Chapter 29
Rebel looked back and forth between his parents, emerald eyes studying them to make sure they weren't joking with him. "Seriously?" He finally demanded, his voice a little lower than usual.
Smiling, Andalyn held out her left hand with the beautiful diamond glittering on it under the kitchen lights and nodded. "Seriously. We're gonna do it next week sometime." Since her mother's funeral was this week, she didn't feel it was right to get married the same week she buried her mother. "Rebel, I know this is a lot to take in, sweetheart…"
"Tiger, I love yer momma and want her to be my wife. Both of ya are my family and mean everythin' to me." Mark placed a hand on his son's shoulder, expecting this reaction from the pre-teen. "Nothin' changes besides her last name…and yers." They had talked about it after making love on the motorcycle and Andalyn wanted nothing more than for Rebel to have Mark's last name. How it should've been from the start. "What'd ya think 'bout bein' Rebel Calaway instead of Kervin?"
His eyes grew wide at that question and Rebel immediately looked at his Mom to make sure she was alright with this. Kervin was also his grandparents' name, so he didn't want to get excited about having his last name changed if it upset her. This was a hard time for her. At her nod of encouragement, Rebel nodded and tossed his arms around his father's neck, crying. Andalyn joined him, clasping her hands together and rested them against her mouth, silently sending a prayer of thanks up above for Rebel being alright with all this change in their lives.
"Papa won't be mad at me, will he, Mom?" Rebel asked once he calmed down, wiping his tears away and walked into his mother's loving embrace. "I don't want him mad…"
That broke her heart because she knew how close Rebel and her father had been. "No sweetheart, I think he'll be happy knowin' yer takin' yer Dad's last name. Yer a Calaway and it was my fault for not namin' ya right the first time. Papa loves ya no matter what and he's always watchin' over you. Don't ever think he's not." Andalyn stroked his dishwater blonde hair and brushed it out of his eyes, kissing his forehead. "Come on, let's go for a walk and talk." She nodded toward Mark, who was busy getting supper around for the evening since they'd be hitting the road tomorrow to head to Austin.
Rebel really loved his new home because of all the land he had to run around freely. His Dad even put up a trampoline for him along with a basketball hoop in the driveway, shooting a few rounds whenever they came home. He'd asked for a horse and his parents declined, but something told Rebel he'd get one sooner or later, maybe for his 13th birthday. Unbeknownst to him, that's exactly what Mark and Andalyn's plan was since she'd gotten her first horse at that age. He looked up at his Mom while they walked the backyard, both barefoot since it was warm enough outside not to require shoes.
"How're ya holdin' up, Rebel?" Andalyn wrapped an arm around his shoulder to pull him close to her, genuinely concerned about his mindset. "You've been quiet since grandma's death…"
"I'm fine." Rebel meant it, knowing it was inevitable his grandmother would die one day. "She wasn't good, Mom. I mean, not in a good place." He sighed, not wanting to make his mother feel worse and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry…"
Andalyn stopped, sensing Rebel was holding back and turned to fully face him, guiding him down to sit in the grass with her. "You have to stop worryin' 'bout me, sweetheart. Stop holdin' in what yer feelin' and let it out. It'll crush ya if ya don't." She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, wondering when her little boy had turned into a young man. "I want ya to talk to me."
Closing his eyes, Rebel's bottom lip trembled and he finally started crying, everything crashing down around the poor boy that'd happened in the span of a few days. "Gramma's gone…" He sobbed, burying his face in his mother's chest and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I-I never got to say bye to her…"
"I know baby boy, I know." Andalyn whispered, crying along with him and stroked his back, not minding his tight hold on her. "I'm so sorry, Rebel. I should've taken ya to see her at least one more time…" She sniffled, regretting keeping him away from her mother and wished she could turn the clock back to correct so many wrongs in their lives. "She loved ya so much…"
Mark watched from the patio deck while waiting for the grill to warm up with the charcoal. He couldn't place the ribs on it until it was at the right temperature. Watching the two most important people in his life clutch each other for dear life crying broke his heart. He wanted to take away their pain, but knew the only way to do that was time. Even then, losing a loved one was a wound that never fully healed. Looking up at the sky, Mark silently wondered if his own parents were watching over him and his family.
He was also an orphan, even being a grown man.
"Andalyn, so glad ya could make it, honey pie." Aunt Marlene greeted solemnly, wrapping her arms around her niece and cupped the back of her head in a loving gesture. "So glad…" She pulled back, seeing the silent tears coursing down the younger woman's face and wiped them away. "She's in a better place now…"
That wasn't comforting to hear, but Andalyn nodded nonetheless. "I know." She whispered softly, feeling Mark right beside her while Rebel kept hold of her hand. "Aunt Mar, this is my fiancé, Mark Calaway. Mark, this is Aunt Marlene, my momma's only sister." They'd never met because Marlene rarely visited the ranch, not very fond of her father due to his choice in running a ranch to provide for his family. She was a cold-hearted bitch, though Andalyn wouldn't say that aloud. "And ya know Rebel…"
Rebel waved silently, taking in his surroundings in a crisp black suit with a white undershirt. Mark was in pure black and Andalyn had a simple black dress on, nothing fancy about it. Short sleeved, hoop neckline and rested just below her knees. It was a last minute buy since she didn't own a solid black dress. She also had to shop for Rebel since the boy wore jeans and t-shirts 99% of the time, rarely dressing up unless the WWF had an event going on requiring it.
"My goodness, you've gotten so big!" Marlene beamed at the young boy, her eyes moving from Mark to Rebel and finally landed back on her niece. "Did you say fiancé?"
Andalyn nodded, feeling Mark squeeze her hand and knew it was his way of being there for her, showing support. "Yeah, it happened…yesterday. The engagement. I've been with Mark for a little while now." She refused to go into detail about her and Mark's past because, quite frankly, Marlene didn't need to know everything. "We plan on gettin' married soon." Without the nuisance of family breathing down their necks, it would be a small ceremony at the courthouse in Houston with Rebel as their witness.
"Well I'm happy for ya. It's 'bout time you settled down, Andalyn, especially with the boy." Marlene placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding her approval and walked away to greet other guests in the funeral home.
"Bitch." Andalyn muttered under her breath, smiling when Rebel asked what said and kissed the top of his head. "Nothin' honey, come on let's go grab our seats." She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, hoping Marlene kept her distance.
Mark hadn't missed the tension between Andalyn and her Aunt, but kept his mouth shut, finally speaking once they were seated. "Not fond of yer Aunt, darlin'?" He murmured quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear their conversation.
"No. I'll tell ya why later." Andalyn didn't want to get into the mess about her Aunt right now, not at her mother's funeral of all places and felt another wave of nausea hit her. "Damn…"
"What's wrong?" Mark frowned, suddenly recalling a few times he'd noticed her vomiting and rubbed her back, worry filling his eyes. "Andy…"
"I feel sick." Andalyn didn't bother hiding it from him, tears swelling in her eyes and had to take a few deep breaths, placing a hand on her stomach. "I-I'll be right back." Standing, she rushed out of the room to the nearest bathroom and made it to the toilet just in time, letting the tears stream down her cheeks.
Mark ordered Rebel to stay put and not wander off before going after Andalyn, tapping on the bathroom door entering. "Andalyn, what's goin' on? Ya got sick last night too and then on Monday. How long has this been goin' on?" He demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest and helped her up from the floor, feeling her trembling against him. "Darlin', yer white as a sheet…"
"I thought it was stress…" She whispered, more to herself than him and slid her fingers through her hair, deciding to leave it down. "Or maybe somethin' bad I ate…"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mark blew out a breath and remained patient, continuing to rub her back. "Yer not makin' sense, Andalyn…" Why couldn't she come out and say what was going through that beautiful mind of hers instead of talking in riddles?
"This has only happened one other time, gettin' sick like this…" Now was NOT the time for this, but apparently god had a wicked sense of humor. "I know we said…this can't be happenin'." Running the water, Andalyn splashed her face with the cool liquid and could feel the nausea dispersing, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. "We…and I…and this…" Now she was hyperventilating, her breathing turning erratic.
Mark could tell she was in the midst of having a full-blown panic attack and did the only thing he could think of. He cupped his hands over her mouth and nose, ordering her to breathe in and out slowly since he didn't have a paper bag in hand. The amount of fear in her eyes just made his worry explode, but Mark maintained control unlike her. When her breathing returned to normal and all she did was cry, Mark pulled his hands to draw her into his warm loving embrace, trying to piece together what she'd said. The woman couldn't get a full sentence out and then began hyperventilating; something was obviously wrong and he wracked his brain trying to figure out what it was.
"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together, darlin'. Ya gotta believe that. Ya gotta have faith and trust in me if we're gonna be together and get married. I'm not leavin' or goin' anywhere without you and Rebel." Mark slid his fingers through her dishwater curls and refused to let her go, knowing this is exactly what she needed at the moment. Just him holding her, reassuring her everything would be alright. "I love ya, Andy…"
"I love ya too, Mark." She mumbled softly, tightening her hold on him and sniffled, slowly calming down from the panic attack she'd had. "This happened when…I was pregnant with Rebel…" Slowly pulling back, Andalyn looked up into Mark's emerald eyes and stroked his face with the back of her hand, smiling sadly. "I think…it's happenin' again…"
It took a minute for him to digest her confession and Mark's eyes slowly grew wider with each passing second, the veracity of the situation crashing over him. "You mean…" His fingers lightly caressed her stomach through the dress, pure amazement shining in his eyes and Mark dropped to his knees in front of her, resting his forehead against the flat surface. "Are ya sure, darlin'?" He congratulated himself for keeping his voice steady, so many emotions flooding through him.
"Pretty sure since I haven't really gotten sick this frequently besides the amusement park. And it's yers…if I am." Andalyn wanted to make it crystal clear he was the father of her baby, if that's what the nausea and vomiting stemmed from.
"Damn right it is." Mark caressed the back of her legs and slid them up to her thighs, massaging them while remaining on his knees. "When can ya find out for sure?" He wanted to know, without a doubt, she was knocked up with his child for a second time, a smirk flittering across his lips.
They'd been trying ever since the night before WrestleMania and Andalyn begged him to give her a baby. It hadn't been mentioned again, though they'd stopped using condoms and contraceptives. It'd only been a few weeks, so if she was pregnant, it happened before they had that talk. Pride swelled within Mark at the thought of becoming a father for the second time and this time he would be around for all of it. She wouldn't have to go through it alone, he would be by her side and help her with anything she needed, as much as he could. Now he wanted to marry her more than ever, refusing not to have her as his wife before this child was brought into the world.
"Rebel is gonna have a field day…" Andalyn muttered, feeling guilty since she hadn't sat down with him yet to discuss the possibility of having a sibling. And now it was more than likely happening whether he liked it or not. "He's gone through a lot of changes lately…I don't know how he'll react to this news, if I am…"
"One thing at a time, darlin'." Mark couldn't wipe the smile from his face even if a gun was pressed to his temple, his hands caressing her abdomen without realizing it. He'd staked his claim on this woman in more ways than one, she truly belonged to him in every aspect now. "Let's get through the funeral, go home and then sit down with him to talk 'bout this. Everythin' is gonna work out as it should, Andalyn." Rising to his feet in front of her, Mark cupped her face in his hands to softly kiss her since she'd used the mouthwash available to rinse her mouth out. "I love ya, Andy…"
She smiled tearfully back at him, their foreheads meeting and his hand splayed against her flat abdomen through the dress, a soft purr flowing out of his mouth. "I love ya too, Mark." Andalyn murmured, placing her hand over hers and laced their fingers together, her tears slowly drying up. "We'd better get back out there and check on Rebel."
Nodding, Mark pecked her mouth one final time, feeling an animalistic tenure take over him at impregnating Andalyn for a second time. This would be their second child together and he would be around for it this time, every step of the way. They walked out of the bathroom and rejoined Rebel, who had sat playing his Game Boy the entire time. Andalyn sat beside him, hugging him close and kissed the top of his head, murmuring something to him Mark couldn't make out. She was probably asking him how he was holding up or something since this was his grandmother's funeral. Marrying Andalyn was his new top priority, his new goal, especially now that she was more than likely knocked up and the primitive urge to make her his wife was overwhelming.
This time around, Andalyn would not go through the pregnancy alone and he would be there for the birth of his child.
