Beyond The Pale

issues

Monty's POV

The whole drive home from work, I knew Raina was upset. I knew exactly why, too. I had told her at Christmas time that we'd get married after graduation. But we didn't know about Khaleesi then. We hadn't planned on buying a house, my mom was still out of the picture. I had no reason not to get married aside from being overwhelmed with everything in my life.

I pulled into the driveway as Jess was pulling out. She knew we'd need to talk, and I respected her for giving us our space when we needed it. She was Raina's counterpart. They were absolute best friends, and in sync on just about all levels. Emotionally, spiritually; if Raina was feeling it, Jess knew, and vice versa. So, a small part of me knew neither of them were my biggest fan right now.

I trudged up the stairs, listening for a sign that maybe Raina wasn't sleeping. She was always tired, lately. She had just hit the 24 week mark of her pregnancy, and she was starting to feel it. I was honestly disappointed in myself for saying all that stuff about not wanting to get married. It made me put myself in her shoes, and if the roles were reversed, I know I'd be pissed at her.

I could hear her humming along softly to music from beyond our bedroom door, and as I crept inside, she gave me a look that could kill. "Hey babe." I said softly, and she nodded in acknowledgement. She was scrolling on her phone, listening to girly music. "I want to talk to you," I said a little louder, crawling on the bed with her and snuggling up next to her. Her face softened, and before I could figure out why, she grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach.

Khaleesi was moving like crazy, I could see Raina's stomach moving as I pressed my hand gently on her belly. "Say something else," she whispered, and I leaned my hand onto Raina's lap. "Hi, baby girl," I cooed, a smile breaking out on my face as I did so. "It's your daddy. I'm so ready to meet you. We can't wait for you to be here." She was kicking wildly, and I loved every minute of it.

"She does that every time she hears your voice," Raina mused, and I rested my head gingerly on her stomach. "I love y'all so much." I exclaimed before sitting back upright, pulling Raina in for a kiss.

She kissed me back without very much enthusiasm, and it made my heart drop. "Babe, quit being mad at me," I pleaded, my lips inches away from hers, foreheads resting together. She pulled away to look at me, tears welling up in her eyes before they streamed down her face. It broke my heart to see her cry, even though she did quite a lot of it, I hated it every time.

"You hurt my fucking feelings, Monty. You made me feel like I'm not good enough to marry. Like I'm just some bitch you knocked up and moved in with. It's embarrassing." She admitted, and I sighed heavily. "Would it make you feel better if we got married?" I asked, and immediately regretted doing so, because now she was furious.

"NO! It would make me feel like a charity case. Like I made a big deal out of being married and you did it because you felt pressured to. You were the one who said you wanted to in the first place. We'll do it whenever we're both ready. If you feel like you aren't ready to be a husband, then getting married is a shitty idea. We need to wait a few years. Maybe longer, honestly. Maybe," she paused long enough to slip the ring I'd given her off of her finger.

"Maybe you should take this back." She whispered, her head hung low, placing the ring on my pants leg. I didn't know what to say. It infuriated me, honestly. I took the ring and slung it in an unknown direction, pushing myself up off the bed in anger.

"Maybe I shouldn't have given it to you in the first place!" I said harshly, crossing my arms over my chest. "Maybe I should've ran the other fucking way when I met you, huh? I wouldn't be so stressed out, I wouldn't be so boring now. Maybe I should have dipped out before I had the chance to knock you up." I spat, not bothering to listen to her reply. I grabbed up my baseball duffel bag, shoved as much of my shit in it as I could, and turned towards her, a look of pure disbelief on her face.