Monday, June 4, 2012

Chapter 79-Into the Fire


“Mmm, Marcus.”  I murmured softly as I snuggled closer to the warm body next to me.  The strong arms tightened in response.  I inhaled deeply which caused my eyes to fly open.  That was not his scent, this was not Marcus.  I looked around; I was in my house in my bed with a strange man.  I swallowed hard before lifting my gaze to see who I was lying with.  Oh no. I tried to ease away from the sleeping figure not wanting to wake him until after I had a chance to put on some clothes.  As I lifted his arm to free myself I saw a smile form on his lips.
“Good morning.”  He said as he looked at me.  “I don’t know how I never noticed before, but you have really beautiful eyes.”  I closed my eyes then turned my head.  I held on to the blanket while I slid away from him.  I wished I had been too drunk to remember what I did last night but as I glanced back at him, I recalled every detail.  It was a little fuzzy but it was there.  Bumping into him at the bar, drinking, talking, dancing, laughing having a good time.  Me asking him to stay with me a while because I didn’t want to be alone after he escorted me home.  Him holding me, him looking at me the same way Carter had then me kissing him.  In the back of my mind some tiny voice said this was wrong that I should have stopped but neither of us did.  I was so lonely and so very very drunk but so lonely.
“Amari are you ok?”
“Yeah Jonas I’m fine.”  I got up and ran to the bathroom before he could say anything else.  I locked the door then turned on the shower.  How could I have done this?  My best friend had confessed his love to me and I sleep with his cousin.  I felt low and dirty.  Once I was finished scrubbing myself, I wrapped the towel tightly around me before slowly opening the door.  Jonas was sitting there waiting on me.  I refused to make eye contact as I walked over to the dresser to get clothes.  After retreating back to the bathroom to get dressed I came out once again and he was still there waiting.
“Dax and Dunham sleep late so if you hurry you might be able to leave without them seeing you.  The triplets are probably up so I need to go check on them.”  I still wouldn’t look at him as I moved passed him towards the door.
“Don’t you think we should talk first?”
“No.  I don’t want to talk, there’s nothing to talk about.  I need to start my day and try my best to pretend I didn’t just make this mistake.”  Jonas looked as if I had slapped him.
“A mistake?  That’s what you think this was?  A mistake?”
“What would you call it then?”
“I don’t know but not that. “  Massaging my temples I tried to think of a way to make this better but I couldn’t.  My head was pounding from the combination of a mild hangover mixed with the stress.
“Look Jonas I’m sorry.  But right now I need you to put on your shirt and leave.  I hear them getting up and I have enough to deal with without having to explain why you are here in my room this morning.”
“Try the truth.”  He said angrily “You had too much to drink last night and I brought you home.  I stayed to make sure you were ok.”
“Jonas, please.”  I said burying my face in my hands.  “I’m sorry but please go home.  I had a really bad day yesterday.  I have a major situation I still have to deal with regarding Dunham and this…what we did.”
“Ok.  I’m sorry.  You’re right.”  He said pulling me into a hug.  “I’ll go, but we will need to talk.”
“Thank you.”  Jonas left and I took a few minutes to collect myself before heading into the nursery.  Both Dax and Dunham wandered into the kitchen as I was finishing up with the triplet’s breakfast.
“Morning mom.”  Dax said.  Dunham simply shot me a glare as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.  He took his bowl outside to eat without saying a word to me.  He was actually trying to make me out to be the bad guy in this situation.  I knew I was going to have to talk to him, there was no avoiding it.  First I would call Aric to see how their talk went last night.  The pain in my head was getting worse. 
“Dax watch them for a sec please.”
I went back upstairs hoping I had some aspirin or something I could take to make it stop throbbing.  This was more than a headache. 
Go away.
That’s not very nice.
Go away.
I massaged my temples and after a few minutes the throbbing started to dull a bit.  Before I could call him, my phone rang showing Aric’s number on the ID.
“Nursing a hang over this morning?”  I could hear the humor in his voice.
“Was I that bad last night?”
“Yeah but you’ve been dealing with a lot.  You are entitled to one night to let loose I guess.”
“Well thanks for your permission son.”
“Anytime.  Besides I had a good time.  Kicked Dax’s butt a few times at pool and the babies gave me no trouble.  I’ll have lots of practice for when Nina and I have our own.”  There was a hint of sadness there but he quickly recovered.  “So I’m gonna be an uncle.”
“Yes.  Did you have a chance to talk to him?  Can you tell me what the hell he was thinking?”
“What he was thinking is what got him in this trouble to begin with.  The pregnancy took him by surprise but he wants to do the right thing.  He really feels like he is in love with her.   He pursued her.  She was still wrong for not stopping it but he did go after her.”
She was wrong for not stopping it.  I still couldn’t believe she would do that.  He’s a child, my child and now he’s having one of his own.  Dunham was supposed to be the good one.  Not that Dax wasn’t but Dunham gave me less trouble, he reminded me a lot of Aric until now.
After I hung up with Aric I surprised myself with the next phone call.
“Mrs. Smith…I, I didn’t expect to…”
“Don’t talk, just listen.”  I said slowly as I tried to keep control of my temper.  I could feel it rising by simply hearing her voice.  “Be over here in half an hour understand?”
“Um..yes, yes ma’am.”
I hung up on her without a goodbye then went to find Dax.
“Can you help me take them over to Cece?”
“Yeah sure.”
“You can stay there or go hang out with friends.  I need to talk to your brother.”
“About Embry?”
“You knew?”
“No.”  He said quickly sensing the tone in my voice. “He told me last night.”
“Oh.”
We got the kids settled then he took off to his friend’s house.  I found Dunham still outside sitting on the swings.  I still could not believe this was happening.  I keep waiting to wake up from what is turning into one really long really horrible nightmare.
“We need to talk.”  I said taking a seat on the other swing.
“Why do you want to yell at me more?”
“You really want to have an attitude with me Dunham?  I had, I have every right to be upset with you.  Do you have any idea how hard your life is going to be?  I’m an adult and having kids isn’t easy.  You are a kid.”  I turned away as I felt the tears starting to roll down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry mom.  I really am.”  I looked at him and he had tears in his eyes.  My heart broke seeing him like that.
“Oh Dunham what were you thinking?”
“That she was cute and that it would be cool to have an older girlfriend.  But we were careful.  I know we were.  But I do love her mom.  Really I do.”
“Oh Dunham.”  I sighed going over to hug him.  He was in over his head and that fact was hitting him hard now.
“Go get dressed son, she’s on her way over here.”
“Why?”
“Because she has things she needs to answer to.”  The look on my face stopped him from saying anything else.
By the time he got back down stairs Embry was there.  She gave him a weak smile as he walked over towards the couch.
“In the chair.”  I said stopping him.
“Mrs. Smith.” She started but I put my hand up to stop her words.
“Don’t.”  The sight of her was enough to get my blood boiling.  My gums were itching and I was trying not to lose my temper like yesterday.  I was lucky she was too scared of me in general to notice the difference.  After a few cleansing breaths, I spoke again.
“I don’t want to hear you are in love with my son.  I don’t want to hear this wasn’t planned or that you didn’t mean for it to happen.  What you did was WRONG.”  I looked over at Dunham then back to Embry.  “I should have you arrested and if you don’t comply with the terms I am about to give you I will have you arrested and Dunham will just have to get over it.”  I looked directly at him when I spoke those last words so he would know I meant it.
“How far along are you?”
“Um a..about 10 weeks or so.” She stuttered.
“Have you thought about your options?”
“Options?”  She repeated looking from me to Dunham who sat in the chair not saying a word.
“Yes, Embry, your options.  Adoption, termination, keeping it.  Options.”
“Oh…well um.  We had only found out a day or so before we told you.  I um haven’t um really thought that far ahead yet.”  I threw my hands up in frustration. 
“When do you think you will decide?”
“I.  I have two more semesters before I graduate.  I do love him Mrs. Smith so I’ll probably keep it.”  Dunham seemed to relax a little in the chair when she said that. 
“Your family.  Where are they?”
“My mom’s job relocated her to Bridgeport so that’s where she, my younger sister and step dad are now.”
“So are you planning to move to Bridgeport so your family can help you?”
“No I’ve been offered a job here after I graduate.”
“Not the high school.”
She quickly shook her head no as she sensed my displeasure at the idea she would be around other kids like my son.
“I’ll be a third grade teacher.”  She said quietly.
“Ok so this is what’s going to happen.  You of course are fired.  You also are to have no contact with Dunham.”
“Mom!”
“Dunham be quiet.”
“You’re 10 weeks now, once you hit 14 weeks it will be safe for you to get a paternity test done.  You and your doctor can decide on the best timing but it will be done.”
Embry sat there shaking her head in agreement while shooting side glances towards Dunham.
“If it’s determined he ---if he is the father then if he wants and if it doesn’t interfere with his school schedule he can attend appointments with you.  You are not to contact him directly still.  All communication will go through me.  If I find you are talking, texting or even send smoke signals to him I will have you arrested.  Am I making myself clear?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“The same goes for you Dunham do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“If you two are as in love as you claim then once he’s legal and can make his own decisions I can no longer stand in the way and you two can ride off into the sunset as one big happy family.  Until then these are my terms and they are final.”
Neither of them said anything.  They glanced at me then at each other.
“Thank you for not having me arrested.”  Embry finally said.
“I didn’t do it for you.  I did it for him but I won’t hesitate to change my mind if you break my terms.  Understood?”
“Yes, oh yes ma’am I do.”
“Good you can go now.  Call me once the paternity appointment is set.”
After she left I told Dunham that he would have to get a job if he was the father.  He was upset with me for thinking she might be seeing someone else.  He refused to believe she could do that since they were in love.  It was wrong but I hoped he would have his heartbroken by finding out he wasn’t the father.  He was in love and believed in her.  She was a good person he kept saying.  He didn’t want to wait until he got the results, he wanted to start working now so that he could start saving up to take care of his baby.  He was grounded for the next month that meant no car, no cell phone, no TV, and no computer unless it was school related.  After he helped me go pick up the triplets, he grabbed the paper to find a job.  There were several openings but he was hoping to get on at the book store.  That night after everyone had gone to bed I stared into the night.  Looking at the twinkle of the city lights couldn't help but to wonder if he was out there somewhere.
In the darkness under the stars was he there?  My hope of him coming back was fading and I was being forced to face the reality.  He was gone.  That fact didn't stop me from thinking what he would say or how he would feel to know what I had done.  I had not only slept with someone in my house in the bed I shared with my husband, I slept with my best friend’s cousin after rejecting his advances.  Did the depths of my depravity know no bounds?
"Oh Marcus I'm sorry.  I'm so very, very sorry." I muttered as I hugged myself tighter.

24 comments:

  1. Hi Jazen,

    Enjoyed your update. I knew the mystery man was Jonas and am glad that he was there to help him out. While I don't think that anything happened between them, maybe sitting on the bed with Amari was not the wisest thing to do under the circumstances. I hope that she and Jonas have that talk.

    Silver

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    1. They will have a talk in the next chapter. Sorry to say something did happen between them. :( They'll talk it over but it's a big mess right now.

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  2. I was very surprised that it was Jonas. What a nasty mess. I hope Embry's child is not Dunham's. Slim chance, I know.

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    1. Yes it was Jonas. It is a very big nasty mess! :( She is caught in the middle and it is not good way out. Very slim chance on that one.

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  3. Jonas...Carter is going to be so hurt! :(

    I am still torn! I know as a mother I would have terms of my own when in a situation as serious as that one but when you think about it, the damage is already done. Why limit their contact now? She can't get anymore pregnant than she already is. After the birth is one thing because you avoid it happening again but...yeah sticky situation.

    I feel bad for Amari. Like has been nothing but hard from the start and as time passes there are more things piling on and still no Marcus.

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    1. He is going to be devastated! That is going to be tough.

      True, the damage is done but she needs to feel like she does have some control still. Limiting their contact is because she doesn't condone this relationship. It should have never happened to begin with and she won't allow it to continue. They have to have some contact since she is pregnant, but they won't be able to act as a couple until he is of age. So it's more than the sex, it's the relationship in general.

      At some point she will break. :( A person can only handle so much. Still no Marcus.

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  4. Oh my, poor carter... aww, I feel bad for him when he finds out. I'm glad it was Jonas anyway, not some super creep or anything, but I feel really bad for Carter and Amari too...just more for her to sort out and deal with... even if it was a mess she got herself into.

    I'm glad Amari is forcing her terms with Embry and Dunham. She's being perfectly reasonable, but still looking out for her son. I still feel bad for the poor kid too, it's easy to think it's love and that it's okay.... I've known a few people in real life in the very same situation...they always say it's love.

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    1. I know. Everyone feels for Carter with this chapter. It's going to be bad if he finds out. True it's better that it was Jonas in a way but bad considering who he is. She seems to keep stumbling into one mess after another.

      She needed to set some boundaries. She doesn't condone that relationship and won't let it continue until Dunham is of age. She was his first relationship so yes he thinks it's love. As for her, she is just wrong and her saying she loves him doesn't help.

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  5. I thought Jonas loved her too! I could really tell by his reaction when she said it was a mistake. Poor Amari is just having such a hard time! Now Jonas and Carter will both be hurt!

    I don't feel any sympathy for Embry. She should have only seen Dunham as a child and if necessary, quit tutoring him! Now he has to grow up before his time. She stole the rest of his teenage years that he should have been able to enjoy without that type of responsibility. Even if he didn't care that it was wrong, she was the adult and she should have cared. She can say as many times as she wants that she loves him, but all it was is complete selfishness! He is a boy not a man! I feel sorry for him, and I hope that he wakes up and realizes that she was wrong to let it happen no matter how he pursued her.

    Now Amari might be pregnant again! Amari so needs Marcus back!

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    1. He does care for her. Not sure if he is in love with her like Carter but he was developing some feelings for her. Yes they both will be hurt, there is no way around it. :(

      Gee Daisy I don't know that I have heard you sound so angry in your comments. :) She should have seen him as the child he is and should have removed herself from the situation. If she continued to tutor him, it should have been at his house and never alone. He knew his mom wouldn't approve that's why he hid the relationship. He thinks he's in love, she was his first relationship. She should have known better. Maybe this time away with the restrictions Amari has set up will give him time to think and figure things out.

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    2. And yes she wants Marcus back! :(

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  6. Oh Amari, what have you done now? I really want Marcus to be found soon, maybe she'll stop with the recklessness if he's back, but now with Jonas possibly being a baby daddy soon, I wouldn't want Marcus to come back to that.

    If was great seeing Amari actively take control of the situation with her son and Embry. I wonder how she'll feel about her grandchild, considering the circumstances surrounding his conception.

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    1. She has made a bigger mess of the situation with Carter. :( Marcus helped to keep her grounded and gave her hope and direction. Now with him gone she's adrift and trying to keep her head above water.

      She's angry with the situation but since she can't change it, all she can do is try to control it. She loves her son and will love his child. If the relationship continues with him and Embry I don't know that she will ever like her but she would tolerate her for the sake of Dunham.

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  7. Oh dear...Jonas, I hope Carter never finds out..what a hot mess that would be!

    I see Mulo trying to sneak a 'whats my girl up to', in there, she shut him out pretty quick though=b.

    The whole Embry and Dunham thing is a mess as well. To be honest I think Amari handled it exceptionally well considering the circumstances, I'm kind of torn between wanting it to be his and not, although if I were betting I would be betting it is.

    I feel for Amari, I would in no way blame her for what she did with Jonas, and there is still that to deal with, ugh, I think she just needed a night poor girl, I was hoping it would be with Mulo though=b...edenz~

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    1. yeah if he finds out it will change everything. Jonas is more than his friend, he's family so it's a double whammy. :(

      Mulo is always trying to sneak up on her. Now he feels like he can come and go as he pleases in a way.

      Yes Dunham is in a bad situation. Amari is handling it as best she can considering everything. The deed is done so all they can do is move forward from here. Amari feels the same way about not wanting it to be his so you are not alone in that thinking.

      She did need a night but she wasn't expecting it to turn out like that. I don't think she would have seen Mulo as a friendly face :P

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  8. Damn...Jonas has had an eye on her too but damn...he was probably really hurt by what happened that morning too and DUN DUN DUN DUN I smell a baby cooking! (Not only because that's the challenge but Amari is fertile as hell! And most of her babies were accidental). Man...Carter is going to be so hurt! And I bet the stand up guy he is he'll stick around and help with his cousin's baby too :( damn...talk about a slap in the face, poor guy.

    Embry...seeing her just pisses me right off. UGH I'd have had her ass thrown in jail no ifs, ands or buts about it she'd be locked up and my kid would have to hate me for the rest of his natural. I wouldn't put up with that shit. She committed a crime, stole his innocence, abused her position...man...yeah prison is too good for her. She'd be dead. Ignore the rest of what I said. She'd be floating face down in a river somewhere.

    Damn...so much to deal with.

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    1. Yes he has been around a lot more since Marcus. He cares about her a lot, not sure if its love just yet, but there is something there. :( My challenge does need babies, yes she is fertile and the triplets have been her only planned pregnancy.

      Carter will be very hurt when he finds out. Knowing how he feels about her then knowing she had sex with his cousin. That might take a while to get over.

      :( Embry has no fans. Amari is trying to do what she feels is best for the love of her son. She's in a hard place right now and no decision is a good one in this case. The baby is coming whether she's in jail or not. :( What she did was wrong, and illegal and wrong! Can't kill her. Dunham would be devastated. :( He's in love and trying to be a man about this.

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  9. Heard the next ep is Supernatural so maybe put a werewolf lover in there when it comes out? -wink- -wink- You are a great writer!

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    1. LOL, I will keep that in mind when it comes out. Why not she already has vamps. :) Thanks for reading.

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  10. I love how real you make Amari feel. Well done!

    Sorry for not commenting much lately, but you know how it is when life comes in between? :/

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    1. Thanks. I tried to think what I would do if it were my son in that situation. This is hard on her but she can only try to move forward and deal as best she can.

      It's ok. Life happens. :)

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  11. I really like your solution to Dunham's baby problem. The facets to Amari's life and personality is amazing.

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  12. I'd love to think that Marcus might still be out there somewhere but it does seem unlikely :(
    Poor Amari, life's been so unfair to her.

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    1. It's possible. They've not found his body or any trace of him other than his car. :(

      Yeah, Amari's had to deal with a lot and things just keep coming.

      thanks for reading

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