Authors: Chloe Walsh
Since I had nothing solid in my stomach with days, the only thing coming up was green bile.
I whimpered as sharp pain darted through my pelvis.
“Kyle.”
I tried to scream but my voice came out more like a strangled whisper.
“Kyle.”
I screamed louder, panic building.
“Please, someone, help me.”
I felt something wet gush against my thighs.
Reaching down I touched my crotch.
Bright red blood covered my fingers.
The blood on my hand was the last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me.
KYLE
“Rachel,” I nodded curtly as she approached me.
“Kyle,” she smiled up at me, slipping on that sexy face.
I knew that look well.
“So where’s your little roomie? I didn’t see her here tonight; don’t tell me you got sick of her already?”
I tensed, but managed to keep my face void of emotion.
I had a plan and I needed to stick to it.
The dirt Linda had dug up was like a winning lottery ticket.
“We need to talk,” I said coolly.
She stepped closer, pressing her body against mine.
I shuffled backwards, but she moved closer again.
Fuck, she had me pinned against the wall.
She ran a finger from my stomach to chest, and rested her hand over my heart. Shit.
“Rachel,” I cleared my throat. “We need to talk.”
She smiled darkly, and leaned towards me, “You remember the date don’t you?”
I nodded.
How the fuck could I forget?
“Kyle?”
I heard some guy call from the hallway, “Some chick upstairs said to call you, she said she needs you or something?”
My heart dropped into my stomach, shit Lee.
I went to move but Rachel pulled me back.
“Why don’t I go upstairs and have a little chat with Lee? I’m sure she would love to hear what I have to tell her.”
I froze, this was exactly what I was trying to avoid.
Derek, who was standing nearby glared at Rachel, then looked at me with the most disappointed expression I had ever seen on his face.
He made his way towards the stairs.
He was probably going to check on Lee.
Well fuck him.
This was hard enough, without being judged.
I knew what I had to do, and if I didn’t go with Rachel now and get it over with, the repercussions would rip Lee’s heart out.
I had to do this dammit.
“You ready to get out of here?” Rachel asked, as she squeezed my hand.
I nodded, and walked to the front door.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here, before I change my mind.”
Chapter Forty
LEE
In the darkness, I could hear banging, then Derek’s voice above the screaming.
“Lee? Jesus Christ, Lee.”
He sounded terrified.
I felt him pull me into his arms, but I could not move a muscle.
Kyle, where was Kyle?
“Someone call a fucking ambulance,” Derek roared.
Moments later I heard Cam sobbing.
“Yeah I need an ambulance, I don’t know what’s wrong with her” I heard her say, “She’s covered in blood and vomit, Jesus Christ hurry.”
Derek’s voice was close to my ear, calming me.
“You’re gonna be fine Lee. You’re gonna be just fine sweetie, keep breathing, There’s an ambulance on the way for you, just hold on Lee.”
KYLE
“I want out Rachel.”
There, I’d finally said it.
I felt the manacles around my wrist loosening already.
I stood up and paced around her lounge.
I couldn’t sit still.
I was too fucking excited.
“Out of what Kyle?” she hissed, “You want out of your responsibilities?”
I watched from the corner of my eye as she threw her wine glass.
I ducked just in time.
It sailed passed my head, shattering against the cream wall of her apartment.
“You know what happened,” I whispered, “It was a goddam accident. If I could take back that night, I would. I would have never gotten into that fucking car if I’d have known the outcome.”
She laughed darkly, “But you can’t change anything can you? You ruined my life and now you are going to be a man and suffer the consequences of your actions.”
I flinched, and for the first time in two years, I felt like fighting back.
For the first time in my life, I had something to fight for.
My phone was vibrating in my pocket; I knew it was either Derek or Cam.
They’d been ringing me constantly since I left the party.
They were probably pissed with me but I’d deal with them later.
Right now, I had a much bigger fish to fry.
“You can blame me for crashing the car Rachel. That part was my fault, but it was you’re fault we crashed. Yours,” I said, feeling vindicated with my outburst, for finally allowing myself to shift some of the blame that had been weighing on my like a crane.
She blanched, and strode towards me.
I didn’t bother moving,
I knew what she was going to do.
Her hand struck my face.
“You bastard,” she screamed, “How can you say it’s my fault? You crashed the car. You caused me to lose our baby, you killed it, and it’s your fault I can’t get pregnant again.”
She was shaking with anger.
Good, I needed her shaken.
“You fucked my brother,” I said calmly,
“You decided to shift your game plan on me because I was the bigger meal ticket, what with my grandfather having just left his fortune to me.”
She paled.
I caught the bitch out.
I thanked god for confiding in Linda, if I hadn’t I would have never known the truth.
The phone call I received earlier tonight from Rachel’s mom confirmed everything I had believed for the last two years was a lie.
“That night I caught you fucking my brother, the night you told me you were pregnant with my child? Well it got me wondering, and I started putting dates together and realized the baby couldn’t be mine. The dates didn’t add up and I’d worn a glove. It wasn’t mine was it Rachel?”
She stared at me, silent for a change, I continued.
“You got pregnant and blamed the baby on me, on the one time we had sex, when in fact you’d been fucking Mike for months, which made wonder why? Why lie about the child being mine if it was his?”
“And why was it that I never even knew about you being pregnant until after the accident? Of course, the first thought that came to head was money. You didn’t expect our grandfather to leave everything to me; I was the bastard child, and Mike was the golden boy, the true heir to the Henderson Hotels. But then the more I started to think about it, the more things didn’t add up.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“And then, I got a phone call and it all became crystal clear.”
LEE
I could hear the paramedics, could feel them moving my body.
I was screaming Kyle’s name inside my head, fighting my way back to consciousness.
My eyes flickered open,
“Derek,” I gasped when I saw that he was still beside me.
Cam was beside him, she was crying.
“Cam,” I whispered.
I tried to move my hand towards her, but an agonizing pain shot through me, and I screamed in pain.
“Lee, can you hear me? You’re gonna be fine sweetheart,” Derek said rubbing my forehead,
“We’re in the ambulance. Lee, we’re getting you help sweetheart, you’re gonna be fine.”
I shook my head confusion, Kyle, where was he?
I twisted my head around looking for him.
I couldn’t see him.
“Kyle?” I cried out.
“Kyle?”
Where was he?
Cam and Derek turned their faces away from me.
What was happening?
“Are you the father?” the paramedic asked Derek as he held my wrist in his hand, timing my pulse.
Derek shook his head, and then whispered something to Cam.
Her whole face caved, she burst into tears.
The father?
“What are you talking about?” I cried, “The father of what?”
The paramedic smiled sadly at me.
“Miss Bennett, please try to stay calm, we are concerned that you may be having a miscarriage, the best thing you can do is breathe slowly and try to stay relaxed for the baby’s sake. We’ll know more when we get to the hospital and run some tests.”
The baby, what baby?
“I’m not pregnant,” I screamed before the darkness swallowed me up once more.
Chapter Forty-one
KYLE
“You’ve been telling porkies Rachel,” I said calmly.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she screamed, and lunged for my phone. I let her take it.
She scrolled through my phone frantically.
She couldn’t delete the information in my head that finally freed me from her hold.
“You really are a sick little girl aren’t you,” I taunted, “I’m not even angry with you. I pity you more than anything.”
She threw my phone at me, hitting me in the chest.
“It takes a sick person to concoct a fake pregnancy. But it takes a bitter twisted whore, to allow a man walk around for two years thinking he made her infertile. Thinking he killed her child and any chance of having another.”
The look on her face confirmed to me that Linda’s source had been spot on.
“I had a little chat with your mother today, who needless to say was shell-shocked with what I had to say.
She seemed to be under the impression that you had surgery on your spleen after the accident and not a hysterectomy like you told me.” I stared straight at her; her face was red, her eyes full of rage.
“Therefore, you can imagine my surprise when she confirmed, no, assured me that you weren’t pregnant when you were brought in to the hospital that night because you had been tested and before x-rayed and had come back as a big fat negative.”
I sneered at her, “You were never pregnant. Games up Rachel. Find some other fool to leech from, I’m cutting you off.”
She choked out a twisted laugh.
“It took you long enough to figure it out. But do you think because you understand the truth, your little princess will?”
I tensed.
“She will hate you. You’ve been lying to her for months Kyle. There is no way she’ll forgive you.”
I shook my head.
“She loves me. Unlike you, Lee is a fucking saint. A saint.”
Rachel sneered.
“Oh you are so pathetic Kyle. It’s happened hasn’t it? You’ve finally fallen in love? I knew that girl would be trouble.”
“You don’t know anything about her,” I said through clenched teeth.
“I know enough to know miss prim and proper won’t look at you twice when she knows the double life you’ve been leading.”
“She loves me, she’ll understand.”
Rachel stepped up to my chest.
“Are you sure about that Kyle? You’ve lied to her, cheated on her. And I’m fairly certain she’ll know by know by now that you’re here in my apartment with me.”
She threw her head back and laughed, “I bet you haven’t even told her you love her.”
I froze.
I hadn’t told her.
I planned to remedy that as soon as I got the fuck out of this place.
Rachel’s eyes gleamed.
“I’m right aren’t I? She asked.
“You’re not capable of loving someone without destroying them. Your mother. Your grandfather. Walk away before you destroy her.”
Chapter Forty-two
LEE
I felt as if I had been asleep for days.