Always in My Head - An SOA Fan Fiction

Chapter 20

If Mae wasn't cooking there was no way Opie was going to. He didn't need to be persuaded to order some pizza, plain for Mae and the kids and one with every conceivable topping for himself. Kenny and Ellie inhaled their dinner and ran off quickly to play in the yard before it got dark. Mae ate slowly, she wasn't hungry, just sick over what she was going to do but she wanted to enjoy the pleasant, peaceful time she had with him.

Opie got up to crush the now empty boxes and Mae finished the piece she had left. "So," she swallowed the last small bite of pizza. "I was thinking about what you asked but there's something I want to talk about before we make any decisions."

"Sure," he was so casual about it. Sipping on his beer he reached back to grab his smokes from the counter before sitting back down at the table. "What's up?"

There were things she didn't even realize that would have to change, if they stayed together. The smoking, eventually the rides on his Harley, the little things felt much bigger now. "Don't light that, let's go upstairs."

The kids had a clear view through the patio doors, Mae didn't want them to see a fight and she needed privacy for this conversation. Taking his hand she tugged him toward the steps and Opie grinned wickedly. He had a very different idea of what would be going down in the bedroom than she had planned.

"It's been a while." He said eagerly as she shut the door behind them. His injury made sex almost impossible but he was more than ready to try.

"What?" Mae was truly lost, she had no idea what he could have meant, at least until he pulled his shirt off. "Oh, no baby." She blushed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, that's not what I came up here for."

"Shit," he pouted and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm feeling good, we can."

"No, we have to talk."

No man ever liked hearing those words. His demeanor changed in a flash and Mae could feel he was already tense. It was too late to turn back but she wanted to, she wished she never said a word to him about it. Clamping her hand over her mouth she suppressed the urge to vomit out of fear.

"What is it?" He asked, the suspense was pointless and he hated it. They'd had too much upheaval and too many battles to keep him waiting for another moment.

"You know I love you more than anything, Ope and I love those kids. This family, you guys brought me in, we helped each other and I would do anything for the three of you." Mae's fingers picked at the hem of her shirt as she tried to choose the right words.

Opie smiled, it was tight and angry, he already thought he knew she was leaving him again. "You want out don't you?"

"No," she was already using a softer, pleading tone with him. "I don't."

"Then what is it? Just tell me what's going on."

"I'm pregnant." His face lit up, overjoyed by her words but Mae shot him down and quickly destroyed his excitement. "But there's a chance it might be Dave's."

At first, he laughed, dark and frightening, and a sick kind of smile spread across his face. Of course it might be Hale's, their last few weeks had been an unbelievable string of bad luck. Mae wasn't sure what he could have been thinking but she knew it wasn't good. Right then she would have preferred he called her a slut or a whore and just been done with it because this strange behavior was scaring her.

"Ope, I'm sorry. I didn't cheat, you know I left him for you so I really can't be sure yet."

As he continued to smile calmly, his eyes focused on anything but her face, Mae would have killed to know what he was thinking. Truth was, he didn't know what he was thinking. A baby with Mae would have been wonderful, her having a baby with Hale made him psychotic. Once the ridiculousness of it all faded, the rage took over.