Chapter 13
Levi
The last thing I want to do is lose my shit in front of her.
Lennie doesn’t deserve that. It took a lot of guts for her to tell me what she did.
I could tell by the look on her face that it pained her telling me as much as it pained me to hear it.
Aside from my own father, nobody has ever betrayed me in my life.
I’ve been damn lucky. Even after that moment of grace, I still know that Shelly needs to pay for what she’s done.
Praying to God that the bitch is home, I drive over there, thinking about what words I should use when I describe how disgusted I am with her.
Once her house is in plain view, I can see her car parked in the driveway.
I don’t even knock first before entering.
I simply use the code and go inside. The first thing I do is grab all the belongings that I’ve left here, knowing that I will never see her again.
Unfortunately, my clothes are in her bedroom, and from her footsteps, I can tell that that’s where she is too.
She’s fixing her hair in the mirror above her dresser when I enter.
I say nothing to her; I just start grabbing a few items of clothing.
I don’t even look at her to see the expression on her face.
But I know that she stops what she’s doing and stands there watching me.
“And hello to you too. Have you got some laundry? "
“No, but I know you do. You’ve got lots of dirty laundry, don’t you, Shelley."
She places a hand on her hip, and glances at me, puzzled. "What does that mean?"
“Quick, Shelley. When was your last period? Oh wait, actually, how many husbands have you had? Even better, just how many fake pregnancies and fake marriages have you had? Just how many lies have you weaved, anyway?"
She goes for denial. “What idiot have you been talking to?”
“Seeing as you know so many of them, including me. It’s just lucky for me that you don’t live in a small town and therefore you don’t know how they work."
“Whatever the hillbilly told you, it’s not true. I’ve been married and divorced once and that’s it.”
“Just how in the hell were you going to follow through with this plan of yours. Were you going to shit out a kid in nine months' time? Just how in the hell were you going to execute this whole charade? I’m really curious about that one."
Foolishly, she's still on the road to denial. “Well, if you don’t want to be a part of your child’s life, then that’s your choice.
But I’ll get all the child support I need.
The courts will see me as a single mother and a student, covering her bills all by herself.
Good luck coughing up the dough for that. ”
“You come after me for child support after you get knocked up by some poor soul at a bar, and I'll demand a goddamn paternity test first. Don’t waste your time or mine. I know enough lawyers and accountants. You haven’t got a prayer."
She sneers at me. “Oh yeah? And what about after I tell everyone in town that you got me pregnant and refuse to support your child. No lawyer or accountant in your small town will even look at you without pointing the finger.”
“Once again, good luck with that. I’ve lived in Copper Cove all my life, and anyone that knows me will take my word over yours any day.
By the time I reach home, the whole town's going to know the truth. That you set me up you goddamn gold digger. If you’re smart, you won’t ever show your face in Copper Cove again.
If you know what’s good for you, that is. "
As I grab my lone bag of things, I walk out the bedroom door.
She shouts after me. “Well, they'll believe that you have a skinny little pencil dick! And that you don’t even know how to use it! I’ll spread a rumor all over town that you suck in bed!"
I chuckle loudly as I close the main door behind me. “The only thing they’ll get out of that is that you’re a whore."
I get into my truck, expecting her to chase after me with a bat, but she doesn’t.
It’s about time she grew some sense. I toss the bag into the cab and head for the ranch.
Billy and Nash are just coming back from a ride, as I get out of the truck.
The bag is in my hand as I walk towards the resort house.
As much as I try to walk normally, both seem to notice the extra bit of dust that I'm kicking up with each step.
"What's going on, little brother?" Nash calls out to me.
I'm not sure if I really want to talk about it yet, but then it just comes bursting out. "Shelly's a fucking con artist, that's what."
"A what?" Billy says.
"She was never fucking pregnant. It was all a goddamn game to her."
"Jesus Christ." Nash mutters. "How did you find out?"
"Lennie. At the Hoedown."
I don't get into specifics. It's not important. What is important is that I've been had, and everyone already had an inkling that Shelly was up to no good. So I feel like a fucking fool.
"So she's not pregnant?" Nash says. I can hear it in his voice that he's duly relieved.
"Are you deaf?" I spit, not meaning to sound so harsh, or so blatant, considering the predicament that Lennie is in.
Nash visibly pumps both fists in the air and shouts proudly. "Yes! Thank fucking Christ! That's the best news I've heard all year!"
"I feel like a fucking idiot."
"Well, love is blind, Levi. At least, that's what they say." Billy volunteers. "And at least y'all found out before it was too late."
"I can't believe I wasted so much time on her."
"Yeah, but I think that you knew deep down that she was trouble." Nash adds. "We all did. It's a dead giveaway when someone blurts out that they're pregnant to complete strangers in public."
"I get it." I turn into the resort house and head towards my room. "Y'all want to go for a drink? Take your mind off things?" Billy offers.
"That's the last thing I need."
"Well, how about a ride?" Nash suggests.
"Didn't you just come back?"
Billy frowns. "Don't matter. The horses will ride day and night, you know that."
As I toss my pathetic bag of belongings onto the bed, I sit down with a huge thud and let out a deep breath. "Na, I think I'll just sit here and ruminate."
"No sense torturing yourself, Levi." Billy counsels. "You didn't do anything wrong, man. Getting out of there and being rid of her is the extent of your commitment now."
"Was Lennie upset when she told you?" Nash asks.
"She felt like a pile of shit. I think part of her thought that I was looking forward to being a daddy."
Billy looks confused. He sits next to me on the bed. "Are you disappointed?"
I scoff. "Lord, no. Especially not with her. I couldn't wait for Shelly to tell me that she wasn't going to go through with it. And I know damn well that the likelihood of her getting pregnant by me was slim to none. We weren't all that active and I swear to God I used a condom every time."
Nash pats me on the shoulder. "Well, that's neither here nor there, now. She's not pregnant and that's all good news, man. Take it."
"Take it and run." Billy adds with a pat, and then he rises.
"We'll be in the ranch house if you need anything.
" Nash says as he follows Billy out. I sit there for two minutes before realizing how fucking stupid I am.
Not just for being taken by that bitch, but for sitting here on my ass, when I've broken free from the shackles named Shelly, and I can go be with the woman that I love.
"Idiot." I mutter to myself, rising swiftly.
It takes me thirty seconds to trot to my truck.
As I glance up at the clan in all their glory, sitting on the porch like spectators, I can see a couple of them exchanging money.
Piper whistles at me, and then they all start cheering me on, knowing exactly where I'm going.
It's like my own goddamn cheering section.
I can almost hear the bloody music in the back of my head, singing winning songs like in the movies, when Rocky wins the match, or the triumphant instrumental music you hear whenever the lead actor gets what he wants.
Suddenly, as I drive to Lennie's house, I'm over it.
Over the anger, and over any regret. What's more important is the fact that I can be free now.
And freedom means that I can be with the one that I want to be with.
Finally. As I pull up to her house, my heart beings to beat faster with anticipation.
I'm not sure what is appropriate here. Do I owe her an apology for walking out on her like that?
Do I thank her for being honest and telling me what she saw?
After I ring the doorbell and wait for her to answer, my mind is reeling.
But when she opens the door, the word appropriate gets thrown out the window.
I grab her into my arms and lift her feet off the floor.
She squeals as I turn her one full circle and then I let her feet touch the floor again.
Hands cupping her face, I kiss her full on the mouth, tasting her sweetness, planting the most immersing kiss on her lips.
A kiss that tells her everything that she needs to know.
That I'm sorry. That I'm grateful. But most of all, that I love her.
The door gets closed behind me as I step inside, keeping our lips still attached.
Her hands are in my hair, and I pull her close, lifting her up against my body.
Her frame is so tiny and short that I have to lift her so that she doesn't have to stretch to reach my face.
God, she's so sweet, it drives me crazy.
I haven't even slid my tongue in her mouth yet, and she's panting like she ran a marathon before I arrived. My hands comb through the hair at the sides of her head as I pull back and look in her eyes. "I love you, Lennie."
Her eyes sparkle. "I love you, too."