Reject Me (Kin #5)(47)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Wayne sat down by my side. He put his hand on my knee. “What can I do, Peyton?”

“Get me my phone. I need to make a call.” I was going to have to make a lot of calls with this kind of news. Dialing my brother’s number wasn’t the hard part. It was hearing him answer.

“Where are you, Pey?”

“Did you send Jamey away, Shayne?” I was already getting emotional. “Did you make him break up with me?”

“No. Where are you? You better not be with him.”

I don’t know how I could tell, but I knew he was lying to me. “How could you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Let me just tell you that you’ve pretty much ruined my life. You may think Jamey’s bad for me. You can hate him forever, but that doesn’t give you the right to break us up. I love him, Shayne. You know firsthand what’s that’s like. How dare you mess with my life.” I was so angry. He’s betrayed me more than Jamey cheating. My own flesh and blood had interfered in my life, and whether he admitted it or not, I knew it was true.

“I’m movin’ out, Shayne. I’ll be gone before you get home.” I started to hang up the phone when I heard him talking.

“I did what was best for you. Someone had to do it. He’s been dickin’ you around for years. I knew he was trouble, but you refused to see it.”

“So you what? Did you blackmail him? Did he even assault you, Shayne?” The line got quiet. “I hope you’re happy with yourself. You just lost a sister, and I want to thank you ahead of time for runnin’ away the father to my unborn child. I’ll never forgive you for this.” I hung up the phone before he could reply. Nothing he said was going to makes amends for what he’d done to me.

Just to be sure I went into the bathroom and took the second test. It immediately reflected a positive result. After pulling out my phone again I saw that I’d actually missed two periods, which meant I was probably eight weeks or more pregnant. I was going to have to tell Jamey, and it was going to have to be in person.

Shayne started blowing up my phone after I’d hung up on him, I was sure he was probably freaking out, not that I cared. I had something more important than my brother’s issues to deal with.

After assuring Wayne that I’d visit with the doctor, I got into my car and started to drive back to the beach. Since Jamey refused to answer his phone I was going to have to hunt him down.

When I pulled up at the beach house I saw my brother standing outside. He must have assumed that I’d been with Jamey when I called. Fear swept over me when I thought about him finding out my news from Shayne. I rushed toward the house, before being stopped by my brother. “Get your hands off of me.”

“I need to talk to you. Where have you been?”

Ford’s voice made Shayne let go of me. “Give the girl some space, Shayne. You’re not her keeper.”

I shoved him back. “Go home, Shayne. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Pey, we need to talk about this. It’s serious.”

“You think I don’t know that? Because of you I may have to do this on my own. I’ll deal with you later. Now get out of my face. I need to talk to Jamey.” He tried to grab me again. I pulled away and darted inside of the house. Ford would protect me, and if he wasn’t willing I was certain Joey would.

Lacey and Sky looked surprised to see me. They were sitting in the kitchen looking online at wedding dresses. “Is there something I should know about?” The whole family knew that both of them had talked about marriage.

“Sky and Ford set a date. Isn’t it exciting?” Lacey seemed just as excited as her best friend.

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful.” I gave her a hug before addressing why I was really there. “I need to talk to Jamey.”

“He’s still in bed. Last night he got kicked out of the bar. He went on and on about how he lost his cell phone. You should have seen how drunk he was,” Sky explained.

Jamey never went anywhere without his phone, except for when he let me take it. I knew he was pissed about losing it, but it explained why he wouldn’t answer my calls. He also didn’t drink, not since he’d been in trouble. For him to go out and get shit-faced meant he was upset. It actually gave me hope that we still had a chance.

I found him in the back bedroom. The shades were pulled down and he had his head covered with a pillow. I sat down on the foot of the mattress trying to come up with a good way to tell him about my situation. Regardless of what was going to happen between us, he needed to know the truth. I was going to figure out a way to keep the baby. I loved children, and after seeing what both of my brothers had been through I knew I could never give up my child.

I felt the bed moving and turned to see that Jamey was sitting up. He looked like Hell. “Hi.”

“Pey, what are you doin’ here?”

“Did you really think my brother could keep me away? I know what he did.”

He scratched his head. “How did you find out? Did Ash tell you?”

“She knew?”

“She found out late last night. I remember talkin’ to her. She said she was goin’ to take care of your brother. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Not exactly. I mean, I know that Shayne made you push me away. I still want to know why you did it. I mean, I thought you said you’d fight for us.”

“He was goin’ to have me locked up again, and I knew I’d lose you anyway. I just felt like it was best if I let you move on. All I’ve ever done is hurt you. It’s not fair to ask you for another chance.”

I shoved his leg over. “You big idiot, don’t I get a say in who I want to be with?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t sleep with Ang, Pey. I lied to you yesterday to make you hate me. I never called her and told her to go along with it.”

I looked down at my hands and thought about how hurtful his words had been the day before. “You hurt me, Jamey. I felt like I was nothin’ to you.”

He put up his finger. “Hold that thought, baby. I’ll be right back.”

I watched him leap over the bed and run into the jack and jill bathroom. The water started running and I could hear him brushing his teeth and then rinsing. He came back into the bedroom and sat down next to me. “Sorry, I had to piss, and I was afraid I wasn’t goin’ to be able to hold it.”