I try to focus on the movie as the loud music runs through my ears. Ethan's roommate is having a "get together" tonight. This is normal for the weekends in this house. Being here is driving me crazy, but it's not as bad as it seems. All of Ethan's friends are extremely nice. When Ethan isn't here, they're constantly checking in with me. It's embarrassing to be in my situation, but this was the only solution. I can't go back to my mom's house. I won't burden Imani with my problems. I barely see her anymore, I don't think it would be appropriate to ask her for help.
The door opens and Ethan walks in with a bowl of popcorn. I smile and sit up, getting it from his hands. "I'm sorry about the noise." He laugh.
I smile back, eating a piece of the popcorn. "It's okay. I can almost drown it out with the tv."
He sits down next to me, "I'm sorry you're in this mess, Kat." He frowns.
"It's okay. I love her, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I just wish it was simpler." I look down at the bowl. "But I'm sure it'll all be worth it."
He nods. "Have you decided on-"
"No," I shrug, "I just want to do what's best with her. And I honestly think I should go back."
I don't want to be with Colby. I know he loves us and I know he's somewhat committed. But, I hurt him. He hurt me. We aren't good for each other, no matter how much we think we are. I haven't said a single word to him in two, almost three weeks. It's frustrating, but it's better.
Thankfully I haven't had any issues with my preeclampsia. The doctor prescribed me with a low dosage of Aspirin which will help my blood pressure stay low. They said I most likely will carry to full term, which is amazing news. If I have anymore complications, they will induce me.
"Well, I'll leave you alone." Ethan smiles, "Do you need anything else?" He asks me.
"No, this is perfect, thank you." I smile.
He smiles and begins to walk out the room.
"Hey, E?" I call.
He turns around, "Yeah?"
"Seriously, thank you for everything." I smile.
"Of course."
***
My door opens quickly, causing me to jump out of my sleep. My eyes adjust and I see a man standing at my doorway. I can't make out his features, all I see is his outline.
"Hello?" I ask.
He walks closer, not saying a word to me. I lean over and turn my lamp on. When I face back to him, I notice he has a black mask on his face. My heart begins to race when I notice another.
They look at each other before launching at me. One grabs my arms while the other slaps duck tape on my lips. I try to mumble through it while I try to thrash from them. They tighten their grips on my arms, leaving a burning sensation.
"Be careful bro." I hear one of them say. He looks at me, as if he was saying sorry.
I roll my eyes and let them have me. They're not trying to hurt me. They help me up and lead me out the house, putting a blindfold on me. I feel myself being sat in a car. They take the tape off my mouth slowly. The two men start to make a detailed plan about what they want to do with me.
"I still think this is a bad idea." One says.
"You think?" I mutter, moving my head the way I heard the voice.
"Look we're really not trying to fuck with you, okay?" The other says.
"Can I at least know what the fuck is happening?" I ask them angrily.
The car begins to move and I sit back more in the seat. I need to stay comfortable and not stressed out.
"We're being initiated into a fraternity. They told us in order to pass their test, we had to take you." The nicer one says. "My name is Jace if that helps you feel better."
"You're not supposed to let her know who we are!" The other says.
"Not like she's going to tell anybody. She knows it's all a joke." Jace tells him.
"Thank you, Jace, you're very kind." I say sarcastically.
"Let's just get her back, okay?"
***
"Damn you guys actually did it?!" I hear a new voice say as they push me into a house.
"Holy shit, no way." Another chuckles.
"Can you just hurry up with whatever you're doing? I'm supposed to be on bed rest." I snap at them.
I hear laughs from around the room.
"Sit her down and take the blindfold off."
I sit on a chair and the remove the blindfold. My eyes adjust to the light. I see five boys around me. There's two dressed in black. One has blonde shaggy hair, small but fit physique. The other has darker skin, is taller and has waves in his hair. The other three are dressed normally, all different shades of hair and skin. The one on the left has short red hair, pale and has freckles. He reminds me of Ian from Shameless. The one in the middle has brown hair and broad shoulders. The next, standing next to the shaggy blonde, has black coils hair and tanned skin.
"We're just going to take a picture and let you go, you can call your brother to come pick you up afterwards. It's just a little thing we do every year. We usually take one of the boys, but you're way better." The brunette says.
"You do realize I can have you all arrested for kidnapping right?" I furrow my eyebrows.
The blonde, who I now know is 'Jace', rolls his eyes and the rest smile. "Say cheese!" The 'leader' says. I roll my eyes and look away while they take a picture.
"Can I untie her now?" Jace asks.
They nod and he walks over to be quickly. I mutter a 'thank you' as he does so.
"You can just wait here until we get their reactions." He says. "It won't take too long, they should know what's happening." He reassures me.
"I just want to go back to my bed. I'm not supposed to be up like this. I can get seriously hurt." I tell him, tears whelping in my eyes as I think about what can happen.
"I'm so sorry. We didn't know." Jace says.
"It's fine," I rub my wrist as the blood comes back to them.
"Come sit on the couch, do you need anything?" He leads me over.
"No, it's okay." I shake my head.
The other boys have disappeared throughout the house. I look around, it's a normal boy house. Ethan's house isn't technically a "fraternity" but it's surrounded by many. I'm sure they've had a few enemies and competitions.
Jace sits on the chair across from me, staring at me intensely. "What are you looking at?" I snap.
"Nothing." He shrugs. "I just feel really bad about this."
I laugh at him and lay my head back on the couch. He feels bad, but he did it. That was his choice. I'll never understand men. They say they want one thing, but do the complete opposite.
Bangs on the door caused us to jump up.
"Kaden you better bring my sister to me right now or I swear to god I'll break this door down!" Ethan yells from the outside. I get up from the couch, but the brunette stops me. I let out a frustrated sigh and step back from the door.
He swings the door open, I see Ethan on the other side, along with two of his roommates.
"Are you fucking serious man?!" He yells before noticing me in the back.
"It was a joke, you know we do this shit every year." He responds.
"Taking my sister is too far!" He comes to me and grabs my face, "Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" He asks me. I nod my head and smile at him, "They didn't do anything, I promise."
"Look, it's no big deal. It was for initiation." The red head says.
"It doesn't matter, bro. You don't know the shit she's been through. How many times she's felt trapped and abandoned. You went too far." Ethan snaps at him. "Let's go." He grabs my hand and we start to walk out the door.
"I'm sorry!" Jace yells from inside.
Another car pulls up, I recognize it immediately. "You called him?" I slap Ethan's arm. He presses his lips together.
Colby jumps out of his car and runs to me. "Are you okay?" He asks me, rubbing his hand on my belly.
"I'm fine," I say quietly, taking his hand away from me.
"Come on, let's go home." He tells me.
I snatch my hand away. "Home? I'm not going back with you." He eyebrows furrow.
"Katelyn, it's for the best." Ethan says next to me. I look between the both of them.
I shake my head, "No it's not. Being around you makes me," I pause as I look at Colby, "never mind."
"You know it's not working, Kat. You need to be in a space that's not so stressful. After what happened tonight I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be at my house."
I frown and nod. Ethan's right. I need to be settled while I wait to have Lana. Moving before she's born is going to be hard on me.
"Okay," I sigh.
"I'll bring your stuff over tomorrow so you don't have to worry about it." Ethan tells me. I nod my head again and look at Colby. He has a small smile on his face.
"Can we go?" I ask them.
Ethan hugs me bye and kisses my head. "Thank you." I tell him.
"No problem," he smiles at me again.