The Billionaire & The Barfly (Coming Home) (12 page)

Chapter Ten

Aubrey attempted to put Henry and his ban on sex to the back of her mind. She had more important things to worry about
, and they just happened to be hiding out in her bedroom. Aubrey climbed the brick steps back to her front door and ran right into her father.

“
Oh, sorry, Daddy. I didn’t see you there.”

“
Apparently. Two men this morning, Aubrey?” Then he let out a big, obviously disappointed, sigh.

“
It’s not what you think. Greg is a friend, and Henry just stopped by.”

“
Baby girl, you have got to stop seeing all of these men randomly. You are almost twenty five. Don’t you want to meet that special someone? Someone who respects you for you and not for what you are willing to give them? A man like that won’t even want to put the time in with someone who doesn’t want to do the same.”

Aubrey was sick and tired of hearing how because she doesn
’t like relationships she was somehow a lesser person. Screw that. She didn’t need a man in her life. She also didn’t need sex. She could get along just fine by herself.

“
Dad, please, just don’t.”

“
Fine. I’m just trying to help.”

“
Of course you are.”

Aubrey left her dad standing in front of the door and climbed the stairs to her room.
She tried to think of someone, anyone, who she had a real relationship with. The more she thought, the more depressed she got. She had Greg. But did he count when she only saw him once in a blue moon? She never called him to check in, and if they ever got together, it was because he showed up on her doorstep. She didn’t even know where he lived. Did she really have a friend, or were they all acquaintances?

The door creaked under Aubrey
’s hand as she pushed it open. Both her brother and Mackenna jumped at least three feet away from each other. Her bed was disheveled, and so were they.

“
Good grief, you two. THIS is what got you into this mess to begin with! And for the love of— NOT MY BED!”

“
Would you keep your voice down?” her brother hissed at her. Aubrey narrowed her eyes. She was not the one in the wrong, and she would really like people to start freaking realizing it.

“
No. I won’t. Have you two figured out what you are going to say to Mom and Dad yet? Any idea of a plan to make this work?”

“
Right now, we just need to tell them and let them know that Mackenna will be living here now.”

“
Let them know? Are you stupid? You need to ask. You can ask if she can stay here but don’t be surprised if they say no. What’s the backup plan?”

“
We don’t need one. Mom won’t let her grandchild live on the street. She’ll agree to Mackenna living here.”

“
Just remember to keep calm. Don’t yell. Don’t curse. And don’t be an ass. You are the one asking for help. You are the one who screwed up. Not them. You.”

Aubrey knew her parents would never agree to that, but they might do what they could
to help her with her parents, or help finding her a place to live. But then again, they might surprise her.

“
Mackenna, I suggest you keep quiet unless they ask you a question. Then be honest and direct but keep the attitude to a minimum. Our parents have their cool moments, but don’t be surprised if they aren’t cool enough for this. It’s not like the two of you are the pillar of honesty or anything.”

“
Right. Can we get this over with?” Mackenna asked, her leg bouncing and her pierced lip being gnawed between her teeth. The girl was scared, and rightly so. Aubrey just gave her a soft smile and nodded. She was grateful that she never had to be in Mackenna’s shoes. She wasn’t even ready for a kid at twenty four, let alone if she had gotten pregnant at fifteen.

The three of them walked down the stairs in silence. Ben and Mackenna went into the living room and sat on the couch holding hands. Aubrey went to collect her parents.

“Mom, Dad? Can you come into the living room? Ben needs to talk to you both.”

“
Sure, but what is this about?”

“
Just promise me you will listen.”

“
You are scaring me, Aubrey.” Her mother stood quickly from the desk chair and moved past her. She must have known it was no use pressing the issue with Aubrey. Her father, on the other hand, was a different story.

“
What are we walking into?”

“
It’s not my place to say anything. It’s Ben’s.”

Her father let out another one of his sighs and stalked past her, following her mother. Taking a deep breath of her own, Aubrey followed them into the living room.

~*~

Aubrey stood in the doorway and watched the horrific scene unfold before her. The minute her parents walked in and saw Mackenna sitting there, so early in the morning, they knew what was going on. They knew what Ben had to tell them.

Before Ben could even confirm their suspicions, their father laid into them. Screaming and yelling about ruining lives and being irresponsible. Their mother just cried. Mackenna sat there, tears flowing from her eyes, but her fists balling up in her lap. Aubrey knew she was pissed at what was being said. But much to her surprise, Ben remained silent. Staring into his lap and waiting for his chance to speak.

Aubrey was quite proud of her little brother for that.
At fifteen, she wouldn’t have been able to hold her tongue. She was always a handful, doing stupid shit to disappoint her parents. Never a pregnancy, but she had her fair share of hangovers and skipped classes.

When her father had let it all out, he sat beside their mother and just stared at them. Ben looked up from his lap with red rimmed eyes and locked eyes with their father.

“I know we screwed up. I know that we made our future so much harder. I know all of that. I also know that Mackenna doesn’t want to have an abortion. I love her, and I will love this baby. Her parents kicked her out when we told them last night. I want her to live here, with us, so she isn’t homeless.”

He didn
’t ask like Aubrey told him. She tried to get his attention from behind their parents. She tried to mouth the word ask at him. But he didn’t see it. He had listened to everything she told him to do. Up until that point. He could still walk out unscathed if he back peddled and asked. But she knew he wouldn’t. She shook her head, and then let it fall against the frame of the door with the rest of her body.

“
You want her to live here. Well, I wanted you to have a normal childhood. I wanted you to be an adult before being a parent. I wanted you to meet and marry a good girl, not someone like that! We don’t always get what we want, do we?” their father yelled.

“
Like what?” Mackenna asked, eyeing the man with a ferocity not usually scene outside of the wild.

“
Like a girl who will sleep with a boy at age fifteen. Like a girl who puts holes in her face and colors her hair wild colors and has no self-respect. A girl who has caused nothing but trouble for my son since she met him. Mackenna, I am sure you could be a good girl but right now, you just aren’t. If it were up to me, my son would never have gotten involved with you to begin with.”

“
Apologize to her.” Ben demanded. Aubrey stood straight and watched the group carefully. This was going over like a lead balloon, and she couldn’t think of a single thing to say to help ease the situation.

“
Excuse me?” their father said with a tone laced with poison. Aubrey knew that tone. She had been on the receiving end once or twice before. If Ben were smart, he would stop talking.

“
I said, apologize. You can’t attack her like that.” Ben, apparently, wasn’t smart.

“
Shut your mouth, Ben,” their mother finally said. She had done nothing but cry and watch until then.

“
How can you say that? You were a teen mother. I know you were. I saw the pictures in the attic!”

Her mother
’s eyes widened in shock and looked to their father quickly who looked just as concerned. Aubrey watched the two with real confusion. Her mother wasn’t a teen mom. She was married and twenty when Aubrey was born.

“
Yes, I was. And I made the right choice to keep my future intact. I let the baby be adopted. That is something you two should consider if you don’t want to ruin your chance of a real future.”

Aubrey couldn
’t believe what she was hearing. She had an older sibling out there somewhere. Was it her father’s kid or someone else? How old was she when she had the first baby?

“
Mom?” Aubrey asked, looking at her mother with real curiosity.

“
It’s true. Why do you think your father and I are so adamant about you doing things properly? When you don’t, situations like these arise. We should have waited until we married. We didn’t, and we paid the price. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It was a long time ago. A mistake that I regret, but know I did the right thing in the end. We could have never cared for a child at that age. And neither can you two.”

Their mother
’s attention was back on Ben and Mackenna, who continued to argue with their father. Aubrey’s thoughts had left the living room and were somewhere else, wondering who her elder sibling was.

It wasn
’t until Ben stood with Mackenna’s hand in his that she came back to the moment and heard the words that would change everything.

“
Get out! I will not have a disrespectful and ungrateful child living in my home! You think you can take care of yourself, your girlfriend, and a child? Then prove it. Pack your shit and get out.”

Aubrey watched
as her father stormed out of the room, her mother sobbing, and Ben’s face contorted into utter despair. Aubrey ran out of the room after their father. He couldn’t do that. He had to see reason. Perhaps, if he calmed down, or had someone to talk to about it, he would change his mind.

“
Dad! Wait! You can’t really want to kick him out. You’re just trying to scare them, right?”

“
He needs to learn a lesson. When he is ready to apologize, and abide by the rules, he can come back. But I won’t let a child talk to me that way, and I certainly won’t let his girlfriend, pregnant or not, live with him like a little married couple. I am going to call her parents today, try and smooth things over, or at least get an open conversation going, but no. He has to leave. At least for a few days.”

Aubrey could understand his position, and was glad he was going to help even if he didn
’t tell Ben and Mackenna that, but she had no idea where they would go in the mean time.

“
I get that, but Dad, he has been terrified of telling you for two days, and you just confirmed his fears. You should at least tell them you will speak to Mackenna’s parents.”

“
You’ve known? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“
Right, because telling you and causing not only a fight between you and Ben, but between him and I, was the best thing to do. I didn’t let him ignore it. He told you, didn’t he? I found out yesterday. He told you today. I would say that’s not horrible. And now that you kicked him out, he needs someone in this family to be able to talk to.”

“
No. You will not speak to him either. He needs to learn, and we have to do that as a family unit. When he is ready to apologize, he may come home and do so. Until then, we are a united front, once he steps out that door, that’s it.”

“
And if he doesn’t apologize? What then? You will just pretend you have no son or a grandchild on the way?”

“
He will. It may take him a bit, probably until his friends parents catch wind of why he is spending the night so often, but he will come back, and we can deal with the whole situation.”

“
Right.” Aubrey shook her head and walked away from her father. If he thought that was going to work, he was crazy. Ben wasn’t going to apologize for standing up for Mackenna. Her father would never have allowed anyone to speak about their mother that way, and he sure as hell wouldn’t apologize for anything that came out of his reaction to it. Ben and their father were much more alike than either was willing to admit.

“
I mean it, Aubrey,” he called after her. She knew he did. She also knew she would never let her brother be homeless. It was time to get an apartment.

~*~

The next week went by in a blur. Aubrey did nothing but work, drive to and from work, or scour the papers and internet for a place to live. Ben and Mackenna had been house hopping their friend’s places, but it was getting old for everyone involved.

Lying on her bed, Aubrey circled two more apartments to check out on her lunch break that day. If it worked out, she would have to find out about school transfers and technical guardianship for Ben
, unless she could convince her mother to sign the papers and help—without telling her father.