Taboo: Bittersweet Revenge (Sequel)

Out In The Open

........................................

I cringe slightly when I place the ice pack onto my swollen lip. That encounter with Styles left me shaken to say the least, which was extremely uncharacteristic of me. This pregnancy has changed everything from now on. I can't continue putting myself in danger like that.

Though I knew it was only a matter of time before this baby's time is up. But I'm not prepared to have that again. I need to protect myself at all costs, even if that meant sidelining myself from the action for a few months.

And sooner rather than later, Christian is going to find out, and he's not going to be happy either that's for damn sure. He wanted no part of ....whatever it is that we have. Those were his exact words.

A knock from the door snaps me back to reality. I reluctantly get up which causes sharp pains through my stomach. I throw the ice pack onto the table and opened the door.

And I'm greeted by Austin, his bright blue eyes appear swollen and red, and his expression tells the entire story. His eyes are filled with shock and he's speechless.

Before I could say anything, he hands over a tape, most likely the recording of me earlier today. I take the tape from him, still a little skeptical. He points to the TV, giving me a clear indication of what he was requesting.

I insert the tape into the tape player, and the image of Austin's home office appears as I was sitting on the couch. The conversation of earlier quickly finishes and soon Christian sits on the exact couch that I was sitting on.

"What were you two talking about?" Christian asks and I hear Austin from outside of the frame talk.

"I tried this with Noah. She didn't want to answer anything until you did. So how about it, Christian? Got time for couple of questions?" Austin asked, with a hint to anger in his voice.

"What do you wanna know?" Christian mutters, clearly annoyed.

"I think the only way I could understand your turbulent relationship with Noah is if I start from the beginning. What was your first impression of her, that instant moment you saw her?" Austin asked.

Christian begins to move around his seat, like me not wanting any of part of the questioning. "C'mon man, we got work to do. I don't have time for this" he replied.

"Okay then just answer the question". Now that was a way to shut him up.
Christian takes a deep breath finally relaxes in his seat.

"The first time I saw her I thought she was the most beautiful girl I've ever layed my eyes on. She had that fire and spark about her that instantly drew you in", he says in a dreamy voice.

I sit on the couch and keep my eyes firmly on the TV. "I don't know what it was, I just knew..." He concluded.

"She didn't feel comfortable answering this question, she told me to ask you before I asked her. So how did you two meet?" Austin asks and almost immediately, the look on Christian's turned into a deer in the head lights look.

"She didn't answer that?", he asked in a surprised tone. He probably thought I would've spilled the beans by now. But no matter how angry I am, I could never bring myself to admit it.

"She said you could provide that answer..." Austin says.

Was he really going to do this? Was he finally going to admit his actions? My heart began racing, pumping hard against my rib cage. This was it.

"There are things that even you with all your inside knowledge don't know about. We didn't love each other, at least not 4 years ago. You got it all twisted. I've made a lot of mistakes that I'm not proud of", he paused dropped his head to the floor, remaining like this for a while.