“Sheridan from school?” Omen questions us, looking around me to find the woman in question. “There she is. That’s Shelly with her, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. They’re still best friends. From what I know, Shelly doesn’t live here any longer. She must be home on break from college,” I answer, looking at the two women over my shoulder as a waitress makes her way over to take our orders.
“What’s goin’ on with you and Sheridan?” Omen asks me, a knowing smirk on his face as I look at him. “You ever get a taste of her?”
“Don’t fuckin’ talk about her like that, Omen!” I growl, anger quickly filling me as Omen holds his hands up in surrender while Knuckles laughs at my reaction as I turn to face him. “Remember that night about seven months ago when I disappeared and left my food here?”
“Yeah. The first and only time I ever saw you walk away from food,” Knuckles looks at me while trying to figure out where I’m going with this. It doesn’t take Omen or him very long to put the pieces together. “You were with Sheridan that night?”
“Yeah. Best night of my fuckin’ life. I told her that’s all it would ever be. Fucked everythin’ up with her because it felt so damn intense and I lost my mind,” I tell them, looking over my shoulder once again at the girls while I wait for Omen and my cousin to process this information.
“You’re a fuckin’ idiot, Tease. You finally got with the girl of your dreams and pushed her away before it was even overwith,” Knuckles says as I turn to look back at him. “You fucked up worse than that, didn’t ya?”
“Yeah. The condom broke. I never checked on her to see if anythin’ happened because of that. Though, she told me she’s on birth control so I’m sure we’re fine,” I say, letting myself think about Sheridan and if I said anything else that night.
“I know I fucked up with my girl, but that’s a dick move, Axel. You wanted Sheridan to be yours and instead made her feel like nothin’ more than a notch on your fuckin’ bed. Thought you were better than that,” Omen says as I drop my head for a few seconds before allowing myself to look over at the girls once again.
Shelly and Sheridan stand from the booth and I get the shock of my life. Sheridan is pregnant. I might not know much about pregnant women, but she’s toward the end of her pregnancy if the size of her stomach is anything to go by. Anger fills me as I stand from the booth and make my way over to the best friends. I barely hear Omen and Knuckles calling my name as I stomp through the diner with one thought in mind—getting to Sheridan to find out what the fuck is going on.
“We need to talk,” I growl, my voice causing Sheridan to jump in fear as I grab her hand and lead her from the diner. “Shelly, she’ll be fine. Wait in here for her.”
“Don’t hurt her, Axel,” Shelly warns me, anger filling her face as I look over my shoulder at her while trying not to drag Sheridan quicker than she can move through the diner. The last thing I want is to hurt her.
Bringing Sheridan out of the diner, I walk around the corner with her so we’re out of view from everyone coming and going. For a few minutes, I do nothing but look at her and take in all the changes that have taken place over the last seven months.There’s a certain glow to her that wasn’t there before. Sheridan’s skin is flawless and still tan despite the paleness of her face. Even though I know she’s gained weight from the pregnancy, her face looks slimmer than before as if she’s been losing more than she should be. Again, I don’t know much about pregnant women, but I don’t think it’s a good thing for them to lose weight.
Today she’s wearing a black dress that highlights her stomach and chest. Sheridan’s tits are definitely bigger than before and my mouth waters with the thought of getting another taste of her as I explore every single change to her body. I want to see how she looks now even though there are so many unanswered questions I need answered before we move forward.
“Is the baby mine?” I ask Sheridan, my voice laced with anger as I remember the reason I pulled her outside.
“This baby ismine, Axel. You made your stance very clear the night we shared. I know it was a one-time thing and this is the result of the condom breaking,” she answers me, her voice trembling with fear and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.
“So, you were never gonna tell me I got you pregnant? That I have a son or daughter?” I question, my voice a low growl as I step closer to Sheridan causing her to step back away from me.
The last thing I want is for her to be scared of me, but I can’t help how I’m feeling right now.
“I thought about telling you a million times since I found out I was pregnant. In the end, I figured you’d never be a part of my baby’s life so I made the decision to raise my son or daughter on my own. I don’t want or need anything from you, Axel. This is what you want so I don’t understand why you’re so angry,” she says, her voice trembling as her eyes fill with tears.
My heart breaks with the thought of her crying because of me. I never want to see tears streaming down her face again. It’s a vow I made when we were in high school and I watched her cry in pain and humiliation at Jess’ hands. Now, I’m the one making her cry because she’s doing what she thought I wanted. However, I feel as if she lied to me and that’s not something I can condone or handle.
“So, you’re pregnant and decided not to tell me. You lied to me, Sheridan. You’re the one person who knows more than most how I feel about liars and yet you chose to tell me you were on birth control. How could you fuckin’ lie to me?” I bark out, my voice even colder than before as I take another step forward and she presses her back against the wall of the diner with nowhere else to run from me.
“Ididn’tlie about being on birth control, Axel. I do know how you feel about liars because I feel the same way. Yes, I chose not to tell you about the baby. I wasn’t about to go to the strip club or clubhouse to seek you out and tell you this news when you wouldn’t give a shit anyway. I was on antibiotics because I was sick and it caused my birth control to be ineffective. That’s how I ended up pregnant based on what my doctor told me when I asked her about it. I’m sorry if you don’t believe me, Axel, but it’s the truth,” Sheridan says, her voice almost a whisper as she remains looking at me so I can see her truth. A truth I’m not sure if I can accept at this point.
“When do you go to the doctor again?” I question her, knowing I’ll be there for the appointment.
“In a week,” she answers, looking at me in confusion as I back off and start to pace.
“I’ll be there. I want the date, time, and location sent to me, Sheridan. While I want nothin’ to do with you because you lied, I will be there for my son or daughter. You’re not gonnatake that from me. Do you understand?” I tell her, leaving her no room to argue with me. “When the baby is born, I’ll be in the delivery room with you to watch my child enter the world. We’ll figure out names together and I’ll buy anything he or she needs for the nursery or whatever else. You’re not gonna keep my baby away from me. Mom and Dad won’t let that happen. Be prepared for them to be there from now on. Don’t message or call unless it’s about the baby, Sheridan. I don’t want anythin’ else to do with you.”
Without another word, I turn away from her and leave her standing against the diner as I make my way to my bike. Knuckles and Omen are already there waiting for me and I can tell both of them have more than a few things to say to me regarding this matter. Things I don’t want to hear. Right now, the only thing I want is a long ride where I can try to process everything I just learned. Betrayal fills me as I climb on my bike and put my helmet on. I’m really not in the condition to ride, but there’s nothing else I can do. If I go to the clubhouse, I’ll have to deal with the Feral girls and everyone else wanting to know what’s wrong. Janessa will be all up in my face once Knuckles tells her what’s going on. She’ll want to meet Sheridan and befriend her. I’m sure Sheridan could use her right now, but it’s not something I want to happen. Sheridan is a liar and not someone who will be in my life as anything other than the mother of my child.
Chapter Two
Sheridan
TODAY’S THE FIRST day I’ll see Axel since he discovered I’m pregnant with his child. A large part of me doesn’t want him to go to my doctor’s appointment, but I’m not going to tell him he can’t be there when he is the father of my son or daughter. No, I don’t know what I’m having yet. When I had my ultrasound a few months ago, I chose not to find out. Shelly was on a video call with me and voiced her opinion to find out, but I remained resolute in my decision. If things were different between Tease and I, then I might have found out the gender of our child. Since I’m alone and had no idea he’d make the decision to come to the appointments with me and be in our child’s life, it felt right at the time. Now, I’m not sure if he’ll want to know what we’re having or not. It’s not like he’s talking to me to find out. Axel truly believes I’m lying to him about my birth control and won’t listen to me. He’s a stubborn ass when he wants to be and there’s nothing I can do to change his mind. He’ll either realize the truth or he’ll continue to believe the worst of me.
The week has dragged on. When I’m not constantly getting sick, I’m exhausted and can hardly force myself to get out of bed. I only have two weeks left of my summer classes so I can’t lounge in bed all day long. These next two weeks are the last time I’ll have class until after the baby is born. I talked to my dad and Shelly about taking some time off and they both agreed it would be in my best interest not to go back for the next semester. IfI’m having this much of a hard time, I can only imagine what it will be like until I go into labor. All I know is I’m miserable and have so many cravings for things I eat or drink and then end up getting sick. I have yet to find anything other than grilled cheese to eat.
