Butchered Beasts 1: Darren & EJ

Chapter 20

Destiny POV

Talk about spinning a negative into a positive! I, personally, think I could come out ahead in this little game. Jed said he would give me a lump sum of money if I disappeared from his sight. And I would. But...I now need a DNA sample from him.

And Darren. Even though he supplied every condom and would test them to be sure they worked, he'd pull out before he came, even with a condom on. He was super cautious. I still need to rule him out. Because that stupid stomach bug turned out to be a baby. Jed was so terrified when I told him that it could be his that he was now convinced it was his and that he offered up his DNA right away. Fucking idiot. I sent it off to the lab to see. Should be back within the week. Jed said if it's his, he'll buy me a house in another state and come visit on holidays and the kid's birthday and give me a monthly allowance. I'm kind of hoping it's his because then I can have whatever house I want. If it's Darren, he'll want to be 'involved'.

That word gave the ick. Nannies were involved. Parents still had their own lives to live. What were we supposed to do? Drop everything for someone else? Like...I've read in some mom groups moms are like, 'Motherhood is for life! Not just eighteen years!' and that shook me. Eighteen years?! That's a lot of time. I'll be fucking forty-eight by then! How am I supposed to find love?!

I'll be a fucking old lady. I have to keep up my lifestyle and make sure I can provide for myself. And the kid.

This throws a wrench in the whole plan of breaking them up. Unless...I'm only eight weeks pregnant. Darren and I haven't fucked in three months. There's no way it's his. But still. I have to be able to turn this around for me. I stood there, tapping my finger on my chin, yes. I can wait until I know what the baby is. If I wait until then, I'll be bigger and I can really throw it in her face. Maybe she'll be emotionally fucked after that and she won't be able to get past seeing my pregnant belly and me telling Darren I think it's his. Even if it's not.

Rubbing my hands together in the standard evil villainess kind of way, while snickering, I smiled a big, brilliant smile.

"That's perfect."

EJ POV

The following month was really...uneventful. Nothing happened at the house. No more bull shit from zoning coming out and measuring practically every damn inch of the property. You'd think the dude has an obsession with measuring things. Hmm...maybe he was...experiencing some shortcomings? 

I made myself giggle as we tested out the two paints the kids had picked out for their rooms. Calloway hated his shade of blue so, thank god we got the sample can. Emery was busy spinning in circles, loving the space in her soon-to-be new room. I liked the warm, dusty rose feel of that shade of pink. Patrick was supposed to be stopping by one day soon with his dad. He got out last week and was served divorce papers. He hasn't contacted me at all. It is nice that he's respecting my need for space from him. I hope rehab and therapy while he was in there worked for him. Honestly. I hope he keeps up with it too. The kids could use a present, and sober, father figure.

We give Cal back the other blue swatches and he picks a slightly bright blue, but more so a vibrant blue than a blindingly bright blue. Then he says he might want green. This kid.

"Buddy? How about I paint your room a basic color and you guys just have fun coloring on your wall in the playroom once it's done?" He seems to be thinking about it, going back out to the hallway and looking where the side of the house has been torn off where the addition is being added on. That seemed to be an acceptable answer as he threw himself around my legs, getting paint all over my leggings. Good thing I put on the crappy, falling apart ones today. I'd be upset if he got my nice ones all dirty, but then I'd just need to keep them for more 'fun' with the kids. I put a large splatter of paint on the wall and put the sample next to it. I took a picture and added it to the wall coloring folder I made. If I didn't keep myself organized, I'd be lost.

I also updated each of the rooms in the design app so I wouldn't have to worry if I lost the note on my phone. And, since I was sharing it with my dads' and Darren, they'd all be able to see what we picked for the kid's rooms. I also added where I wanted to put built-ins so hopefully, we could forget a dresser and just add a full-length mirror for each of them. It would hopefully give them less clutter.

Because lord knows they need that.

I also changed the design of the upstairs just a little bit. Instead of extending their rooms and making the playroom smaller for a shared bathroom, I extended both bedrooms, to add an en-suite for each of them. Now they wouldn't have to share as they got bigger, and the playroom could stay the original size, with a cubby hole at the back on each side for them. I made sure they each had their own, comfy, quiet spaces. I was excited about those and I think the kids were going to love them. I was putting super soft blankets in there, a bunch of comfy pillows, stuffed animals, and a space for a small snack.

Darren and I had bonded over building the addition and updating the house. And seeing him at the gym just about every time I went there. It seemed he was all over the place when I went somewhere that wasn't for work or school. He would text me and call me to see how things were going. When I would bring food for everyone, I started making sure that the favorites he told me about made it to him. Though he didn't seem to have noticed this, which was fine with me. Because I wasn't certain what would be happening with 'us'. Or if there was an 'us'. 

A knock on the front door pulled me out of my thoughts, and the kids raced down the stairs, hoping it was their dad. I hope it is too. They've been dying to see him after three months of being gone and not being able to talk to him much in the beginning of him being gone. They missed him and had the worst tantrums. I knew it was hard on them. It was hard for me to see them like that.

They slept in my bed for most of the first few weeks, not knowing why he couldn't talk to or see them. I didn't expect too much understanding for a one and four-year-old, and I expected it to be hard.

Opening the door, there he was. For the first time in months, he actually looked like himself again. He looked like the man I had fallen in love with. But he looked different too. 

"Hi, Patrick."