He Calls Me Ice Princess

Chapter 24- The Tests

I was leaving the store when I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in a while. I’d been hoping she’d just left my life for good. Apparently she hadn’t. I sucked in a sharp breath, “Hello Elise.”

She scowled at me, “Hi. Where’s Tristan? What did you do to make him not come back to school?”

“Look, it’s none of your concern,” I snapped at her, trying to walk around her. She grabbed my arm and I yanked it out of her grasp.

She rolled her eyes, “Why are you even with him? I know you saw us kissing, so why are you still dating him?”

I turned my glare on her, “Because he was blackmailed into it. Now just leave us alone! Why do you care so much about him anyways?”

“He’s the one with the white hair,” she answered vaguely, but it made my blood turn cold. I knew exactly what she meant; she wanted him because he could shift into a white tiger.

I groaned and replied, “So what? Why does that matter so much to you? How do you even know about all this?” She went rigid.

“But he’s not the one, I just realized that. How could I have been so stupid!? He’s a male and he has black stripes; it’s someone else; of course!” She ranted to herself, looking like a crazy person.

I backed away a couple steps, “What are you talking about?” Elise suddenly snapped out of it and focused her gaze on me.

“I’m sorry for everything!” She explained and then ran off. I shook my head slowly, trying to get over my confusion. Then I decided it didn’t matter; she was out of my life for good. I grinned until I got in my car and remembered my reason for coming to the store. Well, here goes nothing.

An hour later, I was in my bathroom crying, because I was pregnant and Tristan was going to hate it. What eighteen year old guy wouldn’t? He surely didn’t want a kid now anyways. He was going to leave me.

I was extremely happy about everything else though; I’d always wanted a kid and as Alpha I had a good paying job. My baby would grow up fine, but fatherless. The only person left, besides Jason, was going to leave me.

A knock at the door startled me and I soon heard Tristan’s voice, “Riley, baby, are you okay? You’ve been in there since you got back.” I quickly threw away the tests and opened the door. He looked at me with wide eyes, “What’s wrong?”

I threw my arms around him, “I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me, please! I need you; I can’t do this without you.”

“What are you talking about?” He asked and I pulled back, wiping my eyes with my hands.

I gulped and spilled, “I’m pregnant.” I watched as Tristan stared at me, his eyes wide with shock. He suddenly started backing away and every last hope of him staying disappeared.

“I can’t,” He muttered before turning and running out the door. I felt my heart break and a sob wracked my body. I made my way to my bed and burrowed in the blankets where I could cry without anyone hearing.

Tristan’s P.O.V

I felt like a jerk as I ran away from Riley and heard her sobbing behind me. But my fear made it impossible to turn back. I made it to the bottom of the stairs before her brother stepped in my way.

He frowned, “Why is my sister crying? And why aren’t you up there with her? Are you a complete idiot?”

“She’s pregnant,” I whispered and went to move around him. But he stopped me by stepping in front of me.

Jason glared at me, “Then why are you down here? Shouldn’t you be up there, going on about which of you you’d rather it looked like?”

“No, I can’t be a dad. What if I turn out like Price?” I wondered out loud; fear gripping at me. What if I hurt my own kid and then Riley? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

Jason nodded in understanding, “You won’t. I’ve seen how you are with Riley and I know you would never hurt her or your kid. She knows that too. You’re thinking about this the wrong way.”

“Then how should I think about it?” I asked bitterly.

He sighed and shook his head, probably in annoyance, “You and Riley are having a kid! You should be excited!” That finally snapped me out of it and I realized he was right. And that I was an ass.

“I need to go,” I muttered, heading for the door.

Jason stared after me with shock, “Seriously, did you get nothing from my rant?”

“I did, I swear. You’ll see!” I exclaimed, before running out of the house. I had Riley’s key and I got in her car before speeding off, grinning like a maniac.

Riley’s POV

I heard my car pull into the driveway, but I didn’t move. I just lay curled up on my bed, not wanting to do anything. After a minute, I heard the door open and looked up to see Tristan standing in the door way. And he was holding a giant teddy bear and a bright red box. He wore a guilty expression and I knew exactly why.

I stopped my crying enough to ask, “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to apologize and explain. So I figured I could bribe you to talk to me,” He replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. He held out the teddy bear and the box which I noticed was a box of chocolates.

I shook my head, “I don’t want your bribe.”

Tristan sighed and muttered, “Okay, will you just listen to what I have to say?” I hesitated, thinking it over. Did I really want to hear something that could break my heart? Then again; it seemed impossible to feel any worse than I already did.

So I nodded, “You have two minutes.”

“Thank you. Okay, so I know I kind of freaked and ran out, but it was only because I was scared. Not about having a kid or even being responsible for a family. I just don’t want to turn out like my dad,” he admitted and I felt slightly guilty. But I ignored it; he’d made me cry for who knows how long.

I looked up at him with teary eyes, “Why didn’t you just tell me? You ran away and I thought you were going to leave forever.” My voice cracked and a few tears slipped down my cheeks.

“I could never leave you. And I should’ve just told you, but I didn’t think. I made it downstairs before Jason met me and knocked some sense into me,” he explained.

I pushed myself up a little more, “Did he hurt you?” I shouldn’t care, but I did; I still wanted him to be safe even if he hurt me.

“No, he only told me what an idiot I was being. And I realized he was right-”

I cut him off, “Then why didn’t you come back up right then? Do you know how much it hurt when I heard you leaving?” I watched pain flicker in his eyes and he frowned at me.

“I’m sorry. I figured I needed a way to apologize so I went to the store and got these,” he told me, gesturing to the presents that I hadn’t accepted. I nibbled on the inside of my cheeks as I tried to decide what to say.

Finally I asked, “Does that mean you still want to be with me? Even with a baby in the picture?”

Tristan nodded immediately, “Yes, I want to be with you forever- and our kid. I’m not going to leave, even if you want me to.”

“Well, you’re lucky I don’t want you to leave,” I said, sitting up a little more, the tears had stopped while we were talking.

“Good and I love you, Riley. I’m sorry I made you cry,” he said with obvious sadness on his face.

I shook my head, “It’s alright, but only because you got me chocolate and a teddy bear. Don’t leave me ever again.”

“Deal,” he agreed, kissing me gently. Then he pulled back and smiled sheepishly, “Also, I may have told your brother that you were pregnant.”

I stared at him in shock, “Did he freak out?”

“Not as much as I thought he would,” he said, shrugging. But apparently he spoke too soon, because not even a minute later Jason yelled for us to come downstairs, and he sounded angry. Great, just what I needed right now.