Chapter Sixteen
O’Shea
I walked into Rocky's office as I hung up with Ashton. He looked up from the papers on his desk when I entered, gesturing for me to sit.
"What can I do for you, Smith?" he asked.
"I wanted to know if I could take an earlier break today? My mom and sisters just got to town and—"
"Oh, that's great! Why didn't you tell me they were coming? I would've given you the day off!"
"It was last minute, otherwise I would have," I replied.
"Hmm..." He stroked his beard for a few moments as he looked at me. "You know what? Why don't you take today to be with your family? I'm sure you're anxious to see them. We only have a few scheduled oil changes and a couple of tire rotations, but we can handle it."
"Are you sure?" I asked with a cocked brow.
"As hard as you work around here, I can give you a day off. It's thanks to you that we're not behind on projects. I think we'll survive the day without you," he said as he stood and walked around his desk. "You'll have to bring them by so I can meet them."
"I definitely will. Thanks, Rocky."
"No problem, man. Now go on before I change my mind," he said, clapping me on the shoulder.
I walked out to my truck, sliding into the driver's seat as my phone chirped with a text notification. I glanced at the screen, a chill rolling down my spine as I read Ashton's text message. What in the actual fuck?
Sex Kitten: Your fiancée is here.
Grinding my teeth, I quickly started my truck and left as quickly as I could. Multiple thoughts plagued my mind as I sped down the highway. What the hell was she doing here? Why did my mother think it would be a good idea to bring her here, especially when I'd told her time and time again that I had no desire to see or speak to this woman?
My irritation morphed into anger as I got closer to the apartment. I couldn't even begin to think of what Ashton thought about this situation. There was no telling what Kayla could be telling her right now, especially since she apparently introduced herself as my fiancée, which she wasn't.
I haphazardly parked in front of our building and rushed to our apartment, taking the steps two at a time. When I opened the door, Ashton sat on the loveseat while my mom, sisters and Kayla sat on the couch in silence. Kayla looked at me and smiled. She looked just as she did when I’d left. Her makeup was done to perfection and her pantsuit was tailored to mold all of her delicious curves. Her smile lit up her eyes as she looked at me but…it didn’t do anything for me. It didn’t make me warm inside like it used to and her presence didn’t make my heart skip a beat. My eyes drifted over to Ashton, who refused to look at me.
“Um…” I started.
"Oh baby, there you are," Kayla cooed, jumping up from her seat and dashing over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a wet kiss on my lips. I glanced over to Ashton to see her fiddling with the pillow on her lap, her mouth in a tight line.
"Kayla, what are you doing here?" I asked, slightly pulling away from her and wiping my mouth on my sleeve. I cringed when I saw the engagement ring I'd bought her hanging around her neck.
"I wanted to see you, silly. Plus, we have some things to talk about that I thought was better to deal with face to face," she mentioned nonchalantly. I glared at my mother on the couch.
"What's this about? You told me it was just you, Olivia, and Paris coming," I snapped.
"Don't be so grumpy, baby," Kayla murmured, caressing my cheek with the back of her hand. I clenched my teeth at her touch and pulled away.
"Excuse me," I growled, stepping away from her and going to my room. As soon as I was inside, I shut the door behind me and blew out a breath. My heart raced in my chest, anxiety creeping into me. I wasn't prepared for this. I couldn't deal with her right now. There was a reason why I left. I couldn't look that woman in the eye and remember that once upon a time I wasn't good enough for her. I couldn't be in the same room with a woman who belittled me for who I was, simply because I wouldn't live up to her family's expectations.
I pressed the palms of my hands against my eyes, trying to calm myself down. What had once been excitement to see my mother had quickly turned into feeling ambushed, betrayed, and cornered. Seeing the way Ashton reacted to Kayla kissing me sparked a new kind of frustration in me. I'd wanted to tell her how I felt before I paid rent, wanting to see if we'd still be able to live together with everything out in the open. Now that Kayla was here, it was throwing a wrench in everything and making shit more complicated than it needed to be.
"Fuck," I muttered to myself just as a knock sounded on my door. I blew out a breath. "What?"
The door slowly opened and my mother popped her head in. "Shea, I don't want you to be mad—"
"What did you expect? I've been telling you for weeks that I didn't want to talk to her, so what possessed you to think it was a good idea to bring her here?" I snapped.
She sighed. "Because she has something to tell you," she said firmly. I looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate but she never did.
"Tell me what? How sorry she is? How she made a mistake? She's about five months too late for that," I muttered, flopping on the bed.
"It's something bigger than that or I wouldn't have brought her here with me," she said, sitting next to me. "I really think you need to hear her out and listen to what she has to tell you. It's important."
Kayla appeared in the doorway, knocking on the frame to get our attention. "Mama Chelle, mind if I talk to him for a bit?"
My mother gave me an apologetic smile and stood as Kayla walked in and took her seat on the bed. When my mother closed the door behind her, Kayla was all over me, her hands moving frantically over my body as her lips assaulted mine.
I pushed her away and wiped my mouth. "You need to chill out," I ground out. "If you want to talk, talk. If not, I'm out of here."
She stared at me for a long while, sadness filling her eyes. "Shea, I made a mistake, okay? Maybe I was scared, I don't know. I wasn't expecting you to do that in front of so many people and—"
"What the hell are you talking about, Kayla? What, did you want me to propose to you in our bedroom where no one would see? Were you ashamed of the possibility of being engaged to the mechanic and not some CEO of some big Fortune 500 company or some shit? Is that it?"
She sighed. "I didn't know what I wanted. But I do know that I don't want to live without you. Whether you want to be a mechanic or a janitor or whatever, I just want to be with you," she said, taking my hand into hers. I shook my head and pulled away from her again.
"It doesn't work like that, Kayla. The world doesn’t stop and start at the snap of your fingers. Even if I somehow ended up with you again, there's no way in hell I'd be dumb enough to propose to you again."
"What do you want me to do to prove to you that I've changed?" she asked, tears glistening in her eyes. Even if she'd changed as she claimed, the wounds were too deep. She'd spurred insecurities that I wasn't sure would ever go away if I stay with her. Who was to say her family wouldn't get in her head and try to convince her that she deserved better than me? I'd be forced to walk away yet again, only this time I'd be walking away in shame as people chide me for being crazy enough to take her back.
"I don't want you to do anything, Kayla. You're five months too late for all that."
"How am I too late? I've been trying to get you back since you left! If you remember, you'd left without a word before I even got home. You didn't even give me the chance to process things so we could talk—"
"Fucking talk about what?" I bellowed, noticing she flinched at my tone. "You were the fucking one who told me it was goodbye at the end of our conversation. What the hell is there to talk about after goodbye? Do you have selective memory of what happened that day? Because I can remind you of all the fucked up shit you said that day."
She quickly brushed away a few tears. "Look, I said I was wrong about what happened. I'll admit that I let my father get to me, but I've been so miserable without you. Besides, we have to think of something else other than ourselves."
"Can you quit talking in riddles? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, unable to contain my irritation.
She looked up at me, tears brimming her eyes. "Shea, I'm pregnant."
I looked at her with a raised brow, my eyes dropping to her stomach. She didn’t look as if she’d be five or six months pregnant, which would’ve been how far along she was had she been pregnant with my baby. I fought the urge to smirk at her. Apparently this woman thought I was born yesterday.
"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance and confusion. "Are you sure about that?"
"Yes. I'd been trying to tell you when I asked you to call me and—"
"Please," I interrupted, holding my hand up to her. She stopped talking as I put my head in my hands. This woman had truly stooped to a new low. Kayla and I had talked about having kids many times in our relationship, but her slightly vain ways made her shoot down the idea. She always said she wasn't in the right place in her career at the modeling agency she owned to throw her body away by having a baby, saying that I should settle for having a surrogate or adopting a kid. I'd refused those options. I wanted to be able to rub my woman's growing belly, knowing that my child was inside of her. I'd pictured being by her side and witnessing her bring our bundle of love into the world. I couldn't wait to look into the beautiful eyes of our son or daughter and marvel at the fact that our love had created them.
But she shot all those dreams away with rejection after rejection, simply telling me that now wasn't the right time. Now she was claiming to be pregnant and we weren't even on good terms. I almost wished that I'd stayed at work had I known this bullshit waited at home for me.
"Please say something," she murmured, breaking into my thoughts.
I frowned as I looked at her. "What do you want me to say, Kayla?"
"I don't know, something. Do you want me to get rid of it?" she asked, her voice small.
I sighed deeply and ran a hand over my face. “I wouldn’t tell you to do that, Kayla. It’s your body, so it’s your decision," I muttered. She looked at me with wide eyes.
"What does that mean? You're not going to be a part of their life if I decide to keep it?"
I rolled my eyes. Could she fucking be any more dramatic? "Of course I would, Kayla, but that doesn't require me to be with you if that's what you're implying. Our relationship is gone, dead, over. I'm only looking forward, not backwards," I stated.
"What, are you dating your so-called 'roommate' now?" she spat, using air quotations.
I glared at her. "No, but even if I was, it would be none of your business."
"It's my business if I have to deal with my child being around her," she retorted. I chuckled and shook my head.
“I’m sorry to break it to you, doll face, but the world doesn't revolve around you. I learned that the moment I woke up from the bullshit hallucination I was in while I was with you," I muttered.
She pursed her lips together, closed her eyes for a brief moment, and took a deep breath, putting a hand on my knee. "I know you don't think anything will happen for us right now, but can you at least think about it? We at least need to be able to be civil if co-parenting is the route we'll need to take."
Ha. Co-parenting. Unless she was pregnant with Casper the Friendly Ghost, there was no baby to co-parent with her. “Whatever," I mumbled and stood.
We went back to the living room with everyone else. My sisters got up to hug me, both of them whispering apologies in my ear as they did so. My mother finally hugged me as well and rubbed my back, giving me a small smile. Ashton kept her eyes on the pillow on her lap, nibbling on her bottom lip.
"I'm not sure if everyone has introduced themselves, but everyone, this is my roommate, Ashton. Ashton, that's my mother Michelle," I pointed to my mother, "my sisters Paris and Olivia," I pointed to the women from left to right, "and you've unfortunately met Kayla, my ex-girlfriend, not my fiancée. You rejected that title, remember, Kayla?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
"Yeah, we introduced ourselves to each other before you got here," Ashton murmured as she stood to her feet. "Would you all like anything to drink?"
"What do you have?" my mom asked.
"Sweet tea, Dr. Pepper, bottled water, and fruit juice," Ashton replied. Paris and Olivia opted for bottled water while my mom asked for tea. "Anything for you, Kayla?"
"Nope," she replied, refusing to make eye contact with her. Ashton's eyes dropped to the floor as she disappeared toward the kitchen. Paris cleared her throat.
"Well, let me be the first to say that I wasn't aware that you didn't know Kayla was coming. Both Olivia and I asked Mama if it was a good idea and she said it would be fine. I didn't come here for things to be hella awkward the whole time," she said with the shake of her head.
"Yeah, okay. I'll be back," I muttered and walked into the kitchen. Ashton was tossing ice cubes into a glass when I'd entered. I moved to stand behind her, placing my hands on the counter on both sides of her.
"You okay?" I murmured. She nodded without a word. "Nothing is going on with Kayla and me. We're done and her being here—"
"You don't owe me an explanation, O'Shea," she interrupted. "It's not like we're together. You don't owe me anything."
Her words were a slight slap to the face. Even though we weren't together, I'd assumed that we were at least loyal to each other until we were ready to admit our feelings and take things further. She pushed away from me to get the drinks, but I caught her by the elbow and pulled her close to me.
"I respect you enough to give you an explanation, Ashton," I murmured. "Because I care about you. I even—"
"Actually, Ashley, I'll take a Dr. Pepper," Kayla said, standing in the kitchen. Her gaze darkened into something dangerous as she witnessed me holding Ashton, a sinister sneer appearing on her face. "On second thought, make that a bottled water. I don't think caffeine is good for our baby at this stage of my pregnancy."
I clenched my teeth as Ashton looked up at me, finally pulling away to gather the rest of the drinks. Kayla smirked at me before she walked away, leaving Ashton and me alone again.
“Ashton—”
She walked out of the kitchen with my family’s drinks. I released a frustrated breath. I had no idea how long this woman was going to be here, but I was already counting down the hours until she left.
∞∞∞
"I'm getting hungry and want some carbs. Is there an Olive Garden or something around here?" my mom finally asked. I didn’t blame her for wanting to leave the apartment. No one said much, just opting to stare at the movie on television but not really watching it. I glanced over at Ashton, noticing her beautiful features tight with annoyance. Kayla rested her head on my shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m hungry, baby,” she slightly whined.
I slid away a little. “Kayla, let’s make something clear. Whatever it is you’re doing, I’m not here for it. We’ve been done for months now and nothing is going to change that,” I stated firmly. Kayla’s eyes darkened into something malicious, but she instead forced a smile and patted my knee.
“Don’t be silly, honey. Things can always change.” She looked at Ashton. “Ashley, where’s an Olive Garden?”
The muscle in Ashton’s jaw ticked as her eyes narrowed on Kayla. “It’s Ashton, not Ashley. And there isn’t one here in town, but there's one in the city next to us," she answered, her voice flat.
"Sounds good. Maybe we need to go out and get some food to lighten the mood around here," my mom said and stood.
"Pasta sounds good. I've been having the weirdest cravings now that I'm eating for two," Kayla added.
"Kayla, please. You don't have to mention you're pregnant every time you say something," Olivia mentioned with a roll of her eyes. “If you’re even pregnant at all.”
“Of course I’m pregnant,” she snapped. “Besides, I’m excited to have a baby with the love of my life.” Her voice was proud as she looked at me.
I looked to Ashton, completely ignoring Kayla and her antics. "Do you want to take my car or yours?" I asked.
"I'll take my own car," she muttered. I sighed inwardly as she left the living room, leaving me alone with my family and Kayla. "How long are y'all going to be here?"
"We haven't even been here that long and you're already trying to get rid of us," Paris pouted. "Good to see you too, baby brother."
"Sorry, but this is just too much for me to deal with. If it was just the three of you, it would've been cool."
My mom shook her head and raised her hands. “I'm going to go ahead to the car. Come on, girls," she said and headed for the door.
Kayla stayed in her spot, glaring at me. "Are you serious, Shea?" she asked when my mom and sisters stepped outside. "I'm willing to leave everything behind for you. I'm ready this time. I truly messed up and I want this to work. I miss you—"
"Like I told you before, it's too late for all that."
"Because you're sleeping with your skanky roommate?" she asked, rolling her neck. I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You're already walking on a thin line, Kayla. Leave her out of it."
"We have history. Do you really want to throw all of that away?"
"Throw it away?" I repeated. "Girl, you're fucking delusional to even think you're right about that. You threw that away, remember? I'm not going to keep talking in circles with you when it comes to this. We'll figure this baby thing out, but this isn't a ticket for us to get back together. I'm past all that."
"If you give me a chance, I can prove to you that I've changed."
"Are you hard of hearing? I just told you I wasn't interested."
She scowled. "So you are fucking her? The O'Shea I knew would never hurt me the way you are right now."
"Because this O'Shea isn't yours to manipulate anymore," I countered. She sighed and moved over to sit next to me, caressing my cheek with her fingertips.
"I'll spend the rest of my life proving how sorry I am. I'm still madly in love with you, Shea, and I know you still have feelings for me—"
"Eh! Wrong. You can't just decide when you want to take me back off the shelf to play with me. I'm not some puppet that dances to the tune of your money. I wasn't good enough at one point for you, remember?"
"But you are, honey. You always were enough for me," she murmured, moving a little closer. "How about this? How about after lunch you and I go back to my hotel room, away from everyone else, and I can show you how sorry I am, hmm?" She kissed my neck gently. "And I can do that thing you like...you remember that? How I'd use my tongue all over your body?"
Her cool, minty breath danced over my skin, making me shiver in disgust. Just as I looked up, I met Ashton's gaze as she stood near the door.
"Are we leaving or what?" she asked, her voice and expression indifferent. Kayla stood and looked down at me.
"You should ride with us, baby," she said, latching herself to my arm when I stood. I pulled away and shook my head.
"That car is already packed it seems. I'll ride with Ashton." I looked to her. "That cool?"
"Whatever.”
Kayla glared at her before she stormed out of the apartment.
"Ashton, I—"
"Let's just go," she said softly, not even making eye contact with me. I sighed and followed behind them, locking the door behind me.
Fucking great.