Gone Country

Chapter 17 (In A Jam)

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One hour, that's all it took for Brant to get a date. Fifty-five minutes to search through his old little black book of hotties, and five minutes work up the nerve to call one. Guess who was there, helping him relax and get into the dating zone.

This, stupid, unlucky girl.

I listened with a broken heart to him smooth talking a girl from high school named Kori Sanders. "She has flowing brown hair, an amazing body, way hotter than Caroline could ever think to be," is how he explained Kori to me. If she looked better than Caroline, all hope was gone for me.

I sat on the kitchen counter, listening in while he asked if she was free tonight. He went on to explain, more like lie, that Austin was nervous about taking a girl out and it would be a double date. Apparently, she didn't care. When he got off the phone, he shook be by the shoulders in pure elation. "She said yes, Char!"

I plastered on a smile and stroked his cheek while he widely grinned at the fact that he had a date. The look on his face, the look in his eyes, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. He really was happy. Caroline was tying him down no more. It was like watching a stallion, who had been confined to a barn most of his life, being released back into the wild with the other free horses. That's what he was, he was free.

He nuzzled his face in my hand, even giving my palm a kiss. "Thank you, Charlotte." His dark blue eyes seem to have lightened when they settled on me, like he thought that without me this wouldn't have been possible. He had no clue as to what I was giving up for his happiness, but that was my fault, not his.

"Are you really okay with us not staying together tonight? You aren't going to yell at me, are you?" he asked when he helped me down from the counter top. He grunted in pain when I accidentally hit his side.

"I'm not going to yell at you. The whole sleeping next one another needed to stop anyhow. We're not six anymore and I'm sure my dad is going to make start taking daily pregnancy tests if it keeps going."

Brant barked out a laugh, mostly because he knew that's something my father would do. I genuinely smiled on my way to the fridge to get him an ice pack. If he was gonna go out tonight, he needed to be in top notch condition. "A pregnant Charlotte..." Brant said in a tone full of wonder. He pulled me back into his chest, swaying us back and forth as if we were dancing. His hand rested on my stomach, gently rubbing my tummy in a circular motion. "You would look beautiful pregnant."

I highly doubted that one. "If I ever get pregnant..." I began.

"Which you will," he murmured against my ear.

I rolled my eyes at him when I looked over my shoulder to see his big goofy smile. "I doubt I'm going to look like those pregnant women modeling for maternity clothes. I'll be lounging around in my sweat pants, hair up in a messy bun, and stretching my man's t-shirt with my enormous belly. Yeah, it's not going to be the prettiest of sights."

He softly chuckled, turning me around to face him. "Like I said, you'll look beautiful." His pain meds must be kicking in, he clearly has gone delusional.

"Whatever," I snorted. "You go ice your side and I'll go find you something to wear tonight."

He took the ice pack from me, kissing my cheek in gratitude on the way out. No matter how terrible I wanted him to look tonight so this girl wouldn't dare go on another date with him, I already had my mind set on the opposite. On my way upstairs, I naturally passed Avery's room since it was on the way to Brant's. Inside was a weeping fourteen year old that I quickly went to console.

Avery was clutching a stuff animal to her chest, uncontrollably sobbing into the fur of the plushie toy. The happy, carefree girl I knew now looked like her world had come crashing down. I took a seat next to her and hug her to me. My shoulder became her crying place. I stroked her hair, murmuring comforting things even though I had no clue as to what was going on.

She cried and cried, unable to stop even for a moment to choke out a word. "What's wrong, Ave?" Asking her didn't help, she sobbed even more. "Should I call Jax?"

She literally screamed in agony while falling over onto the mattress and curling up in a ball. Jax definitely had something to do with this. I wiped her damp cheeks dripping with tears, hoping that she would soon tell me what was wrong so I could help.

"Whatever it is, it can't be nearly as bad as what I'm going through."

She was suddenly able to stop. "W-What's going on w-with you?" she stuttered out in reply.

I situated myself on the bed so I could lay on my side and stroke her hair in comfort. If there was anyone I could trust with this secret, it was definitely Avery. "Well, your brother is going on a date," I sighed. "I'm helping him prepare for it, I'm even about to go pick out his stupid clothes so he can go..." I let my head fall against her shoulder. "It wouldn't have been a bad thing if I wasn't in love with him."

She made me look at her, both of our eyes welling up in tears. Like most of everyone around us, she knew how Brant saw me, how this date he was going on was going to crush me. "You were right," she choked out. "Jax and I having a fight is nothing in comparison to this."

Somehow the roles switched. I became the one who cried and her the one who stroked my hair in comfort. I was so lost on what to do, I wanted my mom even more to help guide me in the right way, but I couldn't have her back neither could I even begin to think straight in order to do this on my own. My brain was hurting, my heart was hurting. Why was my life so difficult?

"I can't even begin to imagine how you feel, Charlotte," she murmured when we hugged one another. It was like a light had flipped on in my head. Her words gave me an idea of who could help me in this worse possible scenario. It was a risky move, not to mention I needed to sneak out of the house somehow without Brant knowing where I was headed. This was a bad idea that I needed to go through with.