At midnight
“What the hell are you doing?” James stared at his roommate who was balanced strategically on a kitchen chair while he attempted to hang gold sparkling garland from corner to corner.
Kara walked in behind him, yawning. It was noon but she almost wished she could sleep longer without James giving her funny looks.
She paused once she set her sights on Carter as well. “Wow…”
“New Years Party.” Carter grunted as he wobbled. “I told you two days ago.”
“Isn’t Greg doing it?” James seemed confused.
Carter huffed, slapping another piece of tape over the end and jumping off the chair. “Better fucking stay up there—”
“Hello?” James snapped, his impatience taking over.
“Oh, yeah, no. Not happening. Told you already.”
“You didn’t tell me anything,” he snapped.
“Text-y message, Jim. Check them once in a while. We’re not all ‘Kara naked and wanton’ but we’re still your friends.”
“Carter,” Kara scolded and flipped on the kettle for her tea.
James glowered. “I get my bloody text messages.”
“Well, I texted you. Greg’s not doing it, Lila was supposed to help him and she’s fucking ill or something, I don’t know. Maybe someone actually doused her in holy water.” He laughed at his own joke and ripped apart another cheap decorative banner. “What do you think, pet?”
Kara blinked at its tacky Happy New Years lettering. “Fabulous.”
“It’s not happening,” James said in a clear cut tone. “Kara doesn’t need this.”
“Kara doesn’t need what?” Carter looked between them, not understanding.
“Nothing…” She breathed, putting a hand to her stomach and giving James a glare, which managed to shut him up momentarily.
Carter stepped out of the awkward conversation easily. “We need some party food. Who wants to take a stroll to the store for me?”
James shook his head. “That’s not happening either.”
Kara sighed. “James, it won’t be too bad.”
“No.” He turned to her. “Do not encourage this.”
“Look, Jim, I’d call shit on Greg, but I told you a month or so ago, he’s not acting right. Now, we always have a bloody party, so we’re having one.” Carter smirked and turned, slapping more tape down and hanging up the banner on the far wall. “Well, that’s just smashing. What do you think?”
“We’ll go get food,” she offered.
James opened his mouth but Kara begged him, pouting her bottom lip just enough to make him twitch.
He turned back to his friend. “It would seem I’ve been out-voted. If anyone gets out of hand, though, I’ll personally shut it all down.”
“You would.” Carter smiled. “But deal. Now, go along.”
Kara abandoned her tea in exchange for getting dressed in real clothes, and they were out the door in record time, except James was horribly grumpy.
“I don’t like this,” he finally said as they rounded the last block before the store.
“You don’t like anything,” she pointed out. “Except food, soccer and sex.”
“Kara, I’m not joking.” James grabbed her wrist. “I feel…”
Their feet stopped and their eyes met.
“What?” she breathed.
He grunted, dropping his contact on her. “Let’s go get some bloody food.”
Kara sighed and grabbed his arm, tugging him along through the store doors. She grabbed a basket and then began to fill it with things she thought parties needed.
“Do you think we need more chips?”
“Crisps,” James corrected. “No, you’ve got every bloody flavour, love.”
“Well.” Kara wrinkled her nose. “What about pop? We should make a punch!”
James sighed and led the way through the aisles to find what she wanted. “Are we through?”
She thought, looking over the two very full baskets in his hands. “I guess…”
“Brilliant, that way.” He nodded towards the tills and she went for them. They took their place in line and she helped put the items to the belt. James picked up a sports magazine while they waited and she leaned in to see the article.
“Oh, it’s you…” She smiled at him.
He grunted. “It is.”
“You look kinda hot there—all sweaty.”
He looked at her as she winked at him and he smiled, shutting the magazine to put it back. “So easy to please.”
She giggled and took his arm once he’d dropped it away from the rack. “You like it.”
“I do.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t we drop off this food and get a room instead? Whichever hotel you want.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you’re such an old man… I want to go to the party. Please.”
He looked down at her with a twitch. “Fine. Though I can’t understand why.”
“Happy New Year!” The boy behind the cash register greeted them.
“Oh…” Kara turned away from James and smiled at the cashier. “Thank you, Happy New Year to you too.” She watched him scan through each item and it totalled a bit more than she meant to spend but James didn’t seem to mind as he handed over his credit card. Sometimes she liked that, how he just gave into her, did things for her even when he wanted nothing to do with it.
She reached for the third bag as the receipt was handed over but James stopped her.
“No.” He grabbed it out from under her fingers.
“I can carry a bag, James.” She followed him toward the exit doors.
“You’re carrying a child, that’s enough.”
Her smile grew as they walked back out onto the street. “That was sweet.”
“Mm. It’s true.” He gave her belly a glance. “Do up your coat, love.”
She sighed as his anal-ways got the best of the situation and she did up the few large buttons along her wool jacket to satisfy him.
“Out of the five ads for those flats, you liked none. Tell me something you did like about them.”
She paused, catching up to the random change of conversation. “They just looked dreary.”
“What was dreary?”
“You pick everything apart.” She huffed, crossing the street with him.
“I asked you to tell me something you did like.”
“Fine, I liked the big claw-footed tub in that second one.”
“Good, what else?”
She shrugged.
“Kara, you’re making this fairly ridiculous,” he pointed out, “We’ve been shown several now and you like none. These are high end flats, there’s nothing wrong with them.”
“I know.” Kara sighed. “Maybe you should just choose one—”
“No.” He shook his head. “I told you, you’re living there. It’s your home too.”
“I’ll be happy wherever you are.”
“That’s just it, love. I’m not always here. It has to make you happy, above all else.” His honesty struck her and made her feel guilty for being so difficult thus far about choosing a new place to call home.
“I just don’t see why we need to move.”
“I’m not raising a baby around Carter. Tonight is a perfect example of why.”
She almost laughed. “Sometimes you are way too responsible.”
“Yes, wanting to raise children away from parties and random sex definetly makes me too responsible,” he said through clear sarcasm that she enjoyed every lick of.
She smiled. “Children? It’s just one in there, I swear.”
“I only assume we will have more than one someday. I mean, I think I’d like to—but we will see.”
Kara laughed at him. “Yeah, I mean, what if you don’t like being a dad?”
“Too late for that thought,” he muttered.
She took his elbow as she skipped over a bit of ice. “You’re funny.” She thought about it as they brushed past a busy group of people dressed in their best on route to a party.
She wasn’t sure what kind of mother she might make but he would be a good father. That would one day mean giving him his own children, she knew that. She just hoped it would make them normal. Their lives perhaps easier with human blood running through their veins. It took her more than a moment to move past that for the child growing inside her currently.
Stopping in front of the apartment entrance, he turned to her, keys in hand. “You have twenty-four hours. By then I want a detailed list on what you want and I’ll find us that house, or I should say the realtor will.” Stepping in front of her, he opened the door and she walked in after him, heading up the narrow staircase together.
The party was a Carter classic: Loud, rowdy and full of pretty girls and rich acquaintances. Kara had stayed in the kitchen for most of it, trying to keep up with the mess. It gave her something to do as she couldn’t get inebriated like the rest of them, as much as she would have liked to.
Somewhere in the mess was James, and he’d show up randomly to check on her, telling her not to clean or to go lie down but she refused. She was going to enjoy some bit of New Year’s even with him hovering over her.
She spun, empty plastic cups in her arms and bumped right into a broad frame. “Oh, sorry.”
“Hey, Kara, how are you?”
She looked up and saw it was Greg with Lila at his side. She hadn’t thought they were coming and dread filled her at the sight of them.
“I’m-I’m good.” She tried to stop a cup from falling and Greg caught it, helping her stack them. “Thanks. What about you?”
He didn’t answer, just looked over her head. “Is James here?”
Kara winced. “Somewhere.”
Lila hadn’t said a thing, she hadn’t even looked at her, but Kara was thankful for it.
“I would try in there.” Kara turned her cheek to the living room.
“Thanks.” Greg nodded, Lila following him, her hand gripping his shoulder and giving Kara one smug look.
She returned to collecting cups and wiping spilled booze from the counters, and when she looked back to the clock, it was almost midnight. Four hours of cleaning up after people apparently made time fly. Perhaps she could have a career as a barmaid.
She turned on the ball of her foot, looking for him. With it almost midnight, she figured they were supposed to kiss or something to that effect or be within close proximity of each other at the very least.
She weaved her way in and out of people, ducking, avoiding as many smiles or weird looks as she could. People either loved her or hated her, there was little in between.
In the front room, she had no luck, so she slipped back into the kitchen and made her way through the hall.
Except it was so crowded, she could hardly breathe, let alone see past people to recognize James. A lot of the guys present were just as tall as him and once she’d been through every possible inch of the hallway, she was stumped. Leaning against the wall near the slightly open front door, she sighed. Where the fuck is he?
“Yes, how about later then?”
She heard him and perked up, looking around her.
“Well, we’ve got to go and it’s sort of important. Not to make you upset.” That was Lila’s voice and she followed it to the hall.
“I’m pissed off because of this party. There are a lot more people than expected. The landlord’s going to give me an earful for this.”
“It’s just really sort of important.” Lila’s voice was strained and it was the most emotion Kara had ever heard out of her.
“What is it then?”
“Right, well, you see… I’m pregnant.”
Kara’s eyes widened, the bile building in her throat was something she’d never felt. If happiness could be ruined in one moment then this was it.
“What the fuck do you mean, Lila?” Instead of his voice getting louder, it got lower.
Kara grabbed the door, about to hurl herself out into the middle of their conversation when she caught Lila’s next words.
“Well, don’t worry,” she hissed. “It’s not…”
Kara lost the rest of what was said as everyone shouted the beginning of a countdown. With every number shouted, the room closed in tighter, suffocating her.
The door shot open and James came through it, about to push past when his eyes fell on her.
Kara swallowed, staring up at him. He winced, not stopping and moving through people like it was nothing. Whatever could take that much precedence over her, made her darkest nightmares come true.
Her throat closed as Lila followed him, her eyes only cascading over Kara for a brief moment.
“Where’d he go!” she shouted at her.
Kara looked up, her heart in her throat. Everything she’d been told by now felt like a complete lie.
James Dray had lied to her but was her anger warranted? She looked to her distended belly.
Lila sneered. “Oh, forget it!” She pushed her way through everyone as they got to three, two…
Then Kara started for the bedroom. Fuck this, just fuck it. Slipping and ducking between the party-goers, she was pushed into the wall by a sudden large form of a man. He grabbed her, taking her mouth with his hand and shoving her into their bedroom with a force so relentless that she didn’t have time to react. The door slammed shut and he let her tumble to the ground, falling on her side.
Groaning, she moved to her back and looked to the dark, imposing figure that loomed five feet from her.
“Now I’ve figured it out.” He stepped from the shadows but Kara didn’t need him to do that before she put his voice to his name.
“Tom…” Her hands gripped the carpet under her. Fuck.
“You must be so proud of yourself,” he snapped. “How did you manage it? Cause’ he’s… ohh, ahh. He really fucking is. Elite fucking soccer player. How? You’re nothing!”
She scampered away as he approached, grabbing her foot. “No!” She tried to kick him off but it didn’t work, he put all his weight into her leg and pinned her under him.
“I’m not going to lie. I became a little obsessed after seeing you at the Halloween party, looking so… well, your boyfriend would know. Your smell is intoxicating to any male but he clearly could not keep his cock out of you. I don’t blame him. How pregnant are you?”
Kara shook her head through tears.
“Does he know about me, hmm?”
“What’s there to know!” Adrenaline filled her body in panic.
“Oh, no.” Tom smiled. “It’s not good to lie.”
“I’m not lying!” That made her upset and she struggled against him, opening her mouth to scream but he came down on her hard, silencing her and almost crushing her at the same time.
“I haven’t been this close to you for such a long time, I can’t wait any longer…” he purred in her ear and went to take her pants off.
Kara grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled as hard as she could.
He yelled, but didn’t move. “Did you forget through this fake life that you’re still mine!” Grabbing her wrist, he pinned her arms with one of his.
She arched and panicked under him, making him drop his pelvis against her. N-no!
His evil smile twisted into formation. At one time, that smile had made her blood run hot but now it scared her to death. There was a loud uproar in the apartment but she couldn’t discern any noise from the din, and she doubted anyone would be able to hear her. Tom got to what he wanted when he shoved her cheek aside, dropping his mouth to her exposed neck.
“This will only hurt a little, teeny bit. Promise.” He dropped all of his weight on her and she fought it. “You’ll only make it worse.” He breathed against her skin. “Now, let’s actually make you mine.”
“No!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, getting one of her arms free and throwing it against his head. James! Finally his name exited her mouth after several internal attempts.
“James!”
Tom pinned her to the floor. “He won’t save you this time.”
Her eyes pooled with tears. If her best swing couldn’t get him off, there was no hope for anyone else to help her. Just as she was resigning herself to the inevitable, the bedroom door flew open. Tom was wrenched off her and promptly chucked against the wall.
James took Tom by the shirt and punched him in the stomach, she counted three shots to the gut. Somehow, the blows had been debilitating enough to count Tom out for more than a few moments.
“Take him outside!”
Greg and Carter were somehow thrown into the mix and they both grabbed a hold of Tom.
Kara’s eyes caught the stunned looks of Greg and Carter before they dragged Tom by the back of his neck out of the bedroom.
James got her off the ground, using her elbows to lift her. “Are you alright?”
“I think so…” She put a hand on her stomach and her eyes met his.
“And the baby?” He stayed staring at her while the commotion of the new interruption raged on in the background. Someone really needed to turn off the music but at least it sounded like people were leaving.
“I hope,” she whispered.
He huffed from his laboured breathing.
“I’ll be back in a moment. Stay here.”
She went to open her mouth but he’d left quicker than she had time to stop him. She sat on the bed in defeat, trying to process what had happened and what would happen next.