Howdy!
First of all, I just wanted to thank all of you again for your thoughts and reviews. The story is getting pretty close to it's conclusion, as there are two more chapters left after this set. This doesn't mean that the story ends after the next update, just that the format will change slightly - you'll get it in the next set. Anyway, I thought this would be a nice time to offer sort of a Q&A. If you have any burning/general questions you'd like me to address (i.e. why I wrote the story, my favorite part(s), why did so and so do this or that) feel free to PM or put them in your review. It can be anything honestly, but keep in mind that some of them might be answered by the rest of the story. Like if you ask, "Will Shadow and Amy get together?" or "Does Silver find out?" you're going to know when the story ends, so I'll just revise them. Once I get a decent number of responses, I can upload the questions with the epilogue. Sound cool?
Anyway, here's the next update. This set is a personal favorite of mine, so I hope you all enjoy. :)
Chapter 30
It wasn't fair to be avoiding him—Scourge I mean. But with great relief came great responsibility. And I knew we couldn't continue on as we were for the following three reasons:
1. I was having twins. TWINS.
2. I was beginning to show. Even if it mostly looked like I overate.
3. He lied to me. Or rather, kept the truth from me. Again.
I probably did no favors by also canceling our meeting this week, since the hearing was quickly approaching. But if we were together, we'd probably just do it. Which would still accomplish nothing.
"Was there a reason you canceled our meeting?" I shouldn't have been surprised that Scourge showed up anyway. He sat down in front of my desk. "Sorry for imposing. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."
The look in his eyes was concerned. Sexy. I shook my head.
"Nope," I replied. "We just made a lot of progress really quickly, and I have what I need. It's pretty much like you have two weeks off until the hearing. We'll meet a few days before then to go over procedure." I turned to a stack of pre-nup contracts I had to review for Phoebe. "But we should be done for now."
He pursed his lips. "What if I want to see you before then, Miss Rose?" There was a seductive smirk in his eyes. "I'd like to discuss some more things with you."
"I'm sorry, but it's important to maintain an air of professionalism," I replied. But my foot was in between is legs, massaging his groin underneath the table. His smirk widened. "If we discuss too much leading up to the hearing, the judge might be suspicious. Lawyers are pretty much just nosy lie-detectors, remember?"
"But it's been almost three weeks." He leaned back, closed his eyes as I continued my sweet torture. He hissed. "If you don't stop, I'm going to—"
"Keep thinking hard about the case, Mr. Hedgehog," I said almost too loudly, watching Tabitha cross the hall.
"Fine. You're right," he sighed, opening his eyes.
"I'm always right," I replied, writing down a note. I handed it to Scourge. His smirk only intensified.
"Glad we're finally seeing eye to eye."
Just one more night.
XOXO Rosie
I know.
I should have confronted Scourge with my evidence. Instead, I was at his door, ready to discuss with him. I know, I know, I know—it was wrong. I know that I should have taken Ms. Ferret's advice. I know that we were only granted a handful of miracles and I was pushing my luck— my relationship with Blaze and the others—by continuing to do this. But the part of my brain that justified poor decisions kept assuring me that something that felt so good couldn't be that bad. When Scourge kissed me lovingly in the doorway, all of my prior reservations evaporated.
"How is it possible to get more gorgeous every time I see you?" he said between kisses. I laughed.
"Are we going to talk?" I then replied, suckling on his lip. "Or are you going to drop your pants?"
He snickered a few bars before pulling me into the dining room. "Not yet."
I rolled my eyes, but in doing so, I caught a glimpse of the place. Candles lit up the dim space, illuminating the silver dishes and tableware, and dressing up the dinner.
I turned to him. "You did all of this?" He nodded.
"You're vegan now, right?" he opened a pot of stew. "One my associates let me borrow this great recipe book." He pulled out a seat for me. "You can see it if you want."
But all I wanted to do was cry. Well, and eat. "I can't believe you would go through all of this trouble." I smiled at him, kissing him again. "Thank you."
"I should be saying the same thing to you." He sat down. "I know this might be premature, but I'm really thankful for what you've done for me. You didn't have to do it—especially with how I treated you."
"You are being premature," I said, taking a bite of the stew. My taste buds sang. "But I'm glad you took a chance with me too. As hard as it was to wonder what happened between us, it must have been harder taking care of Sage."
He shrugged. "I didn't make it easier on anyone by shutting you out." He took my hand. "I wouldn't forgive me."
"Good thing I'm not you."
We sat there like old friends. Actually discussed our hopes, our undiscovered dreams. It was weird; I couldn't even remember our last date, if you could even call this that. All I knew was that this was nice. And I would give almost everything to stay in this forever.
"I just want Sage to be happy," Scourge said, rubbing my shoulder. We were in the living room now, sitting like a normal couple—my legs over his lap, my head leaning into the crook of his neck. I breathed in the moment as he took a sip directly from one of the wine bottles. He offered me some. I wrinkled my nose.
"I actually stopped drinking two years ago." If I wasn't so infatuated by him, my eyes would be on the bottle. I didn't like alcohol that much, but it was something that you missed when it was gone. Like security. Like being in the arms of someone who loved you. I kissed his cheek. "And Sage is happy. You mean the world to him."
"And he means the world to me." He kissed my lips. "You mean the world to me too."
These were gateway words, and I accepted them. He was on top of me, kissing me hungrily. I whimpered beneath him, clutching on his back for support. I moaned when his hot lips made contact with my neck. My back arched as his kisses trail downward, past my collarbone and stopping at my cleavage. He unbuttoned my blouse before ceasing me in another lip-lock, grinding his tongue against mine. He followed the same example with his body, secured his hands on my hips as he grinded into me. I gasped.
His teeth unhooked the front of my bra, and he groaned as he took a breast to his mouth. The vibration of his lips aroused me further, and I rubbed myself up and down his clothed length, almost getting off from the friction. His fingers teased my core and I threw my head back with a moan.
Scourge was chuckling when he took his hands in mine, extending them over my head as he moved onto my left teat, sucking harder. My mind scattered.
"Mmmm…" I bit my lip as I looked at him through lidded eyes. In a moment he extended himself upward. He licked his lips, but his eyes were filled with confusion, not lust. The pleasurable sensations stopped and I looked into his eyes. Which were staring at my chest. I looked down. Was I…lactating?
I rose up almost as quickly as he did. He stared at me like he didn't know me. Before I could open my mouth to respond, his hand pressed against my stomach. I shook from his grip.
"I just ate," I pushed. But there was little conviction in my voice, little reconsideration in his eyes. "I-I'm on weird medication." The intensity of his expression increased.
"Rosie," his voice was in a hush. I shook my head, rising to my feet. I had to go—I had no business here in the first place. But strong arms hugged me from behind. I tried to wrestle free. He couldn't know. I had one job—and he couldn't know.
"Let go of me!" But his grip held strong. I remember losing the battle when I blacked out.
"Is she going to be alright?" A male voice said.
"That depends on your definition of alright," another replied. "The blood test indicates that she's—"
I hissed as my unconsciousness slipped away from me. I didn't know how it was possible to wake up exhausted, but when I realized I was in a bed that wasn't mine, panic rushed through me like the bright lights of the room. I closed my eyes in a hard squint.
"Where…am I?" I began. My throat was scratchy and my body felt like a rock.
A door shot opened before I could get any answers. If the environment wasn't toxic before, it sure was now.
"YOU!" My eyes snapped open. Blaze. Only she wasn't threatening to kill me. In a second she dashed to the frame of my bed, where Scourge and Parker were standing. In the hospital.
Shit.
Her fist collided with Scourge's skull, and he was thrown against the wall. In a flash, her fists were on fire. She walked up to him slowly, her intent most likely murder.
"Stop it!" I rose from my bed, but instantly regretted the sudden motion. I fell back down, feeling vomit rise to my lips.
"What did you do to her?!" Blaze said, throwing a fireball at him. It became a game of dodge ball. It looked fun, until I remembered they were playing with fire.
"ENOUGH," Parker said, ducking under one of the flames. "If you don't stop this madness, I'll be forced to call security on both of you." However, his eyes only narrowed at Scourge.
"I'm not the one THROWING FIRE," he replied, glaring at Blaze. "I just want answers."
"I want him OUT," she said. "Haven't you done enough to her?"
"I'm sorry, but Dr. Hedgehog is Amy's primary emergency contact, and visiting hours are technically over." Parker said, opening a window. "Thank you for bringing her here. She and the baby should be fine. But you'll have to leave now."
Scourge's mouth parted and his gaze fell on me. The look in his eyes couldn't be described, just that it killed my soul. They were asking me how I could keep this a secret from him, how could I not love him enough to tell him? And I did love him. But it was hard to love someone when you hated yourself.
With a breath, he stepped outside of the room. The door slammed. Scourge.
Blaze was the first to jump at me. "What the hell were you doing with him anyway?" It was scary how fast Blaze transitioned from a fire-beast to a damsel in distress. Tears lined her eyes as she shook her head. "I thought you were smarter than this." The tears were streaming down her face now. "…I thought you cared about me…the babies..."
"I do." I closed my eyes, and I could feel my head throb even more. I should have been crying, but I had too much shame and self-loathing to feel anything else. "I'm on Scourge's child custody case with Fiona. When he left me, it was because he had a son with her. But I never meant for it to go this far." I exhaled, but all of my inner tension remained. Scourge had to be thinking that he made the same mistake. Fuck.
I really fucked up.
Blaze shook her head. "…You knew how important this is to me, yet you put yourself at risk. All because you wanted to recreate some foolish fling you had four years ago?" She clenched her fists. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I didn't have to do this for you." I was surprised how calm I was being. "Parker said the twins are fine. The only mistakes I made was not being professional on my case and lying to Scourge." My eyes bored against hers. "Remember, you're a liar too."
"Don't turn this on me," she spat. "But you're right. People are supposed to learn from their mistakes." She moved to the door. "I'm sorry I ever trusted you."
"Blaze."
The door slammed. And I was left with another person who would probably slam one on me.
"The reason you passed out was because of an iron deficiency," Parker then said, like I was at a check-up, not a double confrontation. Probably soon to turn triple. "I'll be sure to have your doctor prescribe iron supplements with your pre-natal vitamins."
My eyes found the floor. "Is that really all you wanted to talk about?"
"I think you have enough to think about without me offering my input." He checked my IV before heading to the door. Then he stopped. I waited for the explosion.
"That's the guy you were with before me, right?" I hated the look on his face. He was annoyed. Hurt, but trying not to show it. Trying to figure out how I could pick the scum that was Scourge over him.
"Scourge was my first everything," I replied, feeling as uncomfortable as I didn't. "Still is. So when he came back, it was hard to ignore my bottled up feelings."
He nodded, pressing his lips together. "…And now you're with his children?"
My eyes narrowed. "What if I am?"
"My dad would probably be a little disappointed in you." He smiled, and the gesture broke me.
"Why are you smiling?" I hated that I was crying now, that everything was hitting me.
"Because children are a good thing." He squeezed my hand. "Even if they're produced in less than ideal circumstances."
"Thanks for not judging me," I said, rising to my feet. It was like the weight of the world was pushing down on my shoulders. "But the babies aren't mine."
Parker raised a brow before I briefed him on the "less than ideal circumstances".
"Oh." He folded his arms. "That would explain why your friend was so pissed."
"Yeah," I said, rubbing my stomach. "Do you think what we're doing is stupid?"
He gave me a contemplative look. "What Blaze went through can be quite traumatic. She might want a reason to maintain the illusion of being pregnant since it's highly likely she never will be."
My heart fell. She said she was doing this to preserve her pristine image. That she merely didn't have the guts to come clean. I thought she was only lying to the others—not herself. "I didn't think about it like that."
"Although I can't tell you how to live your life, you should be careful," Parker said, checking his phone. "This is incredibly important to Blaze, and you're in your second trimester. Don't put yourself under any more stress than you need to."
"Believe me, I'm not trying to," I sighed. But he was right—I did myself no favors sneaking around with Scourge. I had to come clean and end it.
"Where are you going?" Parker said as my hand found the doorknob. I turned to him, offering him a hopeful smile.
"I have no idea."
~KB