Chapter 22 Amelia
Amelia
Iwake up, throw up, shower, go to class, come home and do it all again the next day.
Darius’s daily texts have stopped, and I’ve seen him twice in the last month.
Without him around, I have my routines, and I’m loving how I control everything in my life.
He was right, all it took was time to get used to us being nothing more than co-parents.
I can admit I’m not strong enough to be around him and not be with him.
It all comes crashing back and I feel like shit.
Thanksgiving is coming up and since Catherine is going to visit her family for the holidays, Dad and I are going to share cooking duties.
It should be a fun disaster since neither of us have much experience in the cooking department.
I’m halfway through my shopping list when the doorbell rings.
It’s rare when someone visits. I make my way to the door and stop short when Darius is stood before me.
He never shows up at my door. Climbs through my window, sure, but never rings the bell.
“Hey.” It’s the only thing I can think of to say.
“Hey, can I come in?”
Frowning, I step out of the way, and he steps inside. Uninvited, he heads into the kitchen, and I wish he would get to the reason why he’s here.
“Did I forget we had an appointment?” I ask.
“Nope.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Can’t I just stop by and check in?”
“I thought we had a deal?”
Clearing his throat, he shoves his hands in his pockets and raises his chin as he stares at me.
“My grandma has asked me to come over and invite you and your father over for dinner next week,” he says ignoring me.
“Really? And your mom is okay with it?”
I can’t see his mom being happy having us over on a holiday. The last time I saw her she was warning me away from her boy.
“My grandma has the final say. She wants to meet your dad and get to know you both better. And since we’re having a baby, it couldn’t hurt to bring our families together.”
“I don’t know,” I murmur. “I was expecting us to keep things separate.”
“I don’t go against my grandma, Amelia. This deal isn’t working for me. We’re in this together but our families are in it too. It’ll be good for your dad to see where his granddaughter will stay when she’s with me, know the people she’ll be around, don’t you think?”
I don’t want to be around him anymore than I have to, but I begrudgingly see his point.
“Fine, I’ll talk to my dad. I don’t see why it should be a problem, I’ll let you know.”
“See you do that.”
“Is that all, it’s just I’m kinda busy.”
This is usually where he leaves. He shows up, says what he has to say, gets me all in a tizz, and then disappears again.
“What are you up to?”
“School work.”
“How’s that going?”
“Fine.”
“Come on, Amelia, we need to get past this tension.”
I’m glad he can feel it too, it doesn’t make me feel so alone. Sighing, I say, “Yeah, we do, I’m sorry. But I really do have a lot of work to do.”
“Okay, I’ll go. But you’re good otherwise?”
“I promise I’m fine.”
He pushes away from the counter and moves closer to me. I back away and sit at the table. My plan to keep my distance fails when he pulls the chair out beside me.
“You can talk to me.”
“I know. I just don’t have anything to say that you would want to hear.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I may as well tell him, he’ll probably find out in some way. He always finds things out.
“A guy in my class asked me to the movies this weekend before he goes home for the holidays. I said yes.”
Fire blazes in his eyes and I swallow the lump now lodged in my throat.
“You… I…” He starts laughing. “For a second I thought you said you were going on a date.”
Scowling, I grind out, “You heard perfectly fine.”
The laughter dies instantly, and I flinch when he takes my hands in his.
“If you think you’re dating any asshole while you’re carrying my kid, you must be out of your mind.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Darius.” Yanking my hands free, I scoot back in my chair and stand.
“We’ve already had this conversation, Amelia.”
“I don’t see why this is a problem for you, we’re not together, you’re the one who didn’t want me.”
“So you’re doing it to get my attention? You trying to make me jealous?”
Gasping, I can’t take any more of his ego. How can I make someone jealous who has no feelings for me?
“For your information, you didn’t cross my mind. For the first time in months someone actually wants to spend time with me.”
“So you’ll jump on the first guy who shows you attention?” he barks and I flinch.
“How dare you? I might not have known you, but I was real, and you knew me. You know I’m not like that.”
“What kind of guy wants to date a pregnant woman?”
“You’re so disgusting.”
“I’m disgusting?” he spits out. “You let him know it’s cancelled, or I will.”
“What are you going to do, kick his ass?”
He just stares at me. Oh my God, that’s exactly what he would do. For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I regret everything. He’s going to try and control my life forever.
“You’re a pig.”
“And you’re not going to the movies with some asshole.”
He stands and moves in front of me. “I can live with you hating me because it means my kid is safe.”
“You need to leave.”
“I’m out and forget about asking your dad to dinner, tell him it’s happening.”
I hold my breath as he passes by me and stay where I am as I listen to him leave. And like that, my routine, my good mood, my everything positive is shot to pieces. The next eighteen years are going to feel like a lifetime.
It takes forever to find a parking spot and when I do, it’s two streets over from the movie theatre. I wind my scarf around my neck and grab my purse before throwing open the door. The doctor was concerned I wasn’t putting enough weight on but as the baby was fine, she just told me to eat more.
Burying my hands deep in my pockets, I walk fast. The cold is setting in and I reckon my nose will be bright red before I meet up with William.
Fuck Darius. He doesn’t get to say who I’m friends with.
I’ve been plagued by my stupid imagination, thinking up all sorts where he’s concerned.
Who he’s with instead of me or what he’s up to.
But I don’t say a word to him. As much as I hate it, I know it isn’t my business and that he probably wouldn’t give me an answer. Or not one I would want to hear.
William has beat me here and I smile as I walk toward him. His shoulders are hunched together to ward off the cold and he leans in to kiss my cheek.
“You sure you’re not too tired or anything?” he asks.
“I’m sure, plus I’ll be sitting down so that helps.”
“I’ve already got the tickets, are you sure a horror movie won’t bring on labor?”
Laughing, it feels so good to have a conversation around the baby without wanting to punch the wall afterward.
“If I can’t handle a scary movie, I don’t think I’m going to be a good mom.”
“Point taken.”
We stand in line for popcorn and candy, and everything is so easy.
It’s moments like this that prove Darius was right.
Life with him would be hard. We couldn’t even be at the fair without trouble kicking off.
But standing in line with William, no one even blinks our way.
We’re no ones and that’s the way I like it.
I pay for the food as he paid for the tickets, and he carries the load while I carry our drinks.
“At least it’s not busy,” he says as we walk into the screen. “Where do you want to sit?”
“At the back, centre, obviously.”
Rolling his eyes, he laughs, “Obviously.”
We settle the food in the chair between us and discard our coats and settle in. I can’t remember the last time I was here.
“Did you finish the paper for Eccleston’s class?” he asks, digging his hand into the popcorn.
“I’ve just got to read it through, make a few changes and then I’m done.”
“I can’t wait to get home, it feels like forever since I had homecooked meals.”
“You should’ve said, I’d have invited you over.”
“I’ll hold you to that after the holidays.”
The door opens and in walks Jermaine. My heart drops and I forget how to fucking breathe. What the hell is he doing here? I thought Darius had stopped having me followed months ago.
I watch as he looks around the few people in their seats and then settle on me. He looks even more terrifying in the dimly lit room.
“Do you know that guy?” William asks quietly.
“Not exactly.” It’s the truth. I know who he is, but I don’t know anything about him.
“He seems to know you, he’s coming up.”
With every step he climbs toward us, my heart pounds just as heavy. He takes a seat at the end of the row and then one of Darius’s other boys, Rodrigo, comes in and sits at the other end of our row.
“Seriously, Amelia, do you know these guys? They’re gangbangers,” William whispers worriedly.
“They won’t do anything. It isn’t what you think.”
I pull out my phone at the same time it starts to ring. It’s Clare. I hit ignore and then the door opens and Darius walks in. He doesn’t look around for me, he comes straight up the steps and Jermaine moves his legs out of the way for him to pass.
He takes the seat next to me and slides his arm around my shoulders. He pulls me so close, my head rests against his.
“I guess you thought I was full of shit?” he murmurs quietly for only me to hear.
“This is how it’s going to go down, just so you know for future use. First, you’re going to get your coat on and say your goodbyes. Then I’m going to give Jermaine the nod to show this prick what the boundaries are when it comes to you.”
“Don’t do this, please.”
“I warned you, you chose to ignore it. This is on you, babe. You forget who I am.”
“How come you get to have friends and I don’t?”
He snorts. “My friends don’t want to stick their dick in me.”
“I’m pretty sure William would prefer to stick his dick in you than me.”
He loosens his arm around me and narrows his eyes.
“So what the fuck are you doing on a date with him?”