Breaking Point (Drew Ashley 1) (30 page)

"Seven and a half," Destiny corrected. "His birthday is in April."

"That's none of my concern."

"Listen, Drew. The guy listened while you blubbered about another man, that day your mum had a barbecue. He made the most of it when you accidentally double-booked with him and Kale. He's sweet to your mum."

I turned to my laptop and entered the password, wishing I could shut out what Destiny was saying.

"He let you stay at his place when you were ill, for crying out loud," she continued. "Now, if all that isn't good enough for you, I don't know what is."

"I can't help it if I like Kale, not Harvey."

"You don't like Kale," Destiny retorted. "You just think he fits in with your new Christian-girl persona."

I had nothing to say to Destiny. If she was going to side with Jazz, then she should just leave and go to Jazz's place for dinner.

My laptop asked if I wanted to play something. I clicked yes, remembering that Kale had said something about leaving a DVD in it. His face filled the screen.
"Hi Drew, I know this is really silly, but I wanted the first time that I say these words to you to be memorable. Drew, I love you. I really do. And I'm so glad to have you. I would do anything for you. I love you to bits."
Pause.
"Don't laugh when you watch this."
He smiled.
"Bye for now."

Laughter was the last thing on my mind. I grabbed my phone and went to the spare room to call him. By the time I finished on the phone, my dinner was cold, my mum had eaten, and Destiny had left.

***

I didn't see Jazz or Destiny for the rest of the week. Neither did I really think about them because I was so ill, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even go to work. I really didn't like to be off on sick leave, but I couldn't do anything about it.

I still felt terrible on Sunday morning, but I dragged myself out of bed to go to church.

"You should go to the doctor's," Kale told me as he drove us to his church.

"Nothing's wrong with me. It's just shock from what happened to my car and my room."

"Maybe, but don't you want to know for sure?"

I closed my eyes and laid my head against the window, feeling weak and drowsy. "I can't wait until the police arrest someone," I told Kale. "I feel so unsafe."

I was sitting in church a few minutes later, praying quietly for healing when I heard laughter. Laughter in Kale's church? I turned in my seat to identify the source, as did half the people that were dotted around the hall.

I was shocked to see Landon and Lashon squabbling playfully in the entrance. Lashon's hair was beautifully braided and colourful beads rattled each time she shook her head. She looked so cute. Harvey appeared behind them, and said something in a low voice. They both quieted down.

Kale's grip on my hand tightened at the sight of Harvey. I turned around and stopped watching. I wondered what Harvey was doing here. How had he found Kale's church? Maybe he was looking for a new church. Kale's church was actually closer to his house than Life Church.

Harvey's presence was so distracting; I couldn't focus at all during the service. It didn't help that he and his children sat a few rows in front of us. At the end of the service, he grabbed his children's hands and started walking out. He was going to ignore us. I could see it in the firm set of his jaw. I put my Bible in my bag and was about to turn to Kale and ignore Harvey too, when Lashon pointed at me and waved. I waved back. "Hey," she called.

"Hey, Lashon," I replied.

Kale leaned forward. "Lashon. Your hair looks lovely."

I squeezed his hand. That was nice of him. I wanted to kiss him for being so sweet despite his dislike for Harvey.

Harvey looked at Kale. "What do you say, Lashon?"

"Thank you," she said, shaking her hair so that the beads rattled.

Gordon, the man who'd been staring at me last week, tapped Kale's shoulder. Kale moved away to talk to him.

"Daddy, can we go to our own church now?" Landon asked, tugging Harvey's hand.

"No son. They would have finished now. Sorry." Harvey looked at me. "What is it that's wrong with you again?"

I shifted uncomfortably. Okay, I looked terrible despite all the makeup I'd put on, but did he have to be so blatant about it? "I've been ill on and off since my room was broken into. I think it's stress."

"You're supposed to go to Rwibya on Thursday. Will you be able to go?"

"Sure. I just need to rest it off."

***

There were flowers on my desk when I got to work at ten to eight on Monday morning. I grinned. Kale was really stepping up his game now that he had a job. I removed the card from the flowers and stopped smiling as I read:
You've made a big mistake. Harvey.

I stuffed the card in my pocket and hid the flowers under my desk. If I just ignored Harvey, maybe he'd stop. I picked up my mug and went to make myself a coffee. I found Brea Weller in the kitchen, looking in the fridge. "Hi Brea."

She turned. "Hi."

"What are you doing down here? Don't you guys have a kitchen on your floor?"

"We do, but we've run out of milk." She removed a bottle of milk from the fridge, then flounced away.

The day went steadily downhill from there. Rosie informed me that I'd hit the company's sickness triggers, which meant I was on a verbal warning and might not be going to Rwibya.

As a result, I started acting like I was fine even when I felt awful. I really wanted to go to Rwibya.

My performance must have been pretty convincing because when I approached Rosie on Wednesday about Rwibya she said she was happy for me to go. "What time do we meet at Heathrow tomorrow?" she asked me.

"Five a.m."

"Not a second later," she confirmed.

I was grinning as I picked up my bag and left. Kale was working late so I walked to the Tube station. One Tube and two buses later I arrived at home. I opened the door slowly, loath to enter an empty house.
Stop being silly, Drew.

The living room door opened and my mum appeared. "Hi Drew."

I was so relieved to see her. "I thought you were going out tonight," I said, closing the door.

"Yeah, I was supposed to go out with some people from work."

"Why didn't you go?"

My mum's face twisted comically as she followed me up the stairs. "Well, apart from this being your last night before you leave for Rwibya, there's this guy at work who I think's taken a shine to me."

I was horrified. But then I realised that I really shouldn't be. My mum had probably led him on. I kicked off my shoes when I got to my room.

"So I think it's best if I stay home tonight and stay out of trouble," my mum said. "Drink makes me wild, and there's no telling what might happen."

"You don't say. Not that you necessarily need a drink to get wild."

"You sound just like your dad," my mum huffed. She sat down on my bed and twisted her wedding rings around her ring finger. "Your dad said he was going to call you to make sure I didn't go out, so if he calls, tell him I'm home."

"You told dad about the man that likes you?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I? If I tell him, I'm less likely to do something naughty. Openness is the best way to guard against an affair and stay faithful."

Oh! So she was a faithful flirt.

"Anyway, are you still feeling ill?" she asked me.

"A little."

"Have you vomited today?"

"No."

My mum grinned.

"What?" I asked.

"Have you considered that you might be pregnant?"

I had. It was part of the reason I hadn't been to the doctor's yet. I didn't want my suspicions confirmed. It would be just my luck to find out I was pregnant by Travis. What would Kale think?

"It's okay if you are. I will support you, and I'm sure Harvey or Kale will, whichever of them is the father."

I grimaced. "If I'm pregnant, it'll be Travis that's the father."

Horror rapidly replaced the excitement in my mum's eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah."

My mum quickly regained her composure. "That's fine. I will support you all the way, and you know your dad will, too."

I couldn't be pregnant. I really couldn't. The mere thought of it made me sick.

"Do you want to take a pregnancy test?" my mum asked.

Not really, but I needed to know. "Yeah."

"Okay, I've got one somewhere." She went to get the test, then I went to the toilet, dreading the result, praying that it would be negative. I really didn't need this right now. I followed the instructions on the box then waited an agonizing three minutes.

My mum burst in as I was reading the result. I heaved a sigh of relief. "Not pregnant."

She chewed her lip anxiously. "Are you sure?"

I showed her the test.

"We'll do another one in a few weeks."

"Why? Do you think it's wrong?"

"You never know. You might not have built up enough pregnancy hormones yet."

I didn't think so. If I was pregnant I'd be at least five months along. Putting it that way, there was no way I could be pregnant. I would definitely know by now.

"In the meantime, make sure you eat well. Only healthy foods. No coffee. Caffeine is no good for the baby."

"I'm not pregnant, mum."

"You never know, my love."

I stepped on the bin pedal and tossed the pregnancy test into the bin. "What's for tea tonight?"

"I was thinking we could order in from the chippy."

"Great idea."

My mum and I went downstairs and scoured the house for some of those leaflets that the local takeaways posted through doors. I rang the chippy to make the order while my mum went to make sure we had enough cash.

We had quite a pleasant meal. I couldn't believe I was having a nice time hanging out with my mum, but I was. I ended up telling her about Jazz. She was shocked. "It's her own fault for not telling you about it to begin with," she said, when I finished telling her the whole story.

"I know, but I still feel guilty."

"Not guilty enough to break up with Kale."

"I know. I'm still kind of torn about it."

"How can you be torn when you've accepted his proposal of marriage?"

"I don't know. In a way, I've made up my mind that I'm marrying him, but there's a part of me that still thinks it's wrong."

My mum swirled a bunch of chunky chips around in a dollop of ketchup.

"What do you think?" I prompted.

"Are you asking for my advice?" she asked.

"I suppose I am."

"Your dad comes home for your graduation in three weeks. Ask him."

"I can't wait that long."

My mum sighed. "Do you know you've never asked for my advice before? Not even when you were a kid. You've always known exactly what you wanted and gone for it."

I felt bad, but I seriously believed in female empowerment, and working hard to get somewhere, which is why I was such a freak about education. I was big on investing in myself and I wished that women everywhere would do the same. My mum on the other hand was the total opposite. For many years, she'd been content to just sit at home doing nothing but waiting for her husband to get home.

"I know what I want in this situation," I told my mum. "But I need your opinion."

My mum stuffed chips in her mouth.

I waited. For the first time in my life, I really felt lost. Never mind that I was wearing Kale's ring.

"It's a big decision," my mum said eventually. "You need to find out why they split up, and then decide for yourself. Follow your heart."

"I don't know if I can follow my heart." A verse from the Bible came to my mind:
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
That summed it up. I didn't understand my heart. One minute, I was kissing Harvey. The next minute, I was engaged to Kale.

"You should probably seek some spiritual guidance," my mum said. "I guess that's what having a belief system is about—receiving guidance. I think your dad has a prayer book somewhere."

I nodded. I needed to pray about it.

My mum gave me a cautious smile. "Does that help?"

"Of course, mum." I chucked an unopened packet of chippy vinegar at her. "You're quite the sage when you're not drunk."

My mum grinned. "Glad to be of service."

Kale stopped over on his way home from work later that evening, and helped me with my last minute packing. He didn't stay long because I wanted to go to bed at eight. He returned in the morning to take me to the airport. My mum insisted on accompanying us.

Rosie was just pulling up in a taxi when we got to Heathrow. She was wearing an African kaftan. I could barely contain my excitement as we waited to board.