Chapter Nine
"Lissa, snap out of it!"Kat's voice dragged Lissa out of her thoughts. Alex... She shook her head, snuggling deeper into the pillows. Hugging the bear tighter, she said, "go away, Kat."
Lissa sighed as she felt the edge of the bed dip under Kat's weight. "He's just as miserable as you, you know."
Lissa peeked over the teddy bear's head. "He is?"
Kat nodded gravely. "That's what Nick said..."
Lissa snorted, "Like I'm going to believe anything that Nick says."
"Well, he's been behaving himself since he and Michelle got together."
Lissa acknowledged that with a nod. "I suppose," she sighed. "But why should Alex be miserable? It's all his fault."
"What's all his fault?" Kat asked. Lissa pursed her lips, and attempted to hide behind the bear again. Kat snatched it out of her arms, dropped it to the side. "Will you please tell me what the hell is going on with you and Alex?"
Lissa sighed, and sat up. "It started this summer, after our anniversary."
"Anniversary," Kat snorted.
"Yes, anniversary. It was over a year ago that we met, you know."
"Oh, I remember. Phone sex with a Backstreet Boy, yup, got it."
Lissa glared at Kat's attempt at making her smile, then shook her head. "After our anniversary," she ignored Kat's snicker, "I...I found out something."
"That he was secretly having sex with Britney Spears?"
Lissa shook her head. "He can't stand her, he likes Christina Aguilara."
"That he wears women's underwear under his clothes?"
Again, Lissa shook her head, lips curving slightly in a smile. "I think I would have noticed something like that way before this past summer."
"Okay." Kat thought for a moment. "That he wants to get another tattoo, but this time on his..."
Lissa clapped her hand over Kat's mouth. "No," she laughed, "now stop it."
"It's just good to see you smiling again." As soon as the words left Kat's mouth, the smile slipped from Lissa's face. "C'mon, Liss, what's going on?"
Lissa sighed. "I found out I was pregnant." Kat's eyes widened, then darted to Lissa's flat stomach. "No, I'm not pregnant anymore," she said sadly.
"An abortion?"
Lissa shook her head. "No," she said, her tone flat and brooking no argument.
"Then, Lissa, how...?"
Lissa jumped off the bed, but Kat's hand on her arm stopped her from making for the door. "Look, Kat, I can't go over it yet...not yet." Her dark eyes implored her, "please?"
Kat let her go, and watched as Lissa fled from the room. She sighed, picking up the teddy bear Lissa had left behind. "Do you know what happened?" she asked the bear.
Lissa stalked through the house. As she stood on the deck, she took a deep breath of the chill, salt-tanged air. Breathing a silent sigh of relief that Nick was gone, Lissa sat at the base of the steps. The sand gave beneath her sneakers. Arms wrapped around her middle, she allowed herself to remember....
"You're what???"
"Pregnant, Alex," she repeated, surprised in spite of herself at his outburst. She had expected him to feel the same happiness she felt.
Apparently, she was wrong.
"How did this happen?" he asked. "We used protection, for Christ sake!"
Lissa watched his pacing from her perch on the end of the couch. He was smoking again, and she wrinkled her nose as smoke wafted in her direction. "Not when you came home," she said in a small voice.
His steps stilled, and his dark eyes bored into her. One raven brow arched in question.
"When you got back from the tour," she explained, a hopeful smile curling her lips. "Remember? You were so happy to see me?"
He shook his head in disgust, and started pacing again. "Damn, I forgot about that," he muttered.
Anger at his attitude laced her voice as she repeated sarcastically, "I forgot about that."
Alex glared at her. "Lissa, this isn't funny."
"Do I sound like I'm laughing?" she asked, brows rose to her hairline as she marched up to him. "For some strange reason, I thought you would be happy about this baby."
Mystified, he asked, "Why would I be happy?"
Lissa wanted to hit him. "Because this baby was created out of our love for one another, damn it!"
"This baby was created because I was too horny to think about anything besides fucking you!"
She slapped him. His head snapped back from the force of the blow. "Get out," she spat.
He glared at her, his mouth opening and closing for the moment it took to get his temper under control. "Gladly," he growled, marching past her. Lissa jumped as the door slammed shut behind him.
"Bastard," she muttered, turning to glare at the door. One hand curled protectively around her middle. The baby was no bigger than her little finger, the doctor had said. "He'll calm down," she said softly. She closed her eyes, wondering what she was going to do if he didn't.