Thirty Five: Vitamins
Sometime Isa liked to just sit and watch.
As she sat behind the counter the next day, she did just that. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and Adrian didn't open the daycare - he never did, so he was at the store as Isa's watchdog.
He was sitting at the little reading corner, entering some information about his payments or something like that into his computer was what Isa could understand from what he talked about in the car, along with some more complicated things like planning lessons, and meals, and outside days for all the babies. He looked so calm and at peace, so...innocent.
Adrian had been a little distant since yesterday. He was quiet, wouldn't make eye contact with Isa, or even talk to her, and that pissed her off, hurt her feelings. She liked it when he was open with her and he was slowly closing off completely.
Every few minutes he would look up from his work to see what Isa was doing, and every time she was doing the same thing: staring at him. That second, he looked up, his bright eyes locking with hers, a frown appearing on his face.
Letting out a quiet side, Isa gave him a small smile followed by a quirky wink when his own lips lifted in response to her smile.
"Come here," Adrian mouth, beckoning he said to him with those long fingers of his.
Isa's cheeks heated with a blush, adding a pink tinge to her pretty brown skin as she shook her head with a giggle, "I can't," She whispered back to him, loving the sparkle that entered his eyes as the two playfully flirted.
"Baby, come here," Adrian repeated himself, louder this time. Katie, Isa's cashier heard him, and nudged Isa away from her leaning position on the counter and closer to the edge, "Go, Sweetie, I can handle this," She laughed, giving her one last nudge in Adrian's direction.
Isa watched as Adrian witnessed Katie's little nudge, and saw his eyes darken, the small smile leaving his face as a glower so intimidating that it made Isa flinch took its place. Before he could curse out her employee, Isa rushed over to him at the quickest humanly pace she could possibly manage, and pushed him down from where he had started to stand up, more than likely ready to start an altercation, "Adrian, don't-"
"She needs to keep her fucking hands off of you!" Adrian snapped loudly.
Wincing, Isa glanced back to see Katie's eyes wide, hearing what Adrian had said.
Adrian continued to rant, "I mean, I don't understand why it's so fucking hard for people to just keep t their God damned hands to themselves! My two year olds know how-"
Isa pressed her lips to his roughly, standing on top of his toes so that she could reach him, and still had to pull his head down to accommodate to her small stature. Adrian grunted into her mouth in shock, but stopped talking, making Isa sigh as she spoke to him through the link they shared through her marking him, Adrian you can't do this, especially not with my employees! She was only pushing me to go to you.
He pulled away from her, a fire still brewing behind his gaze as Isa gripped his hands in hers, squeezing them as hard as she possibly could. A wave of satisfaction rushed through her when he actually winced, Isa, don't yell at me. I'll apologize okay?
She wasn't appeased as she watched Adrian break gazes with her, and look over at Katie, "I...apologize, Karen-"
"Katie-" Isa corrected him quietly.
"Oh, sorry-Katie," Adrian corrected himself, "I'm just a little on edge, I don't like people manhandling my woman."
"I-It's fine, Mr. Lew," Katie stuttered out easily, making Isa let out a sigh of relief, scared Adrian had scared away the nice girl.
Ryan emerged from the back, a stack of books in his hands, a frown on his face as he stared at Isa, "Sweetie, what are you doing here?" He asked, making Isa frown in confusion as she pulled herself out of Adrian's arms, attempting to take some of the books from her manager's arms, "Working?" She asked, clueless.
He chuckled, maneuvering the books away from his boss then, "It's one forty, child. Your lunch started an hour ago."
Shit. Adrian was going to be all on her ass for skipping the meal.
"You told me your lunch was at three," Adrian accused her, making her groan.
With a loud sigh, and a glare in Ryan's direction for selling her out, Isa grumbled, "I wasn't hungry, so I just was going to skip lunch,"
Before she had even gotten the sentence all the way out, Adrian was gripping her arm in his large hand, his fingers so long that they overlapped after wrapping all the way around her small bicep, "Thanks, Ryan," He called, grabbing up his computer bag in his free arm and shouldering it as he headed towards the entrance, "We'll be back in an hour,"
And with that, Isaline was dragged out the building.
"Adrian, didn't you just yell at one of my employees for manhandling me?" Isa snapped, digging her heels into the ground as she tried to pull out of Adrian's grasp.
After a few violent tugs, she found herself free, but with that freedom came gravity catching up with her, which meant she landed flat on her ass in the middle of the sidewalk, staring wide eyed up at Adrian, whose face of shock mirrored hers. The difference in reactions came when Isa burst into laughter at the whole situation, while Adrian's face darkened in a type of anger that Isa hated to have directed towards her from him. He looked as if he were about to yell, and Isa hated that.
"WATCH WHERE THE FUCK YOU'RE GOING!" He roared so loudly that Isaline could have sworn she felt the ground shake as he gripped her arm, jerking her up easily.
Her laughing died instantly, "Adrian, calm down, I just fell is all. Why are you mad?"
"I'm mad because you're fucking pregnant, and you won't fucking stop rough housing and letting these people play with you as if you're....Shit."
Upon seeing her confused face, Adrian trailed off, ending his rant with an emotion filled curse as he stared down at Isa from his six foot, four inch frame touring over her five feet and maybe two inches on on a good day.
What the hell was this man talking about?
"I'm not pregnant, Adrian," Isa said lowly, and slowly, as if she were talking to an idiot.
Hell she might be.
"Yeah, baby, you are." Adrian responded just as slowly, his eyes shining in that beautiful way they did when he was being honest.
Isa felt sick to her stomach.
Probably because there was baby growing in there.
"What?" She gasped, jerking her arm away from him when he tried to take her into his grasp once more, "Don't, Adrian."
Sighing, he ran a hand over his long hair, shaking his head as he nodded towards where his car was parked across the lot, "Let's.... Let's just get you some food, and then we'll talk, okay? I'll answer all of your questions, but you need to eat."
Isa was so shocked, she couldn't even fight against Adrian as he took her hand in his gingerly, giving her a reassuring squeeze when he noticed she didn't resist. At a snail's pace, the couple made their way across the parking lot where his car was parked, tears dripping down Isa's cheeks as she let Adrian buckle her in after she was inside his midnight black sedan-his car choice for the day.
"Hey," He tipped her chin up, wiping her tears with his thumbs so gently that they were immediately replaced with more, "I'm going to take care of you, of our baby, okay?"
The sob that had been lodged in her throat escaped then, a raw, loud sound that hurt her throat as she threw her arms around Adrian's neck, upset that this had happened, but needing him none the less. Adrian stiffened in shock at the sudden embrace-probably expecting her to lash out at him- but after a few seconds, he lifted his muscular arms, the arms that were Isa's home, her safe haven, and held her just as desperately, burying his face in the crook of her neck, and rubbing her back as she seemed to cry even harder.
Just as quickly as the tears started, they stopped. Adrian was still in the same position, kneeling on the side of his car, Isaline in his embrace. He held her for a few minutes more, then hesitantly pulled away, a guilty look so prominent in his wide eyes that Isa immediately knew that he had something to do with this... with this baby inside her, and not just the act of it. He knew something, and he was hiding it.
She'd get her answers.
The ride was absolutely silent. Adrian had tried to flick on the radio, but the second he did, Isa lifted her fingers, and turned it off in less than the blink of an eye. She wanted the silence, it gave her time to think. To think of all the questions she had and would need answered the second they returned to her store.
They stopped at a fast food restaurant that Isa liked, and Adrian ordered for her, a quarter pounder burger, a large fry, and her favorite, a large orange juice. She ate in silence, nibbling only to satisfy Adrian's need to have her fed, stopping the second he seemed fine with it.
Her mind was elsewhere as they sat at the booth in the back of the restaurant. Isa was staring out the window, mind racing as Adrian watched her in silence. Her tears had dried long ago, but left dried, salty trails down her cheeks in their wake.
How far along was she? Probably not that far as she was still small.
That did explain the few pounds she had gained though. She was guessing she was a few weeks along.
"I'm ready to leave," She stated in a monotonous voice, finally letting her troubled gaze land on Adrian.
He frowned, pushing her burger closer to her, "Finish eating and we'll leave."
Isa was shaking her head before he even finished his demand, "No."
"Isa-"
"No!" Her voice had risen, and had drawn the eyes of the other customers eating lunch.
Adrian stood up then, taking her food and throwing it away, murmuring, "Okay, okay. We'll leave, alright?"
With his large hand splayed across the small of Isaline's back, Adrian led her to the car, her juice in his hand. He buckled her in once more, Isa dodging his lips when he tried to kiss her, and they headed back to Sweetie's Bookstore, where Isa and he made a beeline foe her office. Neither of her employees that were there at the moment spoke to her, seeing the rigid set of his face, and the nervous, guilty one of Adrian's.
Isaline heard Ryan tell Katie, "Close up, and head home, kid. I'll call when Ms. Ford says we can return."
"Is she okay?" Katie whispered, making Isa stop in her tracks, then turn around, pressing a kiss to the nineteen year old's forehead as Adrian disappeared into her office, "I'm fine, sweetheart." She murmured, pushing the younger girls blonde bangs from her face, "I've just got some things to hanfle. Go out, 'kay? And I'll call you when you can come back, or tell you if I'm gonna close up for the day. Either way you'll be paid-and you too, Ry."
Thanking them, Isa headed back to her office after her best two employees had helped her out by closing shop, then making themselves scarce.
Adrian was pacing her office when she entered, his face pulled taut into a deep frown, his eyes focused on the floor as he ate the distance of the room up with his long strides before turning around, only to repeat the process.
Isa sat down in the chair across from her desk, watching Adrian pace for five more minutes before he sat down in her office desk, spinning around in the chair slowly, which only seemed to irritate Isaline even more, after watching him spin, and spin, and spin like a fucking spinning top for over ten minutes. Isa glared at the chair, stopping it with her mind before taking a deep, calming breath.
There was no use going into this conversation angry; it wouldn't help anything or anyone.
Her steep eyes focused on his, and she licked at her lips nervously before taking another much needed deep breath, "So...you think that I'm pregnant."
He pulled his hand over his face again before letting out a groan, "No. I know you're pregnant."
"How?" Isa's heart was racing, still praying that this was some sick, cruel joke he was playing on her.
"I can smell it-the baby. I can sense the changes in your body; sensed it the moment my sperm fertilized your egg."
"And...And how long ago was that?" Isa croaked, refusing to let the tears in her eyes fall.
This was not what she wanted at all.
Adrian didn't speak for a moment before almost inaudibly giving Isaline the information she wanted, "My birthday.
"You never gave me the plan B..." She trailed off in a whisper, "Why didn't you remind me?"
Adrian broke off gaze with Isa then, clearing his throat as he worried at his bottom lip with his teeth, "Because I did it....on purpose." He finally admitted, "I wanted to get you pregnant, so I did. I'm sor-" He cut himself off mid-apology, and Isa knew it was because he would have been lying. He wasn't sorry.
Hearing him say that-her temper flew out the window.
"YOU KNOW WHAT I SAID ABOUT US AND BABIES,ADRIAN!" She screamed, anger so prominent in her that it scared her. The pictures, books, pens, and pencils on her desk all began to shake.
When she became too upset, Isa couldn't control
And while Isa was livid, Adrian was just as upset, "Why in the fuck do you think I did it, Isa? Huh? You sat there and told me that nothing good would ever come from anything we made!"
Her jaw hit the ground, silver eyes wide as he stared at him, appalled.
He'd done this on purpose. He'd gotten her pregnant on purpose!
To prove that not everything that came from him was poison.
Isa didn't know what the hell to feel.
Either way, that wasn't his call to make, even if she had hurt his feelings. This was them bringing a baby into this world! A baby. She didn't want her child-as much as she wanted her own baby- to have to deal with the insanity that was her and its father's relationship. She didn't want it to have to choose sides, and have to hear them fight. She didn't want this, not for her baby.
She'd get an abortion before she put it through the drama that would undoubtedly come with having them as its parents. The child would be completely and utterly unhappy.
Adrian, having heard her thoughts-she couldn't control her barrier when she became upset either- gripped Isa's arm in his hand, making her jump-she hadn't even seen him move, "You're not killing my baby-our baby, Isa. No." He said it gently, tears welling in his eyes as he removed his grip from her arm, only to replace his hand on her flat stomach, "I'm not as bad as you think I am, okay? I promise I'm not. Don't kill our baby. I need this Isa. Please?"
He fell to his knees, burying his head in her stomach as Isa listened to the sobs that wracked both his body and hers.
He kept saying it: our baby, and every time, something inside of Isa lurched, made her feel as if she was going to be sick, but she didn't have the heart to kill an innocent anyways, it was a panicked thought. Adrian should have known that.
Hesitantly, Isa's hand buried itself into Adrian's curls, and as he cried into her stomach, Isa cried to herself, tears rushing as she stared across the room.
This was not how this was supposed to go, this wasn't her plan.
She was supposed to be married. She didn't want to have a bastard child, and she hadn't wanted a child in general with Adrian.
He fucked up her plans. She was hurt.
What Adrian did, he did it without taking into consideration how Isa would feel about all of this.
"We'll get married then. Our son won't be a bastard. I don't have a ring, but I can get one.We'll do this your way," Adrian sniffled, standing up, and taking Isaline's hand in his, "I'll do whatever you want, just keep him."
Him?
Jesus Christ, there's a fucking kid in me, and he's talking about marriage, just so that I'll feel as if I stuck to my plan.
"I...I-" She was speechless, lost, her throat closing up, but somehow she managed to let out an accusation, "You wanted me to move in so you could take care of me as this pregnancy progressed."
He nodded, still refusing to look at her, "Yes... but I wanted you with me as well."
Her hand whipped back, and she struck Adrian as hard as she could, watching his head fly to the left from the force behind her hit, before she drew back and did it again, "You inconsiderate, selfish asshole!" She screamed as Adrian cupped his cheek, shaking his head as he cursed, spitting out blood, before looking at Isa. His lip was busted, and she immediately felt guilty, but she didn't make any moves to comfort him, watching him through anger filled eyes.
Gripping his collar in her hand, Isaline dragged him down to her height, speaking so angrily into his face that he actually flinched, "I swear to God, Adrian Marquise Lew Junior, if you ever pull some backhanded shit like this again, I will fucking destroy you. I will take this baby, and I'll leave, and you'll never see either one of us again. DO you understand me?"
His eyes were wide as he nodded, pulling her into his arms, "Thank you, Isa. Thank you so much." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to her neck.
"Get the fuck off of me," She spit, shoving him from her roughly, before picking up her phone, and calling, telling Ryan and Katie she was shutting down for the day, and she'd clock them out at their normal times.
"Are we going home?" Adrian asked.
"I need to go to the doctor," Isa spit, "Seeing as I'm...four weeks pregnant. I need pre-natals, and to be sure it's okay. Your stupid ass should have known all this, and told me sooner."
Dutifully, Adrian pulled out the lot, and together, they went to a doctor that Adrian knew about two hours out the way that specialized in vampiric pregnancies. No humans that weren't with vampires were in sight, and the only human in the waiting room was sitting with, and pregnant with a vampire. Isa could smell the difference in her scent and the sweet aroma of the baby growing inside of her. She wondered if that's what she smelled like to Adrian.
Ten months.
That's how long she could be carrying her baby, just like some human women would, but the difference was, that in the last two months, the baby's abilities would be manifesting, making her more powerful until her due date, which was in September, and then, when it was born, the powers would go dormant until the child was five.
Isa couldn't believe there was a baby growing inside of her, all because she had been stupid enough to believe that he would pull out, and he had been planning to knock her up for weeks.
Adrian was quiet, sitting in the passenger's seat after letting Isa win the fight to drive home. She knew he wanted to touch her. From her peripheral, she'd see his hands twitch before he balled them into fists, seeming to know that if he placed a finger on her, she'd lash out at him again.
When they got home, Isa took the prenatal vitamins she had been prescribed, and just to be safe, the ones she bought over the counter as well, before sitting down at the island, staring out the window that showed off the amazing backyard as Adrian gave her the much needed space.
She was scared. There were so many different reasons why, she wasn't sure why because of that. She was so stupid, not noticing all those damned symptoms earlier, and she felt played by Adrian who had acted worried and as clueless as she was, when in retrospect, he had known the whole time.
Hours passed by, and she was still in the same spot, staring out the window as she tried to figure out how to explain to her family-to her father- that his baby was having a baby. He'd be happy, he loved his grandson and was already pestering his middle child for more, but Isa was sure she was a different story. He still didn't want to believe that she was sexually active- what dad did? And now, he was going to know that Adrian had fucked her good and proper, and now a baby was being thrown into the mix.
A shiver of disgust flew down her spine.
Just ew.
She'd have to tell Del.
Adrian already told her that Nicole knew, and so did his parents and Leo. He'd told them not to mention anything because she'd been oblivious until about eight hours ago.
When they went to bed that night, Isa lay on her side, back to Adrian, and didn't even tell him goodnight, or give him the goodnight kiss that had become ritual.
"Night, Isa," He whispered anyways, running his nose across her cheek, making Isa flinch.
She waited until his breathing was even, and then she let out a shaky breath she had been fighting to keep in all day.
She cried herself to sleep that night.