AN: I'm hoping Kim will be much nicer after this chapter. Maybe babies born next chapter? Suggestions for boy names are welcome :D
Chapter 6: The Burnt Pants
It takes a lot to phase me
I'm pretty stable, I'm pretty sane.
But I'm looking at my future,
And God do I have to lose her?
We shared conversations on how we're all just floating
Through space and nothing matters.
I'm looking for a pattern.
Is it possible to say,
Baby lets run away to the East Coast?
Or Seattle? Corpus? Or Saint Marcus?
I've got a credit card, and a reliable car.
Let's drive...
- Madi Don't Leave by PlayRadioPlay!
"Don't you think Embry is moving a little fast? I mean, he only met her three months ago and he's already marrying the girl," I say, fiddling with my tie. You'd think after the amount of pack weddings I've attended over the past several years, I'd be good at tying a silly tie. But, no. I struggled. Sadly.
Alas, at this point, I was just talking to myself, seeing as how Kim has been lying on the bed for the past hour, crying. I'd given up trying to comfort her about ten minutes ago. We were going to be late for the wedding. It started in twenty minutes and Kim wasn't ready. She had her hair half done up, and her make-up nowhere near being put on. She was wearing the dress she bought for the wedding, but other than that she was still a mess with tear streaks plastered onto her beautiful face.
I turn from the full length mirror placed in the corner of our room, to Kim who had a pillow thrown over her head to hide herself from me.
"Do you want a banana or something?" I ask, stupidly. Lately she'd been craving the fruit, so I figured maybe that's why she was crying since she wouldn't fucking tell me when I asked her about a billion times! Breathe in...and out.
She throws the pillow angrily at me, I push it away before it can reach the intended target (my face) and it flops on the floor.
"Why the fuck would I want a banana Jared? God! You're so insensitive!" She pulls herself up into a sitting position. Yes, now we can finally get a move on. She wavers onto her feet, due to her huge-ass belly. It was so big right now, that I was afraid she'd fall over onto it because of the weight. She'd cried herself to sleep last week when she'd realized she'd gained thirty-one pounds in the past six months. This pregnancy was not easy on her, especially lately. She had been extremely emotional recently to the point where every step I took could potentially be a bomb hidden beneath the surface ticking in wait for me to screw up. She wobbles on her feet and throws open our closet door, rifling through the hanged clothes.
"I thought you liked bananas."
She turns viciously around, glaring. I've gotten used to the glares by now, they don't faze me at all. "I hate bananas."
Well that was true in some ways, she never cared for them when she wasn't pregnant. But why would she say that after the past three weeks involved me running out to the store to buy her stupid bananas in November.
"Kim, we have to hurry up the wedding starts in twenty minutes."
"Why didn't you tell me?" She shrieks, tearing off as fast as she could – which wasn't fast at all in my eyes – to the bathroom down the hall, where she slammed the door. Tears and slamming doors; that's what I've been dealing with. I realize that it's no use; Kim is in too much of a mood to help me with my tie, as I toss it to the floor. I sat there feeling quite useless until I hear a frustrated cry from Kim. Alarmed, I sped walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
"I'm fine! They're just kicking! I don't know if it's with one another or their kicking their mother because they hate her!"
"They don't hate you!"
"Just get ready!" she snaps.
Oh, how I love my wife. And this pregnancy. Hormones are fun. After the bathroom door hit my bottom on my way out, I decided to wait in front of the door as the time ticked closer and closer to the wedding. I pondered whether I should tell Kim this, but thought better of it when I heard loud thumping from the bathroom and mutterings of hateful words.
Finally, with the wedding starting in three minutes and the ceremony a good ten minutes away by car, Kim descended down the stairs.
"You think you're so moody because the testosterone of the boys is mixing with your oestrogen creating a psycho mix of hell for your husband?" I opened my mouth and promptly closed it once I realized how much of an idiot I was for saying this.
She smiled meekly and grabbed her purse on the bureau. "Have I told you how much I love you today?"
"No," I say sourly.
"Good then, I won't have to take it back," she says smoothly and walks past me out the door.
I stay there frozen for a couple minutes, my hands clenching and unclenching, I flex my jaw, I take deep breaths as I slowly start to feel my patience slip away. I hate pregnancy. I hate it. I hate it. How badly I want to relieve my built up anger, but I find myself unable to come up with a good solution on where to dish it out. I can't on my wife. That's wrong.
Coming to an understanding with myself that I would be the perfect husband today, I exit the house and close the door behind me, only to turn around to find the car gone. Kim took the car to the wedding without me. The wedding which started five minutes ago.
Feeling very much discouraged by my wife's words and abandonment, I didn't hurry. I walked slowly thinking over everything I must be doing wrong. I didn't know how I could do her right or the babies when she was yelling at me all the time. It felt like nothing I ever did was good enough for her. Were these her true feelings or her hormones? Her fucking, life-sucking hormones. Walking at the pace I'm going, slows me down exponentially and when I finally arrive at Sam and Emily's house where Embry's wedding party is convened in the backyard, the crowd is dispersing around the house cheering the newly wedded couple on. I missed the ceremony and I'm too down to care.
I catch a glimpse of Kim in her purple dress. Having nowhere else to go, I shuffle over to her, keeping my head down as I stand by her. Cheers and cries of congratulations resound throughout the yard, as storm clouds tumble across the sky, threatening to throw rain on us. Luckily last night we organized the tents near the beach for the reception. It was going to be warm and dry in the large tents we had saved up from previous wedding parties over the years.
"Uncle Jared!" I hear a scream of excitement and I turn around quickly to see Nora, Sam and Emily's four year old daughter, bound toward me, throwing her arms around my legs. "Where were you?" she asks. Through my peripheral vision I see Kim take a couple steps away, her fear of children a reminder to my conflicted thoughts about us as parents. We were going to be awful.
"I was here the whole time," I defend myself to the child. She tugs at my pants and I throw her onto my shoulders where she's now pounding on my head, giggling and laughing. "Let's head down to the tents, shall we? Hey, Emily! I've got Nora!" I say to Emily who only just noticed her daughter wasn't playing where she thought she was. Emily nods in relief and smiles at us.
As we make our way over to the beach, Leah comes up to my left side, with Kim on my right, silent.
"Hey guys. Whoa, Kim those babies sure are growing fast aren't they?" Leah stares at her stomach wide eyed. I wish we were wolves so I could send Leah an alert, "Warning! Warning! Pregnant, vengeful, hormonal lady who wants to make everyone suffer! Warning!" But, I didn't. I couldn't. I wished Kim wouldn't say anything with Nora here, but I could see the flash of annoyance on my wife's face.
"Whoa, Leah," she mocked. "Are you still alone?"
"Hey, Kim!" I'm appalled at her words and Leah, looks as if she's been slapped in the face. "Leah, I'm so sorry, she's in a mood today," I apologize.
"Mood!" Nora sings in echo.
Leah shakes her head, as she composes her features. "Yeah, whatever. I'll see you around Jared," she stops and turns around in the other direction.
"Kim, I can't believe you just said that!" I can feel my disbelief getting the better of me. I can't wrap my head around her horrible words. My Kim would never treat anybody that way. My Kim was nice and sweet, now those demons in her belly were making her act out or something.
"She called me fat," Kim's brow is furrowed as she looks about as unsorry as anyone can look.
"She did not! She was nearly remarking on the size of your belly which has every right to be large seeing as how you're carrying twins," I say through gritted teeth, trying not to rise up an argument in front of the preschooler.
She stops and looks at me deeply upset. "I can't believe you're being so insensitive," she whispers.
"If it ain't the pot calling the kettle black," I respond. Rightfully so, she turns and marches back up the hill away from me.
"Are you guys gonna break up?" Nora clutches my hair, mussing it up.
"No, but she might kill me," I say, forgetting that I'm speaking to a kid.
"I don't want you to die," she wraps her arms around my head in a tight grip.
"There was a time Kim felt the same. Not anymore. Not today," I remark in remembrance. The girl doesn't really get what I'm going on about, but I like it that way. Eventually through a gap in the trees we can see the tents, coming closer. We reach them and I bend down a bit so we can fit through the entrance and the music is already blaring. The tables are set for placement and already quite a few people are settled waiting for the new bride and groom. I can see Nessie at a table, playing with a fork and Jacob all the way near the DJ's booth talking with Paul. At least I wasn't the only one who seemed to be having problems with his woman. Although, I knew all about Jacob's anxieties with the young half-human, half-vampire.
I place down Nora and she runs off to Claire who is sitting at the same table as Nessie with Quil. I make my way over to Jacob and Paul. More people pile into the tent, including Kim who is walking right beside Rachel. Paul glances over at his wife.
"What's wrong with Kim? She looks all angry," Paul notices.
"Babies," I say simply.
"Yeah, I heard Emily saying that she's never seen anyone be so bitchy while pregnant," Paul says. Angered by his insult toward my wife, I punch him in the face and he falls to the ground. Few people notice since it's not uncommon for one of us to lose our tempers at a wedding. Jacob doesn't flinch as he sips at his drink.
Sighing, I help Paul up and we don't mention the punch again. "Is she healthy then?" Jacob asks.
"Yeah, so it seems. Though maybe not mentally. I think the baby is seriously affecting her," I say, watching Kim converse with Rachel who looks irritable herself. Kim is fanning herself, looking rather flushed in the cheeks.
Jacob nods along like he knows what I'm saying. But he doesn't. "Mental," he says, and I see his eyes flicker over to his imprint who looks quite miserable. Jacob takes a swig of his drink and I see it is an alcoholic beverage, which doesn't have too much of an effect on werewolves. Paul had tested to see how many beers it would take before he got tipsy and the results were fifteen. Jacob looked to be only beginning. Maybe he did know what I was speaking of, in a way. It felt good to not be alone.
I hear a frustrated mumble and Rachel storms over to us, taking a spot by Paul who puts an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder soothingly without even having to think about it.
"That wife of yours is impossible lately!" Rachel snaps at me.
"Three more months," I say.
"It can't come any sooner," Rachel agrees. "She is insane. One minute she's complaining about you and how horrible you are, the next she's crying over how much she loves you and now she's insulting me! What is wrong with her?"
"It's one of those days," I try to help, but know it's no use. "It's best if everyone just steers clear of her today. She's on the warpath. Which is why, I am over here," I say, nodding to the two guys who are staring off into different spots, not really paying attention to my conversation with Rachel.
"Yeah well better keep her away from the bride or she might make her cry on her special day," Rachel says, pulling Paul's hand away and leading him to their table which I didn't doubt we'd be sharing with them.
"Yeah, I better take my seat too," Jacob says, walking over to Nessie.
I feel a wave of dread wash over me as I look over at the table that Kim is already sitting at, with Paul and a hostile Rachel. Emily, Sam, Owen and Nora sit at the very same table. Owen sits beside Kim, who frowns at this seating placement. I walk over and sit on her other side, resting my arm on the back of her chair out of habit. I see her tense shoulders relax slightly and I feel victorious as I see she has warmed up to me a bit since our argument ten minutes ago. I let out a sigh of relief.
"It's so hot in here," she complains.
"Just wait until you start dancing," Emily leans forward in her chair, a happy smile on her distorted face.
"Who said anything about dancing?" Kim asks.
"Dancing is great fun at weddings," Emily is unaware of Kim's shortness.
"No, it's not."
"Kim," I mutter a warning. She pushes my hand off the back of the chair and it hangs limply by my side. I sigh again.
"Stop sighing," she orders.
Applause is heard throughout the tent as we all welcome Embry, Lydia and Boone into their reception as one big happy family. Hollers and cries are echoed among many different people as they take their seat at a completely different table, in the center of the other tables. We all clap until their sitting and the food is brought out and presented to each of us.
"Momma, I don't want veggies," Owen pouts. Emily shakes her head and points to the broccoli covered in cheese.
"Owen, we discussed this before we came," Emily brought out her motherly tone, which she carried on with the wolf pack too.
The two kids picked at their food. Fascinated I watched, while I ate my own.
"This tastes funny," Nora mentions.
"Stop it the both of you," Emily stresses.
"I'm not eating it," Owen puts down his fork and crosses his arms.
"Listen to your mother," Sam's commanding voice finalizes the argument. Upset, Owen picks up his fork and continues to work around the vegetables.
I watch all of this and Kim at the same time. She pretends that none of that just happened. She eats away, in a very particular way. I notice she's barely eating herself.
"Are you feeling alright?" I ask, speaking lowly so only she can hear.
"Why?"
"You're not eating much. Come on, the babies need it."
"Shut up."
Paul snorts into his food. My misery is hilarious to him. Well it's not to me! I grip my fork and wonder if I can get away with stabbing him in the shoulder. Hmm...oh right, there's kids present. I miss the days when we were all werewolves without kids. We could have healed from a brawl in seconds, now it could take hours and eventually it might take days. Well at least I can imagine hurting him.
I stare off into the white tent for a long while and when I look down back at my food it's gone. Someone took it from me. Dancing is starting.
"Wanna dance with me, Uncle Jared?" Nora slips off the chair and moves over to me. I look up to see Emily smile at me warmly. Kim has left the table and is walking around, probably looking for someone else she can piss off.
"Yeah, sure I can dance like nobody else," I brag, picking her up and swinging her around. After dancing with Nora for about another seven more songs, I finally put her on her feet and begged for her permission to let me go for just a little while. Reluctantly she agreed, glaring at me a bit as well. I went outside, feeling quite hot.
"Jared!" I look over to see Claire skipping toward me. "When'd you get the cast off?" I hadn't seen her much lately, and she looked more grown up so quickly. I must have only seen her about three months ago. Puberty. At least she won't grow nearly as fast as we did when we had the change or even Nessie who grew fully in seven years.
"A while back, Claire. Where've you been?" I ask, walking with her to Quil and Jacob who were sitting on a log, the rain had cleared for the moment, but it was nice to get some cool air onto my face.
"School," she shrugged. "Nothing much. I've been pretty bored, lately."
"She got an F on her report card," Quil interfered, looking rather bothered by this mark.
"So? Quil you had to retake grade nine maths in the summer," Jacob helps out, giving Quil a look.
"Well, she's smarter than me," Quil narrowed his eyes at Jacob for revealing this.
"What'd you flunk, Claire?" I ask.
She looks annoyed at Quil for telling this. "It was just for Instrumental. The teacher hates me. I broke the violin. Well, actually, Quil broke it," Claire said, snootily.
"So, it's my fault you failed?" Quil crosses his arms.
"You guys sound like a married couple already," Jacob frowns.
"Ew, gross, I'm only thirteen," Claire turns away back toward the tent, deciding that the November chill was not for her anymore.
"She's only thirteen, Quil," Jacob teased.
"Says you. At least I imprinted on her when she could speak," Quil says bitterly.
Jacob looks unbothered by this. "Hey, at least I only waited seven years before I got laid. You've got like another five, or until she decides she wants you," Jacob shook his head.
"Don't be an asshole," Quil grumbles, kicking a soggy stick away from us. I laugh out loud. "Oh and what makes you think you're in a better position? Your wife hates you," Quil snaps.
"She doesn't hate me! She hates pregnancy," I clarify, feeling a bit of a sting at Quil's words.
"Which leads to you," Jacob adds.
"Fuck you. At least I've been talking to my imprint for the past six months. Yours has been ignoring you," I snap.
"Oooh," Quil whispers, looking rather shocked by my statement. Nessie has always been a very sensitive subject for Jacob, especially recently.
Jacob's body freezes and his easy-going attitude changes into the Alpha male. "Say that again," his voice is deep and commanding. But his orders don't affect me like they used to. A little, maybe. I can feel my body and mouth working to repeat it, but my brain is fighting.
"You heard me," I say.
Jacob takes a few steps toward me and I almost bounce on my feet, itching for a fight. "I've been wanting to beat someone down for months, Jared. You better back away, I've got a lot of built up anger."
"As do I," I reply.
Quil looks rather alarmed by the change in atmosphere. "Jared, you're not a wolf anymore..."
"Quil, shut up," Jacob and I say at the same time. We want this. There's no stopping now.
"Hey! What's going on?" Sam exits the tent, looking at us. "No fighting."
"Stop me," Jacob threatens. Sam and Jacob have never really gotten over their little power struggle. It's been years, and Sam even retired, but it was a force of habit that they both tried to stop.
"I'm not going to. I'm merely...suggesting. Jared isn't as untouchable as he used to be."
"Can everyone stop saying that?" I grit my teeth feeling the agitation add fuel to the fire burning inside of me. The need to fight.
"Do you need us to bring Kim out here and put an end to this?" Sam asks.
Fuck. I relax against my will at the sound of her name. "Fine," I turn back, rubbing my chin, trying to find my center.
Jacob is irritated for being interrupted. "Whatever."
Paul emerges from inside and grins at all of us, pulling up his pants a bit. "You know what we can do?"
"No," Jacob disagrees before Paul even suggests.
Paul ignores him. "I've got fireworks," he beams.
"No," Jacob repeats.
"Psh, you're not the boss of me. Oh, that felt good to say." What seemed like was out of nowhere, Paul pulls out a few complicated looking fireworks along with a lighter.
"This is going to end badly," Quil remarks, staring warily at Paul and the lighter. Sam returns back to the wedding, not interested in the disaster that was no doubt going to transpire. Before anyone of us can tell Paul we're uninterested in the fireworks, he lights one off, while it's still in his hand.
"Oh fuck!"
Why is it always me?
"His reflexes are shot too," I hear Jacob say as I'm the only one who cares to put out the fire on my ass. There goes my suit.
"Ouch! Paul you dumb fuck!" I shout. Paul looks rather shocked, but then turns over into laughter. I pat my bum repeatedly, trying to get rid of the small fire that's accumulated. Fire hurts. For future reference.
"Haha, I totally saw that coming," I hear him say happily.
"Die! If you have any liking for me at all! You'll die!"
"Why don't you sit down?" Quil suggests.
I throw myself onto the damp sand and hear it singe out, smoke flying up from my ass. Paul is doubled over in laughter and Jacob smiles at me, highly amused.
"I'm going to kill you," I announce.
"Jared! Can you come back inside?" I look to see Kim staring at me rather pointedly. I get up, putting their beatings away for another day and follow my wife back to the reception. "What happened to your pants?"
"Caught on fire."
"Oh." As she leads me across the dance floor, I get the idea that maybe she wants to dance. But when I grab her hand readying to spin her, she yanks it out of my grasp before it can go any further. Aw jeez. "I think Leah is real mad at me. Can you talk to her for me?" she asks.
"She has a right to be mad, Kim," I say. My wife does not like this.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. Look. Leah looks happy. Jake's dancing with her now," I say waving over to the two of them. Leah sees this but doesn't wave back, instead she looks at us angrily.
"See," Kim slaps my arm. "Fine, whatever. I don't care," she turns and waddles over to the tables. I watch her sit next to Nessie. I hear Paul laughing madly behind me as he throws a hand on my shoulder.
"What the hell did you do to that woman? She's miserable," he notes.
"Thanks Paul," I say glumly, looking away from Kim; it's too painful to watch her at the moment. I'm so devastated by the turn of events. If you told me a year ago that my wife would learn to resent me, I'd probably laugh in your face. And yet, here I was, receiving the hate.
"You can punch me in the face again if it will help," he suggests, sticking out his chin to me. I look at him seriously, considering how it would make me feel. I decide to hit him anyway; I pull back my arm, when Embry dances by with his wife.
"No. Not on my wedding day," he dances out of view, and regrettably, I drop my hand.
"He doesn't want the new wife to be exposed to us. We're an embarrassment." Paul hands me a drink and I gulp it down in seconds, wiping my mouth afterward.
Quil and Claire joined us. Well, it was mostly Quil, on account of Claire was yawning and snuggling into Quil's side, unable to keep her eyes open much longer.
"I think we're gonna go," Quil says, nodding to Claire.
"No, I'm fine," she forces herself to perk up and looks at us innocently.
"Doesn't sleep sound so nice, though?" I ask Claire, who shakes her head stubbornly. Well, it does to me. I hope I'm not forced onto the couch again tonight.
"There's so much going on. I don't want to miss anything," she protests. But just by the way her eyes are half open, one can tell that she won't last much longer.
"Well, whether you decide to fight off sleep or not," I start, glancing back at Kim who is asleep in her chair, making me smile. "Kim and I are heading home so she can sleep in her bed." I kiss Claire on the cheek and say goodbye to Paul and Quil before moving across the tent to my wife who is ignored by a loving Nessie and Jake. I notice that Nessie has placed her purse as a sort of pillow for Kim and I'm warmed at the kindness someone has shown her when she has been so rude today.
"Aw, Ness!" I say. "Did you do this?"
Jacob has got his arms wrapped around Nessie tightly, refusing to let her go so she could talk to me. But I see her nod.
"Thanks, you're very kind to her. She hasn't been very nice to people tonight. Her hormones have been as unpredictable as Paul's temper," I say, leaning over and gently shaking my wife. "Honey, wake up. We're going home, now." Kim squirms, squinting her eyes.
"Go away," she murmurs, pushing my hand away.
"Kim, let's go home, I think our bed is calling to you," I try to help. Kim often says this phrase when she's ready for sleep. I always find it so endearing that she believes our bed speaks to her in such ways. Then again, she could be joking.
She moves her head to the side and the bag falls to the ground. I watch, desperately, her head snap back in a rather painful matter. There was no way I could have prevented that. "Ow!" she exclaims and my heart strains at her pain. She blinks a few times before tears well up into her eyes at a frightening speed. "I'm such a bitch!" she exclaims, falling into her hands in unstoppable tears.
How did it end this way? Seriously, I'm done. No more. I want sleep just as badly as Claire now. My eyes are drooping and I really really can't handle this anymore.
"Jared, you and I both imprinted on bitches. What are the chances?" Jacob says. His woman is happy, so the why in the hell is he still picking on me and mine?
"Fuck off, Black," I say, feeling sick of his condescending ways today. I crouch down and proceed to pry Kim's hands from her face so I can dry her tears. I can't stand to see her cry. Especially over something like this. How many more weeks until the babies are born? 13 weeks? The dreaded number thirteen...
Bad luck.
Hell.
It may as well be six, six, six, because that's what it feels like. I have made the spawn of Satan and it's growing in my wife's belly, here to torment me for the remainder of the trimester.
"Let's get away, I don't want to hear her snivelling and Jared's sweet nothings," Jacob says. I'm thrown back into my anger that I had experienced earlier today. I know Jake just said that to provoke me, but I didn't appreciate it. Leaving Kim behind me, I step forward and pick up the chair that was pleading with me to throw. Jacob is walking away with Nessie's in his arms, but seeing that I can safely get away with hitting him without hurting her, I hurtle the chair at his back, feeling triumphant as he stops dead. "If your wife wasn't pregnant, I'd kick your ass, Jared."
"Sure, blame it on the wife. Truth is, you're scared to fight me, Jake," I gloat, feeling powerful. Before we can actually get a chance to fight, Nessie is dragging Jake away ordering him not to fight at his friends wedding. There hasn't been one wedding any of us pack members have had yet that didn't involve fisticuffs.
I return to my wife who is still crying. I pull her to her feet. She can't seem to get her hands off of her face as she becomes more hysterical, causing a scene.
"Kim, baby, come on. We're going home," I hide her under my arm, leading her out of the tent, past Jacob and Nessie and up the hill to our car.
"I'm sorry, Jared. I love you, so much." At least, I think that's what she said. I hope that's what she said, it's just hard to tell with all the blubbering and the muffled voice on account of her head pressed into my suit jacket.
I help her into the car, catching a glimpse of her face which is red, puffy and tear-streaked. I get into the driver's seat and start the car.
"Everyone hates me," she squeals.
"Nobody hates you."
"My babies do!"
"Kim, no, no, no, they love you. Adore you. They think the world of you because right now you are their world, without you they'd have nothing to hate, because they'd be nothing," I think over what I'd just said, unsure if it made sense. She seemed to get it – she cried harder.
"Nothing?"
"Well, I couldn't make them myself now, could I?" I scramble for words of comfort, but am coming up blank.
I hear a small giggle, escape in between her heavy breathing.
"Is that a laugh?"
She nods, tears still streaming down her face, but I see a smile.
"Oh, thank God!" I exclaim. "Do you forgive me?"
She nods.
"Do you love me?"
She nods again, tears falling down her face faster as she stares at me intently.
"Do you want my babies?"
"Yes!" she sobs, glowing in a way I haven't seen at all during her pregnancy. I pull the car to a stop, lean over and kiss her jubilantly, feeling so happy that I'm quite certain my heart might burst.
"i want your babies too," I laugh. And she laughs. And we kiss again.
And then someone ruins the moment by honking at us to get a move on. I look in the rear view mirror and see that it's Paul and Rachel. I flip him off, kiss my wife again, and drive us home to our calling bed.
R/R!!
