There’s a knock on the apartment door. We both look that way. Weird, there was no buzzer from the front desk.
I get up and go answer it. Sienna is standing there.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand.
“We have to talk.” She walks past me into the apartment before I get a chance to stop her.
“Isn’t this cozy?” she snaps. “A date? Really?” She looks at Jada in a way that has my teeth on edge.
“It’s not a-” Jada starts.
“Yes, it fucking is,” I correct.
Jada jerks back, wide-eyed.
“You need to go. Now,” I tell Sienna and open the door wider, signaling for her to leave.
“I need to speak to you.”
“Then phone me.”
“I’ve been phoning. You don’t answer.”
“Wait, better yet, do it through lawyers,” I grit out.
“You don’t want to play it this way, Austin.”
She puts her hand on her flat stomach.
I roll my eyes.
“I have to go,” Jada hops down off her stool.
“Don’t move a muscle,” I warn, pointing at her. “Sienna, leave.”
“We need to sit down and talk stuff over, Austin. You know this.”
“Not right now we don’t. You don’t get to come here and demand I drop what I’m doing.”
Jada grabs her coat and shrugs it on, looping her backpack bag over both her shoulders. “I’m going. Talk to you later.” She tries to pass me, so I grab her hand and hold on.
“No. She’s leaving; you’re not.”
“Austin, for real.” Jada jerks her chin at Sienna. “It’s fine. You can talk to me whenever.” She waves her free hand.
I squat, put my shoulder to Jada’s belly, and haul her up over my shoulder. She gasps and calls out my name, but I ignore it. I turn around and storm to the end of the hall, shove the door to the master bedroom open, and deposit Jada on the bed. “Stay here. Don’t move,” I point.
“Aust-”
“I mean it. Stay here.” I turn around and close the door.
Sienna stands in the same place, arms folded across her chest.
“Just wanna say, that caveman shit is hot.” She smirks. “Feel free to carry me to your bed any time. Or, I mean, soon because in a couple months, that might prove a little tricky as I start to get fat.”
“You need to go. Shouldn’t you be in the state of California? Or… you want the state of California to revoke?”
“I took my father’s plane. It’s fine; no one has to know. It’s your fault for not coming to see me. You can make all this go away, too, and then I don’t have to worry about it. Here.” She reaches into her purse and pulls out a zippered bag and hands it to me. “See?”
It’s a pregnancy test inside and there’s a plus sign on the side.
I hand it back to her.
“This is the truth, Austin. I’m telling you. I’m showing you. Please, let’s just make this end.” She puts the test down on the island.
“How do I know it’s yours?”
She rolls her eyes. “Go get another test and I’ll pee on it.”
“How do I know it’s mine?”
“Actually, you don’t. But I told you I know my cycles, and…”
“In another month, we can do a paternity test,” I say. “Until then…” I let that hang. I fold my arms over my chest and jerk my chin toward the door.
“I want this dealt with, Austin. Can you understand that? We don’t need to go to court for this. That court date looming won’t be good for me or the baby. All that stress…”
“Of course you don’t want to face consequences for your actions, Sienna. You’re a spoiled little rich bitch used to getting her own way. Imagine having that go sideways? You can’t.”
“Austin, I’m sorry for what I did to you,” she says, looking me dead in the eye. “I was fucked up over your brother and all kinds of other crap going on in my life and I was drunk and pissed off, and made a kneejerk decision. A bad one. What I did was stupid and wrong. And I’m sorry that you’re so mad. I never expected this reaction from you. Never in a million years.”
“You expected me to let it go?”
“Yes, frankly. Because you’re a great guy. I might be a spoiled rich bitch and I was in love with your rich prick of a brother, but you’re different. And you might not remember that night, but I do, and even though I was drunk, I remember how great it felt to wake up next to you. And I’ve always liked you, Auz. You grew up good. I don’t see Aiden’s little brother when I look at you now. I see you. And maybe if your mother and brother hadn’t come in, we’d have woken up and talked about what happened and we could’ve started something.”
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m naïve enough to believe that. Or remotely interested in you. And if you’d gotten my brother instead I’m sure you wouldn’t be giving him the same apology. You’d be gloating that you cost him Carly and you’d be trying to plan out your shotgun wedding of convenience with him even if he hates your guts because you’re the type who has to win.”