Cooper's Children's Home - New Beginnings // BradGa

T E N

"Fuck you." Stefani groaned and ran her hand through her freshly dyed, dark brown hair. "I'll write a damn song if I want to write a damn song, Bobby! It's not like it just comes out of me like that. I've been inside of this house for weeks now and nothing here inspires me." She groaned and threw her head back.

"You're pregnant. That should be pretty inspiring." He chuckled.

"All it does to me is make my back hurt, my fibromyalgia act up and I've been craving fucking pickles for months and I don't even like pickles!" She complained to her laughing manager.

"It'll be fine. We're all here for you."

"Yeah, but Bradley isn't." She sighed, picking at her fingernails when the door bell went off. "I swear to god, Bobby." She jumped off the couch before he could and went for the door. "If this is another one of your sex dates I'll-" she ripped the door open and slammed it shut immediately when she saw who it was.

Bobby raised a brow. "Who's at the door?" He asked.

"Bradley." She said, with wide eyes and nervous hands. "What do I do? Do I look okay? Oh my god, what am I gonna say?" She panicked.

Bobby chuckled and grabbed her shoulders. "I'm leaving. You got this." He said, opening the door to reveal a confused Bradley. He glared at him. "We are going to talk after you've fixed this. Don't think I'll let you hurt her like this without getting the Bobby treatment!" He warned before storming off into the direction of his car to drive off.

Bradley nervously scratched his neck when his eyes landed on his very pregnant girlfriend. If she even was his girlfriend at this point. He couldn't believe he'd just ditched her without a word while she was pregnant with his baby. "Hey."

"Hey?" She asked, struggling to cross her arms in front of her chest due to the big baby bump. "I don't even want to let you inside but I can't stand for much longer without breaking my back so come inside." She angrily grumbled, walking into the living room to sit down on the couch.

Bradley sat down next to her, much to her dismay and noticed her keeping her distance. She clearly was hurt but he'd seen that coming. He didn't blame her for it. "You look good."

Stefani scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sarah calls it the pregnancy glow." She sighed. "Why didn't you call or visit? You said you would. You said it wouldn't be a problem to have Dax watch the kids from time to time." She groaned. "Bradley, this is why I didn't want to keep seeing you. It's what I was initially scared of." She added.

Bradley grabbed her hands in his and sighed. "I know. I'm an asshole for not calling you back. I promised we'd make it work and then I left you alone with your pregnancy which is the biggest shit move I could've made." He apologized. "Something came up with the kids and-"

Stefani tensed up with worry in her eyes and interrupted him. "Are the kids okay?"

Bradley smiled and nodded. "Yeah, they're okay. Don't worry. It's just that there's a new official in charge making my life a living hell. He's forcing me to find a new home for me and the kids and I have to find a family for at least one of the kids which is hard for all of us. They know something's wrong and bothering me. I really hate that Carino guy." He groaned.

Stefani's head snapped up at the mention of the very familiar last name. "Carino? Christian Carino?" She asked.

"Yeah, how do you know his name?" Bradley asked curiously.

She rolled her eyes. She should've known he'd find yet another way to interfere with her life. Christian and her went way back to her high school days. He'd always had a crush on her for as long as she knew him and even though she wasn't too interested in him she ended up giving him a chance. They broke up before she went off to college but he never gave up on her. Years later they were engaged but she wasn't happy with him. He'd cheat on her, lie to her, manipulate her into thinking it was her fault the relationship failed because Christian Carino was a total psychopath and didn't want to let her go. When she broke up with him the first time during their high school days, he'd stalk her, call her parents and make things up that put her in a bad light. He truly scared her so the fact that he was now terrorizing Bradley wasn't too big of a surprise to her. He'd probably read about him and her pregnancy online and put the pieces together. "Bradley, Christian Carino is Chris. My ex fiancé, Chris." She explained.

It suddenly clicked inside of Bradley's brain. How hadn't he managed to put the pieces together before? That man popped up out of nowhere after all and the name sounded familiar to him as well. "He's out to get me because he wants revenge on you?" He asked.

"He's a freaking shithead. I'll let Bobby deal with him." She sighed. "You should've told me. We could've solved this much sooner." She added. "Didn't you tell me not to run away anymore? That I had to start communicating with you?" She asked.

Bradley nodded and wiped over his face. "God, I'm a hypocrite, aren't I?"

Stefani nodded. "Kind of." She mumbled. "You really hurt me."

Bradley looked up at her face and could see the tears in those eyes he loved to look into so much. "I'm sorry."

"That's not enough, Bradley. You didn't even try to talk to me. We're having a baby together and if you can't trust me or talk to me about anything then it won't work." She sighed, wiping at her eyes.

"I love you, Stefani. I promise-"

"Stop promising me things you'll end up breaking." She took her hands out of his. "I need time to think. Do you have a hotel room you can stay in?" She asked.

Bradley sighed and nodded. "Yeah." He paused. "Stef, I truly am sorry for not talking to you about this and for leaving you alone with this." His hand came to rest on her stomach and she looked down at the touch she had been longing for ever since they parted the last time. "I'll do anything you want me to do so I can make it up to you. I knew you were scared about this pregnancy already and I made it much harder for you. I'm so sorry. I love you, okay?" He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

She let him stay close for a moment before she pulled away again. "Can we talk tomorrow? I need to sleep over this." She sighed, brushing through his hair, her fingers tangling in it. "I love you too." She whispered with a small smile on her face. She wanted to stay mad at him for much longer but she also knew she needed him with her and there was no use in trying to push him away when all it took for him to win her over again was a smile and that sparkle in his blue eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

She pushed at his chest and shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow." She teased. "Now go."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll prove it to you. I'll be the best boyfriend ever from now on. No secrets, no more ignored calls. I'll shower you in love." He announced.

She giggled and nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She pointed at the door and watched him leave.

Bobby's head poked through the garage entry of the house with a smirk. "Are you playing hard to get right now?" He asked.

Stefani rolled her eyes with a smile. "I want to see how far he'll go and I deserve to let him wait."

"You bitch." He said making them both laugh.