Choked (Devoured #3) (3 page)

Julianna stayed well behind Kirk’s white Camry as
she followed him back to his house. She parked down the street and watched him
get out of the car. He opened the back door and grabbed his gym bag and a
briefcase before going inside.

It was a quiet street. Julianna liked the
neighborhood right away. It would be the perfect place to raise a family. Maybe
she would get lucky and Madeline would fuck off and she could live there
instead. Unless there were too many memories for him there. But how many could
there be? They’d only been married a short time.

She pulled the tree shaped spearmint air freshener
out of the vents in the center console and put it right up to her nose. She
decided it still had some scent left and wedged it back between the vents.

Either way, she would insist on a house at least
this nice. It was the perfect commute, just a few minutes from campus. And it
was nice to see what he could afford since she would probably be earning a
similar salary after a few years.

Of course, the place probably stretched the budget a
bit. Even the landscaping alone would’ve cost a fortune. And it looked like
they were in the middle of putting a brick border around the driveway to match
the neighbors.

Julianna looked in the rearview mirror to confirm
that the large glasses were still shielding most of her face and started the
engine. She wanted to pull up to have a closer look, but just as she started to
turn the wheel, Kirk came walking back out of the house and opened the trunk of
his car.

When Julianna saw him pull out a brand new car seat
with a big ass bow on the handle, her mouth fell open. What. The. Fuck. She
watched him walk back in the house with it and lurched forward against the
steering wheel.

She felt herself panicking and struggled to control
her shallow breathing. Okay. Think logically. There were only two reasons he
would have that thing. Either, he told Madeline about Julianna’s pregnancy and
she was so cool about it they had started to put together a few items that she
would need. No. That was stupid. Ridiculous.

Madeline was fucking pregnant. Julianna sat back
against her seat and turned the car off again.

How could this be happening? She was so close to
having the perfect happy family. No wonder Kirk was shitting it. He had two
babies on the way with two different women. And to think he tried to act like
she
was the slut. Unbelievable.

And to make matters worse, something about the big
fat bow on that car seat made Julianna pretty sure that he wasn’t pressuring
Madeline to have an abortion. Oh no. Quite the contrary. He was gearing up to
be there for her and her baby. He was concerned about its safety for fuck’s
sake!

Julianna looked down at her tummy and made a sad
face. It was one thing to think that he wasn’t ready or willing to be a father.
But to choose one woman and her baby over the other and deny his paternal
responsibilities was beyond comprehension.

It pissed her off that he’d be so two-faced. She
didn’t want this baby. It just happened. And she stepped up. Like an adult. And
he just wanted to sweep his secrets under the rug, even if she had to become a
murderer to do it.

Julianna was disgusted and confused. 

Maybe it was the hormones that were making her feel
so crazy. For weeks she’d been thinking that winning him over was going to be
so easy, that he would instantly realize that that the baby was a sign they
were supposed to be together. That was how this story was supposed to go.

Julianna felt sick. And also like some chili cheese
fries.

Kirk had to tell her. It was only fair. Neither
woman would share. He would have to choose. Of course his first reaction was to
think he wanted Madeline and their special “wedlock” baby, but that was just
societal pressure. The way he wanted Julianna was stronger than any state
issued certificate. The way he’d felt about her, that kind of passion didn’t
just go away.

Then again, he’d resisted her offer to suck his
balls in the hotel room the other night which she found disturbing. No guy had
ever refused that. Not that she’d ever offered so blatantly, but maybe his
feelings had changed. Maybe he didn’t want her anymore. She might have to put
up more of a fight than she anticipated.

Her phone rattled in the cup holder and she jumped.

“Sam. Hi.”

“Is everything okay, Ju? I thought you were coming
for dinner tonight on your way back to Emhurst?”

Julianna pressed a hand against the steering wheel.
“I’m so sorry. I totally forgot. Things are taking a bit longer than I expected
with… my application.”

“I see.”

“I should’ve called. I’m sorry.”

“Where are you now?”

“Campus, basically.”

“Do you want to come out anyway? Kevin and I don’t
mind waiting. You could be here in forty minutes the way you drive.”

Julianna laughed. “No. No. That’s okay. You guys go
ahead.” Julianna smacked her forehead. “I can’t believe I forgot to call. My
bad. Really.”

“I’m just glad everything’s okay. You know me. I
always expect the worst.”

“I hope you guys didn’t go to too much trouble or
anything.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let me know when your plans
change. We’d still love to see you when you’re passing through.”

“Thanks. Please apologize to Kevin for me.”

“He’ll forgive you as soon as I tell him you said he
should start eating.”

“Okay, Sam. Call you later.” Julianna hung up the
phone.

She knew she should’ve called, but she did genuinely
forget. And if there was anyone she was going to accidentally blow off, Sam was
her most forgiving friend.

But then she got mad. Did Sam really want to see
Julianna or did she just want to throw her domestic bliss in her face and talk
about the impending wedding? Cause it was tough call. You never could tell with
nice girls like Sam how genuine they were being.

Maybe she should go. It would give her a chance to
tell Kevin that she taught Sam every sexual trick she knew and that it had all been
a game.

Or maybe she should try and seduce Kevin herself.
Offer to suck
his
balls and see if he could resist. Maybe it would help
Sam dodge a bullet. Julianna didn’t know what Sam saw in him anyway.

No. Forget them. She needed to focus on figuring out
how she could get what Sam had: the love of a good man so she could invite her
friends over for smug dinners. But she would only settle for a man far more
interesting than Kevin. Preferably the one whose child she was carrying.

And if he didn’t have the good sense to reach out
and grab what was right in front of him, she’d have to make it easier for him
to make the right choice. She’d have to tell Madeline the truth.

Kirk looked around the coffee shop hoping he
wouldn’t know anyone, but it was in vain. He recognized at least two former
students in a far corner at a round table. He could only remember one of their
names so he offered a smile to acknowledge that he recognized them, but didn’t
go over to say hi.

Julianna was seated along the window beside the parking
lot. He didn’t want to be seen with her, but going to the hotel again was too
high risk, and reasoning with her in the middle of the night had proved
impossible. Plus, there were advantages to meeting her in a public place like
this.

“Can I get you something?” he asked.

“No.” She stayed in her seat. “We’re fine.”

He felt a twist in the pit of his gut.
We’re fine
.
She hadn’t done it. He was meeting
them
for coffee.

“Go ahead and get yourself something. We’ll wait.”

Kirk turned on his heel and went to the back of the
short line. Despite his imperfect past, he liked to think of himself as a Good
Christian. He wasn’t a bad person for wanting her to get an abortion. He had
been a bad person for sleeping with her in the first place, and now clearly, he
was being punished.

He took a step forward in line. No. He wasn’t a bad
person. He just did a bad thing. Even small children understood the difference.
This was just another bad thing that was an extension of the first bad thing.
They were related, just part of the same mess that he mistakenly thought he had
already cleaned up.

But he knew with every passing day it was going to
get more difficult for her to go through with it.  Julianna had to be even
farther along than Madeline but he hadn’t asked, and he didn’t want to know. All
that mattered was that she was still carrying around the ultimate proof of his
infidelity.

He had already tried asking nicely. He had asked her
to get the abortion for him,
For Us
. But it was futile.

His new strategy, his Plan B, was going to be to
appeal to her selfishness. He needed to help her realize how unprepared she was
to be a mother and paint a realistic picture of how “sexy” it would all be if
she went through with it. He had to convince her that the baby would ruin her
life.

Because Plan C wasn’t really an option.

It was too grotesque, too monstrous. Basically, if
she wouldn’t get one, he’d have to give her one. He looked it up online. It was
called “Accidental Abortion.”

And Kirk didn’t really feel like he was capable of
that. Not to mention what it would entail. He couldn’t just throw her down some
stairs or punch her in the stomach. It would be too obvious. He would have to
sleep with her again. He would have to fuck his own baby to within an inch of
his life. And since he was pretty sure this wouldn’t do it alone, he would have
to stage an accident in the heat of the moment by forcing her over a chair or
falling against her or-

It didn’t matter. He wasn’t capable of that for so
many reasons, and despite the fact that she was a crazy bitch, he didn’t want
to hurt her. On the contrary, he wanted them both to suffer as little trauma as
possible.

He just needed to get her on the same page.

Kirk stepped up to the counter. “Small coffee with
crème and sugar, please.”

The kid in the hairnet nodded.

“And a cranberry scone,” he added as an afterthought.

He knew he’d behaved badly before. Like a bully even,
and he hated bullies. It was time to play nice. Or at least, nicer.

He took a seat across from Madeline. “Hi. Thanks for
your patience,” he said, placing the wrapped scone on the table. “That’s for
you.”

“Thanks.” She unwrapped it and broke off one of the
acute angles first.

He was relieved she didn’t say
we like
cranberries
. “I want to apologize for not being understanding. I know this
is a difficult situation for you to be in.”

She took her eyes off the scone and looked up at him.

“I know besides having this baby on the way, you’re
probably worried about the weight gain and not being able to wear half of your
clothes anymore because of stretch marks-“

Julianna stopped chewing and stared at him with a
mouth full of scone.

“I’ve heard they sell a special crème for that called
Udder Butter.” He pried the lid off his coffee to let the steam escape. “I
think you can buy it online.”

She tilted her head without swallowing.

He leaned forward to whisper. “Not to mention this
might ruin the tight little pussy you’re so proud of. I’m sure you’ve read
about how it can rip in childbirth all the way to your asshole, how they have
to stitch it up.” Kirk stuck the wooden stirrer in his cup and moved it slowly
in a counterclockwise direction. “But sometimes it’s not so bad. A lot of women
say they get the feeling back eventually even if it never looks the same.”

“Do you mind?” She lifted her scone. “I’m trying to
eat.”

“Sorry. I know you’ve probably thought about all
this stuff.”

She swallowed and washed her scone down with a sip
of her latte.

“Fortunately, there is a great daycare center up the
road from here. They offer reduced rates for single parents and everything.”

Julianna leaned back in her chair.

“I was unfair before. I know I was. I want to tell
you that I respect your decision either way.” Kirk looked out the window into
the parking lot and then back to Julianna. “But if you’re going to make such an
adult decision, you need to be realistic and understand that you can keep the
baby, Julianna, but you can’t keep me.”

She crossed her arms.

“I won’t be around to help you if you decide not to
take the easy way out. As a friend, I just want to make sure you don’t have any
confusion about the fact that you’ll be doing this alone.”

Julianna just stared at him like she was trying to
give him freezer burn.

“Thanks for letting me get that off my chest,” he
said. “I just want you to be happy.” He put the lid back on his coffee and
pressed all around the edges. “If you decide to keep the baby, I wish you the
best of luck.” He leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. “But if you
decide you’re not quite ready to kiss your ambition and your youth good bye, I
am prepared to help.”

“I’m listening.”

“Well, I did some research.” He looked over his
shoulder. It looked like everyone else was having really casual conversations.
He envied them. “And I think five thousand dollars would be more than enough to
cover all your expenses, several holidays, and anything else you need to take
care of yourself at this difficult time.”

“Wow,” she said. “Thanks.”

He felt his heart relax in his chest.

“Knowing how far you’re willing to go to kill your
own child has really shed a lot of light on this issue.” Julianna sat forward
and scratched the back of her head. “I mean, you obviously think I’m more
selfish than I am.” She stood up and grabbed her drink off the table. “Unfortunately,
all I can think about right now is Madeline and the fact that she has a right
to know what kind of person you really are.” Her eyes went narrow like a
snakes’. “After all, if you’re capable of killing your own offspring so
casually,
her
baby might not be safe either.”

Julianna walked away before Kirk could grab her
wrist. He wanted to chase after her, but he couldn’t feel his legs. Instead, he
stared at the table for the next ten minutes wondering how she knew about the
baby and whether or not she’d meant the comment as a threat.