“I mean so.” Kane shrugged, uncaringly. “You’re the one who is pregnant, not me. If I butt into your life, it’s because I want to make sure you’re okay. You’re carrying my child. Call me crazy for caring about you.”
I felt my temperature begin to rise.
“You do realise the double standards you’re settin’ right now, don’t you?”
Kane laid back and sighed, “No, but I’m sure you’re going to explain them to me anyway.”
Right, he was.
“What gives you the right to pick apart everythin’ I do, but when I bring up some shady shite you do, I get shut down by big, bad Kane.”
“Big, bad Kane?” Kane repeated the corner of his lip quirked.
“It was that or pig-headed, arsehole Kane. Take your pick.”
Kane humourlessly laughed, “Don’t stop now, babydoll. Tell me how you really feel.”
I itched to smack the stupid smug look off his face, and I would have only I didn’t want to get arsehole all over my hand.
“You know what you can do?” I bellowed.
“I’m going to guess something unpleasant.”
Oh, my God!
“Go and fuck yourself, you fuckin’ wanker.”
Kane laughed, “That doesn’t sound unpleasant all. Hit me with something else.”
As you wish.
I turned and grabbed the battery-operated alarm clock on the locker next to me, then turned and smacked Kane right in the chest with it.
“Take that, you tick tockin’ prick!”
Kane grunted and hissed for about a second, then he laughed. And he laughed hard. It infuriated me. I angrily pushed his bed covers off me and got off the bed. I didn’t get up as swiftly as I wanted to, but I got up, and that was the important thing.
“Where are you going?” Kane asked through his stupid laughter.
I stuck my middle finger up at him then turned and stormed out of his room. I briskly walked down the hallway towards the stairs and sped it up to a light jog when I heard Kane’s footsteps coming after me.
“Slow down, Aideen,” he said as I began to descend the stairs.
He wasn’t laughing anymore.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I snapped and continued to storm down the stairs.
Kane grunted from behind me. “You’ll fall-”
“I won’t fall!” I snapped. “I can still fuckin’ see where I’m goin’!”
I got to the second floor but before I could walk down to the first floor Kane jumped in front of me. His hands were raised in front of his chest, and he had no trace of a smile on his face.
“Just calm down.”
I shook with anger.
“I am calm,” I spat. “I’m perfectly bloody calm; now fuck off away from me.”
Kane lowered his hands to my shoulders, but I slapped them away.
“Ow!”
I growled, “Good. I hope it hurts.”
That brought back Kane’s silly smile.
“Stop smilin’ at me; I’m not playin’.”
I moved around him then and walked down the rest of the stairs.
“What’s all the shouting about?” Nico’s voice shouted from the gym room.
He came home about after hour after he left with Ryder. I asked where he went, but he told me to mind my own business.
The fucker.
I walked into the gym room and walked directly over to Nico, who was lifting weights that were bigger than my head. “I’ll give you fifty euros if you punch Kane in the face for me.”
Nico laughed at me then looked over my shoulder. “What did you do? Bitch about not getting laid?”
“The only bitching that occurred was entirely done by Aideen—not me... And the last time I had sex, I got her pregnant, so I’m taking a well-deserved break.”
Nico laughed at Kane, but I didn’t.
“I’m a nice person so if I’m a bitch to you, you need to ask yourself why.”
“Because I’m an easy target?”
I looked at the red mark on his chest and smirked. “Clearly.”
“What happened to your chest?” Nico asked his older brother when he saw me staring at it.
Kane shrugged. “She threw a clock at me.”
Nico looked at me with raised eyebrows and I suddenly felt the need to defend myself.
“He told me to hit him.”
“I meant with your words, you little smartass.”
Little smartass? The fucking nerve of him!
“I’m leavin’. I’ll smash a weight over your head if I stay here any longer.”
Kane moved away from the doorframe and zeroed in on me. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me and all up in my personal space. He was so close to me that his belly touched mine.
“Like you could lift one of those weights.” He smirked.
My left eye twitched as my mind accepted his challenge.
“Watch me!”
I turned and stomped over to Nico, who was standing in front of the rack that carried all the weights.
“Step aside, son. Mama’s gotta put an arsehole in his place.”
Nico smiled wide at me, his dimples creasing his cheeks. “No can do, Mama, you’ll hurt yourself.”
Oh, no, not Nico, too.
“But I’m strong!”
Nico held my gaze. “Damn right you are, but these weights are pretty heavy, and I don’t want to put any extra strain on you... what if your back starts to hurt more than it already does or you pull an abdominal muscle?”
I gasped.
I didn’t think of my back or my belly.
“Well... my back already hurts at night, I wouldn’t wanna make it hurt durin’ the day either.”
Nico nodded his head. “Exactly. Why hurt yourself just to prove a bitch wrong?”
“Hey!”
I smirked at said bitch’s objection.
“You’re right. You are so right.”
Nico opened his arms. “Give me a squeeze.”
I snorted and stepped into his embrace then screeched. “You’re soakin’!”
“My bad,” Nico laughed and released me but not before giving me a big wet kiss on the cheek and, of course, a quick belly rub.
He had a thing for my pregnant belly; every time he passed me by he would give my stomach a quick rub. It was like his own little way of saying hello to the baby. It was adorable. And the fact that it bothered Kane made me love it more.
“Are you done?” Kane asked from behind me.
“With you?” I questioned as I turned to face him. “Yes.”
Kane tensed. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I’ve seen enough of your face today and have had more than enough of your dicky attitude. I wanna go home.”
I hated that Kane frowned, and I hated that a stupid frown made me instantly feel guilty.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Kane flicked his eyes over my shoulder then looked back to me and frowned deeper.
“Kane.”
He batted his eyes at me.
“Mother of God!” I gasped. “Don’t you dare try to woo me with your eyes. I know wooin’ when I see it.”
I narrowed my eyes, and when Kane’s eyes flicked over my shoulder, I quickly turned around and caught Nico frowning and pouting. He stopped both when he saw I caught him.
“Sup?” he nervously smiled.
Busted.
I looked over my shoulder to Kane, who was shaking his head and smiling before I looked back to Nico and pointed my finger at him. “Am I the subject of a Man Bible lesson right now?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nico said and lifted his chin.
Yeah, right.
“Don’t bullshit me, kid.”
Nico grinned at me but said nothing.
I put my face in my hands and groaned, “I’m not able to deal with both of you today.”
I felt hands on my hips. “So come back to bed and just deal with me.”
“My man,” Nico whooped.
I growled, and it shut his happy arse up.
“Come on, babydoll. I promise we won’t argue anymore, at least until you have the strength for it.”
I laughed even though I didn’t want to. I wanted to remain mad at him because I knew he was up to something that was bad.