"I'm surprised you showed up."
I glared at Jules from across the table. I met her at an outdoor café to talk about this whole baby nonsense. I hated leaving Karma at her house. Even though we talked, I knew she was still upset and confused. She had every right to be. But...fuck. When I showed up at her place to find her gone, I freaked. I couldn't get ahold of her, either. My mind flipped back to the night I left her in that hotel room.
Even though it wasn't the same, I felt like I got to experience what she did that night. At least, a little. It made me hate myself even more for what I had done. It was one of the reasons I was dying to get back to her. I wasn't lying when I told her I wanted to talk about us. I wanted more with her and I knew she wanted the same. It was the past that was keeping us apart. Well, the past and the blonde sitting across from me.
"Of course I'm here," I said to Jules. "You know I'm not the father of your baby."
Jules checked her freshly manicured nails and avoided looking at me. "Of course it is. I haven't been with anyone else."
"Ha!" I slapped my hand on the table. "Sorry," I said with a chuckle. "That's a good one. Jules, you are a serial non-monogamous. I know for a fact that, even when I'm on leave, you see other men."
She still wouldn't look at me. My voice softened when I continued. "But Jules...that's the arrangement we had. We were never in a relationship. I never once told you I loved you or led you to believe that there was more between us."
When she met my stare, her eyes seemed hollow. Empty. "This baby is yours."
Was she even listening? "Jules, think about it. When was the last time we had sex?"
"February."
I held up my hand. "Yes. February. It's January, Jules. That's a lot longer than forty weeks." I gestured to her growing stomach. "By the looks of it, you aren't even full term."
"What do you know!" she nearly screamed, causing the other patrons to look at us.
I leaned forward in my chair and rested my arms on the table. "Jules, you need to admit the truth. Once you do, we can work this out."
She was quiet for awhile. She just sat and stared at me. I felt my phone vibrate and I knew it was either Karma or Lanie. I pulled it out of my pocket.
Little Sis: What happened? Did you find Karma? Did you talk to Jules?
"Is that the slut?"
My eyes shot to my ex-fling. "Watch your fucking mouth, Jules. I shouldn't even be here. We both know that baby isn't mine. Not to mention, you ignored the restraining order." For good measure, I added, "And not that it's any of your business, but it's Lanie. Remember Lanie? My sister that you nearly sent into pre-term labor?"
She actually looked ashamed when I threw that in her face. Good. She should be. Nothing about what she did was excusable. "I never meant for that to happen. I just can't stand her."
I shook my head slowly. "Wow. Why did I ever waste my time with you?"
She seemed unfazed by my words. "So, you got me. This isn't your child. You must think I'm an idiot or something."
"I never thought you were an idiot, Jules. But this? This is beyond anything I would ever think you would do." I leaned forward in my chair. "You threatened to destroy my family. Then you tried to tie me to you forever by saying that I'm the father of your baby. Why, Jules?"
She was quiet for a long while. She kept looking everywhere except at me. She kept tapping her fingers on the table. Taking sips of her tea.
I was growing impatient. "Jules!"
"I was jealous!" she snapped.
My brows rose. "Jealous? Why?"
"Are you serious?" Her tone was full of surprise. As if my question was ridiculous. "I was in love with you!"
She's crazy. She's fucking crazy. "Jules, you were never in love with me. If you were in love with me, you wouldn't have slept with other men. You wouldn't try to sleep with Jackson and Ayden. You wouldn't be pregnant with another man's child."
Something else occurred to me. "Why now? Why did you wait until now to try to pull this shit?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I saw you with her."
I didn't need to ask who the 'her' was. She saw me and Karma. "When? Where?" Was this crazy bitch stalking me?
"At the beach yesterday. I was at the Carnival with friends. I saw you with her in the water. You guys were all over each other and I got jealous. That's when I showed up at your house the next day." She shrugged. "It was a bonus when she opened the door." Her shot me a disgusted sneer. "What is it about her, Nate? What does she have that I don't?"
"Everything," I answered immediately. "She has everything. She is everything. I've been in love with her since I was eighteen. We haven't seen each other in thirteen years. Until now."
I got to my feet and threw some cash on the table. "This is for the tea." I slid my wallet back in my pocket and ran my head through my hair. "Listen, Jules, I'm sorry that you were hurting. I never wanted that. But you need to get help. You need it. I want what's best for you. But also know that, if you come near anyone in my family, including Karma, I will have you arrested. Do you understand?"
She looked away and nodded. "I understand."
I turned away from her and finally started walking back to my car. Now that this whole Jules thing was taken care of, I wanted to get back to Karma. I had no idea if she was going to take me back. I had no idea how this conversation was going to go. Would she accept the fact that the past needed to stay in the past? Karma was a stubborn one.
I couldn't blame her that she wanted an explanation about why I left. She's entitled to one. I just need to figure out how to explain to her that I can't tell her. God, that sounded fucked up.
Chime-chime
I pulled out my cell phone.
Little Sis: Nate! Please answer me.
Shit. I forgot Lanie had texted me.
Me: Sorry L. I just got done talking to Jules. Its all taken care of. She won't be back. I'm going to see Karma. I'll ttyl. Love you.
I sent the message to Lanie then dialed Karma's number.
"Nathan?"
It was so good to hear her voice. I smiled like an idiot. "Hey, gorgeous."
"Is it over?" she asked quietly.
"It's over. She is out of our lives. Maybe she'll get the help she needs, too."
A relieved sigh came over the line. "I'm so glad to hear you say that. Are you on your way here?"
My smile widened. She was as anxious to see me as I was to see her. "I'm getting in my car now. Then I'm grabbing food and wine. Then, my gorgeous Karma, we will spend the entire day and night talking about 'us'."
She was quiet for a moment. "I like the sound of that. I miss you."
I turned the key in my ignition and pulled out onto the street. "I miss you too, baby."
"How long until you get here?"
I glanced at the clock in my car. "Probably about—"
-CRASH-
"Nathan? Nathan! What happened? What was that? Can you hear me?"
I tried to open my eyes. What the fuck happened? If the deployed airbag and the smoke coming out of my car was any indicator, I was in a fucking car accident.
"Nathan!"
Karma? Where was...I looked in the passenger seat and saw my phone lit up with her name on it. I reached over and tried to pick it up. It took me a few times. My hand and fingers didn't seem to be working. I tried again and I finally grabbed it.
"Baby?"
"Oh my, God! Are you okay? What happened? It sounded like—like an accident."
I was going to pass out. I could feel it. Something was dripping in my eye. I frowned and wiped at it with my hand. Blood. Not a good sign.
"Nathan, talk to me. Where are you? I'm coming to get you."
I heard the sound of an ambulance in the background. Help was here. Good. I had no idea how bad I was hurt. What if I didn't make it out of this? Come on, Nate. You survived being shot, stranded for two weeks, and in a coma. You can do this.
"I love you," I groaned into the phone when I tried to move my legs. "You know that right?"
I could hear her sobbing through the phone. "Nathan, you're fine. I'm getting in my car now and I'm coming for you. Do you hear me? I just got you back!"
I tried to focus my eyes. I couldn't see all that well. Everything was blurry. I think there was someone talking to me that wasn't Karma. It was someone who witnessed the accident. He was probably the one who called 9-1-1.
"I'm sorry for everything, baby." I could feel myself starting to lose consciousness. "I—I love you."
"Nathan! Stay on the—"
The phone fell from my hand and clattered on the floorboard.