Jenalyn: Crossing Lines (#4) [Complete]

Chapter 58: Hayden

Monday, 6:54 P.M. EST

I was expecting it to be Evelyn that unlocked the door to my dungeon, flicking on the hallway light and scoping out the room with squinted eyes until she found me.

It was Rob though... and despite having had dreaded having any alone time with him in fear of adding any other dramas to my ever-growing list of problems right now? I couldn't help the excitement that arose in my stomach when my eyes adjusted, and I could see him.

“I’m sorr-“ I immediately went to say, knowing damned well how mad he must be at me for coming back here. I was supposed to save our baby... without having to introduce her to drugs before she even left the womb…

He cut me off, fixing me with eyes I knew meant it wasn’t a good idea. I guess I should have expected that, but I didn’t account for the excitement racing through my mind when I was forming thoughts and words.

“Get up, get in the car,” he demanded in a stern voice I knew was forced for the sake of “Big Brother Dane” potentially watching and listening in. 

“Where are we goin-“ I automatically began to ask, only to be met with an even more stern look from Rob. 

“If your hubby wanted you in the loop, he wouldn’t have locked you in the trash room, now would he have?” he snapped, widening the door and waiting for me to make my way over there.

I asked for a few moments to get dressed; I knew he’d shut the door again to allow me the privacy. I didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I couldn’t leave my phone there. If Dane found it while I was gone? If anyone found it…?

I’d be dead, for sure.

And though the fear of being sent on a run did pass my mind, I had no choice but to shove it in my panties.

“So…?” I asked Rob as soon as he finished loading three duffels, and a still unconscious Evelyn into the truck. “Where are we going?”

Rob was silent for a long time despite his face looking as if he had so much to say. I could see that he was working things out in his mind- well, trying to. 

It must not have went well… because that leads us to now- his explosion.

“You don’t fucking care about that baby, do you?” he asks, his eyes glued to the road though I can feel all of his attention weighing down on me. “You don’t give a fuck about anyone besides yourself!! But I guess that’s no surprise, is it?! Am I just a fucking idiot for having let you con me into this?! For trusting you?!”

My heart is frozen in my chest, but my mind runs rampant with a million thoughts and emotions. The combination of both has me speechless, but Rob wasn’t done going off anyway.  

“Why are you here, Jen?! Huh?” he asks without expecting an answer. “You decide too late that you wanted a fucking abortion?! So you came back to see the wonderful Dane? And his unorthodox methods of aborting? Is that what it is? Because that’s the only goddamned thing that makes sense!”

I can feel my cheeks grow hot with both embarrassment and overwhelming emotion. Who does he think he is, talking to me like that?!

“No, Rob!” I’m finally able to bring myself to say, though with more snark than intended dripping from my voice. “I’m trying to save her! I want my fucking baby, thank you!” 

“By bringing her here?!” He snaps before I can finish my sentence. “That’s the stupidest fucking shit I’ve heard, Jen! You know Dane doesn’t want that thing! And you know what? Even if he did, you promised better for our-“

Rob pauses mid-sentence, a look unfamiliar to me passing over his face as he glances over at me. “...her?” he asks after a moment, his voice completely shifted from the angry tone it’d just held. “Its... a girl?”

I nod my head, thankful for the sudden distraction. I forgot how much it would mean to him to know he’s having another baby girl. “McKaiden...” I mumble without meeting any of the glances he shoots in my direction. “McKaiden Rose.”

Rob is silent for a few moments though the energy he radiates is still kind of angry. 

He clears his throat. “Well…” he says after a few moments, glancing my way once more before focusing all of his attention back on the road. “I just let a whole house full of girls run free for that little girl. I’m stopping off at a gas station up the way some. Call the pop tarts, and arrange the next flight out of here. I’ll handle having let you out of my sight with Dane…”

...what? Is he crazy?

“I can’t just do that, Rob! Get real!” I exclaim, a whole series of emotions flooding my mind all over again. “He’s just going to come looking for me. That’s not an option!”

Rob lets out a small laugh, but definitely not the kind that comes from being any sort of happy. 

“He’s not going to go looking for you,” he states matter-of-factly. “Despite what you think, Jen... his life doesn’t revolve around you. He’s got a whole fucking empire of shit to look after for him to be worrying about you.”