6 weeks later
I stared at the fresh scratches on the passenger side door of my car, the flaking paint telling me it'd been done while I was at work. I ran a hand through my raven curls, anger welling up inside of me. I knew it was Lauren. She'd been doing it every single time I fixed the last markings that she'd etched onto my car. Apparently the judge hadn't been clear enough during the restraining order hearing when he'd told her not to contact me, harass me, or do anything towards me, especially after he saw the fresh black eye that I'd been sporting just three days after she punched me.
Paul had been another matter altogether. He'd been desperately trying to get in touch with me, something I just hadn't been entertaining. I already regretted that night. It shouldn't have ever happened, nor had the gentle loving after it either, before the crazy bitch had arrived. I hadn't been feeling well since then either, Dr Paige, the doctor I worked with, having just put it down to stress, that being the only thing it could've been considering I'd already taken three pregnancy tests and they'd all been negative.
I climbed into the car, turning the heater on so the chilly March air would become a long forgotten memory. A small smile came to my face at the thought of returning home, climbing into bed and just allowing the world to slip away into darkness around me, before, yet again, I would have to contact the courts for a violation of the order and go get the car fixed. I was just lucky that the Black Auto-shop on the reservation was willing to continuously help me out for a cheaper price than it would cost if I went elsewhere.
The drive home was simple enough, a quick detour by the beach springing to mind considering I had to pass First Beach in order to get home, and that a quick walk to clear my senses and calm down sounded better than silently stewing during dinner. I pulled into the parking lot at the beach, pulling my coat tighter around me as I stepped onto the sound, the rolling waves crashing violently against one another, a sign of an impending storm. Grams had said as much the other day when I visited her. The older woman, full of wisdom and precious memories, was the last living relative I had, and I would always hold her close to my heart.
A few droplets of rain splattered against my face as I stood on the golden sands, watching the few fishing boats off in the distance, one of them I knew that Paul would be on one considering he worked part time with his Dad running the family business and he worked part time at the Black Auto-Shop, one reason why I carefully chose my days to go there and get my car fixed.
A soft sigh slipped my lips as I stared across the distance. I knew he wanted to talk about that night, to say whatever, but I just didn't feel like returning to that night. Hell, I couldn't even look at him straight anymore. I'd had a crush on him for years, over a decade, and the one time he entertained it was when he wanted to get into my pants. Nice. That night had been a mistake on top of a mistake, and I came out with the marks to show for it, not him, just me. He wasn't the one that had to walk around with a black eye for almost two weeks, to be embarrassed every single time vulgar names were scratched into your car.
No, that was just me.
I turned around, sand crunching under my feet as I headed back towards the car, completely unaware of the dark brown eyes watching me. The back of my neck prickled and I whirled around, my eyes wide as I came face to face with the person I didn't want to see. He was walking towards me, some of his friends, the same guys we'd gone to school with and had been labelled as a gang, stood behind him, further down the beach. I wondered how I hadn't noticed them earlier.
Paul looked relived to have caught me, but I shook my head as he came and stood in front of me. "I'm not talking about that night, but you know, I would appreciate it if you told your crazy ex to not scratch my car up yet again. She's cost me over a grand!" I stated firmly.
He rubbed a hand down his face. "We do need to talk, Veah. I didn't use protection, and I didn't pull out."
I froze at that, eyes wide. "Sure we did, right?" I whispered and he shook his head. "No. I've been trying to tell you that but you wouldn't talk to me. Have you done a test or something, have you been feeling unwell?" He asked hurriedly and my head began reeling, nausea bubbling in my stomach, and before I could answer, I wretched, this afternoons lunch making a most unwanted reappearance on the pavement in front of us both.
A warm hand rubbed my back but I shook it off. "I took tests and they all came up negative, but thank you for that information." I retorted irritably, wiping my mouth on the sleeve of my coat that would be undoubtedly sterilised when I got home, something I now desperately wanted to do. He gave me an unhappy look before sighing. "I'm sorry, alright, about the whole black eye thing and the constant car keying. She's trying to fight me in court so I don't see PJ and she's losing. She wants to take him to Omaha so she can be with that trucker piece of shit, but I'm not letting her take him there, alright? I'm sorry. Which tests did you use?"
I swallowed, the bitter taste in my mouth making me cringe. "I used some dollar store ones." I replied and he shook his head. "PJ's pregnancy didn't show up using them, maybe you're the same if you are. Are you working tomorrow?"
I nodded. "Yeah, and really, I just want to get home. I took three tests, they were negative, all of them, so I'm not pregnant, and really, I just want to forget that night." I countered and he frowned. "Why? It wasn't as if it wasn't good before it was all ruined."
My jaw dropped, outraged. "Did you seriously just say that?" I demanded. He faltered a little then. "Why wouldn't I want to forget? I had a huge crush on you for over a decade, and the one time you show me any interest is when your drunk and you've broken up with the mother of your child and you want to forget? Are you serious? All through high school you never showed me a single ounce of interest beyond anything that went beyond friendship, and now, because you've gotten some from me, you think its just alright? I liked you for years, had my heart broken every time you dated someone else, was happy with someone else, and you just expect me to get over it?"
He was gobsmacked after that, but I didn't stick around to hear his response. I quickly got into my vandalised car, started up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, tears pooling in my eyes as I watched him rub a hand, upset, down his own face, staring after me as I raced out of the parking lot.
Tears began to trickle down my face as I drove quickly home, intent on just vanishing under my covers and forgetting this entire day, and yet, someone with a higher power just didn't think that was going to happen, because, in the form of divine intervention, or just downright bad luck, a wolf shot out in front of the car, the small animal the size of Gram's Labrador, Butch, making me swerve to avoid, the sound of shattering glass the last thing I heard before everything became wet and the rolling world around me plunged into complete darkness.
(W*W)
A beeping noise was what arose me from my sleep, and I awoke to see Sue Clearwater and Dr Paige staring down at me. I grimaced, aching all over, and unable to move one leg. I glanced down blearily, groaning when I saw the bright blue cast that swallowed my left leg whole. Dr Paige gave a stern look to me. "No seatbelt? You're lucky all you came away with was a broken leg and a cracked rib plus a few lacerations. You're extremely lucky, and you aren't the only one whose lucky either."
I frowned as Sue helped me up, taking notice of the obvious needle dressing, cotton wool taped to my inner arm, meaning they'd drawn blood to see if there was anything wrong with me such as a virus and any other illnesses that could've caused the sickness I'd been telling them about. "Who else was the lucky one, the wolf?" I joked, Sue cracking a small smile at that.
Dr Paige hummed, her facial expression telling me that something was really serious. "Didn't you know you're six weeks pregnant?"
My heart stopped. Literally. I snapped my eyes to her pale blue ones. "Absolutely not. I took tests, I-" my voice faltered as bile rose in my throat, Sue handy with the bucket as she thrust it into my hands. I wretched violently, grimacing as the rancid smell wafted up towards me. I shook my head. "Absolutely not true." I gasped out.
Dr Paige withdrew something from a file. "We did an ultrasound while you were still unconscious to make sure no harm came to the foetus form the car accident, well, foetuses." I balked at that. Did she just say plural? Plural?! I all but snatched the ultrasound photograph from her outstretched hand, looking at it with horror as I saw the two clearly defined little blips on the black and white ultrasound, with only one amniotic sac. I knew what that meant in an instance. Identical twins. I knew immediately what that meant.
I covered my mouth with a shaking hand, all of the thoughts about anything and everything else fleeing my mind like the cowards they were. My hands were shaking violently. "Twins?" I whispered, trying desperately to reclaim control of my nausea. "I can't be pregnant with twins! I'm only twenty two! Your chances are way higher if you add another decade onto my age, or if they run in a side of the family, which they don't! I can't be pregnant with twins!" I exclaimed, panicking as I ran a hand through my matted hair.
Sue gave my hand a gentle squeeze, the needle free one that was. "Sweetheart, you need to calm down. Your blood pressure is already high enough. Any higher and we could have a tragedy. Just take deep breaths, come on. We have you in tonight and for the next few days as Dr Roberts isn't sure if they'll need to operate on that leg. You've had a nasty break and they want to set it correctly so it doesn't impact on your mobility when its healing." She soothed.
I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. "Paul," I whispered, and she gave a small smile. "He found you on his way home himself. He drove you in, hysterical. He's still here. Do you want me to go and get him?" She asked, looking at Dr Paige for confirmation, the aging blonde woman nodding in conformation that he would be allowed in to see me.
"Does he know?" I croaked and she nodded. "He overheard us discussing it," she murmured and I nodded, wiping a few stray tears that threatened to fall. "Yeah, can you ask him to come here then please?" I asked and she nodded, giving my hand a gentle squeeze before she got up and left, sobs wracking my body as soon as the door shut, tears streaming down my cheeks. I couldn't be a mother, not when my own mother had wanted nothing to do with me and neither had my dad, dropping me off at Gram's when I was just a week old before they went galivanting around the world, not caring about me in the slightest.
The door creaked and I snapped my head up, seeing Paul stood there, equally ashen faced despite out commonly coloured russet skin. I tossed the ultrasound photograph towards him, it landing on the edge of the bottom of the bed. "There you go; you were right. Congratulations; you'll be a dad to two this time, well, three altogether. Congrats." I clipped, angrily wiping my eyes so all that remained of my tears were blotchy smears.
He picked it up, taking a seat on the bed beside my unbroken leg. He stared at it, tracing over the little blips with a silent expression before he looked at me. I averted my eyes quickly, staring at my knotted hands. "Neveah," he pleaded, something like desperation in his voice, the plead making me look up at him. He was desperate, the normal cockiness nowhere in sight, the confident, although sometimes jerkish, hothead of a man nowhere in sight.
I swallowed. "I can't have a baby, Paul," I wept, tears streaming from my eyes once again. He shook his head. "Yes, we can. We, not just you. One, two or even a dozen babies, and I wouldn't even leave you to cope with them on your own. Veah, I'm not that kind of guy. I'm not my mother, and you aren't your parents. We know how not to be parents already from the actions of those around us. Don't give up, please." He desperately pleaded.
My eyes watered pathetically. "But two? Twins? We had a one night stand, Paul, not a full blown relationship. Oh my God, what will Lauren do? She'll get worse, won't she? I don't want her to find out, please. I don't want to have my windows bricked or my house set alight, neither of which I'd put past her considering she seems to get away with everything." I rushed and he shook his head. "We'll keep it between us, I promise. Just you and I will know until you get big enough to the point where we can't hide it. I'm not one who runs from his responsibilities."
I nodded, and he sighed, going silent for a moment before he spoke quietly. "I'm sorry that I never realised." He murmured, my eyes wavering as I looked at him. He sighed again. "I was a jerk back then, I know, but I've changed. PJ made everything better, made me a better man overall, and taught me that I can't run from my responsibilities." He explained.
He stared at me sincerely. "I promise, above everything, that you will never have to worry about a thing. We'll get through this together, I swear."
