Vision of Destiny (Infinity Book 2) (20 page)

LOOKING AT THE CLEAR RESPONSE, I NEARLY FAINT. Questions run through my mind. I can’t believe this.

Pregnant.

It’s Nicholas’, but when? I sit on the bathroom floor, head in my hands, as I think about our times together. I’ve always been good about taking my birth control pills, but then it hits me.

May. Hawaii. We never used condoms, since my medicine bag was confiscated. Missed period in June. No period so far in July. Oh fuck me sideways into next year. Stupid, Karly! Stupid!

This isn’t good. Not good at all. 

When I leave the bathroom, I head outside and sit down with Lexi. I look at her and start crying.

“Oh my God, what’s wrong?” I tell her everything and she sits in front of me with her mouth wide open. “You’re pregnant? Does Nicholas know?” I shake my head. “You need to tell him!”

“I can’t! Not yet! He has enough on his plate and I can’t bring this to him too. Jamie has cancer and he needs to help her out. I can wait, Lexi.”

Keeping this from Nicholas for now is the right thing to do. Jamie hates me and she’ll do everything in her power to keep us apart. Even though we’re engaged, it won’t be real until Jamie’s out of the picture. It sounds terrible, I know, but it’s the truth. Jamie has him for now, so she can spend her last months on Earth with Nicholas and Emma. I know he loves me and wants a future with me. For Nicholas to be part of my life and his child’s, there needs not to be any more drama and complications. I can’t go through life dealing with all the problems that attack us. He promised Jamie that he’ll take care of her, so I have to wait and be there for him when he has time for me.

“It’ll be okay, Lexi. I’m okay. I promise.” And I am okay, for now.

Lexi’s able to get me an appointment with her OB-GYN for the next day. She’s holding my hand as I’m sitting on the table, waiting to hear the news.

Before the appointment, I threw up a few times and felt weak. I read about difficult pregnancies and I was scared. What if something was wrong? What was I going to do? Another important thing was whether or not I was going to tell Nicholas. There’s so much going on. I can’t add to his stress. He’ll accuse me of doing this on purpose to keep him.

The door opens and a nurse walks in. She’s short with ombre black and red hair. Her dark brown eyes shine as she walks in, bubbly and happy.

“Congratulations, Ms. Erikson. You’re pregnant.”

Those two words make my heart jump to my throat.
I’m pregnant.
Touching my stomach, I close my eyes and try not to cry, but it’s too late. I’m a bucket of tears and emotions. Inside of me is our baby. A little person we created with love and care. A baby.

Lexi squeezes my hand and tells me to be excited. This isn’t a bad thing. I know I’ll be a great mom and my baby will know love every single day. I plan on showing him/her what it’s like to have an amazing life. I’m financially stable and will provide a great life for us. When the time’s right, Nicholas will know and he’ll be a great dad to our Nugget, our Baby Nugget.

“But I’ve been drinking. Will my baby be okay?”

“Well, the doctor will be in shortly and you can discuss that with her. Congratulations again and don’t worry, okay?” I nod and smile, watching her leave.

“Everything else okay?” I shake my head.

“Lexi, what if I have a complicated pregnancy? I feel weak all the time and, right now, I feel like I’m going to be sick.” I hold my stomach and slowly count to ten. It’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.

“You need to tell Nicholas. He deserves to know.”

“I know and I will. I’ll tell him soon.” And I am going to tell him. I love him and Lexi’s right; he deserves to know the truth. We’re going to have a baby and Emma’s going to be a big sister. Our family will be whole soon.

After the appointment, we head to lunch and I feel so much better. Everything seems okay and right on track. I’m due around February and I can’t hide my overwhelming emotions. Doctor Lake wants to see me in a few weeks since I’m about twelve weeks pregnant. Wow, pregnant. I still can’t believe I’m carrying a piece of Nicholas and me.

It’s only been two days since finding out I’m pregnant and I’ve been in bed the entire time. I can’t keep anything down and my head’s spinning. This isn’t what I was expecting to go through.

Larry’s been caring for Lexi and me, but the poor guy looks like he’s ready to lose it.

“Can you please tell him you’re pregnant? I can’t do this anymore,” he complains.

I wish I could tell Nicholas the truth. I hate hiding this from him. He’s Nugget’s daddy. It’s been hard without him. The torture is getting to me. I’ve been close to texting him, but stop myself. I have to be strong, not just for me, but for my baby. My little Nugget. Touching my flat stomach, I imagine myself growing every day and little Nugget growing inside of me. Will Nicholas ever get to find out the truth? I can’t be that girl to deceive him and I know I need to tell him soon, but it’s hard. He has a life now with Jamie and Emma while I’m the other woman. I’ll always be second best.

I never believed in love or soul mates and Nicholas changed all of that for me. Even being with Jensen doesn’t compare. There’s no comparison. There’s only Nicholas and he’s the one with my heart.

“I am begging you,” Larry yells at us, bringing me back to reality.

Lexi and I laugh, listening to him complain. He’s been making twice the trips to the store and attending to us, day and night. It’s nice to be with my best friends. Bradley hasn’t been around. He knows I’m pregnant too and told me he needs time to be alone. It kills me, knowing Bradley won’t accept this. Jana’s trying to explain to him that I’ll be okay. I’ve tried texting and calling him, but he’s not answering me. Maybe one day he’ll see why I’m keeping my baby.

While we’re eating lunch, the door opens with Nicholas and Emma. She’s in his arms, sleeping, but his face is pale and his eyes are bloodshot red.

“Nicholas?” Lexi gets up and runs to her brother. I stay in my chair, watching them. She takes Emma and he walks to the living room. Something’s wrong.

Larry leaves the kitchen and runs to the living room. They’re both talking and I’m trying to listen. Suddenly, the words hit me.

“Emma’s not my daughter. Jamie cheated on me with Jensen.”

Get. The. Fuck. Out. I rub the pain I’m feeling and my heart breaks. After five years, this is how he finds out. Straightening myself, I slowly get up and walk over to Nicholas. Sitting down next to him, I place my arm around his shoulders, and he falls on my lap and cries. Nicholas, my strong Nicholas, is breaking.

Rubbing my hands on his back, I look at Lexi and Larry for something…anything. All of us are at a loss for words. How could Jamie do this to him?

“No matter what, Emma’s your daughter. You’ve raised her from day one and you’ll continue to do just that. It’ll work out. It’ll be okay.”

“How could she do this and then come back?” Nicholas gets up, cupping my face with his hands. “I am so sorry for everything.” He gulps, resting his forehead against mine. “Thank you for everything, Angel. You’ve been my constant throughout this fucking mess. God, I love you so much. I don’t deserve you. I really don’t.”

“Shhhh, it’s okay. We’re together now and that’s what matters.”

Everything around us remains quiet and dark. The deception and lies come out and no one’s left okay. The pain Jamie and Jensen have brought is unforgiveable. They’ve ruined so much, but now the truth is out. Our love isn’t lying in the ruins anymore. We’re going to be stronger and make it until forever. I know that now isn’t the right time, but I need him to know I’m not going anymore. No more running. No more hiding. I’m fighting for my man. I can forgive him because he didn’t have a choice. He left me because he felt like he had to. This all makes sense. He wouldn’t have done this on purpose. I knew Jamie had an ulterior motive. That bitch; if I could see her and put my hands around her lying neck.

“Nicky, what time was her appointment?” Lexi asks, looking weird.

“I don’t know. This morning, I guess?”

“Hmmmm.” Lexi gets up, pacing the room. “She was with Jensen and Emma today, though. Me and Mom saw them having breakfast or whatever.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Nicky, I don’t think she had the appointment today.”

Holy shit. Would Jamie lie about having cancer?

“I think we should all go and find out,” Larry says as if he can read my thoughts.

“You three go. I’ll stay here with Emma.”

Nicholas quickly gets up, taking my hand. “You and me…”

“Until forever.”

Heading outside, we get in Larry’s car and drive away. Nicholas is quiet throughout the entire ride. I’m holding his hand and think about everything. I don’t get it, though. Nicholas went to her appointment and Jensen told them she has cancer and they had a plan and everything.

“So Jensen went along with her plan,” I simply state.

“Seems like it, Angel.”

Larry quickly pulls up the driveway and we run inside. There’s yelling inside, mostly Jamie’s voice. Nicholas runs inside, pushing me to Larry and telling me to stay behind. Fuck that; I’m going in. I grab his hand, letting him know we’re in this together. As soon as we run in, Jensen’s on the ground and Jamie’s holding a golf club.

“Jamie, what the fuck! Put it down, now!” Nicholas yells, holding me back. Jamie looks at us and, I’m not going to lie; I’m scared out of my mind. She looks like she’s ready to murder all of us.
Holy fuck.

Jamie gazes at me, swinging the club back and forth; there’s no emotion in her expression. The club settles by her side. She’s gripping it tightly. Her eyes don’t leave mine. Slowly, I look down and see Jensen carefully sitting up against the wall with his hand on his head.

“Jensen, are you okay?” I weakly ask. He nods, looking at us and then back to the floor. As much as I hate him and what he did, a part of me feels horrible. If he’s Emma’s dad, maybe Jamie had something on him and he went along with her plan so he could see her. Either way, this whole situation is fucked up.

The hairs on my arms prickle with fear as I look at Jamie again and pray she puts down the club.

“Jamie,” I croak, clearing my throat. “Talk to us, please. Stop this so no one else gets hurt.”

She points the club at me. “You! You were supposed to be with Jensen and leave my family to
me
. This was
my
chance to redeem myself. Do you know Nicholas was falling back in love with me? He was forgetting you, Karly.”

“No, Jamie. I did this because I thought you were sick. I thought you didn’t have help, but now I see you need more help than I can give you.”

Larry walks to Jensen, helping him into a chair and handing him a bag of frozen vegetables from the freezer.
Good, maybe he can feel a little better.

“You’re Emma’s mother and I thought giving you a chance to spend time with her would’ve been good, but now I see you for who you really are. You play games for your own satisfaction.”

“Nic….”

“No! You will NOT talk, do you understand me? This ends
now,
Jamie. We are getting a divorce and you are to leave Wilmington. Just. Leave.
I
will raise Emma with Karly and
you
will
never
fucking see her again.”

“You can’t do this, Nicky! I need you! I have nothing and I really am in trouble! Please,” she begs, falling to her knees and sobbing. “Please, Nicky. They’ll kill me if I don’t have them.”

“Jamie, what are you talking about?”

“The real reason I came back.” Her voice trails off. “Things happened when I was traveling and my agent got me some pills to lose weight. Let’s just say I owe a lot of money or else they’re going to prostitute me.”

“Not my problem, Jamie. You fucking come back with lies and now you bring fucking drug dealers? Are you kidding me?”

“They only need twenty thousand and my debt to them is gone!”

“Jamie, how did you pay them off to begin with?” I ask, looking at Nicholas and Jensen.

She looks down again and her body shakes.
Fuck, this isn’t good.
“Nicky, I’m sorry,” she sobs in her hands. “I didn’t know what else to do!”