"I've Done Twins", chapter 36
Hands clutching the steering wheel like there was no tomorrow, Courtney drove, gritting her teeth and going at least ten kilometres over the speed limit, home to scream at Billie. When she got into the drive way, she sat there for a moment, staring at the house. Tears running down her cheeks.
"Pull yourself together, you stupid girl," Courtney shouted at her mirror. She fixed herself up and stopped crying. She walked inside and saw Billie sitting on the couch staring at nothing in front of him.
"WHO THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Courtney screamed. Billie jumped out of his day dream.
"What?"
"I TRUSTED YOU NOT TO TELL ANYONE!"
"Well Leah trusted you not to tell anyone about her issues."
"ISSUES?! SHE'S FUCKED IN THE HEAD, BILLIE! THAT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT!"
"Mike has a right to know," he said, his voice remaining a normal level of volume. "He can't be kept in the dark about all this."
Courtney walked over to him and stood him up, so she wasn't looking down at him. She looked into his bloodshot green eyes. "Who else did you tell?"
"No one."
"Tre doesn't know?"
"No, Courtney. I'm not going to tell everyone. Mike had to know. It was eating me up inside."
Courtney sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "If you didn't look so upset and cute I'd probably still be yelling at you."
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's OK," she whispered. "I forgive you. But you've still gotta face Leah."
"Lookin' forward to it."
"Mike?" Leah asked, coming into the bedroom. Mike sat, ripping every page of Leah's diary to shreds. "MIKE! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"Getting rid of this shit," he hissed, throwing torn pages over to her. "Why did you keep all this secret?"
"IT'S NONE OF YOU'RE FUCKING BUSINESS!" she screamed, "GIVE ME THAT BACK!"
"NO!" he screamed back. "YOU'VE LIED TO ME, ABOUT EVERYTHING! YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU LOVE TRE! YOU WERE HAVING A BABY! YOU WERE A FUCKING SLUT AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT EITHER!"
Leah ran up to him and punched him in the face. Mike fell backwards onto the bed, he stood up, ready to punch her back. His fist was flying towards her when he stopped. Leah hadn't even flinched.
"Go on," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "It won't make you feel any better."
Mike stood, fist in place.
"Do it. I dare ya."
Mike's fist stayed in place, shaking. Almost every part of him was shaking. Leah shoved him away.
"How was I supposed to tell you this?" she asked, glaring into his eyes. "How was I supposed to tell you that I was the village bicycle? Hm?"
"Just openly say it!" Mike snapped, "I loved you, Leah. I wasn't gonna judge you or leave you. I wanted to help you."
Leah's looked lost. "Why are you using past tense?"
"Why do you think?"
She looked down; a tear fell from her cheek. "But..."
"I've given up on love, Leah. Everytime I've tried to fall in love I end up getting my heart smashed. But never like this. And especially not to the one person I honestly believed I was going to spend the rest of my life with."
Her head cocked up. "What?"
Mike threw something at her. Leah bent down and picked it up. A ring. A silver, diamond ring.
"I was going to ask you to marry me, but instead I might give it to Tre. He might wanna give it to you."
Leah was heartbroken. She couldn't talk. Or breathe. Or move. She couldn't defend herself or stick up for herself.
"Mike..." she whispered. "You don't understand..."
"I understand alright."
"NO YOU FUCKING DON'T! YOU NEVER HAVE! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU! I WAS CONFUSED! I WAS STONED! I WAS MESSED UP! IF I DIDN'T LOVE YOU I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF YOUR BABY A LONG TIME AGO!"
"HOW CAN I BE SURE IT'S EVEN MINE ANYMORE?!"
Leah shut her mouth. "That's just something you have to trust me on. I've always, always, always been faithful to you, Mike. Always."
He sat down on the bed and sighed. "Do you still love him?"
"No," Leah sighed, "no, I don't. Because I know he was the one that got my car flogged..."
They both smiled weakly. Leah continued, "And he has a girlfriend who he's smitten over now. And I have a man who I love. A man who's gonna be the father to my child. A man who I wanna spend the rest of my life with."
Mike looked up into her eyes. Leah sat down next to him and sighed.
"Mike, not a day goes by where I don't think about the baby that I could have had. I was only a baby myself, I couldn't do it. The first time I met you..."
"A year later..."
"I knew you were something... special, I guess. But, I had a pretty big crush on Tre, at first. Then I realized she doesn't have enough depth like you do. I relate to you more, Mike. I love you. And I love being with you. I love the thought have having your kid. And trust me, it's yours. And I love the thought of being with you forever."
Mike took the ring from her hands and slipped it on her wedding finger.
"Then let's do it," he whispered. "Let's get married."
Leah smiled and leaned in for a kiss, just before their lips touched, something stopped them.
"LEE? LOVE? I'M HOME! I NEED SOME HELP WITH THE SHOPPING! CAN YOU AND MIKEY COME DOWN!?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "COMING, MUM."
Mike smiled, "Go help your mom."
"Fuck that, you're comin' too."
"Um, mum," Leah started gently, "I think maybe you should go to Courtney's tonight. I'm in a horrible mood...'cause of...y'know..." Leah nodded towards her stomach. "Besides, Courts really wants you over."
"Yeah," Mike nodded enthusiastically. "So does Billie."
"Oh? Does she? Aw, the sweethearts. All right then, Mike, can you grab my stuff and I'll be off to see my girl."
"I thought I was your girl!" Leah gasped jokingly.
"You're both my girls," Mel smiled. "Don't fret, Leah, love."
When Mel left, Leah and Mike turned and giggled.
"Aren't they in for a rude shock when she turns up?" Leah grinned.
"They are," Mike agreed. "Should we call and give them a heads up?"
"Nah, Courtney deserves a little punishment."
Mike suddenly picked Leah up and cradled her like a child in his arms.
"And so are you, young lady. You're going straight to your room for a severe punishment."
"You're home early," Tre said when Jess came in.
"I know," She said. Tre was sitting on the couch with a sleeping Frankito on his lap, with his head against his father's chest.
"What happened?" Tre asked.
"Um... bit of... a fight. Sorta."
"You and Leah had a fight?"
"It wasn't me and Leah."
"Leah and Courtney?"
"No."
"Leah and Hayley?"
"No."
Silence.
"You and Hayley?"
"It wasn't me!" She snapped. "It was Leah and Mike."
"Wipe the side of your mouth," Tre said. Jess wiped her mouth.
"Why? Is something there?"
"Only a bit of BULLSHIT!"
Frankito's eyes shot open. "MR POTATO HEAD!" He shouted.
Jess took Frankito out of Tre's arms and hugged him. "Look what you did," She smiled jokingly.
"Leah and Mike don't fight," Tre said, "It's unnatural. It's like...just..."
"Unnatural?"
"That's the word I was looking for," he grinned.
"Everyone fights, Tre," Jess said. "Even you and me have fought before."
"What was the fight about?"
"I dunno," Jess said, swaying gently to get Frankito back to sleep.
"Come to think of it," He started, looking thoughtful, "We haven't had a fight for a while."
"Hm."
Quick silence.
"I hate you, Jess," he grinned.
"It's on, bitch," she grinned back.
"What's for dinner?"
"What do you say to pizza?" Jess asked.
"To pizza? I'd say 'get in my belly'."
Blank stare. Tre grinned. "Miss Fort-"
"NO! HAH! I GET IT! I GET IT!"
"Shh!" Frankito hissed from the other side of Jess's shoulder.
"Do you want me to call pizza?" Tre asked, trying to help out.
"Are you serious?" She scoffed, "No way, man. If I'm cookin' pizza I'm cookin' it the Barbarossa way!"
"Barbarossa?" Tre asked, raising an eyebrow. Jess handed a light-napping Kito back to Tre.
"It's my mum's maiden name. She's Italian."
"I knew you had a bit of Italian in you," he laughed, "I knew it."
"It's my skin, isn't it?" she joked.
"Well, you do have the olive sort of skin."
"Yeah, and blue eyes," she murmured. "I'm a cross between both parents. Half Italian half Aussie."
Tre smiled. "You could be German."
"Could be," She shrugged, "You never can tell these days." She walked away into the kitchen. Tre sighed.
"Oh, she's a weird one, son," He whispered, kissing the top of Frankito's head.
About an hour and a half later, Tre came into the kitchen, and it smelt great.
"Mm mmm! Can't wait 'till that's ready."
Jess turned around and smiled. "Well you're gonna have to wait."
"Jesus!" Tre gasped, "You somewhat now resemble Snow White!"
Jess grinned, covered in flour. "I know. But at least I didn't get the kitchen all messy."
She had flour all over her shirt and a bit on her chin. Tre smiled at her.
"Could be worse," he sighed.
"How do you mean?" she asked. Tre shoved his hand in the flour packet and then slapped Jess's ass playfully.
"Could be like that."
Mouth open in mock-outrage, Jess tried to turn her head back far enough to see the damage done to her dark blue jeans.
"That..." she started, "was NOT cool!"
She put her hand in the flour and gently slapped Tre's cheek. A white hand print graced his left cheek. Again, he put his hands in the flour and placed them, this time, on Jess's boobs, giggling the whole time. Needless to say, a fight broke out and both parties ended up cleaning more flour then need be.
But, at least by the time they were done, the pizza was ready and their clothes were half way cleaned.
"Pull yourself together, you stupid girl," Courtney shouted at her mirror. She fixed herself up and stopped crying. She walked inside and saw Billie sitting on the couch staring at nothing in front of him.
"WHO THE FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Courtney screamed. Billie jumped out of his day dream.
"What?"
"I TRUSTED YOU NOT TO TELL ANYONE!"
"Well Leah trusted you not to tell anyone about her issues."
"ISSUES?! SHE'S FUCKED IN THE HEAD, BILLIE! THAT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT!"
"Mike has a right to know," he said, his voice remaining a normal level of volume. "He can't be kept in the dark about all this."
Courtney walked over to him and stood him up, so she wasn't looking down at him. She looked into his bloodshot green eyes. "Who else did you tell?"
"No one."
"Tre doesn't know?"
"No, Courtney. I'm not going to tell everyone. Mike had to know. It was eating me up inside."
Courtney sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "If you didn't look so upset and cute I'd probably still be yelling at you."
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's OK," she whispered. "I forgive you. But you've still gotta face Leah."
"Lookin' forward to it."
"Mike?" Leah asked, coming into the bedroom. Mike sat, ripping every page of Leah's diary to shreds. "MIKE! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"Getting rid of this shit," he hissed, throwing torn pages over to her. "Why did you keep all this secret?"
"IT'S NONE OF YOU'RE FUCKING BUSINESS!" she screamed, "GIVE ME THAT BACK!"
"NO!" he screamed back. "YOU'VE LIED TO ME, ABOUT EVERYTHING! YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU LOVE TRE! YOU WERE HAVING A BABY! YOU WERE A FUCKING SLUT AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT EITHER!"
Leah ran up to him and punched him in the face. Mike fell backwards onto the bed, he stood up, ready to punch her back. His fist was flying towards her when he stopped. Leah hadn't even flinched.
"Go on," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "It won't make you feel any better."
Mike stood, fist in place.
"Do it. I dare ya."
Mike's fist stayed in place, shaking. Almost every part of him was shaking. Leah shoved him away.
"How was I supposed to tell you this?" she asked, glaring into his eyes. "How was I supposed to tell you that I was the village bicycle? Hm?"
"Just openly say it!" Mike snapped, "I loved you, Leah. I wasn't gonna judge you or leave you. I wanted to help you."
Leah's looked lost. "Why are you using past tense?"
"Why do you think?"
She looked down; a tear fell from her cheek. "But..."
"I've given up on love, Leah. Everytime I've tried to fall in love I end up getting my heart smashed. But never like this. And especially not to the one person I honestly believed I was going to spend the rest of my life with."
Her head cocked up. "What?"
Mike threw something at her. Leah bent down and picked it up. A ring. A silver, diamond ring.
"I was going to ask you to marry me, but instead I might give it to Tre. He might wanna give it to you."
Leah was heartbroken. She couldn't talk. Or breathe. Or move. She couldn't defend herself or stick up for herself.
"Mike..." she whispered. "You don't understand..."
"I understand alright."
"NO YOU FUCKING DON'T! YOU NEVER HAVE! I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU! I WAS CONFUSED! I WAS STONED! I WAS MESSED UP! IF I DIDN'T LOVE YOU I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF YOUR BABY A LONG TIME AGO!"
"HOW CAN I BE SURE IT'S EVEN MINE ANYMORE?!"
Leah shut her mouth. "That's just something you have to trust me on. I've always, always, always been faithful to you, Mike. Always."
He sat down on the bed and sighed. "Do you still love him?"
"No," Leah sighed, "no, I don't. Because I know he was the one that got my car flogged..."
They both smiled weakly. Leah continued, "And he has a girlfriend who he's smitten over now. And I have a man who I love. A man who's gonna be the father to my child. A man who I wanna spend the rest of my life with."
Mike looked up into her eyes. Leah sat down next to him and sighed.
"Mike, not a day goes by where I don't think about the baby that I could have had. I was only a baby myself, I couldn't do it. The first time I met you..."
"A year later..."
"I knew you were something... special, I guess. But, I had a pretty big crush on Tre, at first. Then I realized she doesn't have enough depth like you do. I relate to you more, Mike. I love you. And I love being with you. I love the thought have having your kid. And trust me, it's yours. And I love the thought of being with you forever."
Mike took the ring from her hands and slipped it on her wedding finger.
"Then let's do it," he whispered. "Let's get married."
Leah smiled and leaned in for a kiss, just before their lips touched, something stopped them.
"LEE? LOVE? I'M HOME! I NEED SOME HELP WITH THE SHOPPING! CAN YOU AND MIKEY COME DOWN!?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "COMING, MUM."
Mike smiled, "Go help your mom."
"Fuck that, you're comin' too."
"Um, mum," Leah started gently, "I think maybe you should go to Courtney's tonight. I'm in a horrible mood...'cause of...y'know..." Leah nodded towards her stomach. "Besides, Courts really wants you over."
"Yeah," Mike nodded enthusiastically. "So does Billie."
"Oh? Does she? Aw, the sweethearts. All right then, Mike, can you grab my stuff and I'll be off to see my girl."
"I thought I was your girl!" Leah gasped jokingly.
"You're both my girls," Mel smiled. "Don't fret, Leah, love."
When Mel left, Leah and Mike turned and giggled.
"Aren't they in for a rude shock when she turns up?" Leah grinned.
"They are," Mike agreed. "Should we call and give them a heads up?"
"Nah, Courtney deserves a little punishment."
Mike suddenly picked Leah up and cradled her like a child in his arms.
"And so are you, young lady. You're going straight to your room for a severe punishment."
"You're home early," Tre said when Jess came in.
"I know," She said. Tre was sitting on the couch with a sleeping Frankito on his lap, with his head against his father's chest.
"What happened?" Tre asked.
"Um... bit of... a fight. Sorta."
"You and Leah had a fight?"
"It wasn't me and Leah."
"Leah and Courtney?"
"No."
"Leah and Hayley?"
"No."
Silence.
"You and Hayley?"
"It wasn't me!" She snapped. "It was Leah and Mike."
"Wipe the side of your mouth," Tre said. Jess wiped her mouth.
"Why? Is something there?"
"Only a bit of BULLSHIT!"
Frankito's eyes shot open. "MR POTATO HEAD!" He shouted.
Jess took Frankito out of Tre's arms and hugged him. "Look what you did," She smiled jokingly.
"Leah and Mike don't fight," Tre said, "It's unnatural. It's like...just..."
"Unnatural?"
"That's the word I was looking for," he grinned.
"Everyone fights, Tre," Jess said. "Even you and me have fought before."
"What was the fight about?"
"I dunno," Jess said, swaying gently to get Frankito back to sleep.
"Come to think of it," He started, looking thoughtful, "We haven't had a fight for a while."
"Hm."
Quick silence.
"I hate you, Jess," he grinned.
"It's on, bitch," she grinned back.
"What's for dinner?"
"What do you say to pizza?" Jess asked.
"To pizza? I'd say 'get in my belly'."
Blank stare. Tre grinned. "Miss Fort-"
"NO! HAH! I GET IT! I GET IT!"
"Shh!" Frankito hissed from the other side of Jess's shoulder.
"Do you want me to call pizza?" Tre asked, trying to help out.
"Are you serious?" She scoffed, "No way, man. If I'm cookin' pizza I'm cookin' it the Barbarossa way!"
"Barbarossa?" Tre asked, raising an eyebrow. Jess handed a light-napping Kito back to Tre.
"It's my mum's maiden name. She's Italian."
"I knew you had a bit of Italian in you," he laughed, "I knew it."
"It's my skin, isn't it?" she joked.
"Well, you do have the olive sort of skin."
"Yeah, and blue eyes," she murmured. "I'm a cross between both parents. Half Italian half Aussie."
Tre smiled. "You could be German."
"Could be," She shrugged, "You never can tell these days." She walked away into the kitchen. Tre sighed.
"Oh, she's a weird one, son," He whispered, kissing the top of Frankito's head.
About an hour and a half later, Tre came into the kitchen, and it smelt great.
"Mm mmm! Can't wait 'till that's ready."
Jess turned around and smiled. "Well you're gonna have to wait."
"Jesus!" Tre gasped, "You somewhat now resemble Snow White!"
Jess grinned, covered in flour. "I know. But at least I didn't get the kitchen all messy."
She had flour all over her shirt and a bit on her chin. Tre smiled at her.
"Could be worse," he sighed.
"How do you mean?" she asked. Tre shoved his hand in the flour packet and then slapped Jess's ass playfully.
"Could be like that."
Mouth open in mock-outrage, Jess tried to turn her head back far enough to see the damage done to her dark blue jeans.
"That..." she started, "was NOT cool!"
She put her hand in the flour and gently slapped Tre's cheek. A white hand print graced his left cheek. Again, he put his hands in the flour and placed them, this time, on Jess's boobs, giggling the whole time. Needless to say, a fight broke out and both parties ended up cleaning more flour then need be.
But, at least by the time they were done, the pizza was ready and their clothes were half way cleaned.
