Chapter 32

32

Colver

My Abrielle is in a sweet drunken haze from sex and pizza.

Her lips are greasy and delicious looking.

She sleeps on her right side.

I want to lift the covers and stare at her. At her belly. I want to touch her again.

She has a bump now.

And it's only going to grow bigger, fuller, and more and more beautiful each day.

I can't stay in this apartment forever. Neither can she.

I'm back to those same thoughts again.

We need to talk about a living arrangement…

If we do get a place together - to be parents to our baby - it's a little odd and ironic that it won't be the first time we lived together.

I was such an asshole back then to her.

It could have been anybody.

Actually, if it was someone else, it would have been worse.

I guess you could say from the moment I met Abrielle, I felt something .

Don't go swooning too hard yet…

Or maybe you should swoon a little. I don't know.

When I found out her and her mother were finally leaving my father's house, it didn't sit well with me. I tortured Abrielle even worse. I wanted her to hate me so much it would be a relief to be gone.

But then she had to show up to that fucking party.

She showed up to act like a brat.

And I became her fucking hero.

Andy has a system with the cups.

Red are booze. Blue are water.

He does this every time there's a party and it takes maybe an hour at best before everyone's cup is filled with booze.

Assholes switching out the colors of the cups, wanting some girl to drink and get drunk and not realize it…

Guys like Chad Orbeler.

His old man owned all the car dealerships in town and was dead set on paying whatever it took to get his kid into the pros.

Problem though? Chad isn't that great at hockey.

Decent for high school. Maybe for college.

But the pros? Not a chance.

Chad lives in a world where his shit doesn't stink and every girl wants him.

He's also known to make sure situations advance in his favor.

I can never be sure what's a rumor or not.

I'm stuck dealing with Chad every single day of my life. I can ignore him though.

What I can't ignore tonight is that Chad is being annoying and that I swore I just saw Abrielle enter the house.

I know I'm drinking out of a red cup and I'm feeling buzzed up…

I push through the party and hand my cup off to someone.

Taylor Haidens jumps in front of me, wearing a low-cut shirt, bright blue eyes, messy hair… drunk for sure. She's finally worked up the guts to talk to me. Guided by the booze in her red cup.

Even if I wasn't trying to find Abrielle, I would not go near Taylor.

There's a line between being silly and having fun and then being too drunk.

Taylor is beyond that line.

I walk right by her, knowing I've just crushed her heart and soul and ruined her night.

Sucks to be her.

I keep pushing and end up in what is the dining room.

I see Abrielle… it's definitely her.

I grab her left hand and spin her around.

Her eyes open wide.

"Hey," she says.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I growl.

"Partying."

"No. You're not. Get the fuck out of here, kitten."

"Make me."

I curl my lip at her.

"Go ahead, Colver. Make me. What the hell does any of it matter? I'm gone anyway, right? You get your mansion back to yourself. You and your cheating, scumbag of a father."

Abrielle backs up, bumps into someone, and then turns to apologize.

It's fucking Chad she's walked into.

He hands her a blue cup and then whispers something to her that makes her laugh.

I walk away.

Truthfully, I'm looking for Taylor.

Fuck everything.

She wants me? Fine. Let's get fucking going here. The house is big enough. Or better yet, we can sneak out and go back to my house.

I'll fuck Taylor right in Abrielle's bed. And leave the mess behind too.

All I want now is to pound as many red cups as I can but I have to drive. I'm not staying here for the night. Fuck that.

Partying is fun but I never linger.

The hockey team has a beer pong game going against the baseball team.

They want me to join.

I can't believe how annoyed I am right now.

I walk out the back door and stand outside.

There's a group of people drinking and smoking.

Cigarettes and weed fill the air, along with drunken laughter.

I feel a hand touch my back.

I turn, suddenly wanting it to be Abrielle.

It's not her.

It's BethAnn.

One of my many exes.

With that certain look in her eyes.

"You're tense as hell, Colver. Come on, let's go upstairs."

"No, I'm good."

"You're not good. Something is on your mind. I know what to do. Come on. I know the rules. It's just for fun."

I grit my teeth.

BethAnn is the ideal person for me right now.

She does know the drill here.

We can get fucking insane together and then just not talk for months.

I grab her hand and walk her into the house.

I see Chad.

Getting two more drinks.

He looks at me, lowers his gaze, and lifts an eyebrow.

Then he gives that smirk… that shitty asshole smirk…

Then he looks up.

I let BethAnn's hand go.

"What are you doing, Colver?"

"Just fuck off for now," I say to her.

Chad is already on the move.

I follow him up the stairs. Down the hallway. He opens a bedroom door.

"Got us some drinks, sweetie," he says. "Oh, are you asleep already? That's okay by me."

The door shuts.

I run down the hallway like the house is on fire.

I throw myself into the door, expecting it to be locked, but it isn't.

The door swings open and I fall into the dimly lit bedroom to find Chad on the side of the bed with a sleeping Abrielle on it.

She's not wearing her shirt. It's just her bra…

"What the fuck?" I growl.

"Sleeping peacefully."

"Does she know her shirt is missing?"

"It's not missing. It's right there on the bed."

Chad smirks.

"She drink too much?"

"Enough," he says. "Got some extra help. My cousin gave me something. Works like magic."

Abrielle makes a slight groaning noise.

"Listen to her already," Chad says.

He licks his lips.

I watch as his left hand reaches down for Abrielle.

I don't remember running toward Chad.

It's like my mind goes blank.

It returns just as I grab Chad's left hand and twist is behind his back.

I keep twisting until I hear a loud popping sound, knowing I broke his wrist.

When he starts to scream, that gets attention.

Soon the room gets flooded with people.

The lights are turned on.

Someone yells ‘FIGHT!' and even more people show up.

This isn't a fight though.

Chad is in tears from the broken wrist.

I could stop right then and there…

No.

I grab Chad by the back of his neck and I drag him toward the window.

Chad is thrashing as best he can. He's in a ton of pain with his hand just dangling, disconnected from the wrist.

I have nothing to say to Chad.

I'm not going to play the hero card.

I want him to suffer. The thought of what he was about to do… to Abrielle… and she'd have no recourse. No chance to tell anyone. Nobody would give a flying fuck about it or about her.

She's gone in more ways than one already.

Everything is pent up inside my body right now.

"Dude, don't throw him out the window!"

Someone laughs.

I don't bother opening the window.

Fuck it.

I throw Chad at the window.

Truthfully I have no idea what's going to happen.

If it were some action movie he'd go through the glass and fall down to the sidewalk.

Instead, reality dictates this…

Chad's head and face smash against the window.

It splinters, cracking, and Chad bounces back and falls to the floor.

There's blood all over his face.

He's staring straight up, completely dazed.

The room falls silent.

I walk to the bed and grab for Abrielle's shirt. I place it over her chest and scoop her up off the bed.

Nobody says a word to me but they get out of my way.

I carry Abrielle out of the house, to my car, and I drive her back home.

I carry her into the house and down the first floor hallway to her bedroom.

I tuck her in and then sit on the floor next to her bed.

That's where I sit.

I stare out the glass door.

A couple times I tell myself I'm going miss Abrielle.

Then I smile…

We're going to forget about each other by the end of the first week of her leaving.

I wake up to Abrielle staring at me.

I'm sleepy and grumpy and she's fucking beautiful.

Her face is glowing. Her eyes are awake yet tired.

"I think this is the quietest it's ever been near you," she whispers.

"We should just stay here forever, just like this," I say.

"Colver Caspian, are you being romantic right now?"

"What?" I growl. "Fuck no." I feel trapped. I need a diversion. I reach under the covers and touch Abrielle's belly. "How's our surprise?"

"I'll hate myself for saying this now when at the end I'll look like a blimp… but… I feel different…"

"You're supposed to feel different, kitten."

"The idea of things getting bigger. As a woman…"

"Bigger tits is always nice."

"Wow. Thanks."

"You have nothing to worry about. You are fucking vicious with this stuff."

"I learned from the best."

"Yeah, so did I, Abrielle. Yet here we are. Defying the odds left for us to deal with."

"What does that make us then?"

"Whatever we want to be," I whisper.

I kiss her forehead.

She closes in on me and I hold her.

Her naked body is a warm heaven for my fingertips to explore.

"Colver," she whispers. "What happened after that night…"

"We're here now."

"You got into huge trouble, didn't you? That's why you and your father had a falling out, isn't it?"

My jaw tightens.

Abrielle looks at me.

"Things were never easy with my father. Ever."

"But I added to it."

"You didn't add a thing."

"Yes I did, Colver. I went to that party…"

"That was a long time ago, kitten. Do we have to?"

"It messed up our lives."

"Look where we ended up," I say. "We're here in my bed and you're carrying my baby."

"I just want to know if I… fucked things up… for you…"

"Yeah, kitten, you did."

"Colver."

"No. You did. You fucked everything up."

Abrielle swallows hard and looks ready to cry.

She's waiting for me to add something romantic to that.

I have words lingering on my tongue but I'm not ready to speak to them.

This is about honesty. About truth.

"You showed up, covered in blood, and changed the course of my life, Abrielle," I say. "Do you want me to act like that never happened?"

"Wow," she whispers. "You still have a way of fucking up my heart, don't you?"

I touch her face. "Remember one thing, kitten. You're still in my bed. I can't take my hands off you. Need I say more?"

"Yes, Colver. Yes. There's plenty more you can say."

I still don't speak.

I press my lips to hers.

Gently, I use my tongue to part her lips for an even better kiss.

My right hand eases between her legs, hooking against her warm, wide awake clit.

Abrielle purrs into my mouth.

I circle around her clit a few more times.

Then I move on top of her.

I nestle between her legs and feel her snug cunt welcome me.

I'm hard. She's soaked.

And with one full thrust, I'm buried inside her body.

Whether Abrielle likes it or not, this is all I can give her for right now.