it aloud. Again, he didn’t say anything but just shifted closer to me, pushing a few strands of my hair back from my face and tucking them behind my ear. Then he leaned into me, so that I lay back with his face above me.
“What are you doing?” I asked meaning that finally this time he did speak and what he said was just what I needed to hear…
“Keeping my promise.”
And keep it he did, and he did this…
By kissing my crazy away.