Sarah had given me Katie's address and now I'm sitting outside of her apartment complex feeling a wave of nausea ride through me. I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to have this conversation. How does one go about a situation like this?
Does one just say, "hey is that my kid swimming around in your belly?" Or better yet, "I know we had a one-night-stand but I was so fucked up I can't remember if the condom busted but I'm pretty positive it did... so is that my kid?" I'm pretty sure neither of those things is the right thing to say.
Fuck my fucking life.
I jump out of my truck and head for the shady looking building. Sarah was right, this place is a dump. If this is my child they aren't growing up in a neighborhood like this, I can tell you that fucking much. My father and mother used to live in an apartment building right around the corner. From what I'd heard the place had been all but condemned. I'd say this building was pretty close to that as well.
I walk up the staircase with a dilapidated railing and cringe at the dead rat that's right outside the front door. You've got to be fucking kidding me. If Katie knew this baby was my baby why she didn't try to extort money from me is beyond me.
I suppose most people don't know I actually have it though. If one were to look at me or my father I don't think they'd guess my family came from money. Not with the way we acted and the tattoos that riddle both of our bodies.
I'd gotten a lot of my father's looks and a lot of his personality. He never acted like he had money and that's most likely because before he'd met my mother he'd had none. Knowing he lived in this same area of Boston was definitely a sign of that. What my mother was doing trying to make it on her own out here I'll never fucking know.
I blow out a long breathe before opening the large glass door. There's no buzzer. There's no doorman. There's no type of security whatsoever here. And this is because no one in their right mind would want to live here. No one nine months pregnant should want to live here. It's probably one of the most dangerous parts of the city.
I walk into the building and am immediately assaulted by the stench of stale cigarettes and the sound of dogs barking. There's a couple screaming at each other from somewhere in the building and the sound of someone fucking in another. I look at the apartment numbers on the first floor that all begin with the letter A and am assuming she's up on the fourth floor since her number begins with a D.
I walk over to an old elevator in the back and cringe at the thought of getting inside of that thing. Luckily I won't have to because it has an out of order sign on it. I make my way back to the entrance where a large staircase is and begin my journey upwards thinking about how Katie has to do this every single day. Fuck that. Especially being nine months pregnant, I don't know how she does it. It's a miracle she hasn't gone into premature labor.
Once I make it to her floor I look around. D20. I'm looking for D20. I walk down the long, narrow hallway cringing as I pass a man passed out on the ground with a needle in his arm. He's fucking comatose, well that, or he's dead. I shake my head and make my feet continue.
What in the actual fuck is Katie doing living in a place like this?
Once I reach the appropriate number I pause outside the door hearing a series of moans from a male. I hear a loud grunt and a few seconds later he says, "that only covers half of this months rent, Kat. I'll see you again to collect the rest. That or you better expect to swallow next time." The door opens and I'm met face to face with a fat middle-aged man who I'm going to assume has a wife and kids at home even though he was just messing around with a pregnant woman.
"Who the fuck are you?" He asks looking me up and down. "Let me guess, her baby daddy?" I don't think twice before throttling the guy. "Hey hey, it's not my fault you don't help her with the rent. I need some form of payment and a blow-job is a pretty good deal."
"You're fucking disgusting." I spit the words out to him. "Extorting a pregnant woman for sexual favors because she can't pay her fucking rent is despicable."
"Have you seen her? Even for a pregnant woman she's gorgeou-"
I don't let him finish his perverted statement. "Get lost you fat fuck." I was barely able to grit the words out before dropping his fat ass to the ground and walking into the apartment without an invitation. I slam the door behind me and look at the horrifying scene in front of me.
Katie is still on her knees, in a lace bra with her round belly out. She's spitting out the remnants of this guys jizz from her mouth. She looks up at me with hollow tear-filled eyes. I can hardly stomach the fact that she'd just been doing what she was doing. She's fucking pregnant for fuck's sake. That guy is a complete piece of shit if there ever was one. I can feel my body trembling with barely concealed rage.
"What..." she blinks up at me in confusion, "what the hell are you doing here, Seth?" She lets out a dry laugh. "I'm going to guess it's not for another fuck since you haven't given me a single one after sleeping with me."
"What?" I shake my head at her. "No, I'm not here for another fuck, Katie."
"You've never wanted to have sex with a pregnant chick?" She shakes her head in disgust saying, "It's surprisingly a pretty big fetish for a lot of guys. I swear I've had more men hit on me like this than when I wasn't carrying around this beach ball." I walk over to her without a word and hold out a hand to her when I see she has a hard time standing. "Thanks." She said as I help pick her up off her knees. Once she's steady she looks me in the eye saying, "so what the hell are you here for then?"
"I uh, uh..." I run my hand through my hair, "I'm only here to ask you one thing."
"What?" She crosses her arms across her chest, over her large stomach. "What do you want to ask me, Seth?"
"Are you..." I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know even remotely know how to ask this, nor do I really want to. "Is it mine?"
"You're here to ask if this is your baby after nearly nine months?" I grit my jaw and give her a nod. "What do you think?"
"If it is my baby then you've known for this long and haven't told me. Why the fuck haven't you told me?"
"Because it was a one time deal between you and I. You know, I'd only slept with one other fighter before you." She laughs. "But then I'd seen you fight and couldn't help but want you. Now look at me." She continues her dry laughter saying, "you don't care about this." She points at her naked belly. My child. "No one cares about a pregnant ring girl. They just leave them."
"Katie, stop. I'll help you."
"I don't need your help, Seth." She reaches for a bottle of water and takes a sip of it. "You've helped enough. Because of this pregnancy I've lost my good apartment because I lost my job. This is all I can afford." She gestures around her. "And I barely can afford this shit anymore. No one wants to hire a pregnant girl. Guess it's a good thing I'm pretty and my landlord has a fucked-up fetish."
"I'll move you out of here." I offer. "I can get you your own place, Katie."
"It's fine, Seth. I'm almost due and I'm giving the baby up for adoption. There's nothing for you to help with."
"No. You're not giving up my kid. Why the fuck didn't you tell me? I could've helped you with all of this." I let out a hearty sigh saying, "I know I may not seem like it but I'm actually a decent guy, Katie."
"Hey don't put this on me. Sarah is the one who told me not to tell you. She said she'd fucking kill me if I told you I was pregnant. Kill me, Seth. You know Sarah. I'm pretty sure she would've actually done it. She's fucking obsessed with you."
Speaking of killing... I'm going to fucking kill Sarah.
My mind is blown. Sarah had been the one to tell me but also the one to tell her not to tell me. That fucking manipulative cunt. Now, here is this beautiful shell of a woman giving head while nine months pregnant because she has no other income. Sarah knows I could've helped her. Hell, Sarah's probably the fucking reason she lost her job.
"Listen," she blinks a few more times as I speak to her, " fucking hell, Katie. Are you okay?" She looks like she's going to be sick.
"I just," she gags "I just feel a little hot. I feel... I feel like." And before I even know what's happening she's falling backward.
"Jesus!" I catch her falling form. "Katie?" She doesn't respond she just lets out soft faint breaths.
I place her body on her full-sized bed. I stand there, staring at her pregnant self in absolute disbelief. I kneel next to her nearly comatose form and place my hand on her round belly with tears forming in my eyes.
"I'm so sorry." I feel myself sob and choke on tears as I feel subtle kicks against my hand. "I'm so fucking sorry." The movement continues from the small life inside her stomach.
"My child will have a better life than this." I mumble the words to myself and to this little active life beneath my palm in reassurance.
This is the last time Sarah manipulates my life ever again.