Darling

Chapter 16 - Kayden's POV

"Kayden... come on!" She groaned, yanking on my arm as she dragged me onto one of the benches by the water. "I'm not lying to you. You know I'd never do that."

"Are you fucking with me? I swear, Brittney, if this is some fucked up joke..."

"Kay, you've known me for how long? Would I do something like this to you just for fun?"

"I guess not..." I grumbled, staring at her baggy sweater. "You're positive though?"

"You're the only person I've-"

"I get it. But what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well first of all, I'd like you to lose that attitude. Don't think I won't smack some sense into you," She glared. "And second, you know this isn't something I ever wanted."

"And?" I asked, staring at her belly bump as she shifted in her seat. She took a sip of her lemonade as I drank my coffee, scowling the entire time. I really wasn't in the mood for this today.

"I've never wanted kids, Kay. But I can't put an innocent baby into the system knowing first hand what it's like. I can ask family if you say no, but would you take them?"

"I'm 24, Britt."

"So am I, get over yourself." She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, placing it on her belly. It sent chills down my fucking spine and I couldn't tell if they were good or not. "I'm not asking for anything more than to keep them out of the foster care system. I'll pay you child support every month, more than you'll need, and you don't even have to tell the baby who their mother is. I can find a nanny or someone to watch them while you're at work or-or-"

"You're not paying me shit, Brittney," I groaned again, letting my hand flatten and relax against her rounded belly. "How long do I have to prepare for this?"

"I'm five months-"

"You knew the last time I saw you?" I nearly shouted, glaring at my friend since elementary school.

"I did."

"And you didn't tell me because?"

"Because I knew you'd react like this. You're predictable, Kayden. I know you better than anyone and that's a fact. Why do you think I chose to meet in a public place? You can't cause a scene in public and it forces you to behave. You're going to sit here and tell me if I told you last time I saw you, you wouldn't have flipped your shit at me?"

"Well..."

"Exactly. So take a damn breather, and continue telling me about this boyfriend of yours. He sounds absolutely adorable."

"His name's Jayden." I told her, letting my hand fall off of her stomach.

"That's a sweet name, it rhymes with yours." She smiled brightly but all it did was make my chest ache even more. It had been days of this feeling and I couldn't force it away no matter how hard I tried.

"Something happened to him when he was younger. I don't know what it is but it was really bad. Yelling at him is a major trigger and I knew that. I also knew that he had a hard time regulating his emotions on his own. But I got in an argument with Mom and he got upset that I yelled at her and wanted me to apologize. I just wanted a minute of silence and instead of telling him that..." I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat. It was nothing but acid and coffee at this point, the only thing that felt like it was keeping me alive. "I screamed at him and told him to shut up and to stop trying to fix everything."

"How did he react?" She asked, holding my hand and rubbing it.

"He got scared and ran off. I found him in the woods sitting on a log and I tried to apologize but he didn't want to hear it. He said he could find a better..." I glanced around quickly. "A better Dom who wouldn't hurt him like the monsters who hurt him did. Like I did."