12Chapter Two:
Brielle collapsed onto the couch, feeling as though her knees had given out from beneath her. Pregnant. The word resonated in her brain and she began to feel slightly dizzy. How was that even possible? They had been safe. Of course, Brielle knew that condoms weren't one hundred percent guaranteed. But ninety-nine percent of the time they worked. Was she really that small one percent?
She was having a difficult time processing the concept.
Sensing that her best friend was close to a mental breakdown, Emily sat down next to her, placing a comforting hand on her thigh. Emily was in shock herself. Softly she asked, "What are you going to tell Kevin?"
Brielle glanced sharply in Emily's direction. "Kevin?"
Emily stared, confused as to why that would be such a shocking question. "Well, yeah. Don't you think he ought to know?"
Realization dawned on her and Brielle's head fell into her hands with a groan. Emily was completely clueless of her drunken affair with Logan, so of course she would assume Kevin was the father. The truth was that Kevin and Brielle hadn't been together in that way for much longer than they had been broken up.
Taking her groan as a sign of distress, Emily rubbed her shoulder. "I know he's a right awful git, Brie, but you're going to have to tell him. If the only reason being that he should do right by you."
Brielle expelled a long breath. "Kevin's not the father."
Emily raised an eyebrow. "Well then… who is?"
A bunch of rather graphic images flooded Brielle's brain. Logan's hands slid up her thighs, pushing the hem of her dress higher… His lips caressed her neck as he lifted her, carrying her in the direction of the bedroom… Quickly, she shoved the thoughts from her mind.
Brielle ran a hand through her hair, "Do you remember at Todd and Amy's wedding a couple months ago when you told me to have a one night stand to take my mind off of Kevin?"
"Yeah… but I didn't think you took me serious?" She said it as a question.
Brielle's head fell into her hands again, "I really wish I hadn't..."
Emily's eyes widened. "So, who exactly did you end up with then?"
Brielle couldn't bring herself to say his name. She bit her bottom lip. "Well… let's just say I took your suggestion for "hot, angry sex" far too literal…" she said, referring to the comment Emily had made about her hooking up with Logan.
Emily let out a gasp of shock as realization struck her. "Brie! You do know that I was only joking when I said to go and have hot, angry sex with Logan Steele, right?"
"I know! God, I don't even know how it happened… One minute we were arguing as usual, and the next thing I knew I was getting in a cab with him and we couldn't keep our hands off each other!"
Emily was quiet for a moment before she narrowed her eyes. "I always knew you had the hots for him."
"Emily! This is not a joke!" Brie leaned forward, her head in her hands. "What the hell am I going to do?"
Emily frowned. "You're going to have to tell him." Brie looked up at her, horrified. "No matter what you decide to do— and no matter what your feelings are for him— he deserves to know." Emily continued.
Brielle frowned. She knew Emily was right. She just didn't know how the hell she was going to say.
X.x.X
A week had passed and Brielle still wasn't completely sure what she was going to do. She had gone to the doctor and, after a blood test, he had confirmed what she had already known— she was one hundred percent, without a doubt, pregnant.
Six weeks to be exact.
She glanced over at her purse which housed the paperwork that proved it. Upon looking at the purse, she felt a surge of guilt in her stomach. She knew she should have told Logan by now. Despite their dislike for one another, he deserved to know.
She just didn't know how to tell him.
What was she supposed to say, exactly? I know that it's been a little over a month since we've seen each other—not to mention that we can't stand to be around one another—but, hey, I'm pregnant with your child! Somehow she didn't think that would go over well. Even just her showing up to his apartment would have been weird.
But despite the fact that she had no idea what exactly she was going to say, she knew she had to at least say something. He deserved to know her intentions at least. Unsurprisingly, she had thought of little else over the past two weeks. She had decided to keep the baby—of that she was certain. True, the baby was unplanned and, frankly, a hell of a surprise, but in Brielle's opinion there was no other option. As for Logan, she had no real expectations; she planned to raise the baby with or without his help. But she knew he still deserved to know he was going to have a child in the world regardless.
With that thought sealed in her brain, Brielle stood from her chair and picked up her purse. She may not have known what she was going to say, but she was going to say something. She stuck her head into her boss's office. "I'm going to take my lunch hour now if that's okay."
Marie glanced up from her computer, pulling herself away from whatever she had been focusing on. "Sure."
Brielle nodded and walked out of the office, steeling herself for the conversation she dreaded to have.
X.x.X
Things had been steadily improving for Logan over the past few weeks. He had gotten his hands on a major account which he was excited to sink his teeth into. If there was one thing Logan was good at, it was his job at his advertising company. He had a way of looking at things that other people didn't. It allowed him to consider other peoples perspective—and what was more important in advertising than appealing to people's points of view?
And if he landed the account it would score huge for the company—which would effectively erase the little mishap that had set him back a few weeks ago. Logan was about to dive into the account when there was a buzz from the intercom on his desk.
"Mr. Steele, you have a visitor," the disembodied voice of his secretary uttered through the intercom.
Logan glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. He didn't have an appointment for a few hours. He held the button down, "Who is it?"
"A Ms. McKenna; she doesn't have an appointment but she's very, uh, insistent that she see you now."
Logan paused, surprised. What was Brielle doing at his office? He held the button down again, "That's okay. Send her in."
He stood from his seat at his desk and rounded his chair which was draped with his suit jacket. Silently, he wondered what she could want. They hadn't seen each other since that one night a few weeks ago. Upon some unspoken agreement, they had both decided to blame the temporary insanity on the copious amount of alcohol they had both consumed and to leave it at that.
They were to never mention it again. So why was she here?
Before he could ponder it any further, Brielle walked into his office. She must have just come from work—possibly on her lunch hour—as she was dressed professionally in a steel gray pencil skirt with a stark white dress shirt tucked into it. She wore what looked like very expensive heels which did incredible things to her legs.
Logan forced himself to look at her face. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the front of his desk. "So what do I owe the honor of being graced by your presence?"
She cleared her throat, ignoring his sarcasm. "I need to talk to you about something."
Logan frowned. The fact that she didn't offer a quip back was extremely odd in itself, but when Brielle began to pace back in forth in front of him, Logan became really confused. She looked uncomfortable and unsure of herself—two things Logan could honestly say he'd rarely seen in Brielle over all the years he'd known her. A thought struck him, and he became alarmed.
"Did something happen to Ryan?" He asked, referring to her older brother and his best friend. It was the only reason he could think of that would explain why she was pacing in his office of all places, looking so distressed.
Brielle stopped pacing, realizing she was making things much worse than they needed to be. "No, no. Ryan's fine." She assured him.
Logan felt himself relax, but the confusion quickly followed. "So what's going on then?"
She shook her hands and then clasped them. "Okay. Look, I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to come right out with it," Despite her words, she paused.
Logan raised an eyebrow at her silence. When she continued to pause, he let out an annoyed huff. "Is this a silent conversation or are you planning on speaking anytime soon—"
"I'm pregnant," She cut him off.
Logan's face paled, his mouth dropping open slightly. It would have been almost comical, had Brielle had any room for humor at the moment. As it was, her stomach remained in knots as she awaited his response.
Logan physically heard what she had said, but he was having a very difficult time processing it. Pregnant. Just the sound of the word caused a shudder to run through him when it wasn't even directed at him. Now that it was, he felt like his head was spinning. When he continued to remain silent—and began to look like he was about to have an aneurism— Brie's nerves finally got the best of her.
She wrung at her hands. "I took a home pregnancy test and it was positive. But I went to the doctor just to make sure. I'm six weeks along."
Logan expelled a breath, but only managed to utter one word, "How?"
She raised her eyebrows. "The usual way…"
Impatient, he shook his head. "No—I mean, how? We were safe. Multiple times."
She lifted her shoulders in a slow shrug. She had asked herself the same thing. "I guess one broke… or they were out of date. I don't know."
He ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Weren't you on the pill?"
Brielle sighed. "The pill makes me sick, I can't take it."
He was quiet for a while, and Brielle said nothing either. She didn't know what else to say. Now he was the one who began to pace, a million thoughts running through his head. Brielle watched as he stopped suddenly, his head popping up to look at her as though just realizing something. "Are you sure it's mine?"
Brielle felt her head snap back as though she was smacked. She narrowed her eyes. "Of course I'm sure it's yours. Despite what you may think, I don't make a habit of sleeping around."
He shook his head. "Don't look at me like that. It's not like it's that crazy of a question. Didn't you just break it off with your boyfriend that same day that we got together?"
"Yeah, I did. But Kevin and I haven't been together in that way for much longer than we've been broken up. We had been having problems for a while." She shrugged. "I'm only six weeks along. How long ago was Todd's wedding? Do the math if you don't believe me."
He remained quiet—from shock or disbelief, Brie wasn't sure. She had known this wasn't going to go well. She had mentally prepared herself for it—but she felt tears begin to well behind her eyes nonetheless. She forced them back. "Look, Logan, I didn't tell you because I expected anything from you. I have no problem raising this baby on my own. I just thought you deserved to know is all."
Logan studied her, but once again remained quiet.
Still feeling emotional, and not wanting Logan to see it, she dug into the purse she had forgotten she was holding. She produced the papers she had received from the doctor's office and placed it on his desk. "Here's the proof—of the pregnancy, since you seem to need it." When he still said nothing, Brie didn't know whether she was grateful or angry.
Not being able to stand it anymore, she turned on her heel and left.
X.x.X
Despite the fact that Logan had thought of little else since Brielle stormed out of his office a few hours earlier, he was still having a hard time believing that it was actually real. Not many things shocked him. But this had seriously thrown him for a loop, effectively scattering his normally level-headed thoughts. And since his mind was as far from his job as possible, he had taken the rest of the day from work to collect his thoughts. Currently, he found himself in the gym hoping that a full workout would aid him in figuring out just what the hell he was going to do.
As he ran on the treadmill, he let his thoughts wander. If someone would have told him this morning that he was going to be a father and that Brielle of all people was going to be the one carrying his baby, he would have laughed in their face. It was surreal. But, as he threw a glance in the direction of his gym bag which housed the paperwork she had given him, the reality of the situation was beginning slowly beginning to sink in.
He was not ready to be a father, of that he was sure. But it didn't seem like he had much of a choice anymore. Planned or unplanned, there was going to be a baby, which meant he was going to have a son or a daughter in less than nine months. And no matter how he felt about Brielle, she was going to be the mother of that baby.
Thinking of Brielle brought their conversation in his office earlier to his mind. He felt a slight surge of guilt for how he had reacted. That was probably the first time in the whole time that he'd known Brielle that his nastiness hadn't been intentional. The shock had been overwhelming. But, now as he took the time to think it over, he realized she must have been in just as much shock as he was. And now, after his reaction, she probably assumed he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her or the baby.
In reality, it was the exact opposite for Logan. He and Brielle may not have gotten along, but he was realizing that none of that mattered anymore. They were just going to have to look passed that and decide what they were going to do—together. Slowing down on his run, he realized that he may have finally come to the conclusion he was searching for- that they needed to figure things out together, because whether they liked it or not they were in this situation together. Wanting to make things right, Logan stepped off the treadmill and made his way toward the showers, intending to do just that.
X.x.X
Usually when Brielle had a bad day, she took to drowning her sorrows in either tons of alcohol or tons ice cream. Since she could do neither at the moment, thanks obvious reasons as well as her ever-present upset stomach, she was feeling particularly sulky at the moment. Donned in her most comfortable sweatpants and her old, tattered college t-shirt, she prepared on snuggling under the covers and blocking out her thoughts with mind-numbing TV shows instead. So when there was a knock on the door, she couldn't say she felt very welcoming. Holding her freshly brewed cup of chamomile tea, she shuffled over to the door.
Brielle cracked the door open and saw Logan standing in the doorframe, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. She narrowed her eyes, opening the door fully. "What are you doing here?"
He rocked back on his heels. "Hello to you, too. Can I come in?"
Brielle briefly considered slamming the door in his face, but found herself pausing instead as curiosity got the best of her. She stepped to the side, silently inviting him in. He walked passed her and into her living room. It was an inviting looking room; art covered the walls, comfortable couches were centered in the room, and a big window overlooked the neighborhood below.
"Nice place," he commented, hoping to break the ice.
She shut the door and followed him into the living room, placing her cup on the coffee table. Brielle, however, wasn't interested in ice breakers. She crossed her arms. "So, I see you didn't lose your voice after all." She said snippily, referring to his earlier silence.
He nodded, seeing they were going to cut right to the chase. "Look, I know I didn't exactly react in the best way earlier..."
She raised an eyebrow sharply. "Oh, when was that exactly? Was it when you said absolutely nothing or when you basically called me a slut?"
He cut her off, pointing a finger at her, "I did not call you a slut. And that was a legitimate question. You were with that guy for who knows how long. How was I supposed to know you weren't having sex with him?"
Brielle knew he was right, but she still felt a little stung by his reaction. Chalking her emotions up to a surge of hormones, she forced herself to let it go. "Fine," she offered a one shouldered shrug. "Besides, I know it was a lot to digest. You were probably in shock."
He snorted. "That's an understatement."
She sighed, suddenly feeling tired. "So why exactly are you here?"
He settled himself on the edge of the couch. "I thought we should figure out what we're gonna do."
She chose a chair for herself. "I already told you. I'm keeping the baby."
"I know. And since you are, I want to do the right thing."
Brielle ran a hand through her hair. "Logan, I don't need your money."
"I'm not just talking about money. I mean being a part of this baby's life." He glanced down at her still flat stomach. "It's my baby too."
Brielle felt a jolt run through her. Obviously she had known that. But hearing it come from Logan's lips was different; in a way, it kind of made it more real to her. She couldn't manage any words without getting emotional, so she chose to remain silent.
He leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees. "I want to help raise the baby."
"That's not necessary—"
"Yes it is." He shook his head, and stood from the couch, "Look, me and you not getting along? That has to go on the backburner now. Whether we planned it or not, we're going to be parents, and that baby is the most important thing now. We should both be in its life."
Surprised and more touched than she would ever admit by his words, Brielle nodded. "You're right."
He cleared his throat, not really believing the words that were about to come out of his mouth. "So I guess the only question left is… your apartment or mine?"
X.x.X
A.N: Sorry this chapter was a little delayed—it took a little longer than I thought it would to write. Writing their reactions was harder than I thought it would be! But I'm happy with how it's progressing! Anyway, what do you guys think so far?
Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter!
Next one should be up sometime next week!