A Long Time Coming (20 page)

A gasp intermingled with
David’s harsh voice, but she didn’t acknowledge her mother’s presence as she
stood at the top of the stairs. There was no need. She no longer counted. David
had her undivided attention anyways. He always did.

“I won’t ever love anyone like
I love you Abigail, but I can’t do it…”

Swallowing, she fell to her
knees, pressing her forehead against his. “Then don’t,” she cupped his cheeks,
“there’s no need, because fourteen years ago, I decided that the only boy I
ever wanted, was you.”

Growling, he gripped her
shoulders with his nails, “I told you…I can’t be a father to someone else’s
child! I can’t be a father to
any
child, dammit!”

“Abigail…”

“Leave Mother. You don’t have
a say in anything right now.”

“Honey, please…”

Shaking her head, she backed
away from David to stare up at the face of the body that now stood directly
next to them, invading their conversation like she actually had a say anymore.
David sat stone–still, whether it was from embarrassment at their precarious
position with her mother around, or the conversation in general, she didn’t
know.

First things first though—her
mother had to go.

“Go. Away.” Stupid, traitorous
tears, they’d somehow trickled down her face even after she’d squeezed her lids
together. “Please Mom, just…let it go, and walk away.”

“I’m so sorry, honey…”

Nodding her understanding
towards her mother, she tore her gaze away without another word. David was all
she could focus on now. He was all she cared about anymore. Besides that, their
conversation was by far too heavy to have an audience.

“David listen to me, and
listen to me good…” she bit her lip, inhaled through her nose, before spilling
her tiny, miniscule secret. Although to a lot of people, it wouldn’t be tiny
or
miniscule.
“I have only had sex with one boy in my life…” She blew
out a stream of air, pressing her forehead back against his. He didn’t speak.
Nor did he even seem to be breathing. Crap. What would he say now?

It was the truth though—beyond
the truth actually. Abigail talked a lot of game the past few years about
flingers and sex and stuff; talked herself up like she was a happy whore. Maybe
she did it out of spite and to make David jealous. Or maybe she didn’t want to
come across as innocent, because innocent left her vulnerable to emotions she
didn’t like to share. But all that time, all her life, her virginity had been
David’s to take, whether he wanted it or not.

And he had, dammit. Only,
instead of giving her a few memories, he gave her a very unexpected and
lifelong surprise. How in the hell she’d gotten unlucky enough to lose her
virginity
and
get pregnant during the first go around though, was beyond
her.

“No…” his voice was filled
with a whispered disbelief. She fought a sad smile, nodding against him.

“Yes…”

Sinfully long eyelashes beat
down on his cheeks, and she pulled back to look down at them in all their girly
glory. The hallway nightlight shone through the small space, and she had never
loved the dark shadowed area as much as she did in that simple moment. Because
there, in that one period of time, she was able to see his innocence, his
knowingness, the escape of his fear, and the release of his bitter anger.

“David, don’t you get it
here?” Trembling, she tightened her hold on his arms as she spoke, “
You
are
the father of my tiny bean.” There, she’d done it. She’d told him.

God, please, let him accept
this. Let one good thing come out of this crappy day…please.

“I…I…I don’t know how to be a
dad, Abigail. And according to my father, I can’t even take care of myself
anymore.” Eyebrows pressed together, she pulled his chin up with her finger,
taking in his sullen, feel–sorry–for–me expression.

No. No, fucking way. She
wasn’t standing for this. She wouldn’t let him just sit there and play this game
with her or anyone else for that matter. He
would
be the man she knew he
could be. He no longer had a choice in the matter.

“I don’t know how to be a
mother either. I haven’t exactly had the best role model, you know.”

Throwing his head back against
the wall, he reached for her hands, but stared up at the ceiling. Okay, this
was a good sign, a sign she could work with. And the most important thing was
that he hadn’t run away yet. Nor did he cry, or yell at her either.

“I’m so sorry…” she froze,
gripping his fingers tighter within hers. “For your parents…for everything you
just found out.”

Throwing her head back for a
different reason than his, she laughed. It felt so damn good to let another
emotion take over her body, even if she wasn’t really feeling it. “Shit, David,
I have parents.
Your
parents.”

Shrugging, he lowered his head
and found her gaze again. In his eyes sat intensity that was scary and knowing.
But she didn’t look away. She’d never back down. She’d be his rock, and
unknowing to him, he was hers. Always had been and no matter what happened, the
two of them would make it through the ups and downs coming their way, even if
they had to break a little more to make it to the end of their happily ever
after.

He was going to be a father…

The mother of his impending
child was also the love of his life…

And as messed up as this whole
idea was, he couldn’t help but smile as he slipped away from her bed that very
next morning.

She was gorgeous—and his—in
every sense. He just had to somehow prove to himself that that he deserved her
and everything she had suddenly given to him. Her virginity included in that.

Damn. He never in his life
expected to hear
that
truth. Not that he was going to complain or
anything… Just knowing that she’d waited for him was a privilege in itself;
knowing that her body had been his, and no one else’s. He shuddered at the
thought of kissing her neck, touching her breasts, feeling how perfect he fit
inside of her. Jesus, he needed to leave before he did it again.

Now it was time to take the
next step in his pursuit at making her happy. And he’d do everything in his
God–given power to be the man she deserved—the man he’d always intended to
be—pre–accident that is. A father, a provider, someone for a child to look up
to… Shit. A child.
His child.
Yeah, that would take a whole lot of
getting used to. Granted, he was in no way, shape, or form
ready
to be
that sort of man, but for Abigail and their baby, he would, even if he had to
climb hurdles, or walls, or mountains to get there.

He feathered light kisses over
her forehead before he pulled back. Staring down at the beauty that lay
sleeping soundly under the covers of her bed was his morning’s guilty pleasure.
Abigail’s normally pale face was flushed and a look of contentment slid over
her mouth when she sighed in her sleep. Her hands were tucked under the side of
her cheek, and her long hair was layered just over the side of her face,
falling around her like a golden waterfall on her pillow. She was the most
stunning creature he’d ever seen, and walking away from her was going to kill
him, even if it was for only a seven hour span this time.

But the fact of the matter was
it was Tuesday and he had to face the day ahead. But knowing that she would be
waiting for him at the end made it all worth it.

Luckily, he’d texted JT for a
ride to school, and Mr. Skater had readily agreed to be his chauffeur for the
morning. He wasn’t about to call his dad, or his mom either. There was a part
of him, a huge part actually, that wanted to avoid the reality of what he’d
have to face when he confronted his parents again. Seeing his mother, knowing
that she was terminally sick with only months ahead of her to live, made him
desperate to avoid the inevitable that he would be bombarded with when he
walked through the front door of his house. And too, maybe he hoped if he
didn’t go home, then he would just wake up from this piss–poor nightmare—one
that just ended where his life was about to begin.

Shaking the morbid thoughts
from his head, he edged his way to Abigail’s door, leaving a simple
I love
you
note in his wake on her pillow. The new, life–changing information
she’d thrown at him last night made him all the more excited about planning
their first official date. It would be a momentary escape from the crap news
they’d both received the day before, even if it was only temporary. They both
needed it, badly, and out of all the things he could have asked for—being
normal and knowing that one simple date with the girl he was in love with—was
all he needed to grasp hold of that normalcy. It made the process of getting
out of bed doable, too.

The rumble of JT’s engine
sounded from outside the house, and he slipped through the front door minutes
later, thankful that he didn’t have to come face to face with Mrs. Zane in the
process. The woman had always rubbed him the wrong way; even before he knew
what she and her fake husband had done to Abigail, he’d still been unable to
trust her. Anyone who would treat their daughter the way she did—lie to her for
all those years—was not going to be on his favorites list. Yeah, he was sure
they probably had some shit reason and all for what they did to her, but
Abigail would never fall for it. She was stubborn, hard, and a brave girl after
his own heart.

He grinned, imagining her
shadowed eyes staring down at him as he held her captive against the wall of
her room last night. She sure as hell wasn’t hard when she was with him…putty
in his hands, deliciousness in his mouth…

“Dude, you look like you just
got some ass.”

Rolling his eyes, David
slipped his sunglasses on, tucking his crutch into his lap as he sat in the
passenger seat. “Fuck off,
dude
. You don’t want to go there with me
right now.”

Chuckling, JT shrugged,
turning up the stereo to a head– and skull–pounding level. Christ, he liked the
guy, but this loud music had to go, otherwise the pain already stirring behind
his eyes would erupt into something he didn’t want to deal with. “Turn it down.
I can’t hear myself think with that shit on.”

“Damn, dude, sorry.”

Leaning back with a
satisfactory sigh, David shut his eyes, continuing with his memory; picturing
Abigail standing before him last night—naked, vulnerable, and downright sexy in
her simple, white panties. That had to have been the hottest thing he’d ever
seen. Abigail unleashed a beast in him, made him forget everything else in the
world, but her. Unfortunately though, he was physically going to pay for their
wild adventure today. His thigh was sore from bearing the extra weight of her
tiny body against him. His stub was raw from the constant motion of rocking
into her too. But he smiled, and shook his head, staring out the window of the
car.

Hell yeah, a little pain was
so fucking worth it.

“So, I got a new job. Pays a
hundred bucks for two hours a night.”

Coming to attention, David
turned to face his friend, pissed for the daydream interruption, but curious at
the same time. “Two hours, a hundred bucks?” He needed money like that, sooner
rather than later preferably. His new responsibility arriving in seven months
needed to be taken care of. “Where at? Are they hiring?”

Snorting, JT tapped another
annoying beat onto the wheel with his fingers. “Umm, not sure if you want this
job, dude. But yeah, I am looking for someone to go along with me.”

Eyes narrowing, David growled,
“
What?
Is it illegal or something? Drugs? A male Hillsdale hooker?”

“Uh, no, not illegal, not a
hooker either, smart ass. Just…not…manly,” he blew out a breath, his wheel
tapping ceased as he glanced over at him from the corner of his eye. “More
like…” He paused, seeming to ponder his words before he spoke them aloud. David
continued to stare at him, waving his hands in a circle, urging him along, all
too annoyed with his beat around the fucking bush game.

“Just say it. I don’t give a
shit if you have to sell tampons or wipe asses for a living. Tell me, because
at this point, any job would be better than having no job.”

“Fine, fine…Okay, I got the
job from my aunt. She’s kind of a bitch, but she’s rich and it pays well and
has all these connections so—”

“And…?”

“I work for the flower shop
down on Main. I um…send telegrams. Deliver shit to the kids at the
hospital…wear a costume…”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Well, I have to dress like
a…”

Leaning forward in
anticipation, David waited for him to finish. He was annoying as hell. But his
face…it was red, and he was obviously embarrassed. What the hell was
embarrassing about a job as a flower delivery telegram dude? It didn’t sound
too crappy.

“Like a what? What do you have
to dress like? Do you wear a monkey suit? Bowtie? What is it?”

“A clown, dammit. I have to
dress, like a fucking clown.”

“A clown…” disbelief filled
David’s voice, and his hands froze in midair at the announcement.

“God, are you deaf, David?
That’s what I said!” Voice angry, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on
the steering wheel as they headed into the parking lot a few minutes later.
“And before you get all judgmental and shit on me, just know it’s for a good
cause and remember it pays really well.”

David
was
being
judgmental—there was no doubt about it. And keeping his laughter locked tight
in his chest as a vision of this long haired, pierced skater guy waltzing into
the hospital with a giant red wig, nose and clown shoes, was damn near
impossible.

Oh hell, that vision was the
funniest thing he’d thought about in weeks. “So,” David laughed harder, tucking
his arm over his stomach to keep the ache away, “what do you do then, make
balloon animals for the old people? Do a tap dance for the nurses?” Yeah, he
was being a dick. But what JT didn’t know was that this was the best damn cure
to his woes, ever. Laughter and David did not get along. It was like he’d
forgotten how to do it sometimes.

“God, you idiot! I thought
you, of all people, would be a little cooler about this. You know, with your
leg
and all…”

That sobered his laughter up
pretty damn quick. All of it, slipped from his throat, and buried itself down
deep into his chest, locking away for the next rare moment when it found its
way out again. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the seat.
Talk about making a guy feel like a total douche.

“Sorry…it’s just…you caught me
off guard. And I needed the laugh. I wasn’t laughing at the job though,” his
forehead throbbed and he pinched the bridge of his nose, willing it away. “I
just…can’t see you doing it. That’s all. Sorry…”

“Hey, no worries man, everyone
else would still be laughing.
You
at least stopped.”

“Well, I try not to judge too
much,” even though he clearly just did.

“That’s one of the things I
like about you, man. You
don’t
judge.”

Shaking his head, David smiled
at the guy he never envisioned himself being friends with. Who would have
thought he’d find solace in someone like this? “Enough with the emotional
stuff—tell me more about this…job opening.” Hell, where was this coming from? Could
he really dress up like a clown and deliver shit in a hospital?

“It’s not an easy shindig,
trust me. You gotta go in there…see all these sick kids… Try to make them smile
by acting like a dumbass. It’s not hard to do, trust me, but some of them look real
bad, man, with their bald heads and all. But they’re still so fucking happy,
diseases and everything because none of them really get that they might not go
home again.”

A vice grip, choking sensation
grabbed hold of David’s throat as he stared down at his lap. His fingers
tightened together, and his stomach flipped in about fifty million directions.
Jesus… Talk about going from a high to a low. Happy fucking Monday.

“And they look forward to
seeing me too, and I feel like a fucking pussy telling you this man, but yeah,
I kind of….I kind of like it.”

Well,
that
was not what
he expected to hear.

Liked it? For real? Who would
like that? Seeing all that misery on a day in/day out basis? Not his ideal job,
that was for sure. He cleared his throat, trying to seem nonchalant about the
whole conversation. But the more he sat there, the more something inside of him
clicked. Another focus… Another purpose… No. Hell no. He could never do
that—never subject himself to going to a hospital on a volunteer basis, even if
he got paid.

But five minutes later, as
they were parking, his body sunk low in the seat as he thought about what
exactly he would say to a dying child…or a child who lost a limb like he had.

“I need a partner in crime,
David.”

Crap. He couldn’t do it. “I’m
not funny. I don’t laugh.”

He arched his eyebrows, “You
just did!”

Dammit, this guy annoyed the
piss out of him. “That never happens, trust me. It was a fluke.”

“Well, dude, maybe if you
laughed a little bit more, then you’d stop being so fucking moody all the
time.”

He ignored the dig, he
deserved it. “And I have a tendency to scare kids,” which was a very true fact
indeed. Most of the time, kids took one look at him, and ran to hide behind
their mom’s leg. He had a five o’clock shadow that wouldn’t leave no matter how
many times he shaved. His dark eyes had been called devilish, and with his
moody attitude, he held that title well enough.

But one hundred bucks for a
few hours of playing with kids, in a clown suit? Damn, that would buy a whole hell
of a lot of diapers…

Turning back to face him, he
felt his head nod before he had a chance to think his answer through. And then
his mouth opened, before he could stop the words. “All right. I’ll do it.”
Christ, what was he saying?

“No shit? You’ll seriously be
a clown for the cancer kids?”

Cancer? Hell, he didn’t tell
him the kids had fucking
cancer
! That changed the whole game plan here.
Because if he was at a hospital, hanging out with cancer–stricken kids all day,
then all he’d be able to think about was how his mother was at home…dying of
the same bitch disease that the little kids suffered from too.