Beats of Life (Perception Book 5) (29 page)

P.S - If you maintain your side of the bargain, I promise I won’t come back and haunt you! I will also promise to only sneak the occasional peek of your drumstick while you are in the shower (wink wink.)

My loud chuckle echoes around the small bathroom, knowing without a doubt that Melanie wouldn’t hesitate in haunting my ass if I ever stepped out of line with Kylie. But even before I read her letter, I already planned on doing what she requested.

I will love and cherish Kylie until my very last breath.

Kylie

My eyes slowly take in my surroundings, forcing a small smile to form on my face. I should have known that Melanie would have thrown the most extravagant party you could possibly imagine for her wake. She would have never settled for anything less. Every weekend our small apartment was bursting at the seams with people attending her regular events. We never had much money, but it didn’t stop us from throwing the best parties Orange County had ever seen. Most of our friends would arrive with the alcohol and snacks and we supplied the venue and the music. Although I never participated in any of the games Melanie would organize at her parties, I still looked forward to them every week. Her parties kept our minds occupied on something other than the aggressive treatment we were both going through. It gave us something to look forward to during the shitty weekly hospital stays.

I love Melanie, but god I was angry with her the day after I got her letter. I was so mad that she never gave me a chance to say goodbye. She could have told me that she was sick when she attended the gala last week, but she didn’t and I was furious with her for that. It was only when Slater read her letter out loud did I realize I had no right to be angry. I had done the exact same thing to him and I loved him more than anything in the world.  So although I will never get over losing her, I have already found it in my heart to forgive her. What she did was one of the most selfless things she has ever done in her life and I can’t fault her for that. She chose to save me just like I chose to save Slater.

I spot Slater the instant he steps out of the male bathroom. He stands frozen in the doorway, his eyes slowly roaming over my body, causing me to shiver softly. He hasn’t looked at me like that in nearly a week. Not since the day he discovered the bruise on my thigh. He swiftly makes his way across the crowded room, weaving in and out of the hundreds of people attending Melanie’s wake. Today is only the second time I have seen him in anything but jeans and boots. He is wearing a black suit with a dark grey dress shirt underneath. He looks incredibly alluring and if I wasn’t attending the funeral of my best friend I would not have been able to keep my hands off him.

He stops directly in front of me, his hand lifting to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Are you ready to go home?” he questions softly. I gently nod my head. I came and said my final goodbye and now I would like to continue grieving in private.

He clasps his hand around mine and after saying goodbye to his band members, he walks us to the town car waiting out the front. The instant we exit the nightclub, I become blinded by paparazzi lights. Slater growls angrily while pulling me into his side, using his forearm to shelter our eyes from the camera flashes. I quickly jump into the black town car and scoot across the backseat. Slater soon follows me. When he tries to close to door, the paparazzi block his attempts. He ends up using his boots to kick the paparazzi cameras out of the way so he can close the car door.

“They are fucking crazy,” he crumbles angrily.

A small giggle erupts from my chest, starling even me. The more I try to hold it in, the more it erupts. Slater looks at me mortified, before his own smile forms on his face.

“That time in San Francisco?” he questions, his smile enlarging as he also recalls the memory. I gently nod my head while smiling.

Melanie facetimed me one night a few days after she had left San Francisco. I was lying in bed with Slater. The instant I answered her call, she talked that fast and excitably that neither of us could understand a single thing she was saying. It was only when she held up a magazine spread did it finally dawn on us what she was talking about. The magazine had a two-page spread about the after party ‘Rise Up’ had attended. There were several different photos throughout the article. I was mortified when she zoomed in on a photo of me when I first stepped out of the limo. I looked like a deer trapped in headlights, my eyes and mouth were opened wide in shock. I giggled loudly when I noticed they also had a photo of Slater’s backside when we snuck back into the limo undetected. But right down the very bottom of the two-page spread was a photo of Melanie and Marcus. It certainly wasn’t the biggest photo and it also wasn’t the most glamourous, but it was her and Marcus together and she was ecstatic. She brought every magazine in her home town and sent copies to all of her family and friends. Even Slater and I got a personally autographed copy.

“She loved her five minutes of fame,” Slater whispers softly.

“She sure did,” I reply quietly. “I’m going to miss her,” I continue, my eyes rapidly filling with tears.

My eyes slowly lift to Slater who is watching me intently. He reaches out his arm and slides me across the seat. Once I am settled on his lap, he runs his rough hand down my back soothingly. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need too. He is comforting me the only way he knows. A few minutes later, the town car arrives at an abandoned airport.

I lift my head of Slater’s chest and gaze into his piercing brown eyes. “Where are we going?” I question confused.

“Home,” he replies, sliding out of the car. I hesitantly follow him.

When I lift my gaze from the ground I spot a private jet to my left. My heart rate rapidly increases as I survey the area around me. It definitely looks like an old abandoned airport and I’m not so sure we should trust any plane that is stored here. Slater chuckles softly at my reaction while accepting the handshake of a gentleman dressed in a pilot’s uniform.

“I am Captain Davis. It is pleasure to have your aboard Mr. Scott,” he says, before his green eyes turn to face me.

“And you too Mrs. Scott,” he continues kindly. I attempt to rebut on his comment when Slater holds his index finger against my lips, halting my response.

“We will board in a few minutes,” Slater informs.

Captain Davis nods his head before making his way back to the small plane. Once he enters, Slater’s gaze returns to mine. His eyes leisurely roam over my face and he raises his hand and runs it down my cheek.

“Do you want to go home?” he questions sincerely. My confused eyes dart between his. The band has been one the road for the past two months so I would love nothing more than to go back to the loft I now call home with Slater. But they still have another two weeks of scheduled concerts to perform, so we can’t go home yet.

“We have already postponed the next two weeks of concerts,” he informs, triggering me to smile softly. I love that he can read my thoughts.

“I will take you anywhere you want to go, you just name the destination,” he informs kindly. Just looking in his eyes, I know he is telling the truth.

“Even Fiji?” I question cheekily.

He chuckles his loud boisterous laugh before he replies, “Even Fiji. Although I may need to get a bigger plane.”

Oh god I have missed his laugh the past week. Without thinking, I lean in and place my lips against his. I have missed his lips on mine the past three days and from the deep moan that escapes his throat, I would say he has been missing mine as well. Our kiss starts slow but soon progresses to needy and urgent. The past three days is the longest we haven’t been sexually active since we have been back together. I went two years without any sort of sexual contact and I felt like I had a lot of missed opportunities to make up for. But it doesn’t feel right to be enjoying life when my best friend just passed away, so I reluctantly pull away from his embrace.

“Where do you want to go baby?” he questions, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth.

“Take me home,” I request softly.

He nods his head while smiling and places one final kiss on the corner of my mouth. Grasping my hand within his, he quickly walks us towards the impressive looking plane. Just as we are about to board, Slater’s phone rings and vibrates in his pocket. The smile that is on his face vanishes the instant he looks down at the screen. I lean over and peer down at his phone. My heart drops into my stomach when I see who is calling. It’s Doctor Webster.

“Hello,” Slater answers, his voice coming out in tremble.

“Uh huh, yep.”

Suddenly, his eyebrows pull together tight and his watered eyes dart to mine. He releases my hand from his grip and runs it roughly over his head. My heart rate accelerates and my palms sweat. Feeling my knees buckle, I lower myself down to sit on the ground, believing it will be the better option than me fainting on the hard asphalt. Slater disconnects the calls and moves quickly towards me. He gathers me in his arms and walks us into the plane without a single word escaping his lips.

He sits down on one of the large white leather recliners and pulls me in close to his chest. The rapid beating of his heart clearly indicates the state of panic he is in. I thought I knew my body better than this. I was certain I wasn’t sick again. I only agreed to all the tests to relieve Slater’s panic, not increase it.

“Breathe baby breathe,” he requests panicked, making me suddenly realize that I am panting in panic.

I can’t get enough air to fill my lungs. I think I maybe in shock. Slater leans over and grabs a bottle of water off the table next to us. He undoes the lid and lifts it to my lips, slowly raising it until a small trickle of water spills into my mouth, instantly relieving my dry throat from all the heavy pants I am doing.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I whisper, lifting my gaze from his chest to look into his panicked eyes. I can’t put him through this again. He doesn’t deserve to go through this again.

He lifts his index finger to my mouth, stopping my panicked rant. I have never been any good when I am stressed. The only word I can ever form is sorry, so I tend to say it over and over again.

“You don’t have ALL,” he informs quietly, his eyes slowly darting between mine.

“What?” I question quietly. I don’t think I heard what he said properly.

“You don’t have ALL,” he replies again, this time a small smile forms on his face.

He chuckles softly and runs his hand down the front of his face. When his eyes turn back to mine, his chuckles get even louder that they vibrate right through his body and mine. A small smile forms on my face. Not because I don’t have ALL, but because of his infectious laugh.

Once his chuckles die down, he inhales and exhales one large deep breath. The exhale is so large it dries the tears on my cheeks.

“I love you baby,” he informs with a huge smile on his face.

“I love you too,” I reply hesitantly, unsure why his mood has shifted from panicked to manic in a matter of seconds.

He leans in close and rests his forehead against mine. His still half panicked eyes slowly shift between mine.

“It is lucky I made you add number three back onto your list,” he informs smiling.

I swiftly pull away from his embrace. My nervous eyes flick rapidly between his. When he notices my expression, he smiles while nodding his head.

“I’m pregnant?” I question shocked.

His smile enlarges even more as he continues to nod his head.

Holy shit!

Slater

4 weeks later….

I am not going to lie. When Doctor Webster first told me Kylie was pregnant, I crapped my fucking pants. I had been fully expecting her results to come back as a negative, and I hadn’t even considered the fact that it may have been a positive. Kylie’s chances of falling pregnant naturally were sitting at around five percent, so we may have gotten a little slack with using protection. I should have known my sperm would have been stronger than that. There is no stopping the Scott’s men’s sperm.

Because Kylie is still grieving Melanie she hasn’t fully acknowledged the pregnancy yet. I don’t think she feels right expressing her happiness when she just lost her best friend. I fully understand that, so I will continue to support her through her grief and I won’t mention the pregnancy until she is ready.

I know she is still grieving, but I have seen small sparks of the old Kylie coming back the past few days that I have decided now might be the right time to give her the USB from Melanie. When I hand it to her, she looks at me curiously before walking over to her laptop and plugging it in. Once I realize it is a video like I had seen in the bathroom in San Jose, I remove the USB from her laptop and place it into my large flat screen plasma on the wall in our loft.

Kylie hesitantly sits next to me on the sofa. The movie is a timeline of Kylie and Melanie’s friendship over the past two and a half years. It is similar to the one Marcus had shown me, but more based on them, instead of the all the guys Kylie knocked back. It even has the first day Kylie arrived at Melanie’s apartment still wearing the same clothes she had left the cabin in.

Kylie squeezes me hand several times throughout the movie. Just from watching the hour long video, I can easily see how important Melanie was to Kylie and I finally understand why her grieving process is taking a little longer than I had originally expected. I can also see why Kylie has previously stated Melanie is a female version of me. By the time the movie ends, Kylie has the most beautiful smile plastered across her face.

Seeing that there is another file attached to the USB, I click it open. It is a similar video to the one that was shown at Melanie’s funeral. She is sitting on her bed in the exact same position, crossed legged and smiling brightly.

“Hi gorgeous. I couldn’t tell you everything I wanted to say in the video at the funeral so I decided to make you your own special edition,” she states dramatically, causing Kylie to giggle softly.

“I have one last gift that I would like you to help me give,” she informs softly.

“Because I was diagnosed with ALL at twenty-one I had the opportunity of storing my eggs, and even though I never had any intention of using them, for some strange reason I still had them gathered and stored. When I met you for the first time, I originally thought I had done that for you. But now that I have met your boyfriend, I highly doubt you are going to need them,” she says with a loud giggle. Kylie giggles softly and her hand moves to cover the tiny bump in her belly. This is the first time she has ever acknowledged the pregnancy the past four weeks.

“I think what Serena’s foundation is doing is very admirable and it is going to help a lot of people, but I think we can go one step further. Maybe we can also help out the young girls like you that were too young to have their eggs stored.”

Melanie suddenly stops talking and wipes a tear off her cheek. Her eyes quickly dart around her bedroom while she tries to gather back her composure.

“I want you to donate my eggs I have stored to women who have been through what we have been through. Can you do that for me?” Melanie questions softly. Kylie instantly nods her head, even though she knows Melanie can’t see her.

“Great!” Melanie beams excitedly, knowing that Kylie would have never denied her request.

“I love you Kylie and I miss you loads and loads. I’ll see you on the flip side.”

Melanie raises two fingers to her lips before lifting them to the sky. Kylie copies her movement as the screen goes black.

I turn to watch Kylie’s side profile. I never know what to say to help her so I just offer her comfort in the only way I know how. I pull her towards me so she is sitting in my lap and run my hand soothingly down her back.

“I miss her,” she murmurs into my chest.

“I know you do baby,” I reply. I can see how much she misses her every time I look into her eyes. Part of her soul vanished the day Melanie died.

After a few minutes of offering her comfort, she lifts her head off my chest and stares directly into my eyes. “I miss you too,” she whispers softly, triggering a large smile to form on my face. I’ve missed her too, but I understand this is all a process of her grieving her friend.

“I know you do baby,” I repeat, causing her to slap my bicep playfully. When she smiles, I see a small spark of the old Kylie reigniting behind her eyes.     

“Do you think you could ask your mom about Melanie’s suggestion?” she questions quietly. I instantly nod my head.

I accidentally let it slip to my mom last week that Kylie is pregnant when she dropped us off a whole heap of her home baked goodies. She was beyond ecstatic. She would have never said anything to either Kylie or I, but she was worried about never becoming a grandmother as she knew the statistics on infertility for chemotherapy patients. She is even more adamant now that Kylie was a gift to me from Serena and the more I think about, the more I am starting to believe it too.

“I think it is a great idea, but I don’t think we should do it under Serena’s name,” I inform, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes dart to mine and her eyebrows slowly pull together, clearly showing her confusion.

“We should do it under Melanie’s name. It was her idea, she deserves some credit,” I continue, forcing a huge smile on Kylie’s face.

She places her head back on my chest and remains quiet for several minutes, staring into space, no doubt contemplating everything that has happened the past few weeks. When her eyes lift back to mine, they don’t look as pained as they have the past several weeks.

“I love you,” she declares softly.

“I know you do baby,” I reply laughing. It isn’t that I don’t want to say it back, I truly love her more than life itself, but I want keep the mood light as it’s the first time I have really seen the true Kylie emerging from the shadows the past four weeks. My loud chuckle echoes around our loft the instant she grabs one of the cushions off the sofa and smacks me up the side of my head.

Then my eyes nearly bug out of my head when she stands from my lap and pulls her long sleeve shirt over her head. We haven’t done anything more than kissing for the past four weeks and I’ve missed seeing her beautiful body. I think Kylie being reserved was all part of her grieving process and I was never going to push her to do anything she wasn’t ready to do, even if my body craves hers more than anything in the world.

My eyes leisurely and appreciatively roam over her seductive and fucking perfect body. The swing of her hips easily gains the attention of my dick as she slowly walks backwards. Once she has enough distance between us, she removes her bra and drops it to the ground. Her forearm effectively covers her perfect tits from my view. I can’t stop the smile that forms on my face and I have no chance in hell of stopping my raging hard on.

She smiles and wink seductively before she darts towards our bedroom. I am on her heels before she is even halfway across our living room. The instant my lips attach to her neck her beautiful giggles turn into soft moans that echo around our room. Fuck, I’ve missed those sounds.

There is my girl, standing right in front of me, back stronger than ever.

Around an hour later, we are snuggled together in our bed. Kylie’s heavy ecstasy pants are easily felt against my chest since her head is resting gently over my heart.

“I can’t believe we are having a baby,” she whispers into my bare chest, before lifting her head to look at me. I chuckle softly. I still can’t believe we are having a baby either.

“Are you okay with this?” she questions softly, her apprehensive eyes darting nervously between mine.

I nod my head. I am fucking fine with it, because it is happening with Kylie. If it was anyone else, I would be running right now. It also helps that I know she is going to be tied to me forever. Even if I royally fuck everything up, she won’t be able to get rid of me, no matter how hard she tries.

“Don’t even think about stuffing up,” she says sarcastically. At times I swear she knows me even better then I know myself.

“Because if you do anything wrong, Melanie will follow through with her threat,” she informs sternly. I chuckle loudly. I have no fucking doubt that Melanie would get great pleasure in haunting my ass.

Hold on, how the hell does she know about Melanie’s threat? I cock one of my eyebrows high into my hairline, silently requesting for Kylie to spill the beans.

She smiles softly before biting down on her bottom lip. “You left the note in your suit pants that have been lying on the floor in our walk in wardrobe for the past four weeks,” she informs quietly.

“You do know what a wash basket looks like don’t you?” she asks sarcastically, triggering me to chuckle softly. I have seen one a few times in my life, but washing has never held my interest for very long.

“Isn’t that what I have you for?” I reply cheekily. She punches me on the chest with her enclosed fist, causing me to laugh even louder. Once my chuckles settle down, she rests her head back down onto my chest, where she remains quiet for the next several minutes.

“It is true you know,” she whispers softly, her warm breath fanning my chest.

“I know,” I reply, running my hand down her hair. “I’m not going to give her the opportunity of haunting me. I’ll behave--”

“I’m not talking about that,” she interrupts, lifting her head off my chest. Her eyes slowly roam over my face before stopping to stare lovingly into my eyes. She looks tired and has lost a little bit of weight the past four weeks but she is still the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen in my life.

“I know everything that happened when we were apart. I goggled everything I could find about you after the stage curtain incident,” she informs quietly, her voice sounding embarrassed.

I don’t know why she would need to be embarrassed, she didn’t do anything wrong. I am the one that should feel ashamed. I made a fool out myself during those two years and I would give anything to go back and change every fucked up thing I did.

I attempt to comment on her statement, wanting to apologize for everything I did, but she places her index finger on my mouth, halting any words escaping my lips.

“And in despite of all that, I still love you and I continue to fall in love with you more every single day,” she continues, her eyes getting a small sheen of gloss in them.

“I love you Slater,” she whispers, lowering her mouth down to mine. “Warts and all,” she continues against my lips, causing me to chuckle softly.