Rachel's Accident (27 page)

“Excuse me,” I called over my shoulder as I was already sprinting toward the bathroom in my room.

In my mind
I
pictured
I must have looked like the Road Runner
. I
t
was a really funny image that managed to cheer me up a bit.
But it was a great relieve to empty my bladder after all this time.

When I was just washing my hands my stomach grumbled in protest. Right, I had forgotten that I hadn’t eaten anything in a while, either. I sighed. I really should pay more attention to my bodily needs. No matter what happened in my life there were still two little ones growing inside of me that depended on me looking after them. They couldn’t look out for themselves, yet, so that was my job.

Zach was still standing in the hall when I got out of my room again. He had a funny grin that reminded me again of the image I had pictured.

“Road Runner?”

He burst out laughing while nodding his head vigorously.
“Totally!”

My stomach interrupted again with another angry, l
oud growl. It was a little embar
ras
s
ing and I was sure that showed on my face quite clearly.
Embarrassed lobster, indeed.

“Let’s get you something to eat,” Zach said as he wiped some tear
s from the corners of his eyes.
He had laughed that hard at me
.

As he walked ahead of me toward the kitchen I made faces at his back in revenge. When he turned to look at me I let my gaze
wander around innocently, my hands folded in front of my belly like a well-behaved school girl. He seemed to know what I was doing, but ignored it.

“Anything special you want to eat?” he asked me as we entered the kitchen.

“
I’ll
eat just about anything. These two aren’t picky
. Are you? No, you aren’t,
” I said with a smile while rubbing fondly over my belly.
I felt a little stupid and embarrassed to talk and coo at them in front of another person, but what did it matter really?

Together we whipped something from the leftovers in the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. Despite the fact that this kitchen was super big it was actually only furnished for two people. Did he not have more
than one guest once in a while?

Now, that I thought about it properly his whole apartment seemed rather sparse and empty…lonely. I hoped he would find someone soon, who would bring life into his apartment and every-day routine. Not just a short fling, but someone he cherished and treasured for the rest of his life.
A someone
I had thought Ethan was for me.

Wow, now I was depressed again. These mood swings were so annoying. Thanks to that I had no appetite anymore and even though I should eat more for the sake of my babies I couldn’t bring myself to swallow any more.

Resigned, I pushed my plate away and leaned back in my seat. I laid my head on the top of the backrest and stared at the ceiling.

“Something wrong?”
Zach asked.

“Just the usual.”

“What do you mean ‘just the usual’? Oh, right, you still haven’t told me what happened today. Do you want to talk about
it?
”

He seemed to have forgotten my thinking out loud in the subway earlier.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary I guess. I just found out today that Ethan’s cheating on me…with my best friend.”

I had continued to stare at the ceiling during our conversation, but as I heard the clatter of a chair being
over turned and something banging on the table I looked up shocked. Zach had jumped up and banged his hands against the table top. Now, he stood there, looming over me, his shoulders heaving and an angry look on his face. I was actually a little scared.

“What do you mean he’s cheating on you? He wouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah?”

“No, he wouldn’t,” he insisted.

“I saw them, Zach. I saw them together. They were standing in the middle of the hall. How could I not see them?” Ah, this wasn’t good. I was getting choked up again, but I couldn’t stop it.
The lump in my throat, the tears in my eyes, the knot in my stomach.
I didn’t want to feel like this anymore. Someone, please take it away. But I knew no one would. No one could.

The tears slowly started to spill over as I continued. “I had just taken a nap and when I woke up and wanted to get something to eat there they were,” I hiccupped, “rubbing up against each other.”

Zach looked just as shocked as I probably had at the time. With a struck look on his face he gathered up his chair of the floor again and slowly sat back down.

“What is that guy thinking?”

It seemed like he too needed some time to digest this, but just a few seconds later his expression changed completely.

“What do you need me to do? Should I go beat him up for you? Slash the tires of his cars? Tell me.”

That reaction surprised me even more. He would go so far for me?
Against his own brother?

“He’s your brother,
”
I said
tentatively.

“I don’t care! You don’t treat your woman that way! Not to mention when she’s having your children! I never would have thought he was this sort of man, but if what you say is true then I’m through with him. He’ll get fired from my firm and as my brother. He can go look for one somewhere else.”

As he was finished with his little speech he looked at me again. As he realized the tears on my cheeks and my trembling hands he quickly came around the table and hugged me to him tightly.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through something like this. You can stay here as long as you want, forever if you like.
I’ll
help you as much as I can.”

“Thank you,” I sobbed into his shoulder and pressed myself against him.

He was so big and warm. It was comforting to have someone look out for me in this time.

After that I finally got that shower I had been longing for. The water felt so wonderful, caressing my body and warming it up. I toweled myself off a little awkwardly, threw on a robe and was just looking around my closet for a pajama when I heard Zach talking in the hall.

I had left the door open, so he would hear me should anything happen while I was in the shower. You could never know. I crept closer to the door to be able to hear him better. I shouldn't be eavesdropping on his conversation. It could be private, but I was too curious.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Huh? You don't know what I'm talking about?
The you
better figure it out, you bastard. Until then your wife is sleeping with me!" he shouted into his phone. Apparently, he hung up then because I could
hear him
cursing under his breath. "That definitely came out wrong just now," he sighed.

I opened the door and stuck my head out.
"Just a little."

Zach whirled around with a fake look of surprise on his face. He was so easy to read when he wanted me to. "I didn't know you were there. Sorry about that."

I went over and hugged him again. "Thanks."

"Anytime.
And you know, it isn't much, but maybe this can count as a little bit of revenge. He sure as hell is thinking about us together right now. Let's see how he likes that idea."

"Mhmm," I murmured in agreement.

"But actually that isn't so far off really. I have the same face as him and if I grew a beard you could pretend I'm the one you love and live with me. Your babies even have my genes. We could totally pass them off as mine. What do you say?"

I smiled gently. "It's a nice idea and all, but let's
keep
it as my last resort. You definitely would regret it later. When you find your own special someone
I’ll
just be in the way. Thank you for looking out for me so much. I really appreciate it."

He smiled back, hugged me a little tighter and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You’re very welcome."

"
I’ll
go get some sleep now. I'm exhausted. Good night, Zach."

"Good night, Rachel."

I drew out of his arms and trotted back to my room, where I quickly found a pajama and changed into it. Then I slipped under the blankets and snuggled down. Even though I had so many things spinning around in my mind I was so exhausted from it all th
at I soon drifted off to sleep.

My dream was one of terror as I relive the same experience from today over and over again. Only this time I saw Ethan and Jess do it all the way. It was pure torture and I woke up drenched in sweat with my heart racing a hundred miles a minute.

I sat there in bed, trying to chase away those pictures in my mind and calming my erratic heartbeat. Suddenly the door burst open and Zach rushed in, looking around frantically. When he spied me sitting up in bed he hurried over and checked me from head to toe.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I heard you screaming, so I ran over,” he said, looking at me with concern in his eyes.

Ah, I must have been screaming while having that awful dream. “
I’m fine. Just a bad dream
,” I sighed and laid my head in my hands. “
I’m sorry for waking you
.”

I heard Zach sigh in relief
and felt the bed shift as he hugged me close. Only then did I realize that he was naked from the waist up. And man, did he have some serious abs. But they didn’t really do anything for me, despite the fact that he was the exact mirror image of the man I loved. It was just comforting to be hugged by him, naked or not.

“I was expecting the worst,” he breathed into my hair.

"Sorry for making you worry. What time is it?" I asked while looking around for a clock.

"Around two or three in the morning, I think."

"Would you mind sleeping here for the rest of the night? I have the feeling if you're here I won't be having such nightmares," I pleaded.

He pulled back from our embrace and smiled at me. "I don't mind.
I’ll
just go and put on a t-shirt."

I nodded and let go of him, so he could get it. I sat there and waited until he came back. I didn't want to lay down in fear of falling asleep and reliving my nightmare again.

When we lay there together in bed he held me soothingly until I fell into a dreamless sleep. It was so utterly comforting and blissful I never wanted to
leave his arms ever
again.

I was startled out of sleep by a loud noise. I sat up in bed. There it was again. It sounded like a body bumping into the wall in the hallway.

"That's probably Ethan," Zach whispered from beside me.

"What is he doing here?" I asked in a panicked high voice.

"I gave him a key a long time ago, but he's never used it before and I forgot.
I’ll
go deal with him."

"Please, I don't want to see him."

He gripped my hand reassuringly and then got up to confront the reason why I was here in the first place. I was such a coward I couldn't even get up to eavesdrop at the door.
But before Zach even got the chance to open the door it was thrust open from the other side and a wobbling Ethan walked in.

“There you are, you bastard!” he shouted and came swinging at Zach, who stood right in front of him.

Fortunately, Zack managed to dodge his drunken attack and Ethan went down with the momentum of his swing. I was so shocked by what was happening right before my eyes I didn’t realize what was happening to me at first. I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears and Ethan’s and Zack’s arguing voices grew farther and farther away while the pain in my stomach overshadowed everything around me.

“Zack,” I whispered in a pathetic attempt to get their attention, but they couldn’t hear me over their own voices.

I rolled onto my side and held onto my belly for dear life. What was happening? I couldn’t be going into labor now. It was too soon. There was still a month left until my babies should be born.

I tried again louder this time, “Zack,” I cried.

Tears had started to form in my eyes. I was desperate to get help for my precious babies. I didn’t want anything to happen to them, no matter what I had to face. I didn’t even care about what Ethan had done to me right now. I only cared about my unborn babies.

I screamed out my agony once more before I couldn’t take it anymore and blacked out from the amount of pain I had to face alone. I just hoped that they had heard me and called for help.
I doubted it though. Those two had been so focused on each other they hadn’t even noticed my presence in the room, even though I had been the reason for their fight in the first place.

Ah, no one would disturb this blissful numbness I fell into. I felt as light as a feather, floating through the darkness like a cloud on the wind. I didn’t feel any pain or any of those annoying emotions Ethan always evoked in me. I was so sick of them. And because of the pregnancy they had only become more and more chaotic
.
I should just have stayed away from him; from all of them.

I woke up to the sound of Ethan and Zach fighting. My belly still hurt, but most of the paralyzing pain was fortunately gone. I didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. I couldn't move properly and felt quite sluggish. They must have injected some strong pain meds into me or something.
Otherwise I couldn't explain the way my body felt. I wanted them to stop fighting already so I could think properly. I heard a quiet croak that must have come from me, but the two of them didn't even seem to notice me in the room.