2:
He didn’t want to go in. All the way there, he had hoped it wouldn’t be
true. But a part of him had known. Finally, he bit the bullet and got out of
the car, walking slowly to the front door. He raised his hand to knock, paused,
took a deep breath, and pounded on the door. He could almost feel the blood
pounding in his head. He was about to turn away and leave when the door opened.
"Lance?"
"Kelly. He’s here isn’t he?" The brunette stared at her toes.
"Look, I don’t have the time or the energy to lecture you right now. Just
get him. NOW."
She nodded and went back into the house. Joey emerged a few moments later,
tucking in his shirt. His hair was a mess. It wasn’t hard to guess what had
been going on. Right then, Lance wanted to beat him senseless, but there wasn’t
time. He simply grabbed Joey by the arm and shoved him in the general direction
of the driveway. "Get in the damn car you stupid son of a bitch," he
growled. Joey did so, sensing that to disobey or question the younger man would
be a very bad idea. Lance slammed his door shut and started the vehicle,
slamming it into reverse and backing up fast. The tires left long black marks
on the pavement as he turned and pulled away from the house. Joey could see the
muscles working in Lance’s jaw. He could tell Lance was grinding his teeth. His
entire face was beet red, as were his ears, and Joey knew that in any other
circumstance, he would be receiving the beating of his life.
"It’s time, right?" Joey asked hesitantly, his voice soft and
shaky. Lance didn’t even acknowledge the question, but he didn’t need to. They
drove to the hospital in stony silence. Once there, Lance led the way to the
maternity ward where Joey was greeted with cold glares from those gathered in
the waiting room. Chris was absent. So was Steve. Joey found a nurse and asked
where to find his wife. She escorted him down the hall, where she helped him
into a gown, told him to scrub his hands, and informed him that his wife and as
yet unborn child were in serious danger. He swallowed hard and walked into the
delivery room.
Chris was on one side of the bed, and Steve was on the other. Not
surprising, really. Heather had probably sent Chris to be with Gina since she
couldn’t do it herself. Steve, well, he had pretty much been standing in for Joey
since the doctor put Gina on bed-rest. Their relationship was purely platonic.
He felt a twinge of guilt but pushed it aside, knowing now was not the time to
focus on himself. He tapped his brother on the shoulder and moved next to his
wife. She looked so pale and tiny. Helpless. He couldn’t make himself meet the
penetrating gaze he could actually feel coming from Chris, or the stony looks
his brother was giving him. Gina’s eyes were glazed over with fear and pain, so
he didn’t have to meet her gaze. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"I’m sorry," was all he could say, but he meant it with all his
heart. Her eyes seemed to focus for a moment and she gripped his hand and
whimpered in pain.
He didn’t pay any attention when Steve and Chris left. He had failed his
wife, betrayed his marriage vows, and he knew he could never make up for that.
However, he also wasn’t about to give up trying to be the man she deserved. His
heart started pounding when he heard her breathe the words "I can’t"
and then alarms started ringing, doctors started barking orders, and a nurse
pushed him back. Not once did he utter a sound. He was numb. The thought
occurred to him that she was going to die, and probably their baby too, and he
knew then that he had fucked up the greatest gift he had ever been given with
hardly a second thought.
Heather woke from a light doze as her husband entered her hospital room. It
was a semi-private room, but the other bed was vacant, waiting for her cousin.
"He’s here," Chris said softly.
"Oh?"
"Lance brought him in."
"I see." Everything had fallen into place when Steve brought Gina
in and Joey was nowhere to be found. None of them had any doubt as to where he
was or what he was doing, and every last one of them wanted to hate him for it.
Still, no matter how angry they were, they loved him. Heather knew in her heart
that Gina loved him most of all. It had been after Chris jr. and Cherokee
Alexandria were born that Heather had realized exactly what was going on. The
babies were taken to the nursery to be cleaned up, photographed, measured, and
weighed. She had been cleaned up and taken to her room to get some rest.
Chris had broken the news to her that Gina had gone into labor and things
didn’t look good, especially since a frantic Steve had brought her in. That was
when Heather realized just why Gina had seemed a little depressed and had
avoided talking about her husband in the last few weeks. Heather had looked at
Chris and said, simply, "He’s cheating on her." It wasn’t a question.
It was an undeniable fact. Chris had simply rubbed his face and collapsed
weakly in the chair next to her bed.
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