Page 80 of Torch

“You need to take a test,” Crystal spoke up.

Cara stood up. “I have some at home. I’ll go grab one.”

“You have pregnancy tests at your house?”

She jabbed her thumb in Viper's direction. “With the way this one likes to knock me up, I keep a few on standby.”

Viper smiled cockily as she made her exit. Ten minutes later, she came back and handed me the test. Christian grabbed my hand and dragged me to the bathroom. After reading the instructions, I peed on the stick before placing it on the counter. While I washed my hands, they shook uncontrollably.

Christian gripped my chin, raising my face as he stared into my eyes. “I know everything happened quickly with us, but you know I got you, right?”

Something settled in my chest. It was like his words swept all the nerves in my body away. If I didn’t know anything, I knew Christian would always be there for me. I had no doubt he would be an amazing father.

“I do.” I nodded, kissing his lips. That kiss quickly turned heated as he thrust his tongue into my mouth. Our moment was interrupted when someone knocked on the bathroom door.

“What does it say?” Crystal asked from the other side of the door.

Christian threw his head back, laughing. We both looked down at the test, seeing Pregnant in big, bold black letters. For some reason, I felt overly emotional and my eyes filled with tears. Despite feeling shocked, I was also… Happy.

I had a little human, or possibly more, inside me that I had created with the man I was crazy in love with. I was going to see the product of our love in the form of a little human. After kissing Christian once more, I pulled the door open and saw his parents standing there patiently waiting.

“There’s another sinful baby on the way!” Christian declared. His parents pulled us in for a hug while we could hear everyone else cheering from the living room.

I was filled with a type of joy I had never felt. I finally had gotten the happiness I always wanted. Although I was ecstatic, I couldn’t help but think of the lingering threat of Morgan. I didn’t know how far she was willing to go to cause me pain. With that thought, I knew I didn’t want to deal with any turmoil from her throughout a pregnancy.

Something had to give.

After giving it a lot of thought, I sat Christian down and told him I wanted to go talk to my mother in person. I wanted to give one more shot at convincing her to turn Morgan in. I knew she wasn’t at my mother’s because the cops had been there several times looking for her.

Christian agreed to let me go, but only if he went with me. I quickly obliged because my family had proven they didn’t have my best interests at heart, and I am somewhat fragile now. I was carrying his baby or babies, and I needed to be protected.

As we pulled into my parents’ driveway, I noticed how unkempt the lawn was. We normally had a gardener who came weekly. When we made it to the porch, I grabbed the spare key hidden in the flower bed and let myself in. Walking through the home, I saw that the inside was just as bad as the outside. It looked like the maid hadn’t been here in weeks, judging by the small messes around the room.

“Mom!” I shouted. It was eerily quiet.

“Are you sure she’s here?” Christian asked.

“She normally is at this time of day,” I said as I spun around to face him. My throat clogged up when I saw Smoove sneaking up behind him with a gun. “Christian, look out!” I screamed, but it was too late. Smoove smashed the butt of the gun over Christian’s head, knocking him out.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Morgan yelled, rushing into the room.

I was surprised to see Morgan here. Had my mother and Myron really hidden her right under the cops’ noses? She was dressed in a tiny pair of shorts and a sports bra. It was then I noticed Smoove was underdressed too. He had on a pair of basketball shorts and socks. He looked mighty comfortable.

Were they sleeping together?

“The better question is, what is he doing here? And where is Mom?”

“They had to fly to Texas. Aunt Tia is in the hospital again,” she said, referring to Myron’s sister. “But what are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to Mom. Look, Morgan, this is getting out of hand. You have a warrant for your arrest. You need to turn yourself in.”

Morgan laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, that’s not happening,” she growled, reaching behind her back and whipping out a gun. She pointed it at me with shaky hands.

I threw my hands up, fear engulfing me. “M-Morgan, what are you doing?”

“Shut up!”

Smoove pressed his front to her back. “Calm down, baby. We need her alive for now.” He went upstairs and returned a few minutes later with some rope. He tied Christian’s hands behind his back as he was stirring awake.