I don't own Shake It Up!
AN: There is a comment in this chapter that may offend homosexuals. I, however, must insist that I mean nothing against the gay/lesbian community. I'm just saying, a straight guy would HATE it if their girlfriend thought they were gay.
Deuce Martinez sat in his bedroom, hands curled into fists at his sides, glaring at the photo on his lap. If Cece was right, this picture was taken after she had started seeing this Antonio guy.
He had originally loved this picture. Dina was standing dead center, smiling blissfully at the camera, with himself standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close, grinning mischievously.
But now, upon closer inspection, her eyes were dilated – from the meth, if Cece's word was true – and she was looking somewhat anxiously off to the side, as if wishing she were somewhere else. Or was it only because he knew it to be true that he saw it in the picture?
How could he not of known his girlfriend was on drugs? Was she always that distant?
Yes.
The thought stings and burn, his fists clench tighter, until his knuckles stand out white against his dark Hispanic skin. The smell of the soup his mother is making for dinner wafts up into his room, and he follows it down into the kitchen.
As a child, Deuce had loved watching his mother cook, his brother had thought him extremely stupid, and girly. Deuce, aged six, hadn't known what it meant when his brother called him 'gay' for liking cooking. Is that why Dina liked that other guy? Did she think he was girly, or, even worse, gay?
"Honey, what's wrong?" his mother's voice cuts into his reverie.
He spills everything, for some reason. Maybe he's always been a bit of a mama's boy, "It's just... My girlfriend was cheating on me. We'd never… you know. But now she's pregnant with this other guy's baby."
His mother's jaw drops, "Dina? Well, I would never have guessed…"
"Me neither."
The oven beeps, and she hollers up the stairs, "Tony! Get down here! Dinner's ready."
His brother comes swaggering down the stairs, reeking of the smell Cece identified as crystal meth. Jesus, was everybody using?
"Antonio Martinez! You smell disgusting. You will take a shower before you eat dinner with us." his mother scolds.
Antonio. Meth. The whole thing clicks into place, and before he knows it he's on his brother, punching him in the face.
He can hear his mother screaming, can hear his father walking through the door with a "What the fuck is going on here?" but it sounds so far away, the roaring in his ears drowning out everything else.
Finally, his dad manages to pry him off Antonio. Deuce surveys the damage – two black eyes, nose looks broken, bloody lip – in satisfaction. But then, reality comes crashing back, and he realizes that this has done nothing. That this guy – his brother – is still the father of his girlfriend's baby.
"How could you?" he yells angrily, hoping the shouting will drown out the sound of his suffering, "You're my goddamn brother. I loved her! I've been dating her for three years! So why'd you do it? Tell me why! Tell me why you were screwing my girlfriend."
Silence follows his words. His father, finally, breaks the silence, "Antonio, is this true?"
"No. Besides, he has no proof."
"Oh, I guess she didn't tell you then. She's pregnant. And once the baby's born, a simple paternity test is the only proof I'll need."
"Pregnant." he stutters, "bu-bu-bu-bu-but..."
"Yep. Congratulations. You're the father of my girlfriend's baby." He stalks off, walking towards Cece's apartment. Anger fueling him, he wants nothing more than for revenge, nothing more than for his brother to be arrested, and the stash of meth he's dealing should do the trick.
