21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
Griffin's Beach Felicity
"M om, why is Gavin with us?" Gracie asks as they sit in the waiting room for her doctor's appointment.
The look on Gavin's face tells Felicity he has the same question, but she didn't give him an option. He was coming with, or he was coming with. That was it.
"This is totally weird," Gavin says and looks around. "I'm here at a baby appointment with my sister and mom. And my sister's the one pregnant, not my mom."
Felicity just glares at him. "I want you to understand what you're doing."
"How can I understand what I'm doing when I don't fucking know why I'm here?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
Shaking his head, he sighs and sinks into the seat. "No, I really don't."
"You're having sex."
"And you're not. So? I've had sex with four women now, and none of them have ended up pregnant. I know what I'm doing, Mom. Besides, Hailey's on birth control, so we're doubly covered."
Gracie's jaw drops. "You're sleeping with Hailey?"
"We're together, and that's what people who are together tend to do. Usually."
"And this is just to remind you the next time you think putting on a condom is too much effort, or that her birth control alone is sufficient, it's not," Felicity says.
"I've never gone bare, and I never will. Not until I'm ready to have a baby. I'm not an idiot, Mom."
He flinches the moment he says it because Gracie turns and looks at the wall. As much as she wants to say something to comfort her daughter, she also needs her to understand how stupid Felicity thinks she was for not taking precautions. That's how Felicity and Ky ended up with Gavin, and she thought they'd broken the cycle.
"Gracie Short?" a nurse calls.
All three stand up, and she looks surprised but says nothing as she leads them into the exam room. She takes Gracie's vitals and tells them doctor will be just a minute.
"Does he really need to be in here for this?" Gracie asks.
"I agree with her."
"Gavin, you're not leaving. You're staying, and you're both going to understand that your actions have consequences."
Rolling her eyes, Gracie lays back on the exam table. "I think I'm very aware these actions have consequences. And Gavin's proof of said consequences."
The doctor walks into the room and smiles. "Well, we have a full house today, don't we? I'm Dr. Samuelson. How are we doing?"
"Uncomfortable," Gavin grumbles and slouches in his seat.
"We will get this over as quickly as possible to let everyone get out of here on with their day. I just need you to roll your shirt up to give me access to your little growing belly, and we'll get this ultrasound done. How does that sound?"
God, she's far too perky for this. My sixteen-year-old is lying on her exam table for her three-month ultrasound. What part of this reads as a happy situation?
Dr. Samuelson looks at Felicity with concern. "Are you okay, dear?"
"Excuse me?"
"She lost a fight two nights ago," Gavin says. "She's fine. Just stupid."
The doctor saw her wounds from the fight with Lex. Of course, she forgot she looked like she'd gotten into an accident. "Watch it, Gavin," Felicity warns.
"It's cold," Gracie gasps as the jelly squirts on her skin.
"I know. I should have warned you, but it'll warm up here in a second," Dr. Samuelson says. "Okay, here's your baby."
All three family members stare at the screen as the image of the baby appears. It's been far too many years since Felicity last did this, and she almost smiles at the sight of her grandchild. Almost.
"Here's the head, two little arms, and two little legs. It's still a little early yet to tell the sex of your baby, but that'll come soon. The heartbeat is strong, and everything looks right on track for being three months along, Gracie."
"Thats... That's a baby."
"It sure is. Are you taking your vitamins?"
Gracie nods, her eyes still locked on the screen. "I am."
"No hot tubs or extremely hot baths. No drugs or alcohol, and try to reduce your sugar intake. We don't want to risk gestational diabetes, but based on everything we see here today, I don't think we have to test you. How is the morning sickness?"
"Still very much there," she says. "It's less all day than it was before, but there are still certain things I can't handle. Like tuna."
Smiling at Gracie's dry heave at the thought, Dr. Samuelson says, "That's not uncommon. Avoid what makes you sick, if possible, and it should subside soon. Do you have any questions for me?"
Shaking her head, she keeps her eyes on the baby. "Nope."
"Grandma?"
Grandma? I may have lost the fight with Lex, but I could take you, bitch. "No, I'm good."
"And are you the father?"
"God, no!" Gavin says as Gracie shakes her head violently. "Brother. I'm her brother. Gross."
The shiver they both share makes Felicity chuckle, but it disappears as soon as the doctor speaks again. She kind of hates this doctor.
"Oh, that’s... interesting. We don't usually see supportive brothers in here, so good for you."
When the doctor leaves, Gavin looks at his sister. "Your doc is a nut."
"She's apparently highly recommended," she says with a shrug. "Like I'd know the difference."
"You saw that baby," Felicity says and turns to Gavin while Gracie wipes the gel off her stomach. "I want you think about that when you're hooking up with that delinquent living with Colt and Lex. Do you want to be in here with her, looking at a baby you created because of a few moments of fun?"
"If it's done right, it's more than a few moments of fun," Gracie offers.
Her brother dry heaves. "Gross! Now I have an image of you having sex in my head. I need to scrub my brain with bleach."
"How do you think I got pregnant, idiot?"
"I choose to believe it was immaculate conception."
"Is this what you want for your life, Gavin?" Felicity asks. "Do you want to ruin your life?"
His expression almost frightens her. Hell, he will be a damn good Drifter after all with a death glare like that. "Like this baby's ruining Gracie's life? Or are you talking about how I ruined your life?"
Her jaw drops. "That's not what I said."
"That's exactly what you said," Gracie says and sits up.
"I love you, Mom, but you've become an intolerable bitch. You're hurt about what you found about Dad, and I get it. It was a fucked-up thing for him to do, but you don't want to see any other way except how you see it. Yeah, he slept with your sister and never told you, but he was also dumped by you right before Grandma was murdered. At sixteen, that's enough to make you want comfort. He shouldn't have lied, but you don't get to be like this because of it."
"But if he hadn't lied, we might not be here," Gracie says. "Or maybe that's what you wish, Mom. That you'd never had us."
Her son just called her a bitch while her daughter questions if she loves them. "I would never wish I didn't have you. Either of you. I love you both, but you don't seem to care about the level of betrayal this is for me," Felicity stammers.
"Well, yeah, but can you blame him? You're not exactly the best at reacting with rational thought or logic. This kind of proves that point," Gavin says.
"And since I take after you, I can tell you that Gavin's right."
"Not to mention the shit you've done and never told anyone besides Lex about," he says. "Stuff Dad never knew, and those are some pretty big betrayals that came out, too."
Looking confused, Gracie looks at Gavin. "Like what?"
Felicity stares with wide eyes as Gavin shakes his head at his sister. "Not important right now. What's important is that we acknowledge that Mom isn't a saint who can act like the world is against her like this. Dad's upset about what he learned, but he's not storming around and treating everyone like shit because of it. Not everything has to become this big, dramatic display and causing scenes every time he talks to people. That's kind of only you, Mom."
"Gavin, I'm trying to—"
"Project onto me. And Gracie. We get it. Your sister's dead, so you can't confront her and get angry about what she did. But that doesn't mean you can put all of your anger onto the rest of us. And, for the record, If I end up knocking Hailey or anyone up, I'll be there. Just like Dad was for you."
"He didn't have to be there. He didn't have to marry you, either, but he did. He loves you, but it really doesn't seem like you love him, Mom. Not as much as he does you," Gracie says. "And the way you're reacting to my pregnancy and comparing it to yours really comes off as though Gavin and I are the worst things to ever happen to you. Or at least Gavin. I think I was planned."
"No, you weren't," Gavin says, his eyes locked on his mother.
Felicity's jaw drops. Who the hell do her kids think they are to speak to her this way.
"At the end of the day, I choose to be like Dad. I'll take responsibility for my actions, and I'm going to own them. If I end up with a kid, I'm going to do everything I have to for it and the mother. And I don't see it as ruining my life like you seem to, but what I do or don't do in the bedroom at almost nineteen is none of your damn business."
"You live in my house—"
"You mean Dad's house. He paid for it. But I signed a lease for a two-bedroom apartment this morning. With the way things are going, Dad may be moving into the second room. You act like you have all this power, but the truth is, he's being gracious. He could just stop paying all the bills on the house and screw you over, but he's not."
Sighing, Gracie hops off the table. "Which proves he loves you more than you love him."
"Excuse me?"
"It was a shitty thing for Dad to do, but you're being mean out of spite. You used to be the bigger person, and you look really, really small right now."
Blinking, Felicity doesn't know how to react to this. Her children think she's being small? "I'm not acting out of spite."
"I heard what you said to Lex. That you hate her for keeping Dad's secret, but I don't understand how you can be angry with people who didn't want to hurt you. You know as well as I do that she told Dad to tell you more than once. And you're taking it out on Hailey. That's being mean for sport," Gavin says.
Gracie looks at the ground. "I'm being bullied at school for being pregnant, and I lost all except for one of my friends. You know who stands up for me? My brother's girlfriend who doesn't even know me. The one you're being mean to without knowing her. She's a senior, and she carries a lot of weight."
"I didn't know—"
"Because you're impossible to talk to!" Gracie cries. "You want to be mad. And the way you're acting is really making Gavin and I feel like you think you'd have been better off without us. Be honest, Mom. Is that what you think?"
Shaking her head, Felicity can't grasp how this turned on her. "Of course not."
"If someone told you about Dad and Aunt Vicky, Gavin and I wouldn't be here. You'd have used it as a reason to never speak to Dad again, and your life would have been completely different. But maybe that's what you want. Maybe you didn't know you wanted that until now, but it's how you're making us feel. And I agree with Gavin. I'd rather be like Dad than like you. I've never questioned whether he wants me or not."
Felicity grabs her arm as she walks towards the door. "That is not what I wish. I love you both more than anything in the world."
"It doesn't feel that way," Gavin says. "At the rate you're going, you'll get to experience how it feels to have none of us in your life."
"Thanks for the family trip to the OB/GYN, but I think I'll go by myself for future appointments. Gavin, can you give me a ride home?"
He nods, and both of her children walk out of the room. Felicity sits on the chair and puts her head in her hands. How the hell did this all turn back onto her? How did she become the asshole here?