Part 24 (1/2)
He grabbed a beer and was about to head upstairs, had one foot on the first step, when the sound of incessant female giggling brought him up short. It was a school night and Danny shouldn't be up at one in the morning. Eva knew this.
Narrowing his eyes, he went left, through the living room and into the family room. Eva, Danny and Cage were packed onto the loveseat together, their eyes glued to the television. Danny took up the left corner, Cage had the right, his arm slung over the back of the couch and Eva was curled up in the s.p.a.ce between his arm and torso. Cage's fingers were running distractedly through her hair and her arm was slung over his belly. A dark blue woolen blanket covered the three of them.
He stared. What the f.u.c.k was going on?
”Oh my G.o.d!” Danny cried, bouncing up and down in her seat. ”She's really going to make him a vampire!”
”No way,” Eva said. ”She won't. She can't. That is just so wrong.”
”She could make me a vampire,” Cage muttered, ”She's so f.u.c.kin' hot.”
Eva burst out laughing. ”You'd give up your life for a nice pair of t.i.ts, huh?”
If he wasn't so p.i.s.sed he would have laughed. He'd been shot twice for a nice pair of t.i.ts.
Cage looked down at Eva and grinned. ”For those t.i.ts, babe, h.e.l.l yeah. For yours too.”
Eva snorted.
”Pig,” Danny muttered.
”Yep.”
”You can be a pig,” Eva said, laughing. ”As long as you keep rubbing my feet every day.” She sighed happily. ”Pure heaven, Cage.”
Cage's grin turned into a soft smile. ”Anything for you gorgeous.”
His fists clenched. Rubbing her f.u.c.king feet? Every day? Gorgeous?
”Ha!” Eva shouted, slapping at Danny's arm. ”I told you she wouldn't do it!”
”Whatever,” Danny muttered with a smile on her lips. ”She should have. Eventually he's going to get old. If I were her I would have immortalized all that hotness.”
He stormed into the room and stopped directly in front of the television.
”Daddy, move,” Danny said, trying to look around him.
He didn't.
”Danielle West,” He growled, ”I wanna know why you're not in bed.”
He watched his daughter fold her arms over her chest and scowl at him.
”Today and tomorrow are parent-teacher conferences,” Eva said quietly. ”No school.”
He narrowed his eyes. She was still curled up around his kid. Right in front of him.
”Eva,” He barked. ”Kitchen.”
”Here babe,” Cage said. He s.h.i.+fted his body out from under hers and slipped an arm around her back to help her up. She tottered for a minute then both her hands went to her swollen belly.
”s.h.i.+t,” Cage muttered. ”Are you having contractions again? Or is it the salt thing?”
”Oh!” Danny cried, jumping to her feet, ”Do you need your pills?”
Salt thing? Pills? What the f.u.c.k?
”Eva,” He growled, growing more agitated by the second. ”Get in the f.u.c.kin' kitchen!”
”Dad!” Cage yelled. ”Shut the f.u.c.k up! She's f.u.c.kin' sick! Blood pressure's off the charts. Her OB has her coming in nearly every day to check her!”
What? What and what and huh?
”Why do you know this s.h.i.+t?” He demanded.
”Better question,” Cage shot back. ”Why the f.u.c.k don't you?”
It was either deck his only son or break something so he whipped his beer bottle across the room. It slammed into the stone fireplace and shattered in a spray of beer.
”Answer me!” He roared. ”Why the f.u.c.k do you know this s.h.i.+t? And why the f.u.c.k were you holdin' her?”
Cage's lip curled. ”Who do you think takes her to her doctor's appointments and the f.u.c.kin' hospital? Who do you think has to help her in and out of bed and in the f.u.c.kin' shower? Sure as f.u.c.k ain't you.”
His nostrils flared. ”You help her in the f.u.c.kin' shower!” He hissed.
”Yeah, daddy,” Danny said quietly. ”You're never home and I can't help her all the time. Her doctor said she should be off her feet and we gotta keep her salt intake low and calm her down when the contractions start by havin' her take warm baths or rubbing her back. Most of the time they're Braxton hicks but because she went into labor already the doctors are worried.”
”And who the f.u.c.k you think is drivin' Danny to school?” Cage yelled. ”And pickin' her up after cheerleadin' practice. And takin' her to f.u.c.kin' gymnastics? Mom's f.u.c.kin' workin' ten hour s.h.i.+fts, Eva can't do it anymore, you're not f.u.c.kin' around, that leaves me!”
With tears in her eyes, Eva moved slowly across the room and disappeared into the foyer. He had planned on following her only Cage wasn't done running his mouth.
”You're doin' it again,” He spat. ”You're f.u.c.kin' everything up. You did it to mom, you're doin' it to Eva. You're never f.u.c.kin' home, you're leavin' her alone with no one to talk to and nothin' to do and she's gonna leave dad you don't stop sleepin' at the club and f.u.c.kin' wh.o.r.es. And f.u.c.k you, but I don't want her to leave and either does Danny. Havin' here has been f.u.c.kin' awesome, she's cool to talk with, she's f.u.c.kin' fun and she makes s.h.i.+t feel good, better than it has in a long time and you're f.u.c.kin' it all up cuz you're a f.u.c.kin' selfish a.s.shole!”
Danny moved to stand in front of Cage and took a protective stance. ”Yeah daddy.”
He had to take several deep breaths so he didn't end up saying something he didn't mean. Done breathing, he turned and left the room.
Deuce entered the kitchen shortly after I did. He walked right by me without as much as a glance my way, headed for the refrigerator. I bit my tongue. I had been biting my tongue a lot lately but I couldn't fathom anything good coming out of a heart to heart when he'd just gotten into a fight with his kids.
Instead, I tried to think of something to talk to him about and kept coming up empty. I didn't have a clue what he'd been doing lately, not for work, not with his boys, nothing.
”I got served,” I blurted out.
Empty handed, he closed the refrigerator and turned around. ”What?”
”Served,” I repeated. ”Chase wants a paternity test and he's court ordered me to have it done.”