Ties That Bind

The show was amazing. But her mood was still sour by the news that some blog had photos that linked them together. It was the night she got pregnant but still. Mark and Penny had offered to stay but she declined their offer. She just wanted to go to bed and forget the world for awhile. She closed and locked the gate and headed up her small pathway with it's glowing garden stones. It was dark because the light on the porch wasn't on. She must have forgotten to turn it on before she left. She turned on her phone's flashlight to find the house key.

“It is amazing what the web is used for these days. Porn. Music. Finding out your ex is pregnant and fans are speculating it's yours,”his raspy voice floated from the darkness.

She nearly dropped her keys,”Matt?” She panned her phone up and he sat in one of her wicker chairs.

He shielded his eyes,”In the flesh.”

She panned the phone back down and unlocked the door. She reached inside and flicked the light on. He had stood now and had moved closer.

“How did you know where I lived?”Her hand faltered as she shut the door back.

“Again everything is on the internet.”

Half of his face was still shadowed but she could see the anger etched in his features. He was angry and rightfully so.

His eyes drifted down. But in this light, and the black clothes it was hard to see,”Is it true?”

She sighed,”Come in.”

She stepped aside and let him pass. Avoiding the shoulder check he almost gave her. The last thing she needed was to fall. She shut the door behind them and shed her shoes.

“Shoes off,”she stepped around him and headed into the living room.

She sat and waited before he appeared.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks,”she motioned for him to sit on the other couch.

“Are you pregnant?”he asked as he sat.

She sighed and stood. She pulled back her cardigan and pulled up her shirt,”I am.”

“Is it mine?”his voice had a steel edge to it now.

“She is,”she replied sitting back down.

“Of all the things,”he chuckled humorlessly. “You show up on the internet ready to give birth and people are saying it's mine. We slept together once, almost nine months ago.”

“It only takes one time,”she sighed. “We weren't exactly careful.”

“How do I know this isn't some ploy you concocted to trap me?”he snapped.

“Uh right, because you made it perfectly clear that you didn't want a family yet during our last big fight so I just decided for you,”she shook her head. “To trap you into being with me and with a kid you didn't want.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose,”Is it money? Did you think by having this child you could blackmail me so you could keep up a place like this?”

“Firstly fuck you. Secondly Mark bought this place. He wanted me to be closer to the family. I tried to pay him back but he said it was an investment in his peace of mind about his sister and niece.”

“Then what is it?”he slapped his hand down on the coffee table and she flinched. “I find out you're having a kid from some noob while playing calling of duty last night and that some fan blog has linked us together and they speculate that it's mine.”

“That she is yours. She has a name. Ariel. And I'm sorry you had to find out that way. But did it ever occur to you that I wasn't trying to trap you nor make you give me money? I never told you. Yeah it's shitty. But you had made your choice,”she shifted to get more comfortable. “You made it clear that night about not wanting kids yet and that I was selfish for bringing up the subject yet again. So do you think I would actually come to tell you? Would you have believed me?”

He sighed,“And I don't know if I would have. I don't really want to believe it now.”

“You did. Exact words if I remember correctly were ”Why are you bringing this shit up again? How can you be so selfish as to ask me on the eve of a tour?”. Exactly my point on why I didn't.”

He was quiet and she was too tired for this right now. She stood and headed for the stairs.

“Carrying and growing a child is not easy. I'm exhausted. So see yourself out. Or stay on the couch. Because at this point I really don't give a shit.”

“Wait,”he called after her.

“No. I need to sleep. We can pick this up in the morning or never. I don't care.”

“I'll crash on the couch. My flight isn't until the evening and all the hotels were booked,”his voice followed her.

“Peachy. There's extra blankets in the closet under the stairs. Help yourself.”

A grunted thank you was all she heard as she shut her door. Why can't her life just be easy? She tugged off the cardigan and shirt. Lost the bra and belly band. She hated that thing. Tugged on a comfy sleeping gown and sat on the bed. She pushed her leggings off and flung them at the basket. She climbed on the bed and was just about snoring as soon as her head hit the pillow. Dealing with this in the morning was going to suck. But she wasn't moving until then. Well unless she had to pee because Ariel loves to kick her bladder at all hours of the night.