Another One Bites the Dust (11 page)

“You don’t look old enough to be a father of a five year old.”  Bennett supplied his two cents.

“I was young, barely twenty when she was born.  I was already enlisted, so I couldn’t back out without being court martialed.  Sucked pretty fucking bad.”  James told Bennett.

Bennett looked over his shoulder, and then looked back at us.  He opened his mouth, and closed it before anything came out.  Repeatedly he opened his mouth to say something and the closed it.  He looked like a fucking fish in a fish bowl.

He must have mustered up the courage, because suddenly he blurted, “We had unprotected sex three weeks ago; she thought she was pregnant, but we haven’t done a thingy yet.”

We watched him in silence for a few minutes.  Jack looked like he was struggling to hold in his laughter.  James was doing the fish thing himself now, so I guess that left me being the grownup.

“Well, by thingy you mean pregnancy test, right?”  I clarified.

He nodded, so I continued.  “Well, then she needs to see a doctor even more than ever.  Payton will convince her though, don’t worry.  Do you love her?”  I asked bluntly.

“Yeah, like crazy.”  Bennett insisted.

I didn’t have anything else grown up to say, so I stayed silent for a while, trying to think of what to say next.  The thought of “you’re fucked” kept crossing my mind, but I couldn’t do that to him.  He was so young; there was no way he was going to be able to do this on his own.  His sister was going to fucking flip.  Let alone his father.  Hell, I haven’t even met him yet and I knew he was going to flip.

Jesus.  Sometimes I felt like I lived in a fucking soap opera.  Secret babies.  Secret marriages.  Hasty marriages because you knocked up your girl.  Lies.  Back stabbing.  Killing.  Murder.  Teenage pregnancy.  I’m pretty sure I’m the only normal one in this bunch, and that’s not saying much.  I’d just gone through my own amnesia, near death experience, and forgetting the woman I loved. 

“What are you guys whispering about in here?”  Payton asked from the doorway that led to the back bedrooms and hallway.

“Ugh, well, um, you see, well…”  Bennett sputtered.

“Your brother knocked his girl up, and now he’s not sure if he wants to tell you or not.  I told him he needed to since she needed to go to the hospital.  Yelling later, hospital now.  Shake a leg.”  I said as I marched to the front door and held it open.

No one moved, not that that surprised me much.  Payton took over the fish expression.  Bennett had his head buried in his hands.  James was burying his head into the pillow on the couch, and Jack was still silently laughing.

Payton was the first to overcome her surprise.  “Jesus Christ, Bennett!  How many times did I go out and buy you fucking condoms?  I even got you the flavored, lubed, ribbed for her pleasure ones!  I showed you pictures of STDs!  What the fuck?”  She finished on a yell.

“Bennett sunk deeper into himself, his head between his knees now. 

“Now, Payton.  We didn’t wear condoms our first time either.  Sometimes shit just happens.”  I said from the open doorway.

Shit really didn’t just happen.  We’d had the talk a couple of weeks ago.  She’d asked about my sexual history, and we had the “talk,” you know, the one where you list out all your sexual conquests?  Which rather sucked for me, since I had not the slightest idea how many I’d slept with in my twenty-eight years of life.  I did know that I had a clean bill of health as soon as I was released from the hospital when I was hurt in Iraq the first time.

“That is
not
the point!  I’m twenty fucking four years old.  If I have a baby, I can raise it.  If he has a baby, he has to have mom raise it while he finishes high school!”  She screeched.

“Do you want children?”  I questioned.

She looked at me as if I was dumb.  “Well, yeah.  Why do you think I work with babies?”

“Your biological clock is ticking?”  I teased.

“You’re such a schlong jockey.  Bennett, get into my car.  Luke’s got the girl.  Max, have fun babysitting.”  She sneered before following Bennett out the door, Alpha trotting close to her heels.

Luke followed with the girl, and nodded his thanks at me before leaving out the door I still held open.  Shifting Katerina in my arms, I headed to the spare bedroom and laid her down in the portable crib that Ember kept at my place for when Cora or LG stayed over.  LG was a nickname for Gabriel Luca Maldonado, III.  Since there was already a Gabe in the family, we started calling him Little Gabe, which was shortened again to LG.

Covering Kat with the blanket that was in the crib, I closed the door quietly before going to my own bed and getting comfortable.  I was sure that they wouldn’t be returning for a while, so there was no reason I couldn’t be comfortable in the meantime.

ɸ

Payton

“Night, Luke.  Thanks for everything.”  I said to him before closing the door.

I turned and regarded Bennett.  He’d had a rough night.  As the night wore on, and more information was uncovered, we found out that Corinne might not have been as innocent as we were led to believe.

When I was with her by myself, she kept asking me to call one of her friends so she could leave, and I had a sinking suspicion that something wasn’t right.  When Luke had shown, she’d clammed up even more when he’d mentioned that he was a police officer.  When she’d finally gotten to the hospital, and away from Bennett, she had to tell the officers that came to take her statement that she was actually a part of what went on.

My baby brother, the big-hearted bear of a man, was devastated.  He’d been telling me about this girl for a long time now, and I thought that they had a wonderful connection when I’d met her a few weeks ago.  Seeing how everything turned out today, I realize that I have a shitty judge of people.

Two bad mistakes I’ve made in the past couple of years have made me think I’m not the best judge of character.  The first was trusting Rory.  That was the single biggest mistake of my life.  I thought I loved him, but he singlehandedly stole all the innocence I had.  He may not have committed the actual crime, but he did leave me there to suffer that fate. 

The second mistake was trusting Corinne.  When I saw her, I really thought she loved my brother.  I was the one who told him that she looked like she loved him, and look where that landed him.  He was likely going to be stuck with this crazy bitch for the rest of his life due to the fact that she’s indeed pregnant. 

We have yet to determine whether the child she carries is actually his though.  Tomorrow we’re set to go see my parents.  During the circus that Bennett and I call life, mom called.  It was almost as if she had a sixth sense for trouble.  Max will be meeting them for the first time in the middle of a shit storm.  Lucky him.

After getting Bennett another blanket, I headed into Max’s bedroom.  Alpha went and laid down next to the door, as per his usual routine, no matter where he was.  Max lay in the middle of the bed.  He was on his stomach with his face turned away from me.  His casted arm was hanging over the side of the bed, as was his leg.  The rest of his body was covered with the big micro suede comforter concealing the rest of his body from my view.

Learning from my earlier mistake, I said, “Max.”

He came awake with a start, his head whipping around to look at me.  His eyes were clear and very much aware.  How he was able to be so clearheaded when I’d just woken him from a dead sleep was anybody’s guess. 

His sleep-roughened voice filled the silence.  “Come ‘ere.”

I shivered a little, but obeyed.  Stripping off my jeans, I walked slowly towards the bed.  In nothing but a thong and t-shirt, I crawled into the bed and settled under the covers.  Max pulled me closer and I rested my head on his bicep as he spooned me from behind.

“I’m sorry.  We’ll figure this out, Payton.  Your brother is a strong man, and he can handle this.  Go to sleep.”  Max said.

I rolled my eyes at his high handedness, but was actually secretly grateful.  His words made me realize that yes, it was a big deal, but it wasn’t the end or the world.  My brother was a big boy, and he could handle a lot.  Things could have been worse.

Which, unfortunately, I was about to find out.       

Chapter 7

What’s for dinner you ask?  Go to hell with a side of make-it-yourself.

-E card

Payton

I still remember as if it was yesterday.

My boyfriend at the time, John, came to pick me up for the senior prom.  My mom helped me pick the dress out, and I felt like a fairy princess.  I was even wearing a push-up bra.  I’d planned to lose my virginity that night, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

John showed at the house right on time.  I was just coming down the stairs when my dad told John to have me home by eleven.  We’d argued, but he held firm since he knew that the senior prom would end by ten-thirty.  That would give him thirty minutes to get me home

We thought we’d be sneaky and leave the prom early so we could go to a secluded spot near the river.  There we would do what we’d wanted to do for months now, and then he could have me home in time for my curfew.  Everything was working out as planned.  We’d gotten to the river, and were just about to get down to business when there was a tapping at my window.

I was in the process of putting the condom on John when I looked over to see my father staring at me, disappointment in his eyes.  Mortification couldn’t even begin to describe what I felt in that moment.  Although he couldn’t see what I was doing, he could darn well guess, and guess he did.

I’d never saw John again after that night until two years later.  I’d confronted him, and he told me about my dad’s visit to him the next day.  He didn’t go into details, but I didn’t need them, I could guess.  My imagination was incredible.  Needless to say, it wasn’t a nice visit, and John declined to see me ever again.  He even went as far as moving in with his dad, who lived two states away.

“Payton, you need to relax.  Your father isn’t going to hurt him.”  My mom said from across the kitchen island.

“How do you know?  Do you remember John?  I swear daddy paid him off so he would leave and never come back.”  I insisted.

I watched as my mom went from the cake she was frosting to the oven to check on the chicken that was baking.  “Your father didn’t do anything to John.  Your father never liked John anyway.  He ran that background check on him and found out he had a record.  Did you know he was charged with a misdemeanor because he stole something from an electronic store?  He should be in prison right now.” 

“Mom, he got caught stealing a candy bar.  I would hardly call that something that deserved prison time.”

“Stealing is stealing honey.  Now why did your brother stay with you last night?”  She asked trying to divert my attention.

I allowed this.  My mom was a freakishly smart woman.  She and my father have been married going on thirty years now.  I was their oopsie baby.  My brother likes to tell me that I was the reason they had to get married in the first place.  They met while my dad was in basic training, and married by proxy while he was deployed.  When my dad got home, he had an instant family.  I was six weeks old the first time he met me.  He made up for it though.  From then on, he was an integral part of our family.  He was the type of dad that knew your every move, even before you made it.

“Max wants to get married.”  I blurted.

“We know.  Your young man stopped by this morning to speak with your father.  He also told us what happened with Benny last night, too.  Now, that was something we should have heard from you and Benny last night.  Not when you both finally worked up the courage.”  She chided.

I was utterly flabbergasted.  The highhandedness of that man wholly amazed me.  Showing up to speak with my dad likely went a long way in convincing my father that he was serious about me.  “What was dad’s answer?”

She pulled the chicken out of the oven, and my mouth watered at the lovely aroma that accompanied it.  “He said he could have you, but that he would eviscerate him with a knitting needle and a hack saw if he ever stepped out of line.  Your father hasn’t been the same since you were hurt.  The two of them never once had a conversation like your young man and he had this morning.  They spoke for over two hours.” 

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Max.

Me:  You are in so much trouble, Big Boy.

Max:  What’d I do now?

Me:  Did you have a nice visit this morning?

Max:  Your dad knows a judge.  Saturday morning you’re mine.

My breath caught in my lungs, and elation filled me.  I knew he was joking, but him teasing about this made my heart happy.  I mean yes, he’d asked my mom, but surely, he’d buy me a ring first, right?  I wanted to get married with my father walking me down the aisle.  Not some shotgun wedding where everyone assumes I’m pregnant and in need of a shotgun wedding.  That was just one of many things we needed to speak about; I had a mile long list of stuff that needed discussing.

Me:  We need to talk about this.  Dinner’s ready.

All joking aside, I haven’t felt this happy in well over a year.  It felt so good to have someone who knew me so well, inside and out.  Luckily, my family thought he was pretty awesome.  If they didn’t like him, then there was no way I was staying with him.  I’ve learned my lesson after Rory.  My father told me over and over again that I needed to cut him loose, but I never listened.  I also paid for it.

My father, Bennett, and Max filed into the room a few minutes later.

“You know what Army stands for, right?”  My dad asked.

“No, sir.  What’s that?”  He said with his eyes filled with mirth.

“Aren’t ready for marines yet.”  He guffawed.

Max’s eyes narrowed, and he countered, “You know what marine stands for, right?” 

“What’s that?”  My dad asked snidely.

“Muscles are required, intelligence not essential.”  Max said as he took a seat at the table, pulling me down beside him.