*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter they were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
The music is blaring from the sound system throughout the frat house some people are dancing, some people are making out in the corners of the room, numerous doors are shut and locked, many students are drinking alcohol from red solo cups, some students are chugging beer from kegs while others cheer them on. Many of the women or young college girls are wearing clothes that leave very little to the imagination. I look down at my own outfit; a pair of white distressed shorts that show off my full and thick thighs with a black lace crop top and a pair of black flip flops. I hold my own red solo cup in my hand as I look for my best friend Grace, walking through the party looking for her but I can't find her. I yell for her looking for her but I can't find her. I look everywhere but she is nowhere to be found.
I am on the street now and it's dark outside, I am alone with nothing but streetlights. I feel lost, scared, cold as I look around at my surroundings. I don't know where I am but I can hear the sound of the music from the frat house blasting out. I am alone until I hear a male voice behind me. "Hello, Hayden," says a voice so familiar to me I cringe. "You look beautiful," he says as his arms wrap around my waist. "I have something for you," he says handing me a solo cup. "Drink it," he coaches me. I'm frozen, I've lost my voice. "Go ahead," he says, "drink it." I shake my head refusing the drink. "Hayden, just drink it," he says. "Drink it," he says again. He takes the solo cup and puts it up to my lips. I have no choice to but drink it. I part my lips and suck it down. It's strong and burns on the way down my throat. "That's right," he says, "drink it." I do as he says and keep drinking the drink till the cup is empty. He tosses the cup to the street and turns me around. Blue eyes look at me appreciatively, eying me up and down my body. "Very nice," he says placing his hand on my stomach. "Hayden, we're going to have fun tonight," he says. I feel dizzy, the surrounding around me start to spin. I lose my balance and Mack Ryan the Georgia Tech football star catches me. "I've got you, Hayden. I should get you home," he says. I nod and walk with him unsteady on my feet.
I don't end up at my apartment, I end up in a dorm room alone with Mack. My head is fuzzy, it feels heavy I can barely keep my eyes open. I feel weak as I realize I am naked in a bed that's not my own. "No," I say finally getting my voice back as I feel Mack's hands on me. "No," I say but he shushes me and continues touching my body everywhere, all over my breasts, his mouth on me. I try to fight him but I can't. I'm too weak, too out of it I know I didn't drink this much. "Mack," I say as I feel him part my legs.
"Hayden, it's okay, I'm going to make you feel good. I'm going to make you feel better than Professor Reigns," he says before his mouth is on my sex, his tongue all over it licking it softly, licking and sucking it. I try to push his head away but a pair of hands pull my arms back holding them down as Mack continues, he doesn't stop until I lose myself against my will, my body betrays me. I don't want this, I never wanted this. I never asked for this. Mack's assault keeps going on for hours, I'm barely conscious. I have dicks near my face, forced into my mouth, I have Mack raping me over and over again no matter how many times I tell him to stop. He keeps going, keeps moving until he finishes himself in me. I think it's over before more football players start their assault, I hear Grace screaming beside me. I want to help her but I can't. I can't do anything as the darkness closes in on me.
I wake up in a cold sweat stifling a scream as Roman sleeps peacefully next to me, I try to catch my breath as I look around the room trying to gather my surroundings. I sit up tears burning my eyes as I feel Roman stirring beside me. "Hayden, are you okay?" he asks with sleep in his voice. I ignore him as I feel the vomit rising in my throat. I run to the master bathroom turning on the light and heaving over the toilet, vomiting into the toilet from the nightmare and from the two babies inside of me. I can't stop it seems as the memory of the night burns in my mind. I sit off to the side of the toilet with my back against the cold tub with my head in my hands as I begin to sob thinking back to that night. Roman knocks on the door, "Hay, are you okay? Is everything all right?" I can't get my words out as I cry on the bathroom floor. "Hayden, are you okay?" he asks and I can hear the panic in his voice and the concern.
"I will be right out," I manage to say before I go back to sobbing and being sick. I place my hand on my stomach. "I promise, Babies I am not always such a mess. I promise," I say to our babies.
I clean myself up splashing water on my face before I walk out to the bedroom. Roman has the bedside lamp on and he's sitting up in bed with the covers covering him from the waist down while his chest is exposed. I walk to him and climb into bed beside him. "Everything okay?" he asks.
"I'm okay," I say. "You don't have to worry," I snuggle up to him wrapping my arm around his torso and resting my head on his chest.
"Okay," he says kissing the top of my head as he wraps me in his arms. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Hayden, it's 3 in the morning I was sleeping until my wife ran out of our bed," he says.
"Right," I smile. "I love you, Roman."
"I love you too," he says. "You have to be up for work in a couple hours. You should get some sleep."
"I know," I say. "I'm going to try."
"All right," he says as we let go of each other to lay down. I snuggle up to him as he reaching over to turn the light off. He kisses the top of my head softly as he strokes my arm as I close my eyes trying not to relive the nightmare that woke me from my sleep.
Later that morning I go to work after only getting a couple hours of sleep because once I woke up from my nightmare I was too scared to go back to sleep because every time I closed my eyes I would see Mack. I didn't want to relive the nightmare so I just laid in bed staring at the wall as Roman slept beside me until my alarm went off. I showered, had breakfast with the girls and Roman before I left for the day not really speaking with Roman that morning which is unusual for both of us not to talk much in the morning. "It looks like you had another rough night," says Chad.
"You don't even want to know," I say as we walk into my office.
"Sick again?"
"Usually the babies do keep me awake but it wasn't the babies this time," I say. He starts laughing. "What is so funny?" I ask.
"The fact you were trying not to get pregnant with the pullout method and then you ended up pregnant with twins," he says.
"Hilarious," I say with a smile. "I'm warming up to the idea I was excited to be having one baby but I'm warming up to having twins. I think it's going to be an interesting adventure."
"I'm sure it is, you must have some really fertile eggs, Fertile Myrtle," he says.
"I guess so but the egg split so only one egg was fertilized it just split," I say.
"How did Roman take it? Did he faint?"
"No he thought the doctor was joking at first but he seemed pretty happy with himself and his abilities. I am surprised I didn't faint. I felt like I was going to it was a big shock but I'm handling it and I can't wait to meet them."
"I bet," he says. "So are you going to take time off after you have them or no?" he asks, "because with the money Roman is bringing in you really don't have to work."
"I don't have to work but Roman knows how much I love working so I am not going to stop after the babies are born. I'm probably going to take about 8-12 weeks off but I'll be back. I love what I do and I love helping people," I say.
"Like facing your past rape by helping someone else that was raped by the same man?" he asks.
"Yeah I guess," I say. "Bayley deserves some justice for what Mack did to her."
"You deserved some justice too but I am worried about you taking this case. I'm talking to you as your best friend not your assistance I am really worried about you taking this case. I don't want you to get memories of what happened to you and fall back on it. I also don't want your personal issues getting in the way of the case. I know you want justice for Bayley we all do but I also don't want to see you push too hard," he says.
"Have you been talking to Roman?" I ask, "because he thinks I should drop it. He says it's too much for me."
"I don't disagree with him, Baby Girl," he says. "I think you're in over your head here and I think that you're going to regress back into the girl you were in college after it happened. Rape is serious, Hayden, and it can cause you to regress back to what you once felt. I don't want you to be looking at her details and then reliving your own details."
"It's too late for that," I say honestly. "I had a nightmare last night. I relived my rape in my sleep. It was horrible back then I couldn't remember the details but in my dream they were vivid."
"Oh, Hayden," he says pulling me in for a hug. I wrap my arms around him hugging him back as I feel the tears burning my eyes.
"It was terrible, I could feel everything and his face it haunts me. I thought that I was over it. I thought I could do this but I'm starting to think maybe it's too much but Bayley is depending on me to help her and I don't just want to leave her hanging."
"I think it's weird she came all the way to you from Ohio for help," he says.
"I don't know," I cry on his shoulder. "I don't know what to do, Chad."
"I think you need to think about it and need to decide if this is what you really want to do. I know you want to help Bayley but is this good for you, is it worth the nightmares and reliving it?"
"I don't know, Chad, I really don't know. Please don't tell Roman."
"Hayden, you know I don't like keeping these things from Roman if you're having nightmares you need to tell him, he needs to know," he says.
"I know but I'm not ready to tell him yet I need to decide what I want to do. I don't want to let Bayley down but I'm not ready to face my past again," I say as we break our embrace.
"Have you ever really faced it? Have you really ever talked about it?" he asks as we take a seat on the couch in my office.
"I tried to drink it away," I say, "I talked to a therapist once or twice about my feelings on it but like I said back then I didn't really remember all the details but now I do," I say.
"It probably wouldn't hurt for you to talk to a therapist again and it wouldn't hurt for you to talk to Roman too and let him know what's going on," he says.
"A therapist might be a good idea but talking to Roman may not he's going to tell me to drop the case. We're pregnant he's not going to want the added stress on me."
"Because that's what good husbands do," he says, "Roman cares about you and loves you so much. Of course he's not going to want the added stress on you. He doesn't want to see you become a victim of your past again as much as I don't want to see that as well. I think you should drop the case."
"I know," I say letting out a breath.
"And I know you want to help Bayley but you need to help yourself for those babies and yourself."
"I know but I don't want to let her down. I don't want her to be like me and years later regret not fighting harder." I say. "I want to see Mack get everything he deserves."
"For you or for her?" he asks.
"For both of us," I say honestly. "He got away with raping me and I am sure there were other victims. If he gets away this time he's going to keep doing it and keep believing he's untouchable. I have to do this for both of us. I'm willing to face my past so that he can get what he deserves."
"All right," he says, "but promise me that if it gets to be too much that you will drop the case."
"I promise," I say with a smile. "Thank-you for being the best friend ever!"
"You're welcome. I love you, Hayden."
"I love you too," I say before I give him a hug, "and that's why you're going to be the Godfather of our babies."
"That's an amazing honor," he smiles. "Thank-you."
"You're welcome," I say making a note to talk to Roman about that later today since we haven't really discussed making anyone Godparents of our babies yet. I'm sure he won't mind but then again I don't know what he's planning.
ROMAN:
"How's everything going in the Reigns' house?" asks my best friend Dean as we are sitting outside on his porch drinking a beer.
"Interesting," I say, "I mean Hayden is pregnant."
"That was fast congratulations," he says with a pat on my back. "How does it feel knowing you're going to be a father again?"
"I'm excited. I've wanted this for a while and I was surprised when she told me the news."
"How is she handling it?" he asks.
"I think she's happy about it. I know she's letting it digest and the fact we're having twins was another shock."
"Damn, when you get the job done you really get the job done," he says with a smile. "When are they due?" he asks.
"February 1st," I say.
"Oooh, superbowl weekend, how's that going to work out?" he asks.
"My team has to get there first then I'll worry about it," I say. "But whatever team that is I don't know."
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"I mean that the Steelers head coach got fired today and they are looking for a replacement for him. They called me earlier asking if I could go to Pittsburgh to interview for the job and of course I am going to go. I mean it is a head coaching job something that I have dreamed of doing."
"Have you told Hayden yet?" he asks.
"Nope, I thought about buttering her up because if I get this job that means that we will have to locate to Pittsburgh before training camp."
"Wow," he says, "Hayden is going to have a fit."
"I know," I say, "but this is everything I have ever wanted in my life." I take a swig of my beer, "and then I will have to talk to Shea about it and the possibility of relocating to Pittsburgh."
"I see," he says, "Shea isn't going to be happy."
"I'm getting that no one will be happy with a move but I have to do what I need to do."
"I understand," he says. "At least they are interested in you."
"I know," I say, "but I don't know if I am ready to uproot our lives for a move to Pittsburgh. I know Hayden loves this warm weather but in Pittsburgh the winters are going to be rough."
"Yeah they are," he says. "Have you ever dealt with a real winter before with blizzards?"
"Not really I grew up in Pensacola and went to Georgia now here in Louisiana."
"You'll be in for a surprise," he says, "so have you told Nova and Ky that they are going to get little brothers or sisters or one of each?"
"We haven't really told anyone. Hayden is waiting till she's 12 weeks along before we tell anyone because she wants to make sure everything is good with them. I want to tell my mom she's going to be excited for some grandchildren."
"Shea waited till she was 12 weeks too," he says. "I guess that's the safe zone. Are you going to find out the sex?"
"I want to but I don't know if Hayden does. I'm fine with anything. I think it's better we find out since we are having twins. I could really use some boys. I love Nova and Ky but I want sons."
"Hopefully that's what you get," he says, "but you could end up with a house full of girls."
"Don't joke about that," I say. "I can't even think about all the drama that would unfold. I would love to have a couple sons to play football and baseball. Nova and Ky aren't into any of that. They love their gymnastics and cheerleading."
"I hear you," he says, "and those hairbows."
"I know, I am over those bows but they love them. I love my girls though."
"They are pretty great," he says.
"Well, I have some buttering up to do with Hayden. I need to cook her dinner tonight so I can tell her the news."
"Good luck with that," he says.
"Thanks," I say.
I spend the afternoon going to the grocery store to pick up things to cook Hayden for dinner. I wish we had an Island grocery store in New Orleans like we did in Pensacola it would have made my trip a lot easier to find everything I need for our dinner. I decided to cook Shoyu chicken Hawaiian style with island fried rice with grilled pineapple for dinner. Hayden enjoys a lot of Island foods since she tried my mom's Samoan food when we went to Florida for a visit. It is one of her favorite meals. I watch the girls playing out in the backyard on the trampoline while I cook on the grill as Hayden walks out onto the patio. "You're cooking dinner?" she asks.
"Yeah," I smile as she comes to me. I wrap one arm around her waist. She's starting to show that she's pregnant already. I guess that's what happens when it's twins. I place my hand on her stomach. "You're starting to show."
"I know, I don't think I am going to keep it hidden much longer," she says. "Want to make an announcement tonight on Facebook or Instagram?"
"I think we can wait but we definitely should tell our girls and I want to tell my mom first because if we announce it on social media before we tell her she's going to be upset."
"Okay," she says. "So what are you making?"
"Shoyu chicken, grilled pineapple and island fried rice," I answer her.
"Mmm, sounds delicious," she says. "I need to get out of these heels and change into more comfortable clothes. I'll be back."
"All right, Baby," I say before kissing her lips softly letting her go to change while I finish the dinner. My phone begins to buzz in my pocket. I pull it out and see it is my mom calling she couldn't have chosen a better time to call. "Hey, Mom," I say answering the phone as I cook.
"Hey, Roman," she says, "so how is the married life going?" she asks.
"It's going pretty good," I say with a smile. "I'm enjoying it. It's definitely different with Hayden than with Shea that's for sure."
"That's because Hayden is different than Shea and Hayden calls you out on your shit. I like her. She's been good for you."
"That she does," I smile, "and yeah she's been the best thing to happen to me. I'm pretty happy with her."
"I'm glad to hear that," she says as Hayden comes back out on the patio dressed in a pair of black leggings and a coral tank top that really shows her growing stomach. I smile as she takes a seat at the table. She's beautiful and I realize how lucky I am to have her in my life.
"So what's going on?"
"Nothing I just wanted to check in on my son to see how he was doing and his new wife."
"Doing pretty good here," I smile as Hayden looks at me with her dark brown eyes through her thick eyelashes. "In fact, Hayden and I have some news for you."
"What is it?" she asks as I put the phone on speaker.
"Well, Hayden is pregnant," I say with a smile and my mom starts screaming on the other end in excitement. "We're having twins in February!" Hayden and I smile at each other over my mom's excitement.
"TWINS! I am excited for you both! I haven't had a grandchild in a long time. I'm excited. I'm going to come visit as soon as they are born. Congratulations!" she says.
"Thank-you," we say together.
"Hayden, how are you feeling?" she asks.
"I'm having some morning sickness but I am feeling all right," she smiles.
"Well, we'll have to get together to plan your baby shower and make arrangements for me to come visit so we can go shopping and plan on a nursery for the babies," she says.
"That sounds great," says Hayden with a smile. "Just give me a call later and we can talk about it."
"Okay," she says. "I'm going to let you go, Bye Hayden."
"Bye," she says.
"Bye, Roman," she says.
"Bye," I say before cutting the call. "Well, she's happy."
"She definitely is. I hope my mom is just as excited but since these are their first grandchildren they might be excited if not I don't really care."
"I know," I say as I take the chicken off the grill. "Are you happy about being pregnant?"
"I'm not upset about it like I was. I mean if I didn't really want to get pregnant I would have been more careful but I'm happy about it and I can't wait to meet them and I can't wait to make you a daddy again." I smile at her and kiss her lips softly before I lay the chicken on the picnic table. "You're happy right?"
"Ecstatic but I have to tell you something," I say.
"All right," she says, "what's up?"
"I got a phone call this morning," I say.
"All right," she says cautiously. "About?"
"Well, remember when we were talking a couple days ago about me possibly being a head coach someday?"
"Yeah," she says.
"Well, Steelers fired their head coach so they are looking for a replacement for him. They gave me a call and are interested in giving me the job, I just need to go for an interview."
"So Pittsburgh?" she asks.
"Yes," I say. "I'm not fond of leaving the south either but this is my dream and I will take any head coaching job that I can. It's more money."
"Does money matter?" she asks.
"Not really but achieving my dream does," I say, "so I'm going to fly up to Pittsburgh tomorrow to interview for this job."
"Tomorrow?" she asks.
"Yes, tomorrow what's wrong with tomorrow?" I ask.
"Your daughter graduates up to the next class at preschool tomorrow," she says.
"Shit, I forgot about that but I can't miss this interview. I need to go maybe you could facebook it live or facetime me in tomorrow?"
"Roman," she says, "this is important to Ky and you know Shea is going to give shit if you miss this."
"Shea will understand, this is my dream, Hayden," I say.
"And Ky is your daughter and this is a big milestone for her she finished her first year of preschool."
"I know it's important but it's not like she's graduating from preschool it's just up to K-4," I say, "so it's not really that big of a deal."
"And there he is the asshole Roman I have been warned about," she says. "Is that what is going to happen with our kids? You're just going to blow them off for something that's important for you?"
"Why are you getting so upset, this is my dream, Hayden."
"Right, awesome, I hope you get it. I hope you become a head coach but I hope you don't lose sight of your priorities," she says standing up. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to go lay down. I'm not feeling well."
"Hayden," I call after her but she keeps walking. "Damn it!" I say. I am torn between blowing off this interview for my daughter's preschool graduation but this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kylynn doesn't graduate from preschool until next year so it's not like she completely finished it I can't miss this interview but I can't miss this preschool thing either.
*A/N: So what did you think? What did you think of Hayden's nightmare? Why is she suddenly remembering the details of her rape? Do you agree with Chad she needs to see a therapist again and talk to Roman? Should she drop the case or keep going with it so that Mack gets what he deserves? What do you think about Roman getting an interview to be a head coach for the Steelers? Do you think Hayden really wants to move to Pittsburgh if he gets the job? What did you think of Roman's mom's reaction to the pregnancy? How do you think they should announce it? Should Roman blow off the interview for Kylynn's graduation or should he blow off the graduation for the interview? Please review and thank-you for reading.