Chapter Twelve
This couldn’t be happening.
This had to be a cruel twist of fate.
But the jeans she had purchased had started to feel tight. This is why she opted for such a large fairy costume, because she had felt her clothes getting tight. Some mornings she had felt sick, but she had put that down to knowing there was a chance she might see George.
Now, as she sat in the bathroom at the MC clubhouse, with Harlow on the other side of the bathroom door, with Ava and Raven there as well, she held the stick in her hand.
She hadn’t peed on it yet. Since throwing up from sniffing that awful pizza, and Harlow’s question, within minutes she was presented with a clean, sealed pregnancy test. Harlow was heavily pregnant.
“You know, it’s okay,” Harlow said.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” Raven said.
“We’re all here for you.” This was Ava.
But none of them realized that this was a complete and total nightmare.
This was not what she wanted, not even a little.
She had a plan, and once again, her plans were being shattered all around her.
When she got pregnant, she wanted to be married and in love, knowing the guy who got her pregnant wanted to be a father. Instead, she was heartbroken and alone.
George was out there. Raven and Harlow had pushed him out of the bathroom, because she had looked at him and known there was a chance they were pregnant.
What were the odds? They had sex one time. That was it. One time, or one night, which had resulted in a couple of times having sex. She had gone all the way with him, because she felt she was in love with him, and now she didn’t know what she felt. Actually, she did—she felt hurt.
It hadn’t been real. None of it had been real. It was all fake, and she hated that.
But the sooner she found out, the easier it would be for her to know what to do. Not that she would do anything if she was pregnant. She would not get rid of it. She would have to do this alone. This was the choice she had made now.
Putting the stick between her legs, she began to pee on it. This had to be so embarrassing.
She took a deep breath and expelled it, only to take another. She felt like her whole world was collapsing around her.
What would her father think? He was going to be so disappointed in her.
Once it was done, she pulled up her panties and stepped out, allowing the dress to drop around her ankles. She placed the pregnancy test on the counter and washed her hands.
“How are you?” Harlow asked.
“I ... uh ... I don’t know how I am right now.” She nibbled her lip. “I honestly don’t know what to say.” She felt so close to tears. This was not what she wanted, not even close. She felt like a complete and total failure.
Pregnant. What were the odds of that after just one night? It didn’t seem fair. But then, life had a way of throwing curve balls and this was one she wasn’t expecting.
She tried not to panic. Minutes didn’t seem long at all, until you were literally counting them down. Glancing over at the pregnancy test, she took a deep breath.
“We’re all here for you,” Harlow said.
She got that, but it wasn’t how she wanted it to be.
Her stomach kept twisting. “Maybe it was just the pizza?”
She glanced around the room and everyone looked doubtful.
The music distracted her. “I don’t want to spoil your party. Please, uh, I’ll let you know.”
They all came around her.
“We’re not leaving you, Larissa,” Ava said.
They all smiled at her. They were being supportive. Helping her.
She took a deep breath, expelled it, and did it again. Yes, this, she could do. She could do this, it was not a problem.
Tightening her hands into fists, she tried not to think. She tried not to feel. Then, she glanced down at the test, and there was no getting away from it. She was pregnant, without any of her plans and hopes and dreams in place. Everything had been shattered.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
None of them knew how to act. They all looked at one another, and then Larissa took a deep breath.
She was pregnant.
She was going to have George’s baby.
This was the reality.
She was going to have a baby.
She placed a hand to her stomach, and she knew it was starting to get bigger. She figured she was putting on weight with all the food she wasn’t actually eating. Her appetite hadn’t been what it used to be. She was always tempted by a baked good, but not recently.
“I’ve got to tell George,” Larissa said. She looked to Harlow. “I don’t know if I can tell him right now.”
Raven sighed. “I can go and distract him and you can make a run for it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not a coward and I’m not going to run away like that.” She nodded her head. “I’ll tell him.”
She still wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with this.
“Do you want me to stay?” Harlow asked.
“No, no, I’ll deal with this,” she said. She had no choice. This was what was going to happen. She was pregnant with his baby. A man who had made a bet about getting her into bed. They were going to have a baby.
He betrayed her trust. And now she was alone.
It had all been a lie. She had fallen in love with him, and it was all a horrible, disgusting lie.
She gritted her teeth as Ava, Raven, and Harlow left the bathroom, and seconds later, George stepped into the room. He looked worried.
She looked at him and felt the pain and love all mingled into one. That was how he made her feel. So much joy, as well as hatred and sadness, and so many other things in between.
“Larissa?”
He went to come closer to her, and she held her hand up.
“Don’t.”
That video, he’d sounded so confident. Like it wasn’t going to be hard to win her over so he could get what he wanted. Was it that easy for him when it came to her?
She took a deep breath.
“I’m pregnant.”
She had fallen in love with a lie. How did she know what was the truth? What was the lie? Everything she had known with him meant nothing. She had fallen in love with ... no one.
“And I don’t want anything from you,” she said.
“Larissa, come on.”
She shook her head. “I won’t push you out. Your baby will know you, but I don’t want to know you. I don’t want anything to do with you. We’ll have this baby, but other than that, I don’t want anything.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“I know.” Tears filled her eyes because this was so much more painful than she thought it would be. She was pregnant with his baby and he hurt her. He lied. He made a freaking bet and like a damn fool, she had fallen for it. She had fallen in love with him, and he had broken her heart.
“I’ve got to go.”
“Damn it, Larissa,” he said, grabbing her arm. “Don’t do this. I will be there for you. I will be there for your baby.”
“Why? What is in it for you?”
“You and our child. That is what is in it for me. You and our baby.” He touched her stomach, and for the merest hint of a second, she felt that ... feeling. It consumed her and threatened to swallow her whole. But she had no choice. She swatted his hand out of the way.
“No. You don’t have me. Not anymore.”
And with that, she left the bathroom, but she couldn’t hold her head high. She felt nothing but shame as she ran out of the clubhouse and toward her car.
****
Big Dick stood outside the Adams’s house. It was such a small but modest family home. He didn’t know the full history of what happened to her mother, and he had a feeling he was never going to find out. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was the woman inside.
Larissa was not answering his calls. He stood at the door and held his hand up as if to knock, but then stopped himself. Everything was so fucked up.
He was going to be a daddy. And the mother of his child couldn’t stand him.
This was not supposed to happen. First, he never intended to have kids. He never intended to fall for a woman. He didn’t even know if he loved Larissa. He cared about her and hated that she was cutting him off.
The club hadn’t stopped him when he left the clubhouse, following behind her. He kept his distance, watching her come home, letting herself in, and now he hadn’t left.
The door opened and Jonah stepped outside.
“Do you want to give me another beating?” he asked.
“You took your beating,” Jonah said. “I will not do it again, and for that, I will apologize.”
Big Dick frowned. “What?”
“The devil won that day. There is no reason to allow violence to become a currency in paying off emotions. You had hurt my daughter, I should have come to you and talked. Instead, I let my anger get the better of me, and that is not good.”
“I deserved it.”
Jonah spread his hands out.
“You are going to be in our lives for the rest of ours.”
“She told you.”
“Yes,” Jonah said. “And she has currently locked herself in her room.”
Big Dick hated the burn in his throat as he looked inside the house. “She thinks she has disappointed you.”
“Yes.”
“Has she?” Jonah might not be happy with violence, but if he in any way said shit to Larissa, Big Dick had no problem hurting people, especially when they deserved it.
“No, my daughter will never disappoint me. She is an amazing woman. I am proud of her.”
Big Dick nodded. He wouldn’t be kicking Jonah’s ass today. Probably not the best way to get on the good side of his baby’s grandfather.
“You hurt her, Big Dick,” Jonah said. “That is what she is dealing with right now. The pain of what you did.”
“It meant nothing, the bet. Carlos and I were not going to go through with it.”
“And you think because you suddenly had better intentions, that makes it all right?”
He wanted to yell at the man and say hell, yes, it made it all right. At the same time, he knew it didn’t. The fact he and Carlos had made the stupid bet was what had hurt Larissa. She was never supposed to find out.
“My daughter feels like a fool,” Jonah said. “She fell hard for you. She didn’t question your sudden interest in her. You ... made her feel. She followed her heart, and right now, that heart is breaking.”
“I never meant to hurt her.”