Fade Into the Background

Previously

"Well…" Anisah sat down on the floor next to her sister. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You are the smart one after all."

Gabriella couldn't help but crack a smile. "I don't feel so smart right now."

xx

"Troy!" She gasped, forgetting their current status and reaching for his face to get a better look and brush her hands over the spot. He winced and she stepped back. "He hit you?"

Shrugging, Troy closed and locked the door again. "Can say I blame him. I would hit me too."

xx

"Does that change anything? Did you not still sleep with him?"

"But I married you Kevin."

He nodded. "But that doesn't mean you're over him. I mean, there had to be something or else you wouldn't have had sex with him."

"I've already said that I'm sorry, Kevin, but it's not like I can change anything now. I never meant to hurt you. It was idiotic and now it's going to cost me a great man who really cared about me."

"And then maybe you and Troy can patch things up," he replied bitterly. "I think it's time for you to go." Kevin quickly guided her to the door, holding it open as she stepped out. "Call me when you know and then I'll contact you with the details regarding our divorce."


Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.

-Drake


Chapter 10

"I don't want to do this," Gabriella admitted as she stood in front of her sister in the foyer of her house.

Anisah turned to inspect her sister carefully. "Do you want to know who the father of this baby is?"

Fidgeting with her fingers, Gabriella looked down at her swollen belly that was currently hiding the lower half of her body from her. "Not particularly…"

"Bullshit. If I don't make you do this, then you'll regret not doing it. You have to do this. Not to mention if you don't, you're just harboring inside your body for however long you choose to not know."

Gabriella sighed, knowing her sister was right. It was 5 weeks after she'd gone to speak to Troy and confronted Kevin where he told her he had wanted a divorce. And now the day had come for Gabriella to meet her newborn child. As well as find out the paternity.

Due to the stress produced in her life, Gabriella's doctor decided it would be better to instead of waiting for the birth to happen naturally on its own, that he would induce her labor on her due date and unfortunately for her nerves, the date was today. It was also imperative to doing the paternity test. When Troy had first filed, a letter came in the mail to Gabriella and she was to agree with her doctor about setting up the proper time for DNA testing on her behalf and if she failed to do so, Troy had every right to take her to court and force a paternity test be done with or without her permission. So because paternity tests weren't done while the mother is still pregnant, Gabriella had agreed at the time that after birth, the doctors had full permission to conduct the test once the child was safely disconnected from the mother. And now she was regretting that she ever agreed to this, but she didn't really have the choice of backing out now.

When it all balled down to it, whether she liked it or not, her baby was going to be born today and she'd figure out just which man was the father of her child.

"Fine, let's go before I start to feel even worse than now."

Anisah nodded, ushering her sister towards the front door. "Okay, let's go." But just before Anisah's hand could grip the door handle and pull it open, it opened on its own, revealing the man who had once lived in the house before he'd decided to leave indefinitely.

"Kevin?" Gabriella questioned, just a little bit shocked. They hadn't spoken for over a month now and she's was pretty sure he was dead set on divorcing her.

"Hi."

"What do you what?" Anisah narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ani," Gabriella warned quickly and the smaller brunette put up her hands in defense.

"I'll be waiting in the car. Keep in mind we are on a time crunch that baby yeah?" She followed with a stern look to her older sister before disappearing out the door Kevin had just come through.

"Due date huh?" He asked her immediately after the door had closed.

She shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I can't be here for you?"

"I'm sorry, but last I remember, you were beyond upset with me and I strictly remember you telling you were going to contact me about a divorce."

"I was upset Gabi. I was hurting; you should know I didn't mean anything I said."

"I don't know that! You were pretty convincing. You pretty much told me you hated me."

"I don't hate you."

"Well it sure seems that way."

He shook his head. "I don't, but how was I supposed to feel. Everything was wrong, so wrong. I had just found out my wife cheated on me and the possibility that the baby she was having might not be mine. It was a lot to process and I was overwhelmed, I wasn't thinking clearly."

Scoffed, Gabriella looked past his face. "When I told you the same thing about me sleeping with Troy you were quick to shut me down. Why should I listen to you now?"

"You're the one that cheated on me! Don't turn this around like I need to beg for your forgiveness!"

Taken aback by his sudden snap, Gabriella moved as quickly as she could around him, heading for the front door.

"I'm talking to you!" Kevin screamed grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you."

"Get off me!" It was then that Gabriella realized just what was causing her husband's behavior. She could smell the liquor on his breath. "You're drunk!"

He smirked at her. "Well what do you 'spect me to drink, huh baby?"

"Kevin…"

"I mean my wife," he started. "Could be having another man's baby," he finished off with a laugh. "My life is so screwed up right now, did you expect me not to have a drink. I mean I'm telling you Whiskey and Vodka seem to solve all life's problems but no matter how much I drink I can't seem to forget about this whole mess you caused me."

As he stepped closer to her, she stepped back, her hands dropping down to her swollen stomach protectively. "Kevin stop! I'm pregnant."

He gazed at her with a dazed expression for a second. "Well no shit! That's how this all got started! You know I used to be happy about this baby…"

"Kevin, I'm sorry, but please don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid?" He chuckled. "You mean like sleeping with my ex-fiancé. Baby you've done enough stupid things for the both of us."

"I'm leaving," she managed to choke out, reaching for the doorknob.

Kevin was quick to grab it and swing her arm wildly in the other direction, sending her stumbling back in the other direction. "You can't leave. You can't leave me baby. I don't want to be away from you," he pleaded in a whisper as he stumbled closer to her again and lost his balance, catching her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you, and I didn't mean it."

"Kevin…" she tried to interrupt him but was shocked when he started crying, using her for support.

"I didn't mean it. I just want to be here with you. I want you to love me. I want you to have my baby. Just please don't go, I don't want you to leave me."

It was then that Anisah walked through the door, spotting the scene unfolding in front of it. "What the hell is going on now?"

In a split second decision, Gabriella shook her head, shifting Kevin's limp body for help from her sister. "Let's get him in the car, he's coming with us."

"Make yourself comfortable Gabriella," Dr. Glenn said. "I'll be back in just minutes and we'll talk about getting the procedure started."

As he walked out, Gabriella turned to look at her sister and husband sitting in the two chairs near the bed. Anisah was looking bored, keeping an eye on Kevin as well after learning of his drunk behavior. Kevin was sitting sullenly next to her, a cup of coffee in hand. He had since sobered up after some food, water, and coffee while they'd been in the waiting room. Now that Gabriella was about to start labor, he hadn't said anything for the most part. He didn't confront anything he spoken earlier and neither had Gabriella, despite Anisah's death glares at her each time Kevin shifted or moved.

"Ready for this?" Anisah asked.

"As I'll ever be," she smiled. "Did you call Mom?"

The younger Montez nodded. "Yeah, she said she was going to try to catch the next flight out. She'll call back when she's landed."

Gabriella smiled, grateful that her sister had stayed when her mother had gone home. She at least needed one supporting face in here that wasn't her husband. "Kevin?"

He looked up from his coffee, the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and getting over his drunkenness becoming more visible. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Fine."

With a sigh, Anisah stood. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back."

As the door closed, Kevin tried to speak up. "Gabriella…"

"It's fine, Kevin."

"It's not. Before…earlier that wasn't me. I'm sorry for what I said and did. And I'm sorry for last month and threatening you with a divorce. I didn't mean it."

Letting his words settle in her brain she turned to look him in the eye. "So you don't want a divorce?"

"No, God no. I was upset and I just…I let it get to me. I wanted you to hurt as much as I was."

"What if it's not yours?"

He sighed. "We can work on it. I love you. I married you because I love you and I want to be with you, but I'm willing to forgive and forget. I just want to be a family."

Feeling tears come to her eyes, Gabriella stiffened. "You…if he or she isn't yours…"

"It doesn't matter to me anymore. We can get through it. It'll be hard at first, but I love you and I'm willing to make this work if you are."

With that, Gabriella let the tears fall down her face as Dr. Glenn and Anisah came back in the room. "It's time. You ready?"

Gabriella stopped to stare at her sister and the doctor, turn to look at Kevin and then down at her belly. Was she ready?


Bah! Sorry for the late update, I know I said in Band vs Love that I would update Sunday and technically now its Monday, but I was watching the VMAs!

This chapter kinda moved pretty fast, I hope not too fast cuz I kinda like it, but the coming chapters are REALLY exciting and I like them (but of course I write them) so I'm pretty excited to post more but I'll be busy this next week so don't expect anything until next weekend when I go home for the first time! (it's only a week, we can make it) As always, let me know what you think in a REVIEW and I'll see you guys again soon.