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Chapter Five
Bit on the Ass
That afternoon it all came to a head. Emmett and Rex announced that they had to check-in, and Marcus took them to Apollo's security room to set it up, so they could do so without being traced. About fifteen minutes after Marcus left them to it, Rex bellowed my name.
His yell was shortly followed by him showing up to confront me in my spot on the couch in the den. The others had come running as well and were present to witness his accusations. Emmett didn't look concerned, but he had probably seen it firsthand.
"Would you care to explain why Robert Vitti now has a kill order out on his son and a capture order for you that states you're not to be harmed? The psycho is actually convinced you're pregnant with his grandson because they raided your house after finding out you bought a pregnancy test. Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant? That man is turning the countryside over, looking for you!" Rex's shouting is met with surprise from the others. Braeden's cursing sounds distinctly unhappy and I'm afraid to make eye contact with the others after Brent's look of disgust.
I sit, frozen in shock, but my eyes dart to Brade and my heart drops at the sadness and betrayal in his. It's enough to crush me when he turns and walks out of the room. I turn on Rex, infuriated. "What the fuck, you asshole? That wasn't your business to blurt out!"
He has the grace to look contrite and lowers his voice. "You haven't told him, yet? Shit, baby, I'm sorry. I was shocked, and then with Robert— I shouldn't have taken my feelings about it out on you." He runs his hands through his blonde hair in frustration, but my frozen state is over, and I'm boiling with rage at his high-handed antics.
I know some of my anger is directed at myself, but it's about to be taken out on the douchebag regardless.
"Fuck you, Rex. Come in here announcing my business to everyone like it's yours. And I can fully verify there was no damn test to find! It was an empty box. Maybe our house being broken into and our privacy violated should have been addressed first. But noo— neanderthal Rex rears his head, and you go off. Now I have to go apologize to my best friend, and you'd better too the next time you see him." I've thrown the blanket off my lap and stomped up to Rex to poke him as I yelled. Ignoring the rest of them, I leave the room to hunt down Braeden, leaving Rex with, "Mind your own damn business, Rex."
Thick-head that he is, he doesn't shut up and follows me. "Where's the test then, Lark? And what did it say?" I just throw him the bird over my head and go upstairs. At least he stops at the bottom of the staircase.
I find Braeden with my pills dumped out on the dresser, three little halves separated from the rest. I knew I should have fished them out instead of busting a new one in half every day. I instantly feel guilty for the thought of not covering my tracks well enough. If I'd just told him that night… I shut the bedroom door and perch on the edge of my bed.
"So, you're taking half doses of your medication and hiding pregnancy tests now? What gives, Lark?" Brade gestures at the pile, face drawn and looking defeated. More than I think the situation warrants. I expect him to be upset and mad, but it's like he's broken.
"I wasn't sure, and then there wasn't time, and then there were interruptions, and I got scared. It's not an excuse, but I don't know what else to say. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"How long have you known? We both know there hasn't been anything happening since we got home. At least I don't think so, but maybe that isn't true either." Bitterness laces his voice, and I get annoyed.
"I haven't fucked anyone since the orgy in that hellhole. And I was literally sitting on the toilet holding the stupid thing when you knocked on the door and told me we had to leave. I tried to hide the box by flushing it. Obviously that didn't work. I wanted five freaking minutes to absorb it all, but there wasn't time."
"You mean you found out when Marcus and Apollo came to get us? Why didn't you tell me you were concerned before that? You know I wouldn't have left you to handle it on your own." He pointedly raises his eyebrows at me.
"That's why. What, I'm supposed to say, 'Hey, Brade, you remember that gang bang? I might be knocked up, and there are six potential baby daddies. Want to hold my hand while I pee on a stick then help me track them down?' Really, you'd already been holding me together and ignoring your own issues for the most part. Explain how I should have gone about this."
"Like an adult, Lark." Ooohh, the dick.
"That's what I did. I handled it. And I'll keep handling it just as soon as I figure out what I want to do!" Maybe I was in the wrong, but at this point, he is too.
"You don't want to keep it? Why?" He did not! I stare, slack-jawed at his obvious expectation.
"I haven't decided, Braeden. Our lives have been flipped upside down again, and now isn't exactly the time to bring an innocent child into the mix. Especially with Robert after it. You know what he does to girls. And what if it's not Apollo's? Dead or a slave. That's what. You're my best friend, my family, but even you don't get to decide this for me. I'll take every piece of advice you have and respect your views, but it's my body." I haven't really given any thought whatsoever to terminating the pregnancy, but that doesn't mean it isn't my choice, and I'll damn well make sure they all understand that.
A knock sounds on the door, but before I can get up, Brade crosses the room and yanks it open. "What?" he barks at the intruder.
I can see Emmett in the hall and shake my head, groaning. "They do think you're a good sacrifice, don't they?"
Brade just stands there, waiting.
"You haven't killed me yet, Wildcat, so they must figure it'll work again." He tries for his usual smirk, but it's a pale facsimile of the usual one. "Anyway, since you guys have been quite loud, and now we all know you and the big guy here haven't been shacking up, we'd like to discuss this downstairs. Together." He's not rude about it, but steel edges his tone. The agent persona has come out and isn't playing around.
"Well, I'm glad you've all decided what I should do, but maybe now isn't the time?" Right or wrong, I'm not backing down now.
"I think it's the perfect time. It doesn't only concern you, and I, for one, would like to have some input on what's happening." He's completely lost any sense of humor and is flat out glaring at me. Braeden just watches the two of us, and if I'm not mistaken, his body language is saying he's siding with Emmett. The ordeal we'd gone through had changed him, more than I think either of us knew, and I am sad to realize I might not know him as well as I'd thought anymore.
"After what just happened downstairs with Rex, you really think I want to sit down and discuss it? After Braeden just ran off and went through my things? I think you're off your rocker." I swing an arm around to make my point.
That's when Emmett notices the pills dumped out on the dresser, and for a moment, fear flashes across his face. "What the fuck are those? Are you doing drugs?" He's incredulous, and I'm ready to smack him. I get up and grab the bottle before chucking it at his head.
"They're anti-anxiety meds, you asshole!" I plop back down on the bed, crossing my arms while I glare at him.
