Chapter 33
Idiot – the nicest word Aurora can think of to describe Jett
Aurora
“J ett is getting a ride home with Cash,” Leia explains as she switches on the engine of Fender’s Hummer.
“I really don’t care,” I mumble as I fasten my seatbelt.
As soon as I kicked Jett out of the room, Leia, Mercy, Virginia, and Indigo invaded. They helped me get dressed and ushered me to the car without any questions asked.
I have a feeling my time is limited, though. Indigo is practically bouncing in her seat. The questions will burst from her any second now.
“How are you feeling?” Leia asks as she begins the drive back to Winter Falls.
“Like a fool.”
She pats my arm. “There’s no need. Every pregnant woman has overreacted at some point. I was convinced I was in labor with Isla a month early. When I arrived at the hospital, they barely looked at me before announcing I wasn’t in labor and ordering me home.”
“I’ll probably do that three times. At least,” Virginia pipes in from the backseat.
“Thank you for the reassurances but I’m not feeling like a fool because I thought I was losing the baby.”
Indigo peeks her head between the seats. “Why do you feel like a fool then?”
“I walked right into that, didn’t I?”
“You did,” Mercy says. “But if you don’t want to answer any questions, let me know. I can hogtie Indigo to the backseat.”
Indigo snorts. “I’d like to see you try. You don’t have anything to hogtie me with.”
Mercy chuckles. “The seatbelt will work just fine.”
“Why are you being mean to me?” Indigo whines.
“Maybe because you’re being super nosy,” Virginia answers.
“I prefer the word inquisitive.”
“Snoop,” Virginia accuses.
“Meddlesome,” Mercy corrects.
“Intrusive.”
“Busybody.”
Leia sighs. “They could continue for hours.”
“Did they bring a dictionary with them?” I ask.
Mercy shakes her phone at me. “No need for a dictionary when I have this.”
My phone beeps in my pocket but I ignore it. There are only two people who could be messaging on New Year’s Eve – Jett and Mike. And I’m not talking to either one of them.
Leia nods toward my purse. “Don’t you need to answer your phone?”
“Nope, I’m good.”
“What if it’s Jett?” Indigo asks.
Virginia smacks her. “Stop it. Aurora will tell us what happened when she’s ready.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t lie and say you’re not curious.”
“I can be curious and keep my mouth shut. You should try it sometime,” Virginia tells Indigo.
“Sounds boring.”
I sigh. “How long is the drive home?”
Home? Shit. I can’t go home. I’ll probably stab Jett in the heart with a rusty knife if I see him now. Then he can experience how it feels to have your heart torn out of your body. Asshole.
“I hate to say this but you need to calm down,” Leia says.
“I’m calm,” I grit out.
“Which is why your hands are balled into fists and your jaw is clenched. I’m afraid a vein is going to pop in your forehead any second now. Should I turn around? Go back to the hospital?”
I glare at her. “Ha. Ha. You’re funny.”
She grins. “Thank you.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
She shrugs. “I don’t care. I’ll accept any compliment spoken in actual words to come my way.”
“How do you put up with Fender and his propensity for grunting instead of speaking?”
Her smile is wicked. “Trust me. He makes it worth my while.”
Virginia groans from the backseat. “No. No sex stories. I can’t handle it.”
“If anyone can complain about sex stories, it’s me,” I claim. “I’m the one who’s known your men for over a decade. They were barely out of the pimple stage when I met them.”
“Trust me. Pimples didn’t stop Cash from being sexy.” Indigo sighs.
“No! No! No!” Virginia shouts. “No sex stories.”
“What’s your problem?” Mercy asks. “Dylan not giving you the Big D lately?”
“Nope. All I get is soft lovemaking,” Virginia complains. “He’s afraid he’ll hurt the baby if the sex is too wild.”
“I’m speechless,” Indigo says. “You would have given anything to have Dylan any way you could have him in high school and now you’re complaining.”
“For someone who’s speechless, she sure has a lot to say,” Mercy mutters.
We pass the sign for Winter Falls and my body tenses. Where am I going to go? What am I going to do?
“All right, Aurora,” Leia begins. “We’ve given you thirty minutes to come to terms with whatever happened with Jett. It’s time to spill the beans.”
I should have known these ladies were up to no good when they didn’t push me for answers sooner.
I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t want to.”
“I guess I’ll drop you off at Jett’s house then.”
My stomach dips and my jaw clenches as anger fights with heartbreak for supremacy. “No. I don’t want to go there.”
Virginia squeezes my shoulder. “Men do stupid stuff when they’re worried about the person they love.”
I snort. “Jett doesn’t love me.”
I thought he was on his way to loving me. I thought he cared about me. I was wrong. He doesn’t care about me. He cares about this baby. But not me.
“What did he say?” Indigo pushes.
“In a nutshell, he blamed me for almost losing the baby because I work too hard. His solution was for me to quit my job since my work isn’t important. I can stay home with the baby while he goes on tour all over the world.”
Leia pulls to the side of the road to face me. “Does he not know today was a false alarm?”
“He wouldn’t listen to me. He completely ignored me. Me! The woman in the hospital bed who thought she was losing her baby.”
Tears escape my eyes and roll down my cheeks but I dash them away. I’m not having a breakdown. I refuse for Jett to find out how much he hurt me. As much as I love these women, they have big mouths and will blab everything I say to their partners who will blab to Jett. No one can keep a secret in this family.
Leia grasps my hand. “I’m sorry.”
Mercy squeezes my shoulder. “I’m not excusing what Jett said. He was clearly an asshole. But maybe he was scared. Considering his past…”
I blow out a breath. “I know all about his past.”
And, I hate to admit it, but she could be correct. Jett might have overreacted due to his past. But I can’t have him become this gigantic asshole whenever he gets scared. We’re having a child. There are going to be more scary times. Many, many more.
“I don’t know. I love Jett, but I don’t know if I can be with a man who runs every time he gets scared.”
“Don’t make any decisions tonight,” Mercy suggests.
“Yeah.” Leia nods. “Get some rest and recover from your scare.”
“Tomorrow, your mind will be much clearer.” Virginia sighs. “Or as clear as the mind of a pregnant lady can be. Pregnancy brain fog is real.”
“Okay,” I agree. “But I don’t want to go home. Jett’s house, I mean.”
“You can stay with me,” the four of them practically say in unison.
“Duh. She’s staying with me,” Indigo proclaims.
“Explain,” Virginia orders.
“She can’t stay with Leia because she’s next door to Jett. Mercy’s out because Gibson is Jett’s best friend. And there’s no way Dylan can handle two pregnant women in his house at the same time. My house.”
“She can stay in the tiny home Gibson built for my uncle,” Mercy says. “Uncle Mercury isn’t staying there yet and there are panic buttons everywhere in the house.”
“She’s not staying alone tonight,” Indigo says.
“Um, hello. She is right here.” I point to myself. “And I can make decisions for myself.”
“Well,” Indigo prods. “Where do you want to go?”
I consider my options. I hate to admit it, but Indigo is right. Her house is the best option.
“I’ll stay with you.” She whoops and I wag a finger at her. “But I won’t hesitate to shave your head in the middle of the night if you ask me any more questions.”
She smirks. “You’d have to get past Cash first.”
“Good thing I have a prescription for sleeping pills.”
She glares. “You’re mean.”
I shrug. “You say mean. I say smart.”
“I guess it’s settled then.” Leia switches on the vehicle and pulls back onto the road. “But for future reference, Fender would never let Jett into the house if you didn’t want to see him.”
I raise my eyebrows. “And Isla? Jett is her best friend.”
She frowns. “Whatever.”
“Gibson is Isla’s best friend,” Mercy claims.
Leia and Mercy begin to argue about who is her daughter’s best friend. I ignore them.
The only thing I care about now is Little Bean. I love Jett more than life but Little Bean is my life. I can’t allow Jett in her life if he’s going to run away from her. I know how it feels to be abandoned by your parents. I won’t let Jett abandon our child.