FALLING: The Negative Ion Series (17 page)

But… it is his child and I committed to do this. I have to finish this conversation.

“Of course, Jaxen. You know you were my first and I haven’t slept with anyone else. My due date is January 14th.”

More silence then I heard a beep in my ear and looked at the phone. The timer was flashing and I inhaled.
Jaxen hung up on me. I call him back, it goes to voice mail. Guess he made his choice.

Crying,
I shut off Roland’s phone and go back to my living room. Roland immediately comes over and hugs me.

“What happened,
Itsy? What did he say?”

“Nothing,” I sniff. “He
just… he hung up.”

Roland tenses but he holds me and rocks m
e gently. I calm in his embrace and tighten my arms around him, grateful he was here but wanting to strangle him for convincing me to call Jaxen. I guess he was right, after all. Jaxen did need to know. And now he does and he doesn’t want any part of my son’s life. Fine.

Roland is still here, holding me. Comforting me. I need this and I need support. He’d give it to me. I could possibly get those feelings back I had for him before. Maybe they’d grow. Maybe Roland is the man I am supposed to be with. Maybe.

I sniff. “Roland?”

“Yes?”

“Would you do something for me? It’s a really,
really
huge favor.”

“Of course.
You know I would do anything to help. You just have to name it, Itsy, and it’s done.”

I hope so.

“Roland… will you—“

His head tilts. “Will I what,
Itsy?”

I take a deep breath
then look up at him…

Chapter 16

Too L
ate

Four
days later, Roland and I exit a cab and I shivered. We start walking swiftly to the entrance of the condo’s building but the driver called out to Roland; he’d left a bag on the seat. It was my much needed chocolate. I mock glared at him.

“Wait here,”
Roland grinned, kissed my cheek then jogged back to the cab.

I shivered hard then
tried to tighten my coat around me as a sharp wind blew. I thought I heard someone calling my nickname. I looked around and shrugged, dismissing it when I didn’t see anyone. Then I heard it again. The voice sounded familiar, so personable that it made my heart skip. I searched around again, even though I knew the owner. I needed confirmation and froze when I saw the person the voice belonged to. I was right.

Jaxen
.

He was running from the diner on the corner with a huge grin on his face. My legs shook and I had to pray fast and hard that I would not fall flat on my face.

“Oh, God,” Jaxen grinned. “Look at you! You’ve never looked more beautiful, Itsy.”

I just stared at him, thinking I was in the middle of a very, very bad dream. One thing I was certain of: this wasn’t going to end well no matter if it was a dream or reality.

“Jaxen?”

His hands came out and opened my coat. He pressed his war
m hands on my belly and I thought I saw a tear fall when the baby kicked. I shivered again.

“
I’m sorry, you have to be cold. Let’s go inside somewhere, get warm and talk. Are you hungry? That diner has the best cinnamon rolls and coffee. Can you still drink coffee? How about tea? No, milk. How about a heated cinnamon roll and an ice-cold glass of milk?”

I closed my eyes and shivered again.
I opened my eyes fast when I started to boil.

“
Jaxen, what are you doing here?” I finally managed to say.

He frowned. “What?”

“Have you gone deaf recently?!” I shout. “What are you doing here?!”

Jaxen
reached out and grabbed my hands, caressing them. “Where else am I supposed to be, Itsy? You’re going to have my baby in a few weeks. I should have been at your side all this time.”

I shook my head
, snatching my hands away. “Go away, Jaxen. We don’t need you and your misplaced sense of duty.”

“Misplaced…”
Jaxen started. “What does that mean, Itsy?”

“It means you didn’t care about me when you ripped my heart out of my chest and pissed all over it! It means my baby and I do not want or need you anywhere
near us! Go away, become rich and famous and pretend I never told you anything about my son!”

Jaxen
blinked, his eyes flashing. “A son? It’s a boy?”

“Yes!” I shout
again. “And that’s all you will ever need to know about him.”

I walked away then but
Jaxen caught my arm and turned me back.

“What is this,
Itsy? Why are you acting this way?”

“Are you kidding me,
Jaxen?” I snorted.  “When did you become dense?”

“I’m nowhere near dense. Confused as hell, but not dense.”

I crossed my arms, no longer feeling the cold as the anger piercing through me, warming every cell in my body.

“What are you confused about? Please tell m
e so I can clarify shit for you,” I shout. “I thought I was being clear. What is it you’re not understanding? Seriously. What the fuck don’t you get?”

Yeah, that wounded him, me throwing his words back at him. I can see that I cut him deep and at this point, I don’t give a shit. Now he has an inkling of how I felt in that fucking parking lot.

He stares at me as he recovers, swallowing hard, he refuses to vocally acknowledge those words. “I’m confused about this behavior, Itsy! Why are you telling me I can’t be in my son’s life? What the fuck is the problem here?”

“You don’t know? Please. You
say you aren’t dense but that is definitely the behavior of a dense person. You have a lot of nerve showing up here! What the fuck do you want?”

“I want you and my son! Why else would I fly across the country
and hole up in a diner for three days?”

“
Really? Funny… the last thing I remember you saying you wanted was pussy. Pussy that will fuck you and do it right. I don’t have time for you to teach me how to do that. I have a son coming soon and you may very well want him but you sure as hell don’t want me! Why would you? I’m no longer a virgin and I would really fuck up you getting blowjobs from different bitches after every show!”

I saw
Jaxen cringe and smirked. Yeah, I remember everything.

“
Itsy, about that--”

I put my hand up. “
Save your fairy tale. Get a lawyer. You tell him or her mine is Samuel Forrest and they can work out visitation for you.”

“I don’t want visitation with my own kid! I want him with me all the time! I do not want him shuffling from one home to another!”

“
FUCK WHAT YOU WANT, JAXEN!”
I shout, finally snapping. “You should have thought of all of that when you hung up on me when I told you about the baby!”

“I didn’t hang up on you,
Itsy! The phone--”

I hold up my hand
again. “I swear I don’t care anymore, Jaxen. And I really don’t care what you want. Do me and my son a favor and go away. Don’t ever come back.”

“I
can’t do that, Itsy. I love you.”

I shivered then. Love? What?

“Since when? What, you can turn it off and on like a light switch?”

“There is no off switch. I have loved you since forever and I always will! Fuck, I’m so sorry about that bullshit I said to you in that lot but… God… please don’t do this… wait… Roland? What are you doing here?”

“I belong here, Red,” Roland says as he stops to my right. “Why are you here?”

“You don’t need to be here, Ro,”
Jaxen nods. “Whatever you’ve done for her, thanks. I got it from here.”

I shook my head. Roland’s arm came around my
back and his hand rested on my shoulder. I saw Jaxen’s eyes widen then he grabbed my left hand and I could feel the relief flood him when he saw my hand was bare.

“They’re swollen,
” I murmur.

“What?”
Jaxen paled and looked up at me.

“My fingers,
Jaxen. They’re swollen. It wouldn’t fit.”

“Are you,”
Jaxen whispered. “What are you saying, Itsy? Don’t say… please… I love you and I want you, so bad. Please, tell me you will take me back.”

“I can’t do that, Red,” I say softly. “
You broke my heart and nearly destroyed me. I can’t trust you anymore. Besides, you’re too late.”

I reach inside my shirt and
pull out my necklace. It has a ring on it, a ring that matches Roland’s. The look on Jaxen’s face, it made me … I felt like I want to plummet. Like I was worse… lower than dirt.

“Tell me you didn’t!
” Jaxen pleads. “You didn’t, Itsy! No!”

“Even if I were stupid enough to
even consider taking you back, Jaxen, you’re just too late. Roland and I were married two days ago.”

###

Thank you for reading ‘Falling’ by Ryanne Anthony. Please consider leaving a review and rating.

And… scroll
down for an excerpt from
The Negative Ion Series, Book Two: Fell
, Jaxen’s POV.

Ryanne is a lifelong storyteller and avid reader. She enjoys sharing her stories and creating new worlds and putting them on paper.

Ms. Anthony is a Midwestern girl, born and raised, and is a loving wife and mother of a boy and a girl, one each of the human and furry species.

Please visit
www.AuthorRyanneAnthony.com
for more information, playlists and excerpts and to ask Ryanne a question about her and her works.

Other works by Ryanne Anthony:

Broken (The M Series, Book One)

The M Series, Book Two: MARIAH

The M Series, Book Three: MARCUS

Coming Soon:

The M Series, Book Four: MADISON

The Negative Ion Series, Book Two:
Fell

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@_RyanneAnthony_

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Excerpt from
The Negative Ion Series: Fell
Jaxen William Malloy’s POV.

About halfway through our party, Samantha went stupid.

“Crap, Red,” Mike groaned. “Your sister five-o’d us! She’s screaming for your mom again.”

I shook my head. “Nah. She’s studying with Itsy. Must be stuck on something.”

I took another drag then put it out and handed it to Greg who pocketed it. Just in time too because that’s when the garage door opened and my dad jumped out of his car. My boys laughed and ran out, no doubt they didn’t stop until they got to their respective homes.

I was not so lucky. Before I could get a good footing to follow one of them, and because I have always respected my father, I froze when his voice rang out.

“
FREEZE JAXEN WILLIAM MALLOY,”
Dad shouted, red and infuriated. “
RIGHT THERE
!”

The extreme look made me laugh. For a man who got paid to eat for a living, he was so stiff. You’d think he’d appreciate the weed smoking, at least. Especially since all I do after I smoke is eat.

“Seriously, John? Full name in front of the boys?” I laughed, causing his face to contort in disapproval. This was way too much fun. I peeked over to Marnie, who fighting the giggles. “Marnie, I’ll call you later, maybe. Keep it warm, just in case.”

The giggle she was holding escaped and I smiled. I felt like egging my father on, so I kissed Marnie. I peeked up at Dad who looked ready to blow, so I gripped her ass and ground my hips suggestively on her pussy. That got him.

“
JAXEN!
THAT IS ENOUGH!
” Dad shouts as he separates us. “Young lady, please go home and put on real clothes. Surely your father takes an offense to you coming out in public undressed like this!”

Marnie’s mouth twitched.
“Mr. Malloy, I can assure you my father doesn’t care what I’m in. I doubt if that asshole knows my name. Jaxen doesn’t and I’ve known him a lot longer and much better than I’ve ever known my father.”

“Huh?” I frowned at her. “
Your name isn’t Marnie?”

She giggles
and smacks my chest. “Nope. And I’m not telling you what it is,” she giggles again then walks down our driveway.

I watched her for a moment then my father smacked my forehead.

“Jaxen! What have we said? No drugs in the house! You shouldn’t use that shit at all! What is wrong with--”

Dad abruptly stopped talking and turned his head up to a window above the garage, a window that belongs to my sister
Samantha’s room. My mother, Samantha and Itsy were having a very interesting conversation.

“
Samantha!” Itsy gasped. “Of course I know. I’ve just never done it.”

“You should. Oh, God, we need to work on you…
OW
! MOM!” Samantha shouted. “What was that pinch for?”

“You leave her alone. There is nothing wrong with saving yourself for the right guy. It’s refreshing to hear a young lady isn’t willing to jump in a bed just because a hard dick is in front of her.”

My heart skipped a beat and I listened intently. Itsy is a virgin? Fucking grrr.

Samantha
inhaled and whined, “Mom… first,
EW
! And second, that is so
not
why Parker and I have sex. I love him. He’s been the only one and I waited until I was 20, so give me some credit, okay?”

Parker is dead when I see him. What happened to respecting her? I suspected they were fucking but to have it confirmed was just… fucked up. I don’t care if I want to do that with his sister. No one told his ass he could touch mine. Fucker. Literally.

“Fine,” my mother sighs, “I will. But leave Kimber alone. If she wants to wait, then allow her. Don’t push her into doing something she will regret later. Kimber, sweetie, you’re right to wait. There is no rush and you have your whole life ahead of you but if you die tomorrow without having sex, well then that’s fine, too. It’s not like it’s a requirement to get into Heaven or something. Besides, doing it with someone you love is far better than doing it for sport. Continue to keep your legs closed and your eyes in your books.”

Yeah, you tell her, Mom! Save that for me. The guy that loves her. Now how and when do I convince her?

“Yeah, and if you get the urge, just use your fingers to get yourself off. Or the vibrating control on the shower head. Better yet, get a bullet and carry it in your purse. You never know when the urge will hit.”

My mind wandered.
Itsy using a bullet on herself. The thought of it heated me through and I wanted to run up the side of the house and strip her of her virginity. I felt my eyes hood at the thought of entering her and even though I knew my father was boiling over and in a way, so the fuck was I.

“
SAMANTHA MICHELLE MALLOY
!” Dad shouted then counted. Didn’t help because next he said, “You’re grounded, young lady!”

I caught
Itsy’s gaze then and started to erect when I saw her cheeks redden. Oh, yeah, baby, I heard it all.

“Daddy, you cannot ground a 22 year-old!”
Samantha giggled causing Dad to snort. I agree. No way was he grounding either of us.

I reluctantly moved my gaze to my sister.
“I don’t care whose brother he is, I’m going to kill Parker, apple-head! I hope both of you have a black dress!!”

“You aren’t going to do anything, baboon
,” Samantha sneered back. “You try and I swear I will tell the cops where you keep your stash!”

I felt Dad’s hand on my arm then he turned me back to him.
“And that brings us back to you, young man. What have your mother and I told you about the marijuana usage? And in our home!”

I bit back a smile and failed. Next came the full-on laugh.

“What the hell is so funny, Jaxen?” John shouted.

“Technically, John, I wasn’t in the house… I was in the garage,”
I laughed again. God, I was sooo high! “You said nothing about the garage!”

“One more ‘John’ out of you, and your life will be over,”
Dad snarled. I couldn’t help it but I tried, I swear… well, I tried a little. Okay, I didn’t. I started laughing right in my father’s face. But I knew the seriousness of his threat so I vowed not to say ‘John’ again, at least not
to
him. My stomach started cramping from the laughing and I swear I wanted chill out for my father. Nothing doing.

“WHAT THE… DAD! FUCK! THAT’S FUCKING COLD!”
I shouted when the first blast of cold water hit me. It was fucking freezing and I tried everything to get away from the spray.

“Oh, it’s ‘
Dad’
now, is it?” Dad shouted as he followed me and still spraying. “I thought you were calling me ‘
John’
now. And that language will never do in front of your mother and me!”

“
DAD
! Will you stop now?” I screeched then gurgled when the water shot in my mouth which made Mom, Samantha and Itsy laugh loud in the window. Yeah, I guess I did look funny. I froze at that thought and as soon as I did, Dad turned off the water and looked at me.

“Son, you have to find another outlet for your angst. Whatever it is that’s bugging you or keeping you from being happy, reconcile it. Going on this path is hurting your mother and I. We don’t want to see you or either of our kids intoxicated, especially from illicit drugs.”

Shit.

“I hear you, Dad. I’ll work on it.” I smiled even though I felt like shit. Disappointing my father was something I did not want to do. Not now. Not with everything that was happening.

Mom and Dad came to me about a year ago, right when I was starting to look for a place to live. I was ready to strike out on my own. When Samantha and I were entering high school, Mom and Dad sat us down and said that when we turned 20, we would be free to move on our own, no objections from them, unless we went away to college.

I was fine with that. I knew then I wouldn’t attend college so hanging out until 20 with the parents was fine by me. By the time I was twenty, I had the tattoo artist job and my savings. I had the gig money from the band as well. When
Samantha and I turned 21, I felt it was time. Mike had his place, Ren and Greg shared a place, Stanley and a cousin were living in his parents’ pool house and didn’t look like he was leaving there anytime soon, much to his parents’ delight.

I found something I thought I could fit right in with. It was near and the rent was great. My mother walked into the kitchen as I was making the appointment to see the place and she paled. She rushed out and I fixed myself a sandwich wondering what that was about. A few minutes later, Dad walked in, holding my weeping mother.

“Sit down, son. Your mother and I need to talk to you.”

I frowned but I sat with my sandwich, some chips and a beer. I started eating as I waited for one of them to start.

“Son, you mom and I, well… that is… see…”

“I’m dying,” Mom whispered.

I froze my chewing and stared then looked at my Dad and he subtly nodded. I stood up and went to the half-bath off the kitchen and threw up. Mom…
dying
. No, not my mother. My mommy. The first woman I ever loved.

###