12. Cain

Chapter twelve

Cain

I t had been nearly a week, and Addy still hadn't said a word to me. Austin wasn't speaking to me either, and I didn't blame either of them. The things I'd said were pretty unforgivable - but I stood by my words. None of us should bestow the curses we'd been given onto an innocent child. Just look at my brother, he was so evil he polluted the earth everywhere he dared to step. That was the blood flowing in my veins, the DNA that could now be swimming in the tiny creature inside Addy. What if it came out as fractured as Piper? Could we really be that heartless? That selfish?

I couldn't sleep, not in the house at least. The first evening after Addy had stormed off, I'd discovered a very disgruntled asp in my bed. I stayed in my car that night, standing vigil across the street from my broken home.

Piper was the only one who deigned to talk to me, but I could only assume he just forgot the incident place. He was so morose lately, I'd catch him staring at Addy's door wistfully, twisting the rings around his fingers. Wyatt was bunking with Piper since no one was allowed into Addy's room currently. He was a ghost of his former self, and hardly even got out of bed anymore. Addy had dropped a bomb in the middle of our weird little family, and I'd shot the survivors with my cruel words.

Addy was at least going back into work again. For the first three days, she hadn't even left the room. I left food outside her door, hoping to coax her out, but she always waited until I was gone before slipping out to take it. Then one morning, I'd gone to drop off her breakfast and discovered that she had left. It must've been early, because I'd been up for hours already, pacing around the kitchen. The buzzing behind my temples was getting worse every day. I missed Addy the way my lungs missed oxygen when I held my breath. That day, I'd been a bit of a mess, knowing she'd left the house without me. I considered breaking the lock on her door, or removing the door altogether. See her trying to shut me out when she couldn't shut the door. I knew that wouldn't work, though. Addy was a crafty little spider. She'd either lock herself in the bathroom, or commit a hostile takeover of someone else's room. I'd have to dismantle this house stone by stone before she would deign to be in the same room as me once more.

So, I did what any sane person would do. I started to follow her. Every morning, I'd wait in my car until I saw her slip out the front door, and then I'd just… follow behind her as she walked to work. I'd wait until she disappeared into her building, and then I'd head home, only to return around 4 p.m. and wait for her to come out, just so I could follow her home. My sweet, stubborn Addy refused to acknowledge my presence, even though she had to know what I was doing. She was quick, and no matter how fast I parked and ran into the studio, she was always locked in her room by the time I got inside. I was exhausted. Besides stalking the love of my life, I was also now fully in charge of feeding and keeping the other members of our gang of misfits alive, and they were making things exceedingly difficult.

On Saturday, I finally snapped. I slept in my car again, afraid to find more snakes in my bed, and woke with a start when I heard our studio door slam. Addy didn't go in on Saturdays, so I was forced to pull a very illegal turn when she started walking in the opposite direction of campus. I swear to god , she was testing my last nerve with this shit. I nearly lost her a few times when she made an abrupt turn down a side road, and I got honked at, several times, by people I cut off as I hastily changed lanes to catch up to her.

I was sweating and looking for a cigarette by the time she stopped, entering a random building I didn't recognize. Using my phone, I tried looking it up while she was inside, but there were several offices and I couldn't begin to guess who she was there to see. She finally came out after an hour, her face an indecipherable mix of emotions. I followed her back home, shaking with barely controlled anger as I parked and did my mad dash up the steps and into the studio. I heard the door to her room slam as I reached the kitchen, and snarled, out of breath and frustrated. Raking my hand through my hair, I looked around and noticed something taped to the fridge.

Crossing the room in three strides, I crouched to study the small grainy-looking black-and-white photo she'd taped up. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, smoke curling out of my mouth as I exhaled sharply. That's it. That's fucking it . Enough was goddamn enough. I stormed up the stairs, bursting into the first room I came upon. Wyatt was curled up in Piper's bed, just a lump under the covers. Piper was sitting inside his closet, a half-empty bottle of rum in his hand and a glazed look in his eyes.

"Get the fuck out of bed!" I shouted, tearing the covers off. Wyatt curled up smaller, his face pinched. Okay, he was a lot worse off than I'd anticipated. I'd deal with him second. I bent over and picked up Piper by the back of his collar, jerking him to his feet and snatching the bottle out of his hand. "Downstairs, now. Family meeting!" I snapped, shoving him toward the door. He staggered, but disappeared out the door, and I heard his footsteps clomping down the stairs.

Now, for this one…

I sat down beside Wyatt on the bed and touched his arm gently. His head lifted, frowning in surprise. "We need to talk," I told him and helped him sit up. With a little support, he was on his feet and shuffling toward the living room. I left him to it, bracing myself as I turned to Austin's room. This one would be trickier. Knocking once, I opened the door, watching the floor as I stepped inside. A chorus of angry hissing met me, and I scowled, snarling back at the room until they quieted down.

"Austin!" I barked and saw his foot peeking out from under the bed. "Out, now. Family meeting." Scuffling sounded, and he appeared beside the bed, climbing to his feet. He looked sullen and defiant when he met my gaze, and I stared him down, my arms folded over my chest. "Living room," I snapped, stepping back so he could stomp past me. I followed him down the stairs, leaving Addy undisturbed for now. This was my meeting.

I waited until Austin sat down on the couch, joining Piper and Wyatt. God, they were a picture of defeat. It was painful to look at them, and guilt washed through me as I acknowledged my fault in all of it. I walked back into the kitchen and pulled the little picture off the fridge, bringing it with me to the living room.

"See this?" I snapped, holding it up. Austin cocked his head, frowning at me. Piper looked through me, his eyes unfocused. Only Wyatt seemed to recognize what I was holding, his mouth opening as his eyebrows rose. "This is the baby," I told them, poking my finger in the center of the photo. Truth be told, I had no clue what part of the picture was the baby, it was just a blob of cells at this stage, but the point was made. "Our baby," I emphasized.

Austin perked up at this, his eyes shining with pride. No, we had nothing to be proud of right now. I glared at him until he settled down. "We fucked up," I announced, and then cleared my throat uncomfortably. "I… I fucked up." Piper focused on me for the first time, so apparently my humility could jar him out of his comatose state. That was good to know. "I was afraid, and I hurt everyone. And I'm…" I cleared my throat again, uncomfortable with the stares I was receiving. "I'm sorry," I muttered.

"Don't pull a muscle or anything." Wyatt smirked, and I shot him a dirty look.

"Listen, smartass, you three aren't blameless either," I snapped back, leveling my glare at Austin. "You." I pointed a finger at him. "You should have told Addy the moment you pulled her IUD out. You took the choice away from her." He opened his mouth, and I waved my hand, cutting him off. "No, I know you didn't understand what you did. But that's when you ask. You owe her an apology," I told him, and he bowed his head, chagrined.

"You." I pointed at Wyatt, catching him off guard. "You need to start using your goddamn words more, and letting us know when you need help," I growled. He slouched down lower on the couch, scowling at me.

"I'm fine," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Like fuck you are," I scoffed. "You haven't showered in god knows how long, you haven't eaten in days, and you barely get out of bed anymore. You're spiraling again, Wyatt. How are you going to be here for Addy if you're like this? How can I take care of this family if I'm busy hiding the knives from you?" I bit out. His cheeks reddened, and he looked down at the floor, chastened.

"And you." I turned to Piper, who wasn't even listening, as far as I could tell. "Piper!" I exclaimed, and he jolted like I'd woken him up. "What the fuck is going on with you?" I asked.

"I think I'm going to die…" Piper murmured, looking down at his hands. A chill rolled down my spine at his tone - he sounded so resigned, like it was inevitable.

"Well…" I grimaced, wishing my head would stop pounding. "You can't die. You need to help with this." I held up the blurry little photo. "It - er… he? Fuck." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "The baby. The baby will need your help. It's all hands on deck now, so get your shit together and start acting like grown ass men about to have a baby!"

"Babies." I turned around, catching sight of Addy on the stairs.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"Babies, not baby. Can't you read an ultrasound?" she asked cooly, stalking toward me and snatching the little picture out of my hand. "There's two, there and there." She pointed at the picture.

"That's not possible," I announced, all the breath leaving my lungs. I actually felt dizzy.

"Look it up, it's very possible," Addy replied, rolling her eyes. "Apparently, us freaks are exceptionally fertile."