Chapter Eleven
I walk out of the library and come face to face with Vinnie. I grimace, the poor guy must have been waiting out front for the last few hours.
“Sorry Vin,” I say when I see him looking bored out of his mind, standing next to his bike.
He doesn’t even try to smile at me. Instead he sucks on a lollipop and says, “Where to next?”
“Want to ride with me? We can get your bike on the way back.”
He shakes his head.
“Let’s go get some gelato,” I decide. Vinnie looks less than thrilled at my decision but doesn’t complain. He must really want to get patched in.
When we arrive at my favourite gelato place, my phone beeps with a message.
Dex: Ice cream again? Really?
I huff. This is his way of letting me know he knows exactly where I am and what I’m doing. Controlling a*shole.
Me: Hoping to get Vinnie to lick it off me.
Immature, I know. But I’m moody and hormonal.
Hormonal—now there’s a good excuse if I’d ever heard one.
I grin at the thought as Vinnie sits on the stool opposite me enjoying his chocolate ice cream.
“It’s good, isn’t it,” I say with a wink.
He rolls his eyes. “Fine, it’s good.”
“Want to go and see a movie next?” I ask him, enjoying the freedom and the company.
He stops mid-lick, moving his mouth away from the ice cream. “You don’t wanna go back yet?”
“Do I have to?” I whine.
“Yes, you do,” he says, chuckling at me. “It’s not so bad there, is it?”
I shrug. “It’s not bad there, no. But I feel like I have nothing to do but sit there, like an incubator, while everyone goes on living their lives.”
He laughs, loudly. “An incubator?”
“Come on Vin. I can’t even go get ice cream without it turning into a spectacle.”
That comment stops the humor on his face. “He just wants you safe.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t own me, and he can’t control me like that,” I say quietly, looking away.
A warm hand cups my jaw, lifting my head up. “You’re a strong girl, you know that?”
My cheeks heat. “I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to prove that yet.”
“You will,” he says, standing up. “Now let’s go. Last thing I need is Sin getting pissed off at me.”
I wince when I think of the message I sent Dex without considering the impact of my actions. I hope he doesn’t take it out on Vinnie.
“Race you there?” I call out, grinning.
He looks down at my tummy. “Maybe in a few months.”
I giggle. “Deal.”
*****
Dex isn’t home when I get there. I grab all my snacks and head straight for my room, not planning on sharing any of my goods. When I walk past the living room I see Arrow sitting there with a woman on his lap. A woman who isn’t Mary. He looks up when he sees me, my hands full of chocolates, lollies, and baked goods and grins.
“Need some help with those little girl?” he calls out to me, a dry chuckle escaping his cheating lips.
I step into the room. “I think I have it under control, thanks. Where’s Mary?”
His eyes narrow. “Do I need to call Sin?”
His face turns mean, and I get kind of scared. I step away as the woman on his lap throws me a haughty look.
“So... when’s the last time you had an STD check?” I ask her in a mock casual tone.
Arrow growls and I wince, taking another step backwards. “Well, I’ll just be going now...”
“Looks like it’s you that needs to use protection,” she sneers, staring at my stomach. At least she knows I’m pregnant, not just fat. “Do you even know who the father is?”
Annoyed, I look to Arrow. As if knowing what I’m thinking, he shakes his head.
“Arrow is the father,” I say, pretending to start crying. Then I run to my room, unable to stop laughing.
I’m halfway through a packet of Oreos when Dex walks in, looking extremely unhappy.
“Babe,” he says on a sigh, rubbing a hand down his face.
“What?”
“You couldn’t make things easy on me, could you?” he says dryly, lying down on the bed next to me.
“I like Mary,” I say.
“What does this have to do with Mary?” he asks, sitting up. Oh shit, I guess Arrow didn’t snitch on me.
“I saw Arrow with someone who isn’t Mary,” I say in a quiet voice. Dex goes stiff next to me, then pulls me closer to him.
“That’s not our business, yeah?”
“If someone knew things about me, things that would hurt me, but looked in my face every day and pretended to be my friend, I’d be hurt. And pissed off. And feel betrayed,” I tell him.
Silence.
“It’s not you hurting Mary. It’s their business, and you shouldn’t judge them. Has anyone here ever judged you?” he says.
I think on it. “I guess not.”
“We have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy here babe,” he says, leaning back once more. “And that goes for you too. Just mind your own business and everything will be fine.”
I gulp, wondering what Arrow was going to do to me.
“Okay, you’re right; it’s none of my business. If it was me—I’d want someone to tell me though.”
“Is this about Eric?” he asks in a gruff voice.
I scoot closer to him and look him in the eye. “I guess so. I was with him forever, you know? I realize now it’s just what we were used to. I just wish he’d broken up with me before sleeping around.”
“He doesn’t deserve you Faye. He never did.”
“He’s been calling non-stop,” I say, tracing the tattoos on his knuckles.
“I’ll get you a new sim card tomorrow,” he says instantly.
“Okay. Are we still going out somewhere tonight?” I ask, fighting a yawn.
“Are you tired? We could just order something in,” he replies.
“Sounds good,” I say, smiling.
“What am I going to do with you Faye?” he says, leaning forward and kissing me on my nose.
“I could think of a few things,” I say dryly, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
He pulls back, his expression going blank. “There are some things I need to sort out before we even think of going there babe.”
“What things?” I ask. I move closer, close enough that I can smell a hint of his cologne.
“Nothing, babe, nothing,” he says, brushing it off and rolling away from me.
I groan in frustration.
What the hell is he hiding?
*****
When I wake up in the middle of the night, Dex isn’t in bed. Feeling thirsty and a little curious, I tip toe into the kitchen to get some milk then look around for him. I hear voices outside so I move the blinds to the side to take a peek. I can’t hear, but I can see Dex’s lips move as he talks to a man I’ve never seen before. His hand is around his neck, squeezing.
I gulp.
Would Dex kill him?
Finally, he shoves the man to the floor and then points to the gate. Next, Dex turns to Arrow, says something to him, and then punches him in the stomach.
What the f*ck?
I get back to bed before they can notice me.
An hour later, Dex slides back into the sheets and pulls me into his arms, hugging me. He even kisses the top of my head.
Which Dex is the real Dex?