CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Martha looked at her reflextion in the bathroom mirror; taking in her appearance. Her face was flushed and she felt quite warm. She turned the cold tap on and leant over the sink; splashing her face with the cool water. She looked up into the mirror again and watched as the droplets of water rolled down her face and neck.
"You are such an idiot," she whispered to herself. She then snatched up the hand towel and used it to pat her face dry before leaving the bathroom.
She quickly tip-toed her way back to Jack's room. She hoped that she hadn't made any noise. It was only 2 am and she didn't want to wake Lucas or Tony. She crept into Jack's room and softly shut the door behind her. She stood on the spot for a moment and looked at the bed. Jack was spread out on his back; sound asleep.
She quietly padded across the room until she reached the bedroom window. As gently as she could, she pushed the window up, letting the cool breeze wash over her. She took a deep breath; inhaling the sweet smell of Beth's roses that were growing on the other side of the fence. The light from the moon shone directly into the bedroom; lighting it up in a soft glow. It was a beautiful night.
She moved a chair over to the window and sat down; leaning her head on the window ledge. She couldn't sleep and so many thoughts were going around in her mind. She was so angry with herself. She'd come here intent on telling Jack about the baby; but instead she had screwed up big time.
She had let her emotions get in the way. Instead of listening to her mind, she'd listened to what her body had wanted and had given into her needs. Jack had been the one who instigated it all, but she couldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault that he had the power to make her weak at the knees.
She couldn't help but feel like an idiot, and not to mention a hypocrit. In a lot of ways she was just like Megan. Megan had kept Grace a secret from Jack, and now she was doing the same with her baby.
"Martha," a voice called. Martha's head shot up and she looked towards the bed. Jack was awake. He was still lying in the same position but he was now looking at her.
"Hey," she said in a hushed voice.
"What are you doing?" he asked her.
"I was really hot, so I just opened the window to let a breeze in," Martha told him.
"Are you coming back to bed? It's only 2 am," Jack said before letting out a yawn.
"Yep," Martha nodded, but didn't move from her seat.
Jack looked at her and smiled. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out to her.
Martha stood up and grabbed his hand; letting him pull her down next to him. She fell back; curling up beside him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck and shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're here. I'm not letting you go ever again," Jack murmered.
I hope he still feels like that when he finds out I've been lying and keeping secrets from him, Martha thought to herself.
Megan hurried out of the diner. She was in a rush to get back to her mother and Grace. She had left them at the hotel while she went to get breakfast. And she wanted to get back to them before the food got cold.
She was just about to walk around the side of the diner towards the carpark, when she heard Lucas's voice coming from around the corner. She paused on the spot and poked her head around to see who he was talking too. It was Tasha. Luckily for Megan they hadn't spotted her, and even better she could hear every word of their conversation.
"So it's done? Martha told Jack about the baby?" Tasha asked Lucas.
What the hell, Megan thought.
"Yep. Finally," Lucas smiled. "She came around last night and went straight to his room to tell him. She even spent the night, so it must have went extremely well. I didn't get to see them this morning though; they were still in bed when I left," Lucas explained.
"I wonder how Jack reacted when she told him that she had been keeping it from him for two months," Tasha began. "And not to mention the fact that we knew even before he did," she finished.
"Well, I'm sure it went fine. If it hadn't, I'd doubt Martha would have spent the night," Lucas said.
Megan stood on the spot shocked. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Martha was pregnant!
This was not supposed to happen. Jack was supposed to be with her and Grace. But if Martha was having a baby with Jack, then he'd never come back to her. He'd stay with Martha for sure. And from the sounds of it, Martha had spent the night with Jack. And that would mean that her and Jack are back together.
This was not supposed to happen, Megan angrily thought to herself. Jack was supposed to end up with me. No, this isn't fair. It wasn't supposed to end up like this. She had to see Jack. She needed to find out what the hell was going on.
"See, this is the way it's supposed to be," Jack said to Martha as he kissed her softly. They had both just finished getting dressed, and were now sitting in on Jack's bed.
"What do you mean?" Martha asked him, sounding confused.
"You, being here with me," he told her.
"If you say so," she smiled at him.
"I say so," Jack exclaimed before kissing her again.
Now's your chance, Martha thought to herself. He's in a good mood, so do it now.
Martha sighed. "You know how I said last night that I had something really important to tell you," she said.
"Yeah, but I ended up convincing you to partake in a little exercise routine," Jack teased.
"Yes, you did," Martha laughed. "But I really need you to stop joking around for a minute. This is really serious and really important, and I need you to listen to me," she explained.
"Am I going to like it?" Jack asked her, sounding a little worried.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," Martha told him.
"You're not seeing someone else are you?" Jack shot out.
Martha looked at him horrified. "What? No way. I'd never do that to you. I love you," she reassured him.
"Oh, that's good then," Jack smiled at her. "Ok, so what's so important".
Martha took a deep breath. "Well...," she started but was cut off by a knock on the door. She groaned out loud. "You've got to be kidding me," she said.
"I'll tell whoever it is to come back later," Jack said as he stood up and walked out of his room, leaving Martha alone.
He quickly walked to the door, and let out his own groan when he saw that it was Megan. "Look, I can't talk right now. Can you come back later," he said to her. But she wasn't listening; she just pushed past him and into the house.
"Is it true?" Megan wanted to know.
Jack looked at her like she had two heads. He was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"About the baby, Jack. I heard Lucas and Tasha talking about it down at the diner," she shot out.
Jack still had no idea what she was on about. "Still no clue," he said sarcastically.
Megan groaned. "Don't play stupid Jack. I heard it come from their mouths," she began. "They said that Martha was pregnant and that she'd known for quite awhile, but didn't tell you. But then Lucas said that she came here and told you last night. So, I guess since her car is still here, you're back together," she rambled on.
Jack felt like he had just been kicked in the guts. Martha was pregnant and didn't tell him. But Lucas and Tasha knew.
"I think you should go," Jack said to Megan.
"What? I want to know what's going on," Megan protested. "I need to know if this changes things for me and Grace," she kept on.
"I said go," Jack practically yelled at her.
"Fine," Megan snapped and stormed off out the door.
Jack stood rooted on the spot. He slowly turned and walked towards his bedroom.
Martha was still sitting on Jack's bed. She had heard the entire exchange between Jack and Megan. She was so dead. Dead meat. She lowered her head into her hands and began to sob. What was she going to say? She was scared.
She heard a cough. She looked up and Jack was standing in the doorway looking at her. He didn't look too happy.
"What the hell is going on?" Jack demanded.
NEXT CHAPTER - Martha explains to Jack. What will he do? And what will she do afterwards?