When I Lie With You

Chapter 32

Rory

My eyes opened as soon as I heard him close the door. He thought I was sleeping, but I wasn’t. When I woke up last night and saw him sleeping in the other room, my heart shattered even more. I didn’t think it was possible for him to hurt me any more than he already had. But he succeeded and he also succeeded in me feeling nothing but hatred for him. After running to the bathroom and throwing up, I threw on a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt and went downstairs. I had to face him some time. When I walked into the dining room, Ian looked up at me.

“You’re up,” he said.

“Yeah, I am. I just came down to grab some coffee. I’ll be out of your sight in a minute.”

“Why didn’t you stay in our bed last night?” he asked as Mandy walked in with a cup of coffee.

“Why didn’t you?” I replied.

He looked down and picked up his coffee cup. “I just couldn’t.”

“I couldn’t either,” I spouted. I picked up the coffee cup from the table and went back to my room. A few moments later, Ian walked in.

“I’m leaving to go to Prim for the day. What are your plans?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said as I turned and looked out the window.

“Are you going to tell anyone about this?”

“About what?” I asked.

“You and your condition.”

I saw nothing but red as I turned around and looked at him. “My condition? You make it sound like some fucking disease.”

“I don’t have time for you right now. I have to get to Prim,” he said as he stormed out the door.

How did things get so bad so fast? One day, we were perfect and the next, we were torn apart. This should have been the happiest time for us. But instead, it was the most miserable. I took off my shirt and placed my hands on my stomach. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror and moved my hands in small circles. The pain inside would never go away if Ian wasn’t around for us. I loved him so much, but at the same time, I hated him for making me feel this way. I needed to be strong and take charge. He’d get used to the idea, I knew he would. If he didn’t, then we’d leave and never look back. I’d become a single parent like my mom was. She did the best she could under the circumstances and I learned a lot from her. I would have given anything for her to be here right now. I considered talking to Jimmy about this, but we weren’t close. We were taking baby steps and trying to build a father/daughter relationship slowly. Just like Ian was trying with his mom.

As the day went on, I didn’t hear a word from Ian. Usually, he’d call me a few times or send me love texts. I grabbed my purse and went to the Piano Bar to see Jimmy. I sat up at the bar and Rosie came from the back room.

“Hey, Rory. It’s good to see you, darling. It’s been a while.”

“Hi, Rosie. I was busy with Adalynn’s wedding and then Ian and I went to tour a winery he’s partnered with.”

“You look sad. How about a cosmo to cheer you up,” she said.

“As much as I’d love one, I can’t drink.”

She gave me a strange look and smiled. “Why? Are you pregnant or something?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I replied.

Her face lit up and she screeched and reached over the bar to give me a hug. “Rory, that’s fantastic news. You’re going to be a mama.”

I looked at her, thanked her, and pursed my lips, trying to hold back the tears.

“What’s wrong? You’re not happy about the baby?” Rosie asked.

I sighed. “I’m happy about the baby. It’s Ian. He’s really upset and says he doesn’t want it.”

“What the fuck?!” she exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? He doesn’t seem like that type.”

“He doesn’t want kids. He said he’s not father material.”

She reached over and grabbed my hands. “He’ll come around, sweetie. Sometimes, it’s a shock, especially if it wasn’t planned.” Rosie looked up and whispered, “Here comes Jimmy. Are you going to tell him?”

“Not yet.” I shook my head.

“Hey, there’s my girl.” Jimmy smiled as he sat down on the stool next to me and gave me a hug. “How are you, Rory?”

I faked a smile so he wouldn’t suspect something was wrong. “I’m great. How are you?” I asked.

“Things are good. I have this great bar and my daughter.” He smiled.

We sat and talked for a while about music and Stephen. Jimmy took me over to the piano and played a new piece of music he wrote. He called it “My Daughter.” It was beautiful and it brought tears to my eyes. I told him that I had to get going because Ian was waiting for me. A total lie, because I didn’t think Ian would ever wait for me again. I gave him a hug and kiss goodbye and told him that I’d see him soon.

I looked at my phone and saw that it was five o’clock. Ian still never called or texted me and he wasn’t home. I walked out to the beach to find some peace and to do some soul searching. This wasn’t just about me anymore. This was about me and my baby. As I planted myself in the sand and stared out into the blue water, I thought about Stephen. I wished so badly that he was here. As I was in deep thought, I heard a voice from behind.

“There’s my beautiful American girl.”

I turned my head and smiled when I saw Andre standing by the house. I quickly got up and ran to him, throwing my arms around him. He picked me up and swung me around.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Are you not happy to see me?” he asked in his sweet French accent.

“Of course I am. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Malibu?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise. Let me look at you.” He smiled as he twirled me around. “Beautiful as always.”

As happy as I was to see him, this was not a good time. “Does Ian know you’re here?”

“No, he doesn’t. Where is he?”

“He’s not home yet,” I replied as I looked down.

As we walked into the house, we heard the front door open. Andre went into the foyer and I followed behind.

“Andre, my friend. What are you doing here? It’s good to see you.” Ian smiled as they hugged.

“I came to visit my favorite couple.”

“Welcome to Malibu.”

Ian looked at me and didn’t say anything. He didn’t even kiss me hello. Andre must’ve picked up on it because he gave me a worried look. I gave him a half smile and turned away.

“If you’ll excuse me a moment, I’m going to run upstairs and change.”

“Sure. Go ahead.” Andre smiled.

As soon as Ian was out of sight, Andre turned to me and lightly took hold of my arm as we walked to the kitchen. “Is something going on between you two?” he asked with concern.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I’m pregnant and Ian isn’t happy about it.”

“Wh—” He stopped as Ian walked in.

“It’s good to see you,” he said as he patted Andre on the back. “Where are you staying?”

“At a hotel nearby.”

“Nonsense, you’ll stay here.” Ian smiled.

I had to take a moment to think about why Ian would want Andre to stay with us when things were so bad right now. Then it hit me. If Andre stayed here, then Ian wouldn’t have to be alone with me and talk about the baby.

“We have a beautiful guest room that was just redecorated,” he said.

“I don’t want to put you out or anything,” Andre said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Rory and I would love to have you stay with us, right?” he said as he looked at me.

“Of course we would. You’re not staying in a hotel. End of story.” I smiled.

“Well, then I’ll go get my suitcase and be right back.”

“No need. I’ll send Joshua to collect your things and bring them back. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Ian said as he put his arm around Andre. “Let’s go to dinner. I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants.”

“What about Rory?” Andre asked.

“She’ll be joining us. Won’t you?” Ian asked smugly.

“Of course. Just let me go and freshen up.”

I went into the bathroom and shut the door. The tears that filled my eyes wanted to fall down my face. I wasn’t going to cry. Not tonight. I sat on the toilet and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the tears to dry up. There was a soft knock on the door.

“Rory. I need to speak with you for a moment,” Ian said.

Great. I didn’t want to fucking talk to him. I opened up the door and stood at the sink while I brushed my hair. Ian walked in and stood behind me.

“Well, speak,” I said.

“I don’t want you telling Andre that you’re pregnant. Do you understand?”

I slowly turned my head and looked him straight in the eyes. “Fuck you! Do you understand that?” I said as I stormed out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

“I’m ready to go, Andre.” I smiled as I looped my arm around his.

Ian walked down the stairs with a look in his eye as if he was about to kill me. The anger I saw was consuming him. We climbed in the back of the limo and Andre climbed into the seat opposite of me, leaving Ian to sit next to me. I couldn’t even stomach to look at him anymore. That was how hurt, betrayed, and angry I was. We arrived at the restaurant and were promptly seated, thanks to Ian and his status. Andre and Ian both ordered drinks and I drank water.

“No wine for you, my beautiful American girl?” Andre smiled.

“No. Actually, I can’t have any wine for a while.”

“Why’s that?” he asked.

I looked at Ian and he was giving me a stern look. I didn’t care. Fuck him and his looks. I was done with him at this point.

“Because I’m pregnant.” I smiled.

“That’s wonderful news! Congratulations, my friend.” Andre smiled as he shook Ian’s hand. You will have the most beautiful children.”

Ian partially smiled and then looked at me with anger in his eyes. I raised my eyebrow at him as I smiled. We had a very uncomfortable dinner and then we headed home.

The next week was hard. Ian and I hadn’t spoken one word to each other since the restaurant. He slept in our bed and I slept in the other room. I spent the days with Andre while Ian was at Prim. I kept Adalynn informed of how things were going because she kept texting me and telling me how worried she was about me. I told her that I was fine and to stop worrying. It was Andre’s last night with us and we were taking him out to dinner. Ian was in the bedroom getting changed. He was in the closet in his boxers and nothing else. I missed him. I missed making love to him and I missed feeling loved. He turned and looked at me.

I stepped into my side of the closet and grabbed my black dress. I took off my shirt and shorts and laid my dress on the bed. I glanced in the full-length mirror and noticed my stomach was already swollen. It was too soon to start showing. Ian walked over and looked at me and then down at my stomach. I quickly turned away because I didn’t need him making a remark about it.

“How far along are you?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know? Haven’t you been to the doctor?”

“Yeah. I think I’m about six weeks.”

“It looks like you’re already starting to show. Isn’t it a little early for that?”

I turned around and looked at him as I took in a deep breath. “You haven’t spoken two words to me in a week and now you want to carry on a conversation about me showing? I already told you that you’re off the hook, Braxton.”

One…two…three. Here it comes. Fuck…fuck…fuck. I couldn’t hold back. “In fact, I’ll be moving out soon, so you don’t have to look at me or my stomach and be reminded how I fucked up your life. You’re free to go back to the way things used to be. In fact, why don’t you give Andrew a call? Maybe the two of you bastards could rekindle your man-whore relationship.”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” he yelled through gritted teeth as he gently took hold of my arm. “I have heard enough of that smart ass mouth of yours. If you want to move out, then fine. Go. I don’t care anymore, Rory.”

“And I don’t care either! Tell Andre that I’m not feeling well and I won’t be able to go to dinner,” I said with tears in my eyes.