Tainted

6 - Colt: Seething

I raided the freezer, searching to its ends for chocolate ice cream, but I wasn't surprised when I couldn't find any - I'd eaten whatever I had left in the time that she wasn't around.

I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts and shuffled things around, sighing when I only found "boring" vanilla. I settled for that and rushed to the cupboards searching for a bowl.

"Wanna relax, mate?" Ben stared at me, scrunching his eyebrows together as he drained his glass of water.

I shrugged at him and he shot me a look. "What the fuck is going on with you?"

Even I couldn't answer that.

Vee walked into the kitchen as if on cue, looking out if place as she sauntered in slowly.

"Um, it's okay, you don't have to get it. I don't really feel like having it anymore, but thanks," she said quietly.

I looked over at Ben who rubbed his face in frustration. He refused to look at me, instead he turned to Vee.

"All right, you're probably tired, babe. You should head upstairs and get some rest. I'll take your bag up for you."

She glanced up at me to check for my approval and I nodded, "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."

She disappeared from the kitchen and Ben followed her. "I swear on the Queen I would gut you right now if it wasn't for her," he growled, rolling his eyes as he passed by me.

"What'd I do?" I demanded, feeling my frustration grow.

Ben returned about ten minutes later and I was a second away from smacking him upside his head. As soon as he made his way down the stairs, I grabbed his shoulder and shoved him into the living room.

"What -" he started, but I cut him off.

"What the fuck is going on with you two?" I demanded, my voice betraying my envy.

"Would you shut up?" he hissed. "She's trying to sleep, she's had a fucking rough night, you dickhead. I don't know if you care or not, but on top of being a human being in need of rest, she's pregnant."

I let go of him, shaking my head and forcing out a dark laugh. "Why the hell does everyone keep reminding me that she's pregnant? I know she's pregnant! What the fuck do I do about it?"

He jabbed his finger at me and bored his eyes into mine. "You're never going to get it, are you?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I stood with my fists balled at my sides, gritting my teeth. The last thing I needed was another fucking lecture.

"She's not just pregnant out of nowhere, Colt. Jesus Christ, mate, she's pregnant with your child. If you don't want anything to do with it, then you can't try and have anything to do with her. They're linked - they're a fucking package deal now. You can't have one without the other, no matter how hard you try to ignore it. And I won't let you do this back and forth shit to her."

I stared at him silently when I really just wanted to snap his neck, but I knew he was right. He knew me too well and I wouldn't deny it.

What he didn't fucking understand was that I couldn't just leave her and I couldn't just have a baby with her so fast. I loved her, yes, but how would I ever be sure that loving her was even enough right now, minus a kid?

"You wanna know the real reason why we're here?" he asked, suddenly shoving his hands down his pockets. He pulled out a few pieces of paper and slammed them against my chest, his jaw tight. "Look at them."

I took them from him begrudgingly and looked down at a few crumpled photos. The first one was a picture of Vee and Stella, they were talking and smiling, but Vee was wearing just a bra and panties, the rest of her body exposed. I remembered this lingerie set when she'd worn it for my birthday.