Takes one to know one, Bitch!
I push myself up, and as I struggle to do so, I groan at the fact that it’s this hard to sit up in a damn bed. I never appreciated how easily I moved around before, but now, each movement takes a little more thought and strategy than before.
The baby moves in my stomach like it can feel me thinking about it, and who knows- maybe it can. Everything else I do affects it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could sense what I’m thinking. And the guilt I tried to ignore comes back full force this time. I didn’t ask for this. I never wanted this.
Well, I can’t lie; once upon a time, I allowed myself to imagine I could have a life that I knew could never be real. In an alternate universe, Ian and I would still be married, I’d be on my second kid, and we’d have a house off the beach in California where he’d take pictures all day. I could sing our babies to sleep, and after they were out, Ian would put me to sleep. There we’d be happy. There would be no Megan, Veronica, and sure as hell, not Kameron, but I’m not one to dwell on fairy tales and happy endings, that’s Megan's thing. I deal with reality, as fucked up as it is.
It could have beenyour reality, but you chose to run.
Shut up!
Pull it together, Alana. I know you can get us out of this.
The laughthat escapes me is a humorless one; her words are triggering
Of course, I’m the only one that can get her out of this shithole. I’m her knight in shining armor, not that prick out there wherever he is. Saving her is nothing new to me.
But still, Megan treats me like I’m a demonic spirit that needs to be exorcised. No matter what I do, no matter how I’ve helped her, I’m the bad guy in all of this. And when this is all over, someway somehow, Kameron is still going to be her hero.
It pisses me off just thinking about it. When I get us out of here, she’s going to run back to Kameron and make up with his ass. He’s going to have story after story about me and how I tried to kill him, blah, blah, blah. She’ll overlook the fact that he kidnapped her, and all will be forgiven because poor baby Kam had to deal with that monster Alana.
My anger only surges at the light knock that sounds through the room. My gaze snaps towards the door, and heat washes across my body, but I try to swallow it down, forcing myself to get it together so that I can face him.
I’m fixing my mouth to say come in, but the door opens before I can get it out, and I sneer in annoyance at him as he comes in with a tray.
“What was the point of knocking if you were going to come in without me saying you can?” I ask him, crossing my arms.
He doesn’t respond, of course; he's too busy taking in the shit storm around him.
Seeing his cry baby reaction makes me feel more than pleased with myself.
“There’s gonna be a hefty charge on daddy’s credit card, but it’s not like you can’t afford it,” I say nonchalantly, with a smirk.
His gaze finally lands on me, and the anger in his expression transforms into incredulous.
“I don’t give a shit about how much this is gonna cost,” he spits out in disgust. “You could have hurt the baby, Alana. Did you even think about that?”
I bite down on my back teeth, wanting to tell him to shut the hell up and that it’s his fault I even got this mad to begin with, but I suck it down and widen my smile, taking the opportunity. Bringing my hands to my belly, I rub them over my stomach.
“The baby’s fine,” I tell him. “If it were your weak genes, it might be a different story. But sinceIanis strong, it’ll be okay.”
Alana!Veronica scoffs in my head, but I ignore her, enjoying how Kameron’s face has fallen. Aww, how sweet. It’d make my day if he cries.
He doesn’t, unfortunately. Instead,he just flexes his jaw before he turns and bends down to set the tray on the floor by the door, and just like that, he’s gone. What a pussy, a perfect match for his spineless ass girlfriend.
Why would you say that? If you really believe he’s crazy, why are you provoking him?
He’ll get over it,I tell her, laying back in bed.And if you don’t shut up, I swear I’m going to find a way to block you out.
My threat works. She doesn’t say anything else, but I can feel how badly she wants to.
Now I really smile. It feels good to be in control. Veronica’s quiet for now, Megan’s sulking, and I just have to figure out a way to get Kameron in line.
I really don’t give a shit about his feelings. He and Megan made Ian feel like shit, and I’ll never forget the pain in Ian’s eyes whenever Megan threw Kam in his face. She tortured him, now I’ll torture Kameron, but unlike Ian, he won’t be able to handle it.
And if I’m going to be stuck here with him, I may as well have fun.