Afflicted Read online

  “Jeez woman, I’m not going to say anything. Calm your pregnant ass down before I take you in the back for a quickie.” Aubrey’s chest shook with laughter as she pet my head.

  When we touched down in LA Brett was waiting on the tarmac in the Escalade. I actually missed the big lug. He came on board to collect luggage, packing it into the trunk before heading out into traffic heading to Jake’s. Driving down the road that Jake’s house was on Aubrey seemed hell bent on getting me to look at something on the other side of the road as we got closer.

  I looked across the street and saw Blake standing out front of a house that I assumed was his, since he lived near Jake. He was smoking a cigarette in just a pair of boxers with Rowan standing next to him wearing one of his t-shirts. My stomach started to lurch again. Aubrey rubbed my back reassuringly and Jake gave me an apologetic smile.

  Was I turning into a charity case or something?

  “Don’t you wish that you could order karma like flowers and have it delivered?” Aubrey asked. “I’d really like to order both Cole and Blake an extra large arrangement, including but not limited to, baldness, itchy balls, burning while peeing, and definitely impotence.”

  I fought the urge not to smile and lost. Brett pulled into the driveway of a blue house and put the car in park. He told us that standard safety precautions were in place and to wait in the car until he gave the all clear. The house had a row of palm trees spanning on either side of the entryway and a large, wood door with a wrought iron design. It was awkwardly silent as we waited for the okay.

  Seeing Blake’s face was harder than I thought it was going to be since the last time was pretty final. It hurt like hell. I wasn’t so sure that I was going to be able to face him on Saturday, especially since now Rowan was most likely going to be there, too. Aubrey made me an appointment to see Jake’s doctor tomorrow so we could have a better idea of how far along I was, and if the pregnancy was progressing normally.

  When Brett finally came back out Aubrey led me inside. The place was stunning. There was an all glass wall spanning the entire back wall facing the ocean. She set up the couch for me since they only had one bedroom here until they got the addition put on. Jake called and ordered us some Chinese take out for dinner and told Aubrey, and I to relax. She turned the TV on and ordered us a movie to watch. She asked if I wanted to do pedicures and facials like we used to when we were teenagers, but I wasn’t feeling it.

  I was really fortunate to have a best friend like her.

  Around eight, which was really eleven our time, I told them I was ready to turn in for the night, and they promised to try and keep it down. Groaning, I pulled a pillow over my head and shut the light off.

  The next morning I woke up to the smell of bacon. Jake was standing at the stove flipping pancakes, piling them up on a plate.

  “Good morning, sunshine.” He said, pouring a glass of orange juice and putting a bottle of vitamins next to it. “You need to start taking these. I took the liberty of picking them up for you this morning when I was at the store. We can’t have my future godchild deprived of vital nutrients.”

  “Wha-, oh never mind.” I blabbered.

  Walking into the bathroom I showered and put some make-up on making an attempt to look presentable. When I was done I headed into the kitchen and whacked back the vitamins and tried to eat a pancake in an effort to appease Jake. He smiled and put his hand on mine.

  “Everything’s going to be fine. Just relax. Stress isn’t good for the baby.”

  The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful. I felt like an intruder watching the two of them in their lovefest. Aubrey already called home twice to check on the twins since this was the first time she was away from them. Around eleven, we packed up and got ready to go to the doctor. My stomach was in knots as we pulled out of the garage. I closed my eyes as we drove past Blake’s not wanting a repeat of yesterday. Thirty minutes later we pulled into the office building and went inside.

  After filling out some paperwork I was led back to an exam room and given a cup to pee in. A nurse took some blood and handed me a gown to put on saying the doctor would be in shortly. I looked at the pictures on the wall of babies in the womb. Fighting back tears I wondered who he or she would look like. Would the baby look more like me, or Blake, or be a mix of both of us? Would he want to be involved, or would he just cut a check every month? Was he going to be angry with me for getting pregnant, even though it was an accident? I just had so many unanswered questions.

  The door opened, and a young female doctor came in. She was wearing maroon scrubs with her blonde hair pulled into a messy bun.

  “Hi Piper, I’m Dr. Suzy Scott. How are you feeling?”

  “Fine.” I replied politely.

  “The test confirmed that you are definitely pregnant. Judging by the blood work I would guess you’re about ten weeks, does that sound about right?”

  I nodded. She pulled over an ultrasound machine and lifted the gown squirting some warm liquid below my bellybutton.

  “I’m going to see if we can get a look at the fetus to determine an actual due date.” She took the wand and started going around before deciding that the only way to get a look was to do an in-utero one. Pressing a couple more buttons she determined that I was 10 weeks and 4 days along.

  She printed out a couple of ultrasound pictures, handing them to me. The baby looked like a kidney bean. She told me that once I was home I would need to find an OB to visit regularly and to make sure that I remembered to take my prenatal vitamins every day. I informed her that Jake already started that regimen earning a laugh from the good doctor. Obviously Jake, and his “balls to the wall” behavior are well known around here.

  I thanked her and waited for her to leave before getting dressed. Walking back into the waiting room Aubrey held her hand out for the ultrasound pictures talking briefly with the doctor who didn’t seem at all surprised that Aubrey was already pregnant again. Jake told the receptionist to send him the bill, and I started to protest, but he wasn’t hearing it.

  “I can pay my own medical bills, Jake. Please let me know how much it is so I can pay you back.”

  “You’ll do no such thing. I told you I’m going to make sure my god kid is taken care of. If you need anything all you have to do is ask. I’m thinking maybe you should think about moving into the guesthouse when we get back home. I’m sure Derek would be happy to have the company. He’s lonely there all by himself now that Blake and Kevin are back here in LA, plus then Aubrey would only be right across the lawn if you needed help with something. There’s room for you to set up a nursery too.”

  “Too much, too fast.” I protested. “Let me just figure out what I’m doing first. I don’t even know if I want to stay in Smithville. Once word gets out I’m going to be the pariah. No one’s going to want to have me around. I think I might be better off going somewhere where I can completely reinvent myself.”

  “Just promise me that you’ll think about it.”

  I nodded and climbed into the back of the car. Jake stopped at In-N-Out Burger on the way home and bought us lunch. My appetite still hadn’t returned so I picked at mine. Aubrey said we needed to start preparations for tomorrow when we got back home. I grumbled making her smile. She was going to have me waxed, shaved, and buffed whether I wanted to be or not.

  After falling asleep early again, I dreamed that I told Blake, and he was ecstatic. He wanted us to be a family, and we lived happily ever after. When I opened my eyes reality came crashing back. I realized it was just a dream, and today was the day that I was going to have to tell him. Aubrey and I were going shopping for the perfect outfit this morning. I was dreading going since I loathed shopping, but she insisted and I knew I didn’t really have a choice, so I agreed.

  Spending the rest of the day getting ready, we waited for Brett to show up and take us to the club. I felt ridiculous dressed in a pair of outrageously high, black wedge shoes and a one shouldered, black, lace dress. No doubt that my feet were go
ing to kill me by the end of the night. Aubrey teased my hair pinning half of it up and leaving the other half down flowing past my shoulders. She applied enough black eye shadow for a small nation before applying a coat of red lipstick claiming I was presentable.

  When we pulled up BATTLESCARS was up on the marquee in big, black letters, announcing their album release party. My palms started getting sweaty, and the pictures felt like bricks in my purse. He didn’t know that I was coming and I almost felt unwelcome, even though I knew that Jake and Aubrey would have wanted me here regardless.

  We snuck into the back of the club away from the crowd and out of view. Blake was standing over by the jukebox looking every bit the sexy rock star he was with his hand in his pocket talking to Rowan. Wearing a pair of black, motorcycle boots with the laces untied and tight, black t-shirt with faded, ripped jeans that clung low on his chiseled waist. He was looking like a bad boy fantasy come to life.

  My heart dropped as he leaned in and kissed the top of Rowan’s head before going over to take a seat at the table that had been set up for the interview. She gave him a farewell smack to the ass making him turn around and give her a dimpled grin full of things to come.

  Brett grabbed Aubrey and I some chairs and blocked us from the bands view. Jake made his way over to where the rest of the band was to do a radio interview.

  “Vinny D here, I’m hollering out to the airwaves tonight, hanging out here at Vengence on Vine in DTLA. We’re here with Battlescars celebrating the release of their highly anticipated new album ‘Coming Clean’. I’m here with the guys Jake, Blake, Kevin and Derek. How are you guys doing?”

  “We’re doing good man. Thanks for having us on the air.” Jake said, enthusiastically.

  “I have some questions that your fans submitted, care to give them some answers?”

  “Shoot.” Derek said.

  “The most asked question is… will there be a tour for this album?”

  “I think that’s pretty much a no brainer. We love to tour. One of the best parts of our job is getting to go out and meet our fans. So yes, there will be a tour. We don’t have any exact dates yet, but you can check our website for more details once they become available, but I’m thinking probably sometime this spring.” Jake answered.

  “Blake, we saw some photos pop up of you with a mysterious blonde. Care to tell us who she is?”

  Looking over at Rowan and smiling he answered. “That would be my longtime girlfriend, Rowan. We’re just friends now, but she’s here supporting me tonight.”

  “I can’t say I’d blame you, She. Is. Smokin’.” He said, separating each word.

  “Yes, she is.” Blake winked at her and she blew him a kiss. He caught it and gave her a small wave. Looking stunning in a tight, silver strapless dress that clung to her every curve and a pair of sky-high, strappy stilettos that tied up her long legs she looked like the rock star’s girlfriend. Making me feel even more out of place.

  Aubrey rubbed my back trying to comfort me, but it wasn’t helping. They obviously had something going on again, which pretty much knocked my confidence down to negative ninety-nine.

  “Next, what’s your favorite song off the new album? Each of you can answer.”

  “Mine’s, Enough.” Derek answered.

  “Me too.” Kevin replied.

  “I like Mirrors.” Jake said.

  “Mine is Piper’s song. It’s different from our other songs, kind of more like a ballad.” Blake said with a shrug.

  “Thanks for your time tonight guys. For those of you at home be sure to go pick up Battlescars’ newest album, ‘Coming Clean’ dropping this Tuesday at a store near you.”

  Standing up they took their places on stage as the lights dimmed. Jake stepped up to the mic as Blake started playing his bass. Kevin started strumming while Derek was tapping on his drums. They broke into their new song ‘Mirrors’. Everyone in the crowd that had a lighter lit it up, making it look like stars from where we were standing. I was trying my best to stay out of view until they were done, knowing that if he saw me chances are it would ruin their performance.

  After wrapping up the song the crowd burst into applause. Jake placed the mic back in the stand thanking the crowd. He turned and whispered something to Derek who nodded and went to go talk to Blake. Walking over to us Jake smiled and kissed Aubrey. Feeling the third wheel was starting to get really old and I just wanted to go home and go to bed. Jake put his hand on my back and led us over to the far end of the bar. He helped me climb up onto a barstool and asked me if I was okay. I nodded, feeling like I swallowed a baseball and was slowly suffocating to death. He stood blocking me from view in the dim light.

  A couple minutes later, the rest of the band and Rowan came over. They were talking about how good it felt to get back on stage. Jake was really happy with how the crowd reacted to the song and was hopeful the album would do well. I saw Blake kiss the side of Rowan’s head thanking her for coming with him tonight. My world was slowly crashing down. Five minutes went by without him even noticing that I was sitting there. Jake stepped to the side leaving me out in the open. As soon as he saw me his smile faded.

  “I think we should give them a couple minutes alone so they can talk.” Aubrey said.

  Everyone scurried away, except for Rowan, who stood there looking at Blake. He gave a small nod and she went to go talk to Derek. Leaving just him and I sitting in the corner.

  “Hi.” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

  “What are you doing here?” He snapped.

  “Trust me, I didn’t want to come. I practically got kidnapped. But, we do need to talk. It’s kind of important, and I want you to know that however you feel about what I’m going to tell you is fine. I just want you to know.”

  “Well, what is it?” He pressed.

  Reaching into my purse I pulled out the ultrasound photos and handed them to him.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…” He took the pictures and put a hand behind his neck.

  “I’m sorry, Blake. I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Tears were pricking my eyes, stinging.

  “Well it did. God, Piper what the hell were you thinking? Did you plan this?”

  “Of course not!” I shrieked.

  He threw his hands up in the air. “I loved you, and you broke my fucking heart. FUCK!”

  “You may have loved me, but the last time you saw me all I got was indifference, which is the opposite of love.” I spat, venomously.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you blind or something? Did you not see how much pain I was in? How I fucking pretended the entire time to be happy on Thanksgiving and how much it killed me to leave!” He started getting loud, forcing Jake to come over and intervene.

  “Get your fucking hands off me Jake, or I swear on all that’s holy I’ll knock you out.” Jake backed off, but stayed close by.

  “You’re an evil angel sent from my own personal hell to torture me over and over again. As soon as I’m getting over you here you are again. Until when Pipe, huh? How long until you run off again?” He said crumbling the pictures and tossing them at me.

  “Blake, stop lashing out. You’re acting like an asshole!” Aubrey yelled.

  “I threw myself in front of you, time and time again. I tried to be there. I tried to understand, but no matter what I did you shut me out. This cannot be fucking happening!” He stormed out through the backdoor kicking it closed with the back of his black boot.

  Rowan came over and looked at me apologetically. “I’ll try and talk to him.”

  “I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting him to act like a lunatic. I’m sorry Pipe, he’ll come around once it sinks in.” Aubrey said, hugging me as the tears started falling.

  “I told you it was a bad idea for me to come tonight. Now he’s in a bad mood and probably won’t come back inside for the rest of the release. Can I go home now?” I cried.

  Jake motioned for Brett, who called over another one of the bodyguards on staff to
take me home. Feeling utterly defeated and so far from home I climbed into the back of the car and headed back to the beach house. I decided I had no choice but to leave everything I’ve ever known and start over for real this time.

  Heading straight to the bathroom I pulled out a make-up remover wipe and swiped it over my eyes taking off the hideous eye shadow. When I was done I scrubbed the rest of the make-up off and stripped out of the dress. I grabbed a pair of black leggings and a light blue hoodie out of my bag. Tying my chucks, I called for a cab to take me to the nearest bus station. I scribbled a note to Aubrey and Jake.

  Aubs,

  I’m sorry it didn’t work out like you wanted. I’ll be fine, but I just can’t go back to Smithville. There’s nothing left there for me now except pain and bad memories. I promise I’ll call you once I figure out where I’m going and get settled. Tell Jake thanks for everything. Please tell Blake not to look for me. I don’t want to see him.

  I love you my sister from another mister.

  Piper

  Looking down at the crumbed pictures of my baby, our baby, I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand ignoring the cabbie peering at me in the rearview mirror. Sitting all alone inside my head probably wasn’t the best thing right now, but I was strong enough to do this on my own. I gave the driver a twenty and picked my bag up off the seat walking into the station. Destination anywhere but here…

  Blake

  After all the bullshit she put me through she comes and drops this fucking bomb on me. Looking down at the picture that I ripped off the strip she gave me before I tossed the rest in her face I felt like throwing up. I was feeling an onslaught of emotions… sad, angry, scared, happy and anxious just to name a few.

  How could she expect me to be okay with Cole raising my kid? What about me? Was I going to get the occasional visit and maybe summers when the kid got older? Thoughts were racing through my head like lightning.

  Leaning my wrist on the brick wall I kicked it repeatedly.