Page 49 of A Treasure To Keep
I’m shaking the excess moisture out of my hair with a towel when I get a notification that the gate has been opened. That’s weird. Alessandro and Luci got home not that long ago. Who else could we be expecting?
Before I have time to turn on the cameras, El’s loud and extremely annoyed voice comes booming from downstairs. What the fuck? What did I do this time?
“Marco! Marco, you dumb son of a bitch, where the fuck are you?” I run downstairs, noticing that Alessandro and Luci are standing there already.
“What the fuck, El?” I can’t think of a single thing I’ve done to piss her off. She was pretty satisfied last night when I left.
“You fucking ass of a man! I should cut off your dick and make you eat it off the fucking floor!” She points directly at me, wild fury in her eyes. If she could shoot lasers out of them, I’d for sure be dead.
“I didn’t do anything!” At least, I don’t think so.
“Well, check this out, you dumbass. You got me pregnant.” She launches something at me, and I recognize the plus sign when I catch the test after it hits me in the head. Shit. Me? Why me?
“Wait. Wait. Wait. How the fuck do you know it’s me? You get that shot thingy, right? Also, how do you know it’snot Andrea’s?” Alessandro and Luci are still here, realization clicking on their face as they realize what’s been going on for the last almost year and a half.
“Andrea’s sterile. He had cancer as a kid and his treatment left him unable to have kids. We found that out right after Luci came home. I came to terms with that. I guess I’m part of the less than 1 percent. Now, unless you want to end up with my heels up your ass instead of just the threat of it, you’ll stay the fuck away from me.”
El turns, stomping out of the house with a slam of the door behind her. Did she bust a hole through the wall with the doorknob when she came in? My eyes widen when her tires squeal as she peels out of the driveway. Who knew her basic sedan could do that?
Still holding the test, I bolt back upstairs, trying to process everything she said. No, Andrea and I haven’t been exactly pulling out, but that shot should have prevented anything. The keywords here are should have.
Andrea, El, and I had been involved intimately for the better part of the last five months. I was starting to think we were all in this together. Except with how things fell apart after they got engaged and now with the pregnancy news, it’s confirmed one thing for me. It will always be them versus me.
Chapter 53
El
“Are you alright? You look like crap. No offense.” James sets Oliver in the booster seat, giving him something to keep him occupied before sitting down. We’ve taken the opportunity of a mutual morning off to get together for coffee and girl talk. Truth is, I’ve been sick on and off for the last week, and the idea of drinking the iced vanilla latte in front of me makes me gag. Now that I think about it, the smell of almost everything makes me gag.
“Girl, don’t even ask. I’ve barely been able to eat anything the last few days. Even my favorite perfume and the smell of some lipsticks make me nauseous. It comes in weird waves. Who the fuck knows? I may hang out and skip my coffee today.” James raises an eyebrow, and I can guess what she’s about to say before she says it.
“Could you be pregnant? Everyone in the shop knows how often you and Andrea are on top of each other.” Andrea and I still haven’t told anyone about his doctor’s appointment severalmonths ago and what we found out. We’ve barely even processed it, even after all this time.
“No. No fucking way. I get the shot, remember? That babe is fail-proof.” I fake a laugh, hoping that I can fool her and, in turn, change the subject. If she calls me out on my fake laugh, I’ll go to plan B. Deny. Deny. Deny.
“El, don’t give me that crap excuse. I had the arm implant. Both are over 99 percent effective. Now I have this little nugget.” We both turn to Oliver, who’s preoccupied with his toy. He stops when he notices us, wide eyed like he knows we’re talking about him. “My point is, trust me, it’s possible.”
She eyes me over her mug when she takes a sip, making me second-guess everything. Oh boy, that motherly stare is terrifying. Instead, I glance back over at Oliver, who is back to happily chewing. Those are my only two options here? Either uncomfortable motherly eye contact or a reminder of what Marco, Andrea, and my adventures could have led to. Not fair.
Andrea may not be able to have babies, but who the fuck knows about Marco? We all know how safe, or in our case, unsafe the three of us have been.
My knee bounces with nervous energy as we finish our coffee date. I hope I don’t sound too rushed or anxious to leave when I race to the drugstore to grab a test. The second I pay for the test, I run into the bathroom, too impatient to drive home. Anyway, I’m not sure if Andrea is home. The last thing I need is him there if I get the results I’m dreading.
The second I get the bathroom door closed, I rip into the test, struggling to lower my tight skirt. Why didn’t I hike my skirt up? That doesn’t matter. I plop down on the toilet, weirdly struggling to pee on the stick. Is this why men can’t aim correctly?
I put the cap back on the test when I’m done, holding it down in my lap while I set a timer on my phone. Seriously, though?Three minutes? Why does it take this much time for fucking results?
Five billion years later, the timer on my phone goes off, and I turn the test over. When the annoyingly dark pink plus sign stares back at me, I’m convinced my heart is going to drop out of my butt. Next thing I know, I’m screaming and running out of the store, receiving concerned glances from everyone, and the cashier asking me if I’m okay. Of fucking course, I’m not okay. Read the room. Or, in my case, read the screaming.
Anger takes over as I drive to Marco’s house. Fucking. Marco. I’ll decide what I’ll do to him once I get there. Shit, today might be the day when I finally castrate him. Bury it in the backyard. Watch as he frantically searches for it.
When I pull up to the gate, Domenico goes to greet me but notices my face and opens the gate with a straight face. Smart choice, Grumps McGee.
I barely come to a complete stop when I get out of my car, stomping to the front door. I shove open the door, convinced the doorknob might have put a hole through the wall. Fuck that door. Fuck that wall. Fuck Marco. Hold on, internal monologue. Delete that last part. Fucking Marco is how I got into this mess.
I race through the house, hunting down the man I’m about to castrate. “Marco! Marco, you dumb son of a bitch, where the fuck are you?” The first person I see is Alessandro, and I shoot my anger at him first.
“Alessandro! Where the fuck is Marco?”