Saving Us(19)

She raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest. As she spoke, her head moved with a sassy attitude. "Listen here, you're the one whose wrong. Conner Healy is a ladies man. I don't know what he's been tellin' you, but he doesn't settle down. He loves to fuck. Trust me, I know. I just don't get how you got pregnant. He must have been pretty fucked up when you were together. I mean, he's always so safe. Props to you for tryin' to trap him with a kid. Too bad he won't stick around to raise it."

Before I could lift my hand to slap the bitch, Miranda came flying into the bathroom. She got right in between us. "What did you just say?"

Amber didn't back away. She put her face right up into Miranda's. "Look what the bitch drug in. Little Miss Kentucky slut herself. Stay out of this, Miranda. I'm just tellin' the girl the truth about her boyfriend."

I couldn't help the tears that were falling down my face. My heart was beating so fast and I felt dizzy.

"No, Amber, you can say whatever you want about me, but you're wrong about my brother. He had to leave Kentucky to be free of all you little bitches, but when he did, he met someone and fell in love. You don't know shit!"

"Coming from someone who married her cousin. Is that all you could get after you fucked the whole state?"

In an instant, Miranda had her hand around the girl’s neck. Van came into the bathroom and took in the situation. She rushed over to Miranda's defense and pried Amber away from her. While standing in between them, she held her arms up. "What the hell? Act like ladies!"

Miranda straightened her hair in the mirror, then looked back toward Amber. "My husband is not related to me, not that I give a shit what you think. He's the best father I could ever ask for. You'll never find someone like him that loves you like that. As far as my brother goes, he waited a year to be with her. He went through hell just to be in her life. That baby she is carrying is all he talks about. Maybe you should think about growing up yourself, since you seem to think you are still seventeen and all."

"Oh, please spare me. It's only a matter of time before he gets bored." Amber kept smiling as she talked.

Miranda grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bathroom. When I looked back I saw Van following close behind. We got to the table and everyone looked up as Miranda grabbed her purse. "Ya'll enjoy your dinner. Us girls are goin' home. We'll take the kids with us."

I said nothing to Conner. In fact, I couldn't even look at him. I didn't want him to see the hurt in my eyes. I shouldn't have come with him. I should have stayed home and went to work like usual. Maybe in some ways I was living a fairytale. How long was Conner going to want me until he'd get bored? What would happen if I gained a bunch of weight? I couldn't expect him to be miserable. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. Loveless marriages are worse than living with your enemy. It's too much stress.

Even on the way home I couldn't contain the tears. The boys were crying, while Christian screamed random sounds. Noah and Bella were watching a movie, not paying attention to anything. Miranda and Van were in the front. I could tell Miranda was pissed. She wouldn't stop talking about that girl Amber. I guess I wasn't used to such girl drama. The tears continued to fall, even after we arrived back at the ranch. I could feel my phone vibrating in my purse, but refused to look at it. I was hurt and confused.

I think the girls wanted me to come back to Van's with them, but I climbed out of the SUV and thanked them for being there for me. I waved as they pulled away and went into the house. Even walking into Conner's bedroom made me upset. I plopped down face first onto his bed and let go. His covers smelled of him and all I wanted was to be back at home and in his arms where I had always felt so safe.

After it had gotten dark and a good hour had passed, I went in and ran myself a bath. I was laying in the tub with my eyes closed when I felt the strangest feeling. This flutter feeling was tickling my stomach from the inside. Miranda had told me that I would know it when I felt my baby for the first time. I sat right up in the tub and held onto my stomach, just waiting for it to happen again. Sure enough, after a couple of moments, I felt the flutters again. This time, I could feel them very faintly against my hand. I was over five months and should have felt this much sooner. Maybe I just hadn't relaxed enough to notice. I guess I could have felt it and thought it was just gas, but this was very obvious.

I laid in the tub feeling my tiny little baby moving around inside of me. Different tears filled my eyes. It was like my baby was reminding me what was important. This trip was about family and love. It wasn't about Conner's past or the friends that were still too consumed with their immaturity to notice a changed man when they see it. I knew Conner's love was real. I'd been foolish to even consider that it wasn't.