Chapter Seven
Katie's POV:
Two days until Christmas Eve and it was sunny just like always in LA. Unfortunately. But that didn't stop the crew from smiling. Well, most of us. James had started a gingerbread house with Nicholas, promising us it was tradition and would be fun. Nick quit about an hour in and James was grumpily trying make it just the way he wanted. Even the members of our family were being added to the ginger living room. Lucy was resting, trying to get rid of a bout of nausea before Christmas Eve festivities started up. Kendall was waiting on her hand and foot. Classic first time father.
Things were looking as normal as they could. I tried not to think of the way James had looked at me the night before. How much I had wanted to hold onto him for life and let him sweep me away. But I had to be the responsible one of the two of us. It had always been my job.
"Your phone." James startled me out of my reverie and pointed to my vibrating phone on the table between us. It was an unknown number. I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Katie?" a familiar voice called to me. "It's Lisa."
"Lisa!" I recognized her. "How are you?" I got up and stepped away from the commotion in the kitchen and into the hallway where I could focus better.
"I'm ok." She sounded pretty stable. "A lot to figure out, but ok."
"That's great. I didn't keep much from my pregnancy, but if I had I would give it to you." I felt guilty for getting rid of everything so quickly after having Nick.
"That's ok, but that's not why I called."
"What's up?" I wondered.
"I'll be in LA tomorrow with an old friend. I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with us." She proposed.
"That sounds really nice. Where is your boyfriend?"
"Oh, he works tomorrow. But he really wants to meet you. The girl who saved our kid."
"That's a little too nice to me." I laughed off the compliment. "I was just looking out for a fellow mother."
"I will never forget it." Lisa said seriously. "I'll text you the address for the restaurant. And bring a date if you want. I know that you're on vacation and might not know anyone to bring, but if you wanted to…"
"Thanks. I'll see."
"It's set. I'll see you tomorrow."
0000000000000000000000000
James' POV:
I watched Katie walk off down the hall. Who was Lisa? Kendall slid onto the stool that Katie had been at and regarded me across my ginger house.
"Who was that?"
"Someone named Lisa?" I shrugged. I watched Kendall stiffen.
"What?"
"Has she talked to you about any of that?" Kendall asked lightly.
"Any of what?"
"The whole reason she was so upset when she came down in the wee hours of the morning." Kendall explained.
"No." I started to feel hurt that she hadn't brought it up. It was obviously important.
"Look, I don't want to tell you stuff that should be her job to tell you, but Katie caught Lisa drinking at a party that night before and took her to the hospital in time to save the baby."
"That's awful." I was horrified. "Who would drink so much when they were pregnant?"
"Funny you should say that." Kendall looked over at the hall entrance and I watched Katie come walking out. I looked back at Kendall in shock. "Ask her." He suggested and made himself scarce.
0000000000000000000000000000000000
"You could have told me." I looked down at Katie. I had taken her outside and on a walk to understand what had gone down.
"I failed at being a girlfriend and then I failed at being a mother before I even had him." Katie sighed in defeat. "Telling you wasn't something I saw as good."
"And you really don't remember how many drinks you had?" I stopped her and held her hand. "Katie, that's dangerous, even if you weren't pregnant."
"I know. I was young and depressed, ok? I had just lost you and my youth in a matter of months." Her lower lip trembled and I could tell she was trying not to cry. "I just kept accepting drinks."
"And nobody could tell you were pregnant?"
"I wasn't that far along yet. Nobody could have known." She shrugged. "I've been trying to let it go."
"So when you helped Lisa with a similar situation, it kind of haunted you, huh?" I guessed and we started walking again.
"To say the least." She let out a shaky breath. "I just couldn't imagine Nick being messed up because I was stupid. Even though he's perfectly healthy it was like I needed to see him then and there to remind myself that I wasn't a horrible person."
"Katie." I wrapped an arm around her tiny shoulders. "You are not a horrible person." I watched her think on the words. She leaned against me. I smiled.
"Anyway, I feel slightly responsible for Lisa now. I feel like I can really help her and she told me to bring a date to dinner."
"Are you asking me out?" I teased. I felt her roll her eyes.
"No. I'm asking you to come with me to dinner with a friend. Don't get crazy." She shouldered me off of her.
"I'll go if you want me to." I answered honestly. "I don't want to intrude into something I don't understand."
"It's not like that. Apparently she's bringing one of our old college friends." She explained. "Totally casual."
"Ask me nicely." I winked at her. She giggled. I loved when she laughed. Then she slugged me in the stomach. I bent over slightly. Wow, she still had it.
"Please go to dinner with me and Lisa." She batted her eyes. This girl was evil. And I loved it.
"Well who could say no to that?" I gasped for air as I tried to stand up straight. "Still persuasive."
"I have my ways."
0000000000000000000000000000000
Katie's POV:
"You look nice." James smiled at me as I came out of the bathroom.
"Thanks." I let him help me into a light jacket. "Luckily I packed more than just sweatpants."
"You look great even in sweatpants." He added and held the door open.
"Have fun, you two!" Logan called from the couch where they were starting a Christmas movie and dinner.
"Be home by ten." Kendall joked.
"Not a date." I sang and stepped out of the house.
"I'll take good care of her." I heard James say before closing the door behind us.
The drive to the restaurant was peaceful. James drove and I have to admit, he drove the car a lot more smoothly than I did. But it still had a trace of fir tree scent in the back. It had a calming effect and I found myself feeling younger and like I used to when James would take me out: a princess.
"I've missed you so much." I admitted loosely. He looked over at me as we stopped at a light.
"Have you been drinking?"
"No." I replied indignantly.
"Just checking. Because you seem…happy." He joked. I rolled my eyes. The light turned green and we continued to breeze through the city.
"I'm happier than I have been in a while." I thought to myself. Even in all this drama and stress I was happier. I knew that it had to do with be with James again, but I wasn't ready to face that fact yet.
"We're here." He parked the car. "We have a few blocks to walk."
"Fine by me." I slid out of the car and shouldered my purse. He came around and offered me his arm. I took it and we strolled off down the sidewalk, taking in the city with young eyes. "I haven't been downtown in so long."
"Me neither." He agreed. Neither of us added that it reminded us of our dates. But we both knew we were thinking of them.
"I'm hungry. I hope they have good food." I strained on my toes to see ahead. He chuckled at me.
"Let the man handle this." He looked ahead. "What was the name of the place?"
"Romiroe's?" I tried.
"Yeah it's just up here." Just as he finished reporting, I heard someone call my name.
"Katie!"
"Oh, there's Lisa." I pointed ahead. "She's nice, but kind of naïve. If she says something weird or stupid, just roll with it." I whispered quickly to James. He nodded and straightened up. "Hey." I reached forward and embraced Lisa in a hug. "Good to see you."
"I'm so happy to see you." She gushed. Then she looked back at James standing behind me. "And you brought someone." She smiled.
"James." James reached out and shook her hand.
"Pleased to meet you. I haven't seen Katie with a boy in years." Lisa turned and started leading us the rest of the way. James looked down at me.
"Years?" he waited for me to look at him.
"I'm not a whore." I muttered under my breath. "I was yours." I watched a satisfied look soften his face.
"Marx is at the table." Lisa explained. "You remember him, Katie?"
"Vaguely?" I remembered the name but I had tried so hard to block most of college out.
"He hung out a lot with us when we were freshmen."
"I hope he doesn't hold anything against me." I joked. Lisa laughed and we squeezed past a few more tables.
"Here we are." She pointed to a semi-empty table in the midst of a few full ones. And then I saw him. Marx. There was something familiar about the name. And the face. "Marx, you remember Katie now?"
"Oh yeah." He took my hand. "Katie Knight. You were in business class with me?"
"Right." I nodded.
"And I'm James." James reached out to shake Marx's hand. "Family friend." We all took our seats and I sipped some water, trying to put a finger on where else I had seen Marx. We ordered and still nothing occurred to me. I decided to let it go.
"So, Marx. What brings you into town?" I asked as we were served our Italian meals.
"Lisa was down here to pick something up for her cousin. That worked out because I needed to drop off a resume. I'm getting transferred here for work in a few months."
"And what do you do?" James asked.
"I'm an accountant." Marx explained.
"More wine?" a waitress stopped by the table and offered us. Both Lisa and I shook our heads and Marx nodded. James agreed to some more. Lisa gave me a look. I nodded in encouragement. After the waitress had left another bottle at our table, Marx turned to Lisa.
"Why no wine, Lisa?" he offered her his glass.
"No thanks. I'm on a diet." She declined.
"And Katie." Marx looked back to me. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" I gave him a weird look. Marx turned to James.
"Katie loved a good glass of wine in college. When she was at parties, she was the master drink mixer." He explained. I felt James' eyes on me. I gripped my napkin under the table, trying to keep calm.
"I've definitely given it a rest." I gritted my teeth. Lisa noticed the tension. She looked nervous.
"Speaking of which, I meant to ask if you ended up getting an abortion." He swirled his glass lightly and looked at me with serious eyes. I felt James stiffen next to me. I felt like I was going to throw up.
"I don't understand." I tried to keep my voice light.
"You don't remember telling me you were pregnant?" Marx raised his eyebrows. "I mean, maybe you were just drunk. It was a crazy party, after all." He shrugged. And suddenly I felt like I was suffocating. Because it was like the fog was clearing. Marx was the one that was handing me drinks that night so far gone. And it was him that handed me to one of the girls that lived in my dorm.
"Um, yeah it must have been a loose-lipped night for me." I joked lightly. "You know I could say some crazy things."
"Yeah, you were freaking out." Marx laughed. "Good thing I was with you. The alcohol kicked it and you were great."
"Katie…" James warned.
"Anyway," I spoke up forcefully, "I'd love to hear more about Lisa's cousin and where she lives."
"I'll be right back." Marx excused himself and made off in the direction of the bathroom.
"Katie, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was going to talk about-"
"It's ok." I stopped her, aware that James' fists were clenching under the table. I let go of my napkin and gently rested a hand on his thigh. And for a moment it calmed him. I felt his body loosen slightly. "Tell me more about your cousin. Please." I insisted.
"I need some air." James whispered to me. "I'm stepping outside for a few minutes. I'll be back, don't worry." He excused himself and disappeared around the corner.
"Just us girls." Lisa gave me a little smile. "Oh! I've been wanting to show you this. She opened her purse and set an ultrasound picture on the table."
"Oh my gosh!" I cried in excitement. "The gender?" I looked up expectantly.
"It's a girl." Lisa said proudly. "And she's perfectly healthy."
"Congratulations!" I took her hand and squeezed it. "Have you started showing?" I tried to look across the table.
"Yeah." She picked at the loose fabric of her dress. "I can still find some little tricks to hide it, but not on the average day."
"I'm assuming that Marx doesn't know." I guessed.
"No. My boyfriend asked me not to mention it while I was down here. To anyone new, I mean." She smiled at me. "He still really wants to meet you. We're so grateful."
"Dessert?" the same waitress appeared. Lisa quickly hid the ultrasound photo.
"Should we order for the guys?" I looked around.
"They're boys. They won't care." Lisa ordered for them. By the time the cheesecakes were served to us, the guys still weren't back. I was starting to get worried.
"You don't think we should go check?" I looked behind me to the bathroom hallway.
"Do we have a reason to?" Lisa looked at me. "It's not like they were kidnapped. They can fight." She started laughing until she saw the look on my face. "What did I say?" she asked as I stood up quickly and kicked my chair back.
"He's fighting." I breathed and ran for the bathroom hallway. No sounds. I burst into the guys bathroom. I got a few weird looks, some protests, but no James or Marx. "Outside!" I cried to Lisa who had just caught up to me. We dashed out onto the sidewalk. I listened. Nothing. "Damn it, James." I growled.
"Marx isn't answering his phone." Lisa announced slowly.
"Which way would he go?" I thought to myself. "He'd find an alley or somewhere private where he could talk to him before he punched the insides out of him." I looked down and up the street. His car was still there. Good. And then my phone rang.
00000000000000000000000000000000000
Kendall's POV:
When my phone started ringing in the middle of our second Christmas movie of the night, I wasn't happy. I saw it was Katie and paused the movie.
"What's up, baby sister?"
"James is in jail." She gasped.
"What?" my mouth fell open and I motioned for Lucy to take Nick out of the room.
"He…I don't know much yet but he was fighting and I was told to come down to the station to bail him out. I don't know how to do that." She sounded frantic.
"Ok," I tried to make my brain function, "Carlos, Logan, and I are gonna meet you down there."
"Ok."
"And Katie?" I stopped her from hanging up. "You're ok, right?"
"I was eating cheesecake." She deadpanned. "He didn't even let me join." I chuckled to myself, the fact that she was insulted she had been left out tickling me to no end.
"I'll see you there."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
James' POV:
"James!" Katie cried as I was escorted out of the back ward by two officers. She ran to me and grabbed my shoulders. "You idiot!" she screeched. Kendall grabbed her and pulled her away.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked Kendall and Logan and Carlos.
"You don't think Katie was prepared with the money to bail you out, did you?" Kendall frowned. "What was all this? What were you thinking?"
"You're hurt!" Katie noticed the bruising and bloody sores on my face. "You need to go to a hospital!"
"No I don't." I brushed past them and headed for the front doors.
"Hey!" Katie ran after me. "We need to talk about this!"
"James, you need to put something on your face." Logan called from the steps as I unlocked my car.
"James, what happened?" Kendall called.
"Where's the guy you fought?" Carlos asked. I ignored them all and slid into the car. I started the engine and closed the door. But before I could roll up the window, Katie put her hands on the window crease. I met her eyes. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"Where are you going?" she wondered, sounding just like how she used to when she was little and I got mad. Scared.
"I need to take some time to decide where I'm going. That's the problem." He muttered to himself. "Don't wait up for me."
"Don't tell me what to do." She snapped.
"Katie, I need time to think." I growled.
"Well if this is how you're going to process things all the time, then I have nothing else to say to you, James."
