Replace Me (Kin #2)(15)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I kept crying, not really taking in anything that she was saying to me. “Yeah, it really does.”

I didn’t care about making Shayne jealous anymore. All I wanted to do was crawl in a dark cave and die. I thought his brother was the father of the baby, but what if it was Shayne all along? Had he said it was his brother to keep me hanging on? It made no sense. He acted like he hated Ashley. Now they were having a child?

I pulled away from Peyton and went running out of the apartment. Joey was standing there, putting out his cigarette. I slammed into his chest and didn’t pull away. His hands reached around my back and I looked up at him with tear filled eyes. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

I don’t know why I did it, or even if I had control over my actions at all. “Please, just get me out of here.”

Chapter 8

Shayne

After making the announcement, which went over as well as could be expected, I was left having to move out of my parent’s house. It wasn’t that I didn’t expect that outcome, but I also hadn’t planned on having to look for a new place to live.

Another thing I hadn’t considered was that my parents would expect me to get a place with Ashley. They were out of their minds if they assumed I was going to have a relationship with someone like her.

Still, I had to remember that I was doing this as a favor for my brother. As crazy as it seemed, I was giving him the opportunity to get his life together. When the time was right, I would step aside and let him do what he needed to do. For the time being, the baby would be welcomed into our family, as he or she should. Whether he was mine or Parker’s he was still our blood.

I drove around for a while, thinking about everything that had taken place after I’d sat them all down and made my announcement. After the initial shock, my father just started yelling at me. I think he expected Ford, who was the only person that knew the real truth, to haul off and hit me. Instead, he and Sky stayed in the kitchen and out of the drama. Maybe they would have been easier on me if he’d given his opinion, but I expected nothing from my cousin, after I’d put him through hell, even if I had come clean in the end.

Then there was Lacey. After she ripped out my heart by showing me that she had moved on, I didn’t care about the ramifications of my decision. The destruction was done and now damage control was all I could do to salvage my reputation, especially with her.

I pulled back down the road to the apartment a little later. I needed to apologize and tell her the truth; that the baby wasn’t mine, like I wanted everyone to believe. Thinking that Sky and Ford telling her the truth was a bad idea, I set out to clear the air. Sure, she’d still be pissed about what I was doing, but it beat her thinking that I’d lied to her again.

It was becoming more obvious that my chances of ever being with her were in the past. Lacey had moved on, even before she’d heard that I’d slept with someone else. How could I blame her for wanting something new? My only problem was that I didn’t want it to be Joey.

Maybe my problem was more than him having a reputation. It was possible that my biggest hurdle was the fact that every time Ford and Sky would have a get-together, we’d both be invited. The last thing I wanted was to have to see the two of them swooning over each other.

I knew the party was over when I pulled into the driveway and the cars were all gone. Lacey’s was still parked on the side, so I knew she was around. I walked up and knocked on Ford’s door, hoping he wasn’t going to punch me in the face. Instead, Sky answered. “Shayne. What are you doing here?”

I cleared my voice and leaned on the doorframe. “I need to talk to Lace. Can you get her for me?”

Ford walked to the door. He’d changed his clothes and looked like he’d just got up off of the couch, after fooling around. “She ain’t here, man. We haven’t seen her for a while. I think she left after your argument.”

“Her car is still here, though.”

The couple looked at each other and I could tell they were thinking the same thing.

“What?”

“She’s at Joey’s,” Sky replied.

There was nothing more I could say, so I walked away from them.

Sky came running after me. “Shayne, wait! Why do you care where Lacey is? Forgive me for being blunt, but she’s not someone that I want to see hurt. Everything you’ve done here lately has been hard on her. Now you are trying to pass off a child as being yours, when it would mean you conceived it while with Lacey. Do you have any idea what you’ve done to her? Her heart is broken. I’ve been where she’s at and it sucks.”

“You act like none of this is botherin’ me. I care about Lacey.”

“She was in love with you, Shayne.”

I could sense that I wasn’t going to get anywhere. “We never talked about bein’ exclusive. How was I to know that she felt that way? She never told me.”

Sky threw her hands up like talking to me was hopeless. “Never mind. Do us all a favor and leave Lace alone. Let her get over you so she can be happy. If you care about her at all, you’ll at least be decent and give her that.” She walked back into her apartment and closed the door, before I could say anything else.

While walking back out to my car, I saw the light on at Joey’s. I’d like to say that I tried not to look, but when I saw Lacey sitting with that ass**le, and him touching her face, it was like a kick in the balls. I stood there for a few minutes, watching him console her. Anger filled me and all I wanted to do was break down his door and hurt him.

Then I saw him lean over and kiss the top of her head. That tender moment made me feel like maybe she wasn’t just sex for Joey. If he cared enough to comfort her, maybe it was enough for her to get over me and actually be happy.

As heart wrenching as it was, I knew I had to walk away from Lacey. Our time together was over and I needed to learn to be a better person, who was responsible for his actions and decisions. I needed to be able to stand by something or someone and feel what it was like to have them trust me again.

As bad as I felt, I knew I was all alone.

For the first time, not even my family had my back.

This was what I deserved.

Lacey

I couldn’t believe that this was all happening to me. Why I’d thought that Shayne and I could work things out made no sense now. He clearly had no idea how to be in a committed relationship.

Joey was the last person that I thought would comfort me, but that’s exactly what he was doing. After the crowd of people cleared out, he sat with me in his living room. As rough as his appearance seemed, he had decorated his apartment in style. Joey had painted the walls a gray color. His furniture was black leather and he had pictures on his wall with red gray and black hues. His electronics were organized and the place looked spotless all of the time. I couldn’t get over it.