The Adventures Continue

I reached for my phone as it rang. The room around me was dark, and it was the only light illuminating around me. The caller ID made me frown and a little annoyed all at the same time. It had been a month since I left Vegas and I hadn't heard from Zak―until now. I answered it with a huff.

“Hello.”

“Adrina,” his voice was raspy and he sounded like he had been crying. A lot.

“What's going on?” I sat up, hating that I couldn't help being concerned for his well being.

“You didn't tell me...”

“Tell you what?” my hand immediately touched my stomach. I knew exactly what he was talking about, or at least I thought I did. It seemed like I did.

“Adri...”

“You lost the right to call me that,” I snapped. “It's Adrina.”

“Adrina, you're, you're pregnant.”

“No I'm not. Fuck you. Where did you even hear this?” I wanted to jump through the phone and punch Zak. I hated myself because I still loved him so much.

“Where are you?”

“None of your Goddamn business. You lost the right to ask me that shit.”

“I love you Adrina I...” I could hear his sobs and I still felt bad. Self loathing was my dominate emotion though. I heard Lorelei's cries and I knew that she needed me.

“Zak...I...I gotta go. Lorelei needs me.”

“Call me later?” he sounded so hopeful, I had to stop this though. I couldn't put myself through this any more.

“I don't think that's a good idea...” I admitted. “I...I need to go,” I hung up the phone, hating that decision anyway. I knew there wasn't a good way to take this, so I picked the one that would probably cause me the least pain. I had to be selfish right now, I couldn't go through that again.

When I lost Aidan and my daughter, I wept for her more than him, but when I came back to Ohio after Vegas...I hadn't felt relatively normal at all. I still wasn't. My days have consisted of nothing more than taking care of Lorelei, I hadn't left the house or taken a shower at all in the past week. Molly had been bringing me groceries and with house work.

It was mid January and the only thing that I missed about Vegas―other than Zak―was the heat. Vegas was at least warm.

***Zak's POV***

I couldn't sleep. Not without Adrina. I had grown so used to her at my side that I could only sleep with her there. But now...Now she wasn't here and every night when I woke up with violent nightmares, she wasn't here to stop them, to wake me up and bring me back into reality.

Saying Adrina was the love of my life wasn't an understatement. I knew that I would never, ever be able to love a person more than I love her.

But now, she was pregnant. Again. And, she hadn't told me about it. I only found out because on an angry rant―one directed at me, of course, Ariel had let it slip. She told me how awful I was because I was going to let her (Adrina) raise me children on her own. After she covered her mouth in shock, I understood. Adrina was pregnant with my child for the second time.

If I didn't have to worry about demonic attacks and getting possessed―and of course so long as we were together―I would be happy. Ecstatic, really. I had never wanted children, not really, but Adrina and I made the most beautiful children, mostly because of her, but I was sure that baby would be tied for the most amazing child ever born―only tied with Lorelei, of course.

I tried to focus on Adrina's beautiful face, her soft skin, and her intoxicating scent as I went back to sleep. But, that sweet dream quickly turned into a bitter nightmare. Images of Adrina's face losing all color as she died slowly filled my head and I woke up, trying not to scream as I tried to regain my equilibrium.

I reached for my phone and saw the time, it was five in the morning, I guessed it was late enough to get up. I decided that I needed to hear her voice, even if it was just her voicemail, I missed her too much. I was surprised that I had been able to hold off on speaking with her for as long as I had. I had wanted to call her every day before this but I...I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I had to talk to her.

“How the hell can you even have the audacity to call me?”

“Everything I said before, it was just to make sure that you left me. I...I wanted you to be safe but...I can't let you raise both of my children without me...please. We'll get married and live wherever you want. I...love you so much.”

“If you loved me, you wouldn't have put me through all of that pain.”

She had a point, kind of anyway. I had my reasons for trying to get her to leave, but she also had the way that she saw it and she saw it as me being an asshole that didn't really love her―kind of the way I wanted her to see it, but it didn't make me feel any better.

“Where are you? I'll come see you, prove that I love you...”

“No, Zak...I can't do that. I...I just can't...please understand...it'll hurt me more to see you.”

***Adrina's POV***

It had been almost a week since Zak had called me last, maybe it was a good thing, but I had a bad feeling about it all. So, I decided to call Aaron. He would know what was going on.

It took a couple of rings before Aaron actually answered his phone. “Hello,” he sounded tired and I figured that I had probably woken him up. He had a weird sleep schedule, but he was the only person that I could talk to about this.

“Hey, Aaron, it's Adrina. I need to talk to someone and...”

“Adri? Oh my God...” His voice was full of shock and it made me worry.

“What's going on?”

“I swear Zak has lost it...He's shut himself up in the house in Vegas and I haven't heard from him in days. Gracie's been staying here and everything.” He was quiet for a minute, and so was I. I couldn't come up with a good response for any of that. “I know that he hurt you, but trust me, Adri, he loves you more than anything. He only hurt you because he wanted you to be safe―from him―but he needs you to protect him from himself. He's going to do a lot more damage to himself than he ever could to you...”

“Aaron...why do you have to make sense?” I complained. I wanted to go back so badly, but at the same time, if I did, I knew that I was damming myself. I knew that I never, ever be able to stop loving Zak. I could never move on.

“That's what I'm here for. So jump on a plane back here and we'll get all of this settled.”

“You know it won't be that simple.”

“Maybe not, but you two will get through it. There hasn't ever been another couple as perfect for each other as you two. You complete each other.”

“Aaron...”

“Agree to come back and I'll stop,” I could hear the small smile in his tone, so slightly reluctantly, I agreed. “I'll see you soon,” he chuckled.