A Life Unplanned (12 page)

 Chapter 14 – On Actions, Good and Bad

Before we headed back to his mother's, I asked Trent for a little snack. I was carelessly resting a bowl of crackers on my belly, when Katie gave it a good kick, launching it across the living room.

"Oh, my heavens, I'm so sorry," I said embarrassed.

Trent was laughing and leaned over to kiss my dancing tummy. "If you're feeling crowded, come out," he taunted our daughter.

"Where's your vacuum? We should get these up before they're ground into the carpet."

"It's in the hall closet," he said, not moving away from my belly.

"Are you going to let me vacuum?"

He looked up at me and smiled. "Normally, I'd say no, but vacuuming is good exercise for your labor muscles and can cause contractions. Now that you're full term, it'd actually be a good idea for you to vacuum." He helped me off the couch, not without some effort.

I waddled to his hall closet and pulled out his vacuum. I saw that the attachment I'd need to get under the couch was on the top shelf, wedged under a box. When I tried to pull it out, the box fell, and several DVD's fell out. I was confused, when I saw they had women's names on them and dates written next to them.

They were so dusty that I had a sneezing fit, and Trent came to check if I was alright.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" He carried me to the couch. "Are you alright?" He looked so worried.

Aside from peeing a little from my sneezing fit, I was fine, and I'd taken to wearing pads to keep from making a mess. I just had to use the bathroom to take care of it.

"I'm fine; I just need to use the bathroom." I used it quickly then looked up the hall and saw the DVDs on the floor. "What are those?"

He looked to where I pointed and frowned. He got up and started putting them all back into the box, not answering me.

"Trent, if we're going to be together, you're going to have to give me answers when I ask for them."

He let out a sigh, and instead of putting the box back on the shelf, he brought it over to the coffee table and set it in front of me. "Let me just say…I don't watch these. I never did. I just wanted to cover my bases."

"What are they, Trent?" I was getting worried.

"Do you remember Sabrina, the girl who accused me of rape?"

I nodded yes.

"Well, I came up with a plan to keep that from happening again."

My face paled. That was a lot of DVDs, and from what I could tell, there were a lot of different names on them. "You recorded all of them?"

"Just for defense, I swear, I've never watched them, and I've never let anyone else look at them. Hell, only Trevor knows about them, and now you. I just didn't ever want to be accused of rape again, and I figured if I had recorded proof, no one could ever hurt my family like that again."

I sat there stunned, not sure what to think. I wanted to believe him. The box was dusty. It was obvious that he hadn't been watching them…well, not lately, anyway.

"Clara, please, say something." He looked sick. I needed to put him out of his misery.

"Do you have me in there?" I asked, curious.

His brow furrowed, but he nodded yes and started flipping through the box. He pulled it out and handed it to me. There were five other names on the DVD next to mine. I was number two.

"Can we watch it?" I was curious about how much effort he put into the recording. Did he take into account camera angle and lighting?

"Are you serious?"

"Just mine, please, put it on. I think I have a right to see what's on it." I wasn't backing down.

He took it from me hesitantly and put it in his player. I was surprised when a chapter menu came up with names. I was glad I wouldn't have to watch him fast forward through him screwing another girl.

The first shot was of him opening a drawer by the camera, getting a condom.
I was tempted to freeze-frame it and see if you could tell it was faulty by looking at the package
. He glanced at the camera once more, before he turned away from it. "I'm going to lock the door. Is that alright?" he had asked. I nodded yes and started pulling off my shirt. I started giggling when I got tangled in it.

"
I think I'm buzzed," I snickered.

He helped me with my shirt and lay down next to me. "We can't do anything if you're drunk." He didn't sound disappointed, he was just stating a fact.

"
Just give me a minute, it'll go away," I said, pulling him down to kiss me.

"
Let me get you some water. It'll help sober you up." He grabbed a bottle from a little mini fridge.

"I'm missing my earring. I must’ve lost it in my shirt!" I pointed out. "Rewind it real quick."

Trent looked at me like I was nuts, but did as I said. "See, I had it on when I walked in, then I got tangled in my shirt and it's gone. I knew I'd lost it in your room," I said smugly.

He laughed and sat down next to me, relaxing a bit. We watched as Trent on the screen did his best to sober me up. I wasn't really drunk. I had walked fine when I’d entered the room, and I wasn't slurring. He asked me several times how I was feeling, and younger me was getting frustrated with him, because he wasn't doing what I wanted.

"I didn't remember you being so pushy," Trent laughed next to me.

I shrugged, trying to think of a comeback, but was quickly distracted by college Trent's naked body. I was suddenly very hot and bothered, and I noticed Trent shifting next to me uncomfortably, as he watched his college-self toss my panties over his shoulder.

He cleared his throat and tugged a little on his pants. "Are you finished, have you seen enough?" he asked.

Of course, his pulling on his pants made me look down, and my eyes went wide. Trent was very hard, and his jeans were obviously too tight, hence him pulling on them, hoping for more room. When I looked up at his face, he looked nervous. For some odd reason, I laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't know," and I didn't. Our eyes locked and next thing I knew, we were kissing. Things were getting intense between us fast, and the wild sex soundtrack going on in the background didn't help matters, either.

"Slow," he groaned, "Clara, slow," he said, trying to remind me what we had agreed upon, but I wanted to see what he was packing. He stuttered, unable to chasten me anymore, once I got my hands on him. It was just over his pants, but it was enough to stop his complaining.

I didn't fully understand why my touching him was turning me on more. I ended up on my back with him arched awkwardly over me. We weren't in that position long, before Katie kicked into my lungs and up at her daddy. I groaned and pushed up when I realized he didn't know it was not a moan of pleasure, but a groan of being uncomfortable and struggling to breathe.

He was off me in a flash and apologizing. When he saw I was trying to get up, he quickly helped me. I stood and did my best to push my daughter down and stretch up. "I'll be so happy to get my lung space back."

Trent was looking at me bashfully. It seemed so odd to see this version of him, with naughty college boy Trent playing in the background. Of course, when I looked at the video, the sex was over. Unbeknownst to me, Trent had just laid there next to me, playing with my hair while I slept. I watched as he did that for a bit, and then he caressed my cheek and kissed my head, before settling in to sleep spooned behind me. Maybe that Trent wasn't as asshole-ish as I had originally thought. He obviously was damaged, but when in the presence of a non-threatening woman, i.e. a sleeping one, he could seem sweet.

When it was time to go home on Sunday evening, Trent packed up a bag for himself as well. We had decided it would be a good idea for him to stay with me, while we waited for the baby to come. He'd basically be living with me, and I wondered how well that would go.

I was also worried about taking things slow. My hormones didn't always agree with the speed at which we were moving, and I was pretty sure running into Trent only wearing a towel after a shower would send me over the edge, and I'd beg him to stay with me in my room, instead of in Tyler's on the twin bed. I wasn't sure if I was hoping that would or wouldn't happen.

My only hope of retaining any sanity would be to go into labor quickly and get my hot boyfriend out of my house. I smiled like a giddy fool, thinking about the word boyfriend. It was crazy to think of Trent as my boyfriend, but that was exactly what he was. We were "exclusive" at his insistence, and I was loving it.

Tyler was enamored with Trent. He called him Mr. Trent, or "Mista Twent." I watched as Tyler pulled Trent down the hall to his bedroom, chattering away, and Trent listened with rapt attention.

I gave them a few minutes, before I went to enforce bedtime. Trent had Tyler curled up on the bed next to him, as he read him a bedtime story. He made different voices for each character. Trent really was a natural.

Over the next few days, I was really beginning to enjoy co-parenting. It was great that Trent was there to help with snacks and diapers. He talked to Tyler about the potty as well. Having a man around to teach a boy to pee was great. Tyler seemed to be getting the hang of it, once Trent bought him a little stepstool so he could pee in the big potty.

I truly appreciated him, when I heard Tyler cry at 2:00  AM. I got up to check on him, only to find Trent already cradling him. "I've got him. Do you have some pain reliever? I think he has an earache. I saw him tug on it a few times yesterday."

I brought him the medicine, and Trent coaxed Tyler into taking it easily. Then he went and sat in the living room in the rocking chair with him. "I've got him, babe, go ahead and go back to bed. You need your rest." Trent dismissed me, and I gave both my boys a kiss, before I went back to my room.

The next morning, I walked into the living room to find Trent stretched out in the recliner and Tyler sleeping on his chest. After snapping a picture of the adorable scene on my phone, I decided to call Dr. Coust and get Tyler in for an appointment, so Trent wouldn't lose another night of sleep. I was able to get one for later that morning.

I started breakfast as quietly as possible. It was only the sizzling of bacon that woke Trent up. He looked over at me sleepy-eyed from the chair. I knew he wasn't moving, because he didn't want to disturb Tyler.

"I made an appointment for Tyler this morning."

"Good idea," he said and yawned.

"Was he up a lot?" I asked cringing.

"No, not really. He seemed to fuss every time I went to stand up, though, so I decided the chair was comfortable enough. It's no worse than the beds in the on-call room."

I set out breakfast, and Trent carried a half-asleep Tyler to the table. He stayed cuddled in his daddy's lap with no intention of moving. I ate quickly then dressed. I had clothes for Tyler, but he didn't want to leave Trent, so he happily dressed his son. I was finally able to coax Tyler into my arms, so Trent could get dressed.

When Trent came out, I realized we all had on tan shirts and dark blue jeans. We looked like a happy family getting ready for a portrait.

Trent drove us to the clinic, and I wondered if Melissa would be working there. He held the door open for me and kept his hand on the small of my back, as we walked to the check-in counter. Tyler was snuggled into Trent's neck. His lack of enthusiasm for being at my work really proved how badly he was feeling. I heard Tyler whimper a little, and Trent started rocking him in his arms and rubbing his little back.

"Why don't you go sit down, I can finish checking him in," I suggested.

"Okay," Trent said and leaned down, giving me a peck on the lips. With him no longer distracting me, I noticed Melissa standing off to the side watching me.

"Was there something you needed?" I asked her.

She came forward and quickly whispered, "How well do you know Trent Carrington?"

"He's the father to both my kids, and we're in an exclusive relationship."

"Like, for real?"

I pushed my belly down again and nodded. "I met Trent when I was in college."

"No way," she gasped cutting me off, "And you're still with him? He's such a-"

"Good father," I said taking my turn to cut her off. "He's grown up and changed a lot since he was in school. I think most people do change after they get out of school, haven't you?" I asked.

She frowned and picked at her fingernails.

"Melissa, do you know who it is that's going after him?" I asked.

Her eyes darted over to Trent, where he was cuddling Tyler and reading him a book. "I don't know for sure. It was like some sort of corporation or something. I had a link to a webpage of firsthand accounts of his bad behavior. Someone had looked me up on the school website and sent me the link. I was later contacted and asked if I was interested in adding my story and being part of a revenge plot. I said no. He was an ass, and I thought he was a jerk, but I'm not a psycho."

"Did you take a picture of him and Tyler when we were here last?" I had to know.

"Yeah, I'd called my sister, and she didn't believe me. I took a picture, and she thought it was wild that he was holding a kid. I guess he was very anti-family back in the day."