Chapter Twelve
Brianne
“Where the hell are we going, Carson?” I ask him; I don’t like it, he’s in a weird mood; he’s acting all shifty.
“Come on, Bri. We’re going to get some food; mom said you haven’t been eating properly.”
“But I have an appointment soon.” Ugh, this heartburn is killing me, I’m trying to figure out what to eat that won’t cause this heartburn to get worse.
“You have an appointment in two hours; we have loads of time. Come on; I’ll even drive you to your appointment.” He picks up my purse off the kitchen counter along with my keys and starts ushering me out of the house.
“Calm your horses. I’m coming!” I shout as I follow behind him trying my hardest not to trip over my dress, it’s too long, especially as I’m wearing my flip-flops. He locks up the house behind me and has a stupid grin on his face; he’s up to something I can tell, but I don’t know if I want to know. I get into his truck absentmindedly, I need food, and if I have eaten a full meal, it might help me clear my mind and see the situation with Jaxon a bit more clearly.
“Bri, about Jax…” Carson starts, and I hold my hand up as tears start to form in my eyes. I don’t want to talk about him. Just thinking about yesterday gets me upset, I can’t believe that Loretta thinks I’m a whore who doesn’t know the father of her own babies.
“Bri,” Carson pulls me from my thoughts, I look at him, and he looks worried, I know he hates this, he doesn’t know what to do for me. “Look Bri, yesterday, it wasn’t Jax’s fault.”
“The way his mom was speaking… God, Carson, they were arguing, and it was because of me. To make matters worse, his mom practically called me a whore, and I’m mad at Jaxon because he didn’t call her out on her bullshit, mom did and then to top all that shit off Ethan won’t leave me the hell alone. He’s constantly calling and texting; he even emailed me.”
“That fucker, why can’t he just back the hell off and leave you alone? Does he not realize that he’s not the father?” Carson’s anger is something I don’t need right now. “Wait until I get that fucker alone.” He tightens his hands on the steering wheel.
“No, you won’t, he’s not worth it. I’ll deal with him when I’m ready.” That isn’t now; I have other things to worry about.
Carson sighs heavily as if it’s such a big deal on his part not to go after Ethan, “Fine, I’ll back off, but he continues to harass you, and I’ll be sorting him out. That’s stress you don’t need right now Bri; I won’t allow that asshat to cause you or my nieces or nephews distress.” He’s excited to become an uncle, and between him and the twin’s dad, I’m in trouble, they’re gonna turn my little babies into video game-loving geeks.
He pulls up at the mall, and I know he wants some Taco Bell, and I’m dreading the effect this food is going to have on me, but the smell of the food has me smiling, and I feel the babies kick, I lovingly place my hand on my bump; caressing it just to let my babies know that I’m here and I love them.
“That right there is well worth the drive here.”
I turn to Carson and see that he’s smiling, it’s blinding; he’s so happy. “What’s worth the drive and why are you so happy?”
“You’re smiling; it reaches your eyes. That’s the first time since you’ve been back that I have seen you genuinely happy. Do you think you can give Jax a chance to talk to you now?” He’s stopped smiling instead he’s looking serious?
“What the hell Carson, why are you pushing me to talk to him?”
“Jax is my best friend Bri; I hate being stuck in the middle.” The sadness in his voice makes me realize that I need to sort things out. I really need to decide what the hell I want. Do I want Jaxon? Yes. What I feel for Jaxon is something I never knew existed, he’s all I think about. When I think of the future, I see him and our babies. “Earth to Bri, I’m talking to you!” he’s waving his hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.
“I’ll fix things. I promise, I’m so sorry that you were caught in the middle, I never wanted that to happen.” I’m close to tears just thinking about how he must be feeling. He loves me, and I know that he will do anything for me, but Jax is his best friend and he’s like a brother to him, this must be killing him. I walk over to him and give him a hug.
He wraps his hands around me and pulls me closer to him. “Thanks, Bri. I’m starving; I need to eat, I’m wasting away.”
“Come on then. You’re buying.” I tell him with a smile on my face. I walk off ahead of him and hear him rambling behind me.
“So, is everything okay?” Carson asks as soon as I get back into his truck. It’s dark out, and I was so long waiting, what’s the point in having an appointment if you’re not even seen on time? I had to wait over two hours. “I mean did the doctor say everything was okay?”
“Yeah, he said everything looks good, and the babies’ heartbeats are strong. I have a scan next month; do you think Jaxon will want to come?” I’d love for him to see the babies, I feel bad that he wasn’t there for any of the previous ones.
“Bri, Jax will jump at the chance!” Carson is so reassuring, and I know that he’s right, everything Jaxon’s done shows that he wants these babies.
“I can’t wait to get home; I just want to relax. My feet are killing me!” My feet are looking like I have no ankles, they’re swollen and puffy and hideous looking.
“It won’t take us long to get you home.”
“It will if you continue to drive like Grammy Evelyn-Louise then we won’t be home until next month.” He hates when we joke about his slow driving.
“Grammy Evelyn-Louise is going to whip your ass when she finds out you’re pregnant and home and haven’t been to see her.” He has a smug smile on his face, and I know that he’s loving the fact that Grammy is going to go crazy when she finds out, and I haven’t been to see her.
“I better go and see her today then; I’ll bring mom with me as she knows how to calm her down.” My Grammy can be a bit boisterous.
“Hmm, maybe leave it until tomorrow. Go home and have some rest today.” What the hell is he up to? I don’t like that smile on his face or the way he’s been acting.
Over thirty minutes later and I’m finally home. A trip that should have taken less than twenty minutes, Carson turns it into over thirty! God, I forgot how much I hate having him drive me anywhere. I’m just out of the truck, and Carson drives off, he’s so weird today.
Walking into my house, I feel as though something is wrong, someone’s here, I can feel it. Picking up the giant umbrella I hold it like a bat, walking slowly into the sitting room I see someone in the dark, just standing there. My heart is pounding, and my palms are sweaty. I tighten my grip on the umbrella, so it doesn’t fall out of my hands. I creep up behind them and raise the umbrella up a bit higher, and as soon as I get closer to them, I swing.
I drop the umbrella and turn and waddle away as fast as I can, “Ouch. What the hell?”
That voice stops me, and I switch on the light and find Jaxon lying on the ground holding his head. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I scream at him.
“What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you? You just bashed me over the head. What the hell did you use?” He gingerly gets to his feet and rubs his head.
“You BROKE into my house. What the hell was I supposed to do? Of course, I hit you over the head, I thought you were a thief, I needed to make sure you were incapacitated so I could call the cops.” I place my hand on my chest and rub, hoping that it will calm my heartbeat down. Right now, it feels as though my heart’s about to jump out of my chest.
“What the f… Bri are you crazy? You’re six months pregnant. If someone had broken into your house, you certainly don’t go up behind them! You leave and call the cops.” He looks angry, but he’s still rubbing his head; which looks as if it’s going to have a bump on it tomorrow.
“Don’t shout at me you ass! This is your fault. You’re the one that broke in!” I shout back at the baboon.
“I didn’t break in, I had a key!” he puts his hand in the pocket of his jeans and pulls out a key.
How the hell does he have the key? “Where the hell did you get that from?” I’m so upset, I can’t believe this, my heart rate hasn’t calmed down, and I feel as though I’m about to cry at any moment.
“Carson gave it to me. I can’t believe you hit me, that freaking hurts.”
“You’re such a baby; you deserve it. You shouldn’t be creeping around my house.” I scream at him; this isn’t helping I was so scared, I really thought that it was a thief. “You could have sent me into early labor! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Fucking hell.” I hear him mutter under his breath.
“Don’t you use that profanity with me!” Oh, my God, I’m starting to sound like Grammy!
“Look Bri; I’m so sorry, I always seem to mess up when it comes to you. I wanted to come here and tell you how sorry I was about the other day and hope, no pray that you forgive me. Bri, fuck, you and these babies. They’re all I want; you’re all I want.” He sounds so sincere, and I believe him, he wants us, and I want him to be in all of our lives.
“Jax…”
“Look what I got the babies.” He cuts me off and excitedly walks over to the sofa where I see a paper bag on the floor. He reaches in and pulls out two tiny vests, he turns them around to show me, and I can’t help but feel excited, his enthusiasm is contagious. The vests say CTRL + C and CTRL + V, they’re so cute and so Jaxon, pure geek.
“Oh my God Jaxon, they are so cute. I love them.” He hands them to me, and I can’t help but put them to my face, hugging them. I can’t wait to meet my little babies. I look up and see Jaxon standing so close to me, looking at me as if all his Christmas’ has come at once. I lean up toward him, hoping that he understands that I want him; he does, and he leans down, and his lips gently caress mine. The softness of the kiss is everything. It’s gentle and oh so beautiful.
The sound of my cell ringing breaks the kiss; I step back and walk toward the front door where I left my bag when I came in. I check the caller ID and see that it’s my mom calling.
“Hello, mom is everything okay?” I ask as soon as I answer.
“Bri, honey. Your Grammy’s on her way over to you! That Loretta bitch told her about you and the babies. Oh, I’m going to kill that woman. She’ll be there soon.” My mom rushes out, sounding distressed.
“Okay mom, thanks for telling me. I’ll call you later,” we say goodbye and hang up, I turn to Jaxon who’s looking worried. “Jaxon, Grammy Evelyn-Louise is on her way!” Now I’m starting to panic.
“Why are you panicking Bri? You’re Grammy is awesome.”
“You won’t be thinking that when she arrives. Your mom told her about the babies. Mom is going to kill her!” I watch as his face darkens with anger and I hear the sound of a car pulling up outside, and it doesn’t take long before we hear the sound of Grammy’s cane wrapping against the front door.
Oh God, here comes the lecture!