Chapter 34:Do You Love Me?
Vincent was sitting in a corner of his workroom, sorting through wax pebbles. Katrina's words were still ringing through his ears. He wiped away a tear angrily as he pulled up a new handful of pebbles. He picked out the cleanest, whitest pebbles of wax and put them into a bucket beside his chair. "Only the best wax will do for her," he thought. Vincent glanced up as the trap door to his workroom creaked open and shadowy figures made their way down the stairs.
"Hold my hand darlin'," he heard Bo say. "I don't want you to slip."
"I don't need to be put on a pedestal," Katrina retorted.
Vincent choked back a sob. So it was true. They were . . . intimate. He stood up, picking up his knife from the table beside him. He would kill her. Not Bo, for who could resist such beauty? It was all her fault . . .
The two stepped out into the candlelight. Katrina was holding onto Bo's arm. She saw the knife in Vincent's hand and anger rose within her.
"So you're just going to kill me, are you?" she asked.
Vincent nodded and pointed towards her arm, still linked with Bo's.
"You must not think too much of me if you think I'd screw your woman, you fucking freak," Bo snapped.
Vincent growled and stepped forward.
"Bo, please leave us alone," Katrina sighed.
He glanced at her warily. "Are you sure? I don't want this nut hurting you."
She nodded.
"You'd better listen to her before you act like a God damned fool," Bo cautioned Vincent.
Katrina waited until Bo had gone upstairs before she took a step towards Vincent. "Will you put that down and come here?" she asked.
He hesitated for a moment before setting down the knife and walking over to her. "I can always strangle her," he thought. When he saw the purple bruise across her cheek, he felt some sorrow. It was quickly wiped away when he remembered what she had done.
She looked up at him, trying her hardest to calm herself down as she knew she was in danger. "Vincent," Katrina began, "I'm so sorry. For what I did, and the things I said."
Vincent shook his head. "Too late."
"I love you so much," she continued. "It wasn't my fault . . . well, it was, but . . ."
His arms snaked out, wanting to touch her one last time . . . he ran his fingers up along her bare shoulders and come to rest around her neck. She shivered as he traced her collarbone with his thumbs, knowing what he was readying himself to do.
"Vincent, do you love me? I mean really, really love me. Not just lust, or because of some stupid shit about me being the only girl who wanted you and all that."
He stared at her, wondering if it was a joke.
"Well, do you?" she asked again.
Vincent closed his eye, trying to stifle the rage and pain he felt. "I love you, Katrina."
"I love you too, Vincent. More than anything."
His eye opened. "Then why . . ."
She began to laugh mirthlessly. "Because I'm stupid, Vincent. Very stupid. But there's another reason I'm being so weird." Her hand went up to his and pulled it down to her stomach. "Vincent, we're going to have a baby."
"What?" His expression was so comical she had to laugh.
"A baby, Vincent. I'm pregnant."
His other hand dropped from her neck to touch her abdomen. "A baby? Our baby?"
Katrina nodded at him. "Yes. Our baby. It's why I've been so . . . hormonal." She threw her hands around his neck. "I'm so, so sorry. I love you so much, I can't believe . . ."
He put a finger on her lips. "A baby? Really?"
Laughing, she nodded again.
"Kitty . . ." he whispered before kissing her.
She kissed him back before pulling away and mock punching him. "You were going to make me wax just so I'd still be here? What were you going to do, leave the crotch open so you could screw me?"
Vincent's brow furrowed in anger before he realized she was joking. "No," he said seriously. "I was going to put you down here, so I could always look at you."
Katrina rolled her eyes and punched him again. She walked over to the wax he had been snorting and let out a huff. "I don't know if I should be honored that you were going to all this trouble."
"I'm sorry . . ." he repeated.
She laughed. "I'll stop now. I don't know why I'm angry with you . . . if you were going to leave me, I'd kill you."
He chuckled. "I would never, ever leave you. I need you too much."
"Well I need you too, you great prat."
"What is a prat?"
"An English word for big, stupid idiot. I've been reading too much Harry Potter."
He smiled at her and kissed her again. "Let's go to bed. You need your sleep now. Lots of it, to help the baby grow." Vincent was sure he remembered reading something like that in his father's medical texts.
Katrina took his arm and pulled him over to the bed, her mind on more than just sleeping.