The Only Way is Up

Part Forty Nine

Chapter Forty Nine

The two women had disappeared in a taxi before he got out of the cafe. By the time he'd hailed his own then they were long gone, all thoughts of a theatrical 'follow that cab' were null and void. So he did all he could, headed to Kim's house.

There was a light on when he pulled up outside, that made him a little more relieved, because all the way over a million questions had been cycling his mind, what does this mean? Was she ever going to tell me? Will I be a good father? They were the sensible questions anyway; because once he started thinking about his father...a whole sack load of self doubt came with it. He had no idea what being a father SHOULD mean, he had a terrible role model. Then he thought of his grandfather, he was a better man to emulate, if only he could remember him better, more clearly. It was such a long time since he'd passed away, left him alone.

He hammered at Kim's door, then remembered she had a baby who could be asleep, so he stepped back and started to pace, dramatically along the doorstep. Until it opened.

Kim looked stunned for a moment, then she stepped towards him and hissed, "what the hell are you doing here making so much noise?"

He fought the snarl that threatened to escape him; his anger had mounted by the minute since he'd made the realisation that Nicole was pregnant.

"Where is she?"

Kim squared up to him, "who? Nicole? The woman you broke?"

He nodded, "yes, the very same, the woman having MY baby!"

If he doubted his eyes earlier in the day, the way that Kim paled to an almost deathly colour at that comment confirmed everything he both suspected and feared; now he had even more pressure to make her understand.

"How do you know that?" She asked quietly.

He looked to the sky for a moment, "it was pretty obvious when she stood up..."

"You were spying on us?" she hissed angrily.

He laughed at that, a sarcastic sound, "lucky I was or I might NEVER have known!"

Kim closed her eyes for a moment, "this isn't my business. She has your number; it's up to her if she calls you."

He punched the door frame angrily, "no it isn't. I want to see her - NOW."

"She isn't here, and to be honest acting all cave man isn't going to help your case."

He slumped against the wall and eyeballed her, "so where is she?"

"She's staying at a hotel, I don't know which one, I am really glad not to know."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not the bad guy here. She has lied to me."

Kim stepped forward angrily, "how dare you? This wasn't planned and she hasn't lied, you disappeared. She had no idea if she was going to ever see you again. Don't you think she deserves a little time?"

He hung his head for a moment, the whole situation was overwhelming him emotionally, anger warred with fear and desire, so many emotions. "What about what my baby deserves? Does that figure here? I wanted to see her this earlier today, now I HAVE to see her, you must see that."

Kim looked a little more sympathetic and her voice was calmer, "this may be hard for you, I'm not denying that, but she has been through hell. You need to understand that. She has no one left...but me. You were integral in that happening, you need to know that."