Tears Behind Our Eyes: A Prequel

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Finally, we've almost come to the end.

September 21, 2017

It was the day before Hunter's birthday and John went on another work trip so I went out with McKaye so we could go to my house in Woods Creek and we could sleep over after we set up the prank and wrap Hunter's presents.

The prank was to blow up over a thousand balloons, put them in his car and bedroom, filling the floors a good foot deep with playpen balls and jump out in creepy masks to scare him. Mia Kay would hide in his room to jump out and I would hide in the car.

We went to Target because why not?—it was a good place to get the things for Hunter. The Target was one people could call sketchy, I guess.

Mia Kaye gasped in the store, "Babe! Look, look, look!"

I laughed at her excitement and mimicked it, "Babe! I see, I see, I see!" We both laughed and she playfully hit my arm, not even feeling a thing, and told me to shut up. "What'd you find?"

"It's that game you guys wanted, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that's good, a present for Hunt and me. Score!" Mia Kaye grabbed it and set it in the basket, shaking her head with a grin on her adorable face.

"Alright so that can be from one of us, what about the other present?"

"You're forgetting something, baby," I teased, a devilish smile on my face.

"The prank. Present first. Patience, grasshopper." She pushed the nearly empty cart and I followed, arms around my girl and pushing with her.

"Candy. It's health for the soul, we'll get him his favorite candies," I suggested. "Smarties, sour worms... what else... oh! Jolly Ranchers! Two boxes of Cookie Dough Bites, just to be safe."

"Are they for him or you," she giggled. She wasn't wrong... I made a face from above her. Mia Kaye stepped on the ledge of the cart and laughed as I pushed the cart fast, still surrounding her.

We got to the aisle we searched for. "Sweet! Eight packs of gum with fifteen pieces in each for five bucks!" I was in love with gum.

"Should I be jealous? You're hugging that gum pretty tight," she teased.

"Damn, maybe I shouldn't have taught you all the wittiness I know..." I thought aloud, teasing of course.

I threw the gum in the basket and we set out for the next present. Mia Kaye held my hand and we walked, a family...

"Hey, um, I need to go get something I forgot." Usually, she'd be honest and say the word "tampons" but for whatever reason, she didn't. She was hiding something.

"What'd you forget?"

"You questioning me? That's not like you."

"It's also not like you to be nervous around me. What's wrong?" I felt my heart rate beat faster than it should have. But I tried my best to stay casual, unaffected, looking for ideas to do the prank.

"I just need a test," she stuttered.

"From Target?" I guffawed. "Really, what do you need? You can say tampons in front of me, Mia Kaye, you have before." I eyed her, pausing the search for Hunter. I already knew what she mean but she didn't want to say it and I understood that. "Oh. A test. Are you sure?" She nodded, awkwardly confirming. "We're always really careful, Mia Kaye. If you feel it, go ahead and get one. We can take it tonight when we get home." She nodded again. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I could feel the vibrations in my ear. I was not ready to be a dad.

Skeptically, I nodded and she left quickly to get a pregnancy test. She put in the basket a Clear Blue box that costed twelve bucks, burying it in the other stuff. She suggested prank ideas and I stared at her in awe. She seemed so calm about the potential baby.

I love Mia Kaye and I would love our kid with all my heart. I wouldn't walk away. That's the absolute last thing I'd do. But fatherhood scared the living crap out of me.

She broke my thoughts. "Hey, instead of a caramel apple, we can do a caramel onion!"

I laughed, "No. You did that one on me. The smell gave it away because you peeled it," I told her. "Balloons creep him out. We can do something with them and give an extra effect."

"Okay... I know, we put things he needs inside the balloons and he has to face his fear and pop them in order to get them back, like you did with my stuff that one year.. We can even get the Smarties and put rolls in them." I pointed at her and told her that it was a good idea. And added onto it, creating the full plan. We bought what felt like all of the balloon bags, each with a hundred in them.

"We have to stay up all night to blow them up, you know that, right?"

I pulled her to me, giving her a warm hug. People passed us and I caught a smirk on a guy's face in a good-job-banging-that-hot-piece-of-ass way as he walked by with a girl, assumed girlfriend. "I guess you should have planned better," I whispered in her ear.

She gasped, pulling away and giggled, "Me!? No! This is a team effort, buddy." I tried to kiss her but she moved my mouth and stuck out her tongue. My mouth fell open as I laughed, dramatically saying how hurtful that was.

She played along and gave me a kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck then we went to the checkout line. The cashier watched Mia Kaye as she rang up the pregnancy test, not even trying to hide how worried she was for us. Mia Kaye smiled awkwardly and moved away from her to me.

I paid, of course, having the argument with Mia Kaye. When we got to the partial exit, the part of the building between the store and outside and was still dry. Is it called an awning? I frowned. It was pouring down rain outside. I offered to pull the car up near the entrance so Mia Kaye wouldn't get wet. "You think you can handle the bags while I go?" She nodded and took the bags. I smiled, kissing her cheek, telling Mia Kaye how much I loved her.

She laughed, teasing, "Uh huh, sure you do, Jackass." I winked then left, and swung the car keys around my fingers swiftly while putting the hoodie on over my beanie. I walked past a man wearing all black in the parking lot, him heading into the store.

I got a weird feeling about him. I stopped walking to turn around. Mia Kaye was outside under the awning, waiting for me to pick her up.

The feeling bothered me. It didn't feel right to leave Mia Kaye there.

I rushed to the car Gram had given to me.