Gateway Drug | Volume I

Gateway Drug | Part Ninety-Eight

Warning(s):
Language

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I sit quietly on the couch, peeling my shoes off while Duff comes inside, slamming the door behind him.

My short lived night out with Valerie, Sharise, and Tansy was brought to a screeching halt once I slapped Bobby, unbeknownst to me that one of his buddies at the party was an off-duty cop.

Things stay quiet between the two of us, Duff fumbling in the fridge for something to drink and I hear the bottle cap snap off of a Pepsi before the fridge door is harshly shut back.

When he came to pick me up I expected him to yell or barrate me for being an idiot – but then I remembered that he and Nikki operate very differently – though if he did yell or tear into me I wouldn't blame him.

His black cowboy boots hit against the floor as he comes back to the living room, stopping to stare at me while I try to reach behind myself to unzip my dress.

"Can you help me with this?" I ask him, getting irritated with it and he passive aggressively puts the bottle down on the coffee table before walking closer to me, and I turn so he can unzip it.

It's still quiet when he asks, "What the hell were you thinking, Vivian?"

My eyes close and I hold back a tired groan, looking at him, having to keep my hands over my chest so the strapless top of the dress won't fall down and expose my chest to him...though it doesn't matter if it does, he's already seen all of it.

"I wasn't, Duff, I guess." I mumble, stepping past him to go to my room and change into pajamas.

"Obviously not. You had no business going there tonight to stir up more shit." He follows after me. "I told you it was handled and done with and you said that you understood that." He adds. "I thought we had an agreement. It was settled."

"She's got an active court case against them right now, Duff, it is very much not settled." I hiss out.

"And that's Brynn's business. If she needed your help she would've asked for it, but she didn't. So you barging into her business trying to save her when she doesn't need it right now was uncalled for."

It's as if he thinks it's going through one ear and out the other, approaching me while I pull on one of Nikki's old t-shirts.

"You're pregnant."

"I'm well aware." I smartly reply.

"You're pregnant and went to a party to pick a fight with someone over something that wasn't your business, that happened almost a year ago." He reiterates.

"Duff, I really don't need an entire lecture about it, alright? It happened and I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry you did it. You're sorry you got caught." He corrects me. "What would've happened if you had gotten hurt, huh? Why the hell would you risk putting yourself and our baby in a situation like that?"

"I wasn't thinking about all that, Duff, okay? I was just pissed off and – "

" – Did you stop taking your medicine?" He cuts me short, his soft eyes searching mine with worry at my answer.

"You're not supposed to take Lithium while you're pregnant, so yes, Duff, I have stopped taking my goddamn medication. And I've told you this multiple times in the last several months but you're so busy with Mandy and the guys and God knows everything else – "

" – Woah, woah, woah, woah, okay hold on," He raises his brows, keeping his voice calm. "I'm doing the best I can right now, alright? Because you're right. I'm trying to balance being married, the band blowing up suddenly, my family, and you and the baby...if you just wanted more attention from me this was not the way to do it, Viv."