BRANDON: Stepbrother Navy Romance Series (4 page)

Jackie raced over to where Alex worked, a small beauty salon. She was a nail technician, and whenever Jackie came in, if she didn’t have clients, she would do Jackie’s nails. She was a nice woman, but very different from what the normal people would understand. She wore all black and had lavender hair. She usually scared people away, but it added to her charm. When Jackie got in there though, she saw Alex at the reception desk, twiddling her pencil and looking around.

“I know I’m getting paid hourly, but man I would love to go out to the bar right now,” she stated to herself.

“I wish I could too, but I have my own problem,” Jackie replied.

Her best friend looked up at her, smiling warmly.

“Hey there girl! It’s been way too long,” Alex said.

She embraced Jackie, and after a moment or so, she stepped back. She glanced over at Jackie’s face.

“Holy shit you look terrible. What the hell happened?” she asked Jackie.

“Long story. Do you have some time to talk?” Jackie asked.

“Honey, for you I have all the time in the world,” the other stated.

Jackie smiled at that. She was so happy her best friend was cool with her barging in on this. She hated to be such a burden, but to be honest, she needed to talk to a girl right now. Jackie went over to the place where Alex did feet and nails, and soon she was soaking in a tub and had some strange stuff put on her feet.

“This feels good,” Jackie stated.

“I hope it does. It’s some new scrubs that I got. Helps with sores and cracks. So what’s going on? School messing with you?” the other asked.

“Well it always is, but this is a bigger and more dangerous issue that I’m dealing with. It kind of has to do with my future,” she told Alex.

“What happened? Did dad let you go?” she asked.

“Not really, he still supports me. It’s just…I’m pregnant,” Jackie stated.

At that point, Alex stopped, looking over at Jackie with a glance.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” she told her.

“Nope. I’m telling the truth. I have the pregnancy test in my bag to prove it,” Jackie said.

“No I believe you. You look terrible though. Is it the sickness?” she asked.

“No. I mean I do get sick a lot, but at this point, it’s the anxiety of the whole thing,” Jackie admitted.

“Ahh I see. So who’s the father? I hope it wasn’t some random dude that you had a one-night stand with,” her best friend stated.

“Not at all. In fact, it’s someone closer to me than that,” Jackie stated.

Alex then looked up, scrubbing her feet still but her attention focused on Jackie’s words. She was wondering who in the right mind managed to knock up her best friend, and who Jackie would even allow to knock her up. This had to be an accident, it just had to be.

“Spill it. I’m worried about you Jackie,” she stated.

“Fine. It was Brandon. My stepbrother. He came back recently, and we hit it off really well, almost way too well. I thought I was being smart, but obviously that wasn’t the case,” she told her.

“No shit Sherlock. How in the world did you manage to do that? And why did he knock you up?” she asked.

“It was an accident. I’m not on any birth control, and we didn’t use a condom,” she told the other.

“Well no wonder it happened Jackie. You know better than that. Hell you’ve been to more biology classes than I have, and you know how babies are made,” the other chided.

“Sorry. I know that it was a foolish mistake, but I don’t know what to do. I’m scared, and because of the anxiety I have, I’ve been unable to eat for the last couple of weeks,” Jackie told her.

“Shit. I’m so sorry babe. But I think you should do the right thing for yourself, and save yourself the heartache of not being able to take care of a baby,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.

“I’m telling you to get rid of it while it’s little. I know you’re not too keen about terminating the baby, but abortion is the best course of action. Think about it, you’re not ready for a child Jackie. Hell I don’t’ think you’re even ready for a boyfriend, especially with this shit. The two of you are not together, and I think it’s best if you just let things go the right direction, and you get rid of it now before it ruins you,” she told Jackie.

Jackie nodded feeling number than ever before. She couldn’t believe that this was happening, especially to her.

“I’m scared Alex,” she told the other.

“I’m worried as fuck about you Jackie. I mean, I don’t’ know what to do with you at the moment, especially since all of this is going down. But I think you should do the right thing, and get rid of it before this thing takes over your life and puts you on a bad path,” sh4e told Jackie.

Jackie listened to this. She was right in a sense, but she didn’t know how he would feel about it.

“What about Brandon?” she asked.

“Well he was the one who stuck it in there. I honestly don’t think he gets a say, because even though he’s an idiot, he should’ve used protection. Like come on dude, most guys know about that shit. They know better than that. I think he’s going to use you if you’re not careful,” she told her.

“I don’t’ think he will. But I’m worried about it Alex, I’m worried that if I make the decision without him, he’ll be mad. He already knows that something is wrong, and I know that he has the money to abort it if he agrees with me, but I’m scared that he won’t. And plus, I’m not too sure if I want to abort it or not. I’m worried about my education, sure, but at the same time, I know that I can at least try to balance all of this and actually make it work. That’s what I want to do Alex,” she told the other.

“I know that’ what you want to do Jackie, but think about your damn self as well. You’re going to be carrying this fucking thing, and you need to choose whatever the hell is right for you. I’m not your mother, but if I were you, I would get rid of it while you have the chance, because right now, I can see it all crumbling down. I’m here for you, I just want to think about what is best for you as well,” the other said.

Jackie understood. As much as she didn’t agree with what Alex stated, the woman did have a point. She was playing with fire right now, and this was something that she would just have to face. Still, she knew that the only thing that could be done right now was to ask Brandon about this. She hated to be a bit of an intruder on everything, but she knew that if she didn’t have a decision on this soon, she was going to go plumb crazy because of all of the feelings that she had. That was the last thing that she wanted, and after a little bit of time, she nodded.

“Thank you Alex. I’ll talk to him. I’m going to have to. I know you say that I should make the choice, and when it comes down to it, I will, but I want to go through with this, and I want to have this baby if I can. I mean, I could always give it up for adoption too fi that’s the case,” she told her friend.

“I’m not the maker of your destiny, I’m just telling you what I think. I hope you’ll be able to resolve this soon. And don’t worry about the pedicure and manicure. It’s one the house because you’re my best friend, and I know that you’re going through some serious shit,” she told Jackie.

Jackie smiled in gratitude.

“Thank you. I owe you one,” she told her.

“Well make the right decision, and I will consider that payment,” she stated.

Jackie nodded, feeling a tiny bit better, but still anxious as all hell. She would have to talk to Brandon about everything, and she would need to figure out just what the hell is going to happen next. Jackie knew that she had quite the decision to make, and it was one that definitely wasn’t going to be easy, at least for her. Her life was about to change, and she didn’t know if it was for the better or for worse, but she would do what she felt was right, and she knew that the heart was the final say of what was going to happen next, and Jackie knew for a fact, that although she was terrified of this, she would have a logical conversation with Brandon, and she would at least try to figure out the best course of action for them now, and in the future. She just hoped that it would be an easy resolution, and not one that could put her at odds with the one man that she cared about.

Jackie felt insecure about all of this. She wanted to tell him, she really did, but she was terrified of what he was going to say. Would he be okay with this? Was it going to all fall in her face? She honestly didn’t know for sure, but when she got home that night, she saw that Brandon was already there.

“Shit,” she told herself.

She didn’t want to deal with this just yet. She would rather spend a little bit of extra time formulating a proper re3sponse to everything, and making her words clear. But she knew that she either wanted to abort it for now, or to give it up for adoption if he got mad. She knew that this would be her fuckup. She should make sure that if she ever does this again, which she honestly doubted more than anything, she would make sure that she did have some form of birth control that she could afford, and some protection so that it never happened again. She wasn’t going to go through with this again if she could help it.

But of course, she was nervous about everything that was going on. She honestly didn’t know how he was going to react. It was either going to be really good, or really bad. When she got home, Brandon looked up at her in an expectant manner.

“You all right there, Jackie? You kind of just ran off,” he told her.

“Yeah. Sorry about that. I’m going through some shit. I’ll probably tell you about it later. Just let me be with my thoughts for now and let me think about everything that is going on,” she told him.

He nodded in assent, looking over at her and smiling.

“Yeah, I think it is for the best that we definitely try to figure out what’s going on. I’m here for you, and if you’re scared to tell me, don’t be. I understand a lot of things, and some of them being the problems that women go through. If it’s regarding school, I can help you study and shit too. I’m not afraid to put a little bit of elbow grease into my stepsister’s education. It helps get the parents off my back too,” he told her.

She nodded feeling nervous about everything. S eh wanted to tell him, she really did, but the anxiety that she had was caving in on her, making her feel worse than ever before.

“Yeah. Just give me a little bit of time. I have to formulate how I’m going to put this,” she explained.

“That’s fine dear,” he told her.

He planted a small kiss against her cheek, and Jackie smiled at him. Shed wondered how he would take the news. She felt nervous to tell him, but at the same time, it almost felt relieving that he would be understanding in a sense regarding this. Sure they would both have to make an executive decision regarding it all, but she was definitely ready for this.

She then went back to her room, thinking about the options that she had laid before her. Those were her thoughts for the next three days, all about how it was going to work out for her and her life, if it was going to be worth it to tell him or not. She thought about a little bit of it, but then, she sighed. It was going to be way harder than she thought it was going to be, and she knew for a fact that it was probably going to test her in ways she never thought possible. But she would do it, she would make sure that she had everything squared away before going through with it.

After a bit of time, she decided that she would tell him. However, before she even got out of her room, Brandon knocked on the door. She got up, heading over to the doorway and then going to check it. She wondered if he was going to ask her first or if she was going to tell him first. After a moment or so, he then looked at her a she opened up the door, smiling at her warmly.

“Hey there,” he stated.

“Hey yourself,” she replied. She wondered who was going to be the first to ask about everything.

“So, about what’s been going on? What’s happening? You’ve been acting so different that I don’t know what to do about you,” he stated.

She looked at him, realizing that he was serious about this. So he was going to be a bit more forceful. This worried her, and she wondered how it was going to be for him when she spilled it.

“Well first I want to make sure that you’re not going to be pissed if I tell you,” she started.

“Well, I won’t be, as long as you didn’t do something too terrible. The last thing I need is to have a sister that is running from the law. I don’t’ think our parents would be too peachy keen on that shit either,” he offered.

“It’s not that. But it does affect the both of us, and to be honest I’m terrified about telling you,” she replied.

“What’s that?”

She looked at him, trying to avoid his penetrating gaze. There was an obvious reason why she wasn’t too keen about telling him everything. For one, she didn’t know what was going to happen to them, and what they were going to do. He might run away, and then she would be stuck having to take care of a baby, or at least try to get rid of it. But then, there was the fact that she would be having a drastic change in her life, and if he was afraid of it all, he could leave her.

“I’m scared that you might leave me,” she replied. She was trying to hold back from crying, and he could see that.

“I’m not going to leave you. Don’t’ worry about that. Just tell me,” he stated.

Jackie tried to think of any other type of excuse that she could use in order to not tell him. There had to be some sort of reasoning that she could use to get him off her back, but then, she was all out of options. She had to do this, because it was all that she had lefty.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m pregnant,” she told him.

He stepped back, shock plastered on his face. Great, this was so going to happen like that. She didn’t want to think about the damn fact that she would have him looking at her like that as her first response to this. Of course, Alex berating her wasn’t that much better, but Alex was her best friend, and she had full reason to chide her. But this, this was just getting to her.

“Wow,” he responded.

“Wow, finally you said something,” she told him.

“I know that it took me a moment to respond, but it’s kind of the fact that I never expected this to happen. I mean, we did have sex, but I didn’t think that this would come from it,” he told her.

“Well it did, and I’m worried. I’ve been scared of telling you because I thought you would hate me, and I thought that you would leave me no matter what,” she told him.

“Not at all. Why would you even think that Jackie? Do I look like the type who would leave a girl in that sort of situation? Yeah I can be a bit of a fuckup, but to be honest, if I care about the person, I’ll stay with them. I care about you a lot, and I’m wondering what you’ll choose. To be honest, I’ll let you know right now that it’s your body, and I’m not going to control what you do with it. I’m worried about you if you do continue to carry it, but to be honest, this is your decision. You’re the one holding it for nine months, not me. But I will take care of you. I care a lot about you, and I’ll take care of the baby as well. It’s your choice on its fate, but if you do keep it, I’ll take responsibility for my actions,” he stated.

Jackie heard this, and she felt so happy. She couldn’t believe that she was going to have this baby if she chose to, and that Brandon wasn’t too pissed about it. In fact, he seemed gentle and happy about everything, not pissed off like how she imagined. She knew that this would be a major change for them, and she wasn’t going to have to worry about that.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be the type of person who doesn’t let the man have a say in things,” she offered.

“To be honest Jackie, whatever your decision is on this, I will agree to it. If you want to keep the baby, great. If you don’t, then I’m not going to be pissed off and make a hissy fit over it. I don’t want to make things turn out that way, especially with you and me. You’re my stepsister, and if worst comes to worst, we can make this work, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to agree with the demands that you want to have on this. I want to help you out Jackie, and I want to make sure that you’re happy with the outcome that you choose as well. You’re the one who determines the fate of yourself and this child, and if you choose to abort it, let me know. I’ll take you to the clinic myself and stay with you while the doctors do it,” he offered.

Jackie couldn’t believe this. He was a lot better about this than she thought. Maybe it was because he seemed to understand all of the shit that she was going through, but in her mind, and it made sense to be doing this. She thought that it was right, that it was the great thing to be doing, and she wanted to go through with the demands with support on her side.

“Thank you so much Brandon. I was terrified of telling you. I’ve had anxiety for weeks because of it,” she admitted.

“I noticed that. I was getting scared too and was about to take you to the doctor myself. But now that I know the cause of it, I’m here for you, and I’ll always be by your side. To be honest Jackie, I will always be there for you, whether we are together romantically, sexually, or just in a sibling manner. I don’t’ see you as a sibling, but as more of a friend and someone that I want to protect and care about. I mean, I know that we have the lovely problem of telling our folks about this when it does come out and rear its ugly head, but when it does, just remember that no matter what they say, I’ll always be there for you,” he offered.

Jackie looked up, beaming at him and feeling something within her stomach start to lurch a little bit.

“Thank you so much Brandon. I really appreciate it,” she replied.

“Not a problem my dear. You deserve it,” he stated.

She nodded, feeling gracious about everything. The two of them kissed one another, and Jackie realized that it was the first time she hadn’t felt anxious in a very long time, and she knew that she was helping Brandon as well. It seemed liked things were going their way, and she would tell him her decision in due time, but little did she know that at that moment, another problem would come up, and they would have to deal with the options from that first and foremost before anything else could come their way.