In the Crease
Page 109

 Toni Aleo

  • Background:
  • Text Font:
  • Text Size:
  • Line Height:
  • Line Break Height:
  • Frame:
Giving her a hard look, he pointed to her belly. “I want to be the father I need to be for my son. Jensen isn’t the father. I am.”
“No. Not even no, but fuck no. Jensen is the father. More so than you. Even if he has your fucking blood, it’s all he’ll ever get from you.”
“Wren, be real. Jensen is nothing, except someone trying to get some money. He doesn’t care about you or our—”
“He is our son, mine and Jensen’s. Not yours. You were just the sperm donor,” she reiterated firmly. “You walked out on us, you didn’t want us, and by the grace of God, he gave me a man who wants us—”
“I’m not listening to that because we can both get quick divorces and then be together. I want you back.”
When he reached for her, she smacked his hand away as her heart pounded in her chest. “Again, not even no could cover my answer here. It’s fuck no again.”
His face filled with anger as he glared down at her, reaching for her once more, taking ahold of her waist. “I’m his father.”
Pushing into his chest, she yelled, “I don’t—”
“Get the fuck away from her.”
Wren froze.
She knew that voice. It was Vaughn’s. And as she turned slowly, Bradley finally letting her go, to look to the end of the room, she prayed Jensen wasn’t there with his best friend.
Please, God, please.
But God must have been saving someone else at that moment because not only was Jensen standing beside Vaughn, but so was her brother.
And her mom.
And her dad.
Fucking. Awesome.
Wren found it hard to breathe as her eyes met Jensen’s, and all she could see was the pure betrayal on his beautiful, stony face.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” she tried to say as she held up her hands. “Jensen, I didn’t—”
But Jensen wasn’t talking, he was moving, with Vaughn and Wells flanking him while her parents looked on with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. As they came down the aisle, Bradley took a step back, holding his hands up. “Now, guys, this wasn’t something new. I’ve been fucking her for years.”
“Watch your mouth,” Jensen said very slowly and very softly. “Not only am I married to her, but her parents are in the room. So have some respect, you low-life piece of shit.”
“Yeah, douche,” Wells added, shaking his head. “You were like family. Really, guy?”
“Who leaves her high and dry like that? Douches, that’s who. You,” Vaughn quipped, glaring, his fists bunched up as his face matched those of Wells and Jensen.
Pure and utter fury.
“You don’t know the circumstances. I thought I didn’t want this—”
“So you tell her to get an abortion? Throw her out on her ass, stressing her to the point that she shuts down and doesn’t reach out to any of us? She has a family who loves her, you piece of shit. We don’t need you, so at least let her go with some decency and respect. I mean, really? Your mom didn’t raise you like that, I know that for sure,” Wells said, his eyes filling with tears. “And who are you to say we don’t love her and don’t care about her? That’s you, you bastard, and if I weren't getting married in this spot in a matter of hours, I would pound your fucking face in.”
“I’m not getting married, and I’d love the chance, you fucking pathetic loser.”
When Jensen’s hand came to his chest, and then Vaughn’s, Wells looked down at it before meeting Jensen’s gaze. “He isn’t worth it.”
“I beg to differ. He needs his ass whooped, and I don’t mind catching a charge for it,” Vaughn announced, rolling up his sleeves. But Jensen stopped him once more.
“Guys, relax. He’s gonna piss his pants.”
“I am not, Monroe. You think you’re so fucking high and mighty. You’re nothing but a bottom dweller who lived off their family,” Bradley spat at him, and Wren glared.
“He is more of a man than you’ll ever be, you son of a bitch.”
“Shut up, you know nothing other than what your pussy tells you you like,” he shot back at her. When Wells made a noise, she knew Bradley was dead, but before her brother could swing on him, Jensen gripped Bradley’s neck, his face coming so close his nose touched the other man’s.
“I am two seconds from killing you. Watch it.”
“Hey, asshole, watch your mouth because if they get ahold of you, I won’t stop them. And when they’re done, I’ll kick your ass too,” Winston called from the back of the hall as Jensen let Bradley go, his body shaking with fierceness.
“And then I’ll kick you too, in the shin,” her mother added, and Wren wanted to laugh, but her eyes were trained on Jensen. He wouldn’t even look at her. “You’re a bastard, Bradley, and I’ll be sure never to donate to your firm again.”
When Bradley rolled his eyes, Wren couldn’t believe she had ever wanted to be with someone like him. But that didn’t matter now. Her eyes went back to Jensen, who appeared calm, but she could see his shoulders, taut as all hell, and his eyes wide with anger. She was fucked. Like really fucked and she knew that damn well. She should have told him, she knew that, but her reasoning for not doing so, she had felt was right. Obviously, she was wrong. She could see the hurt in his eyes.
Damn it.
“Let me handle this,” Wren heard Jensen say in a hushed tone, and her heart couldn’t take it.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“He isn’t fucking worth it.”
Pulling in a deep breath, Jensen looked past Bradley to Wren, and she froze, her heart jumping up into her throat. “So you want him back, I assume?”
Wren’s eyes widened. “What? Him?”
“Yes. He’s the father, so I assume—”
“Well, you assume wrong. I don’t know when you guys decided to walk into this clusterfuck, but as I was telling this asshole, I don’t want anything to do with him. I only want you,” she said, stepping toward Jensen, but he held his hand up.
“And you think you want her back?”
Bradley looked at Jensen as his eyes narrowed. “I’m the father, and I sure as hell don’t want you being with her and my child.”