Hershey's Kiss: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance Novel (13 page)

Where are you, Brandon?
She thought.
I need you…
Just then, Hershey’s cellphone buzzed.

* * *

Jeanette sat on the floor of a jail cell. There were several other cellmates. One particularly large and putrid woman kept poking Jeanette’s ribs and pinching her stomach. It wasn’t yet clear if she wanted to fight or fuck. Jeanette didn’t seem to care and either case. She sat in a fugue state on the floor, completely catatonic. She simply stared at the little TV which was playing near the guard’s desk. It was a news report. Something about a riot outside of the hospital where Jason was staying. Something about violence and danger. Hershey’s photograph appeared, then Jason’s. The message wasn’t so clear, and she couldn’t hear everything, but she knew enough. Violence. Danger. Hershey. That’s all she needed to know. Jeanette smiled.

* * *

Hershey didn’t have time to think about why this was happening. In fact, there was hardly a question that she had time to have answered. Luckily for her, the most important question came answered in her latest text message. She looked at her phone, and that was a message from Brandon. It said: you’re in grave danger. Rioters may breach the hospital at any minute. Get to the roof. I will meet you. Hershey was all too aware that the rioters had breached the hospital. She didn’t know, however, that more would come. Even the police with all their anti riot gear couldn’t quell the growing violence. Soon they would be overwhelmed and the rioters would smash through the hospital doors…

In spite of Hershey’s ignorance, a growing sense of panic came over her. She had to do something or she and Jason might wind up seriously hurt. Jason started to panic. Tears streamed down his face, and he pealed bloodcurdling screams. He started rocking violently. “Jason wants to go hommmme.” he said. “Where’s my Mommy?” he said. “Who are you. You’re not my Mommmmmmmy!” He pounded his little fists on Hershey’s shoulders and kept rocking uncontrollably. Hershey held onto him like a cowboy holding onto a bucking bronco. Considering his size, he was very strong. She wouldn’t be able to subdue him for much longer, so she tried a different strategy.

Hershey began petting the back of Jason’s head and singing to him. Hershey’s voice crept up underneath Jason’s shrieks. As Jason became aware of it, his cries grew softer. Slowly but surely, Hershey’s song lulled Jason into a more pleasant state. Before long, he was totally entranced. Her melodic notes danced through the dark hospital room and calmed the tense energy. For a moment, there was peace. Jason stopped crying and rocking, and he reciprocated Hershey’s hug.

“I know who you are, Hershey.” he said. “Jason loves you.”

Tears welled in Hershey’s eyes. She held onto Jason for a few moments longer. She didn’t want to let go, for once she did, she knew that it would be back to the warzone which they’d just escaped. Hershey wiped her eyes and refocused herself. Then she palmed Jason’s cheeks.

“Are you ready to go see daddy?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s go do this.”

Hershey looked around the room for anything that might be useful. She wasn’t sure what. Maybe a weapon? She opened a cupboard and rummaged through it. She pulled out a hospital mask and fresh scrubs.

“Bingo.” she said.

She put on the scrubs and covered her face with the mask, then she slid her hoodie over Jason. It fit him like a dress. With the hood over his head, you could only see his sparkling  blue eyes. Armed with new disguises, Hershey and Jason left the room and continued walking up the hallways. They both prayed not to meet those scary men again. They didn’t run, but instead, tried to keep a steady pace. Hershey walked through the halls with a calm demeanor; perhaps too calm. She walked in a stilted, robotic manner. If anyone is paying attention, they might certainly have thought that it was suspicious behavior. Nobody noticed… thankfully. Hershey and Jason walked back toward the emergency staircase, and, just as they were about to open the door and start climbing flights of stairs, Hershey’s instincts told her not to.

“You know what,” Hershey said. “I think this time, I’ll take the elevator.”

“Yeah…” Jason said nodding and giggling.

Hershey giggled, too. She let go of the door handle and turned it into words the elevator. She pushed the elevator button and the light went on. The wait for the elevator doors was an excruciating one. She tapped her feet impatiently. Jason looked up and down the halls, and jerked from side to side anxiously, as if he had to pee. He also anticipated the elevator doors. Hershey saw one of the men who’d just the chased her from the corner of the eye. He snooping around far on the other end of the hall. Obviously, he was still looking around for her. A bolt of fear shot up spine. It happened so suddenly that Hershey almost released the contents of her bladder.

Jason hadn’t seen the man, and she tried to keep him calm and inconspicuous without knowing about the impending danger. Hershey kept her back to the elevator and her head down, also trying to make herself look inconspicuous. The elevator doors finally opened, and Jason and Hershey that inside. There was several other people on the elevator going about their daily business. Hershey kept her head down, but she never took her eyes off the creepy man. The doors were half closed before that men ever thought to look their way. He stared at closing elevator blankly and Hershey tried to make herself look even smaller. The doors were belly and inch apart before the lurking suspicion that had been wafting in the back of this man’s mind had come to his full consciousness. He recognized her! With barely a centimeter left between the elevator doors, Hershey looked on with terror as he saw the man running the elevator.

She’d been spotted, which meant that the minute those elevator doors open, Hershey and Jason would have to run like a bat out of hell if they ever hoped to make it out of there alive. Why the hell did they want her so badly? What did she even do?  didn’t those people have better things to do than chase after a nanny? Apparently not. These were the questions that ran through her mind now that she was locked in the elevator with half a moment of respite. Hershey thought about the Rodney King riots back in ‘91. Then she thought about the riots which happened after Princess Diana died.
People lose their shit far too easily.
She thought.

The elevator doors opened. People left the elevator just as they normally would, without the slightest hint of worry or fear. Hershey stuck her head out of the elevator doors and looked left and right. There was no one there. They were at the top floor of the hospital, but if they wanted to get to the roof, they would have to take the stairs the rest of the way. Since the coast was clear, Hershey dashed for the stairs with Jason in tow. As they got to the staircase, a fire alarm went off. It was the riot on the streets below. They had overwhelmed the police, and they had breached the hospital doors. Hershey had no idea what was happening, but she knew that she had to get the hell out as fast as possible. They ran up the stairs even faster. When they’d climbed the two staircases, they had reached the exit door to the roof, but one of the angry looking men was waiting for them there…

Hershey studied his face for a full count of three. She simulated possible escape routes in her mind. It didn’t look good. She could turn back and run, but to where? He’d probably catch them, and even if he didn’t she’d still have a hospital filled with rioters to deal with. Plus, there was no escape route downstairs. Safety was on the other end of that door. Brandon was on the other end of that door. Hershey longed to see him more than anything and she could sense that he was near. The thought of turning away now was unbearable. No. She wouldn’t do it. Hershey saw Brandon’s handsome face in her mind’s eye. As she thought of him, she asked herself, “What would he do?” She considered the options for a while, before she settled on one which sounded plausible.

“Look.” she said. “I want no trouble. I have three thousand dollars in my purse. Cash. I’ve also got a near unlimited budget on my Boulder credit card. It’s right in here, see? Take it and let us go.”

Hershey chucked the cash onto the floor, and the man got on his hands and knees to pick it up without saying a words.
I guess we have a deal.
Hershey thought. Hershey and Jason skipped up the stairs briskly. Just as she was about the skip over the man, he grabbed her leg, tripping her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Hershey screamed and fell to the floor. She tried to shake herself loose, but she couldn’t. She tried to kick him off, but she couldn’t. She held onto the handle of the exit door and horse kicked with all of her might, but it was no use.

The man grappled her legs and soon gained control of her body. Watching the entire scene unfolding, Jason was suddenly overcome with rage. He crawled onto the man’s back and bit his ear like a wild animal. Blood spurted from his head and the man screamed in pain. Hershey and Jason took this opportunity to escape. They pushed the exit doors open, and stepped onto the roof. The last rays of orange sunlight were enough to blind Hershey momentarily. When her eyes focused, she saw a rope ladder hanging from a helicopter, and Brandon hanging from the ladder.

“Jason!! Hershey!!” he yelled.

They sprinted toward him and climbed up. Brandon attached a harness to Jason and Hershey and he gave a ‘thumbs up’ signal to the pilot. The helicopter rose up, and Hershey and Jason were pulled to safety. As they hung in midair, Hershey, Jason and Brandon held on to each other tightly. Brandon and Hershey were so glad to see each other again that they both cried tears of joy. Jason was scared, but next to Hershey and his daddy, he didn’t cry. He was brave.

The three of them looked at the carnage below. Several city streets had been torn apart. They thought about the events which triggered this. Most of those events were inspired by Jeanette’s careful manipulation of the media. She had convinced people that she was an innocent victim who was abused by her wicked billionaire husband. Something like that. Whatever impression she’d left with the people, the flames of passion had been fanned to a full blaze, until people had burned cars and smashed windows, and worse. When it was all said and done, Jeanette had indirectly caused over seven billion dollars in damages.

Brandon, Jason and Hershey were worn out from the events of the last few days. Rest and relaxation in an unknown Caribbean hideaway was just what the doctor recommended. Hershey watched the boys playing from her stretch chair on the pool deck. She’d been feeling sick these last few days, and, after Fiji, the fire, the court case, and the riot, she figured that Brandon and Jason needed a warm moment to themselves. That was the lie she told herself, anyway… 

Brandon and Jason splashed around in the infinity swimming pool. Brandon carried his son around like he was an airplane, crashing him into the water and launching him up again. He made goofy aeroplane noises and Jason screamed and giggled. His brow was usually furrowed with deep lines across it. It was a facial expression honed from years of corporate bullshit. Today, however, Brandon’s face was one of pure joy. His eyes were wide and bright. Little crow’s feet formed at the corners because his cheeks were so widely stretched. The claw marks on his back were still quite prominent. Brandon pretended they weren’t there, Jason had no idea what they were, and everyone else had a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy about them.

Still playing with his son, Brandon stole a couple glances at Hershey. They smiled at each other tenderly. It was hard to believe that they’d only known each other for a few days. In that time, he’d shared more passion with her than with all the women he’d ever known before. He felt like his soul connected to hers, and he hoped she felt the same way. Perhaps hope was an understatement. He was worried. It was easy to proclaim his love to her in the courtroom over a live televised broadcast, but doing the same thing face-to-face was a little more difficult. He was overcome by passion in the courtroom, but now that he’d come back down from his emotional high, poisonous thoughts got in his way.

Didn’t she see the broadcast? If so, why didn’t she have anything to say about it? Why the radio silence? If he opened himself up a second time, would she reject him? After all, they’d only known each other for a few days. Were the feelings in his heart real? They were, but were hers? Brandon couldn’t help but notice that since they’d left for the Caribbean, Hershey had been a little bit distant. Why? Was it because she’d come down with the flu, or was she suddenly having second thoughts? Was his roller coaster life too much for her? He hoped not. Brandon kept looking and Hershey’s beautiful sepia toned face, just a little darker from the sun. He admired it and hoped that he could keep looking at it for the rest of his days.

Hershey smiled back at Brandon, but her thoughts were somewhere else. She wasn’t thinking about her sudden international notoriety, or the hospital riot which almost killed her, or the fire which had just burned down Boulder Manor. She was thinking about their flight over the Caribbean sea. It was there, in Brandon’s private jet, where she knew something was terribly wrong with her body. Her boobs suddenly started feeling heavy. Her areolas were tender. Her ovaries clenched tightly and felt like stones. She had never been so
aware
of her reproductive organs before. Every muscle fiber in her back was inflamed. Sitting, standing and lying down all felt excruciating. She felt dizzy, sleepy and nauseous at the same time. All of these symptoms hit her simultaneously and she was unable to move or get out from plane’s sleeping quarters.

Brandon noticed her sudden illness and figured that in light of all of this week’s chaos, Hershey’s immune system must have crashed. She must have been coming down hard with a bug. He arranged to have a doctor available at their hotel. That was that, as far as he was concerned. Hershey, however, knew that there was more to the story. Her female intuition were ringing the alarm bells far too violently for this to be a flu. Hershey flashed back to her night with Brandon. She remembered clawing his back while he ejaculated inside of her.

If she were more honest with herself, she would have known the truth back then, right at that moment. Brandon’s alpha male seed swam through her canal confidently. She remembered the exact moment when conception occurred. She remembered feeling it. Just a little twinge, but it had definitely happened. Hershey had heard of other women who experienced the same thing. Somehow, they just knew. A doctor? Hershey didn’t need one to break the news. She already knew in her heart that she was pregnant.

When they arrived at the hotel, a doctor was waiting to see Hershey right away. Hershey insisted that Brandon and Jason run off to the beach while she spoke with the doc. Brandon was reluctant at first, but he eventually agreed. Alone in the hotel suite together, the doctor briefly inspected her symptoms, and as expected, he gave her a pregnancy test.

Hershey went into the bathroom to take the test. When it came back positive, as she knew it would, Hershey suddenly felt claustrophobic in the bathroom. An invisible weight pressed down on her shoulders. Hershey stared at the pregnancy test and slid to the floor. She felt like the invisible weight was pressing her into a pancake. After a few minutes, the doctor knocked on the bathroom door…

“Hershey? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ll be right out.” she said after a long, silent pause.

Fuck no! Things were definitely not okay! What was she going to do with this baby growing inside of her? If Hershey was spotted entering any abortion clinic, the media would certainly descend upon her like locusts and eat her alive. Her face would be plastered on the cover of every tabloid for weeks. Would there be more violence? And what about Brandon? What would he think about Hershey getting knocked up, just a few days after meeting him?

He had already had his fill with professional gold diggers trying to ruin his life. Would Hershey become blackballed as the next one? She prayed this wouldn’t happen. The last thing she wanted was to be seen another as another one of Brandon Boulder’s gold digging tramps. She loved him to death. Nevermind the fact that she’d just met him. She knew this wasn’t just a momentary thing. It was just her luck that when she’d finally run into the man of her dreams, something like this would happen to push him away…

Hershey got off the floor and looked into the vanity mirror. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, and tried to straighten herself the best she could. She sighed. She knew that any attempts to compose herself were futile. She was already a trainwreck. She opened the door, and prepared to face the doctor with the news.

“So?” the doctor asked bluntly.

“I’m not pregnant.” she said.

“Really? I could have sworn that you were. May I see the pregnancy test?”

“No you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You just can’t.”

“Hershey, it’s perfectly natural and normal to be--”

“You’re not listening, doctor. I’m not pregnant. I have the flu. That’s precisely what you’re going to say on your doctor’s report.”

The doctor studied Hershey’s face for a moment. He nodded his head imperceptibly. He’d seen other women in this position before. Whenever he did, he always wanted to call the shots, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Understood.” he said.

Seeing that he’d already outworn his welcome, the doctor packed his instruments away and left without saying another word.

* * *

Unlike in the United States, Caribbean skies weren’t spoiled by endless light pollution. When the sun came down, stars poked through the dark canvas of the night’s sky and twinkled gloriously. For the first time in her life, Hershey observed the Milky Way. The celestial clouds were a mix of purplish indigo colors. Hershey contemplated the heavens and felt guilty. Her worries should be trivial compared to the vastness before her. She walked hand in hand with Brandon, but both of them seemed to be walking separate paths. Hershey was consumed by thoughts of the baby growing inside of her.

She knew she had to break the news to Brandon, but how would he take it? She ran movies in her mind about Brandon slamming a door in her face. Each time, the door slammed and she was startled back to reality. Then she’d look at Brandon and feel sad. Brandon had his own worries, too. Where was the beautiful woman that he loved? Where had she gone? Why had she pulled away, right when he felt most vulnerable? He wished that this were another business transaction. Dealing with shareholders seemed so much simpler than dealing with affairs of the heart…

They were as awkward as a pair of teenaged virgins. Both of them obviously had something to say, but they were too chicken to say it. Brandon scratched his head. Hershey rubbed the back of her neck. They swung their conjoined hand as if they hand nothing better to do. Finally, after sta Brandon and Hershey broke out into conversation at the same time. They stopped, blushed, and laughed.

“You go first.” Hershey said.

“Okay.” he said. “There’s no easy way for me to say this, so I’m just going to do it.”

What a way to open a conversation.
Hershey thought.
This doesn’t sound good.
She braced herself bad news. Brandon noticed her body tensing up. Her joints lost their fluidity and her shoulders shrugged unconsciously. He stopped walking, pulled Hershey into his arms and looked deeply into her eyes. Hershey’s body began to relax. Her eyes started to soften, and they searched his for signs of what what he was about to say…

“It’s been a helluva week… ”

Hershey laughed nervously.

“I would have never thought that my life could change so quickly in just one week…” he said.

It’s about to change even more.
She thought.

“In barely a week, I got divorced, my house burned down, and, most importantly…”

Brandon held for a pregnant pause. He was scared, and he knew it. In that lingering second between his last sentence and his next, he chided himself for being such a coward. He could swallow entire companies into the belly of his corporate empire, but he got butterflies in his stomach over a girl. It was his last chance to bail out. Would he do it? No. He decided to go for gold. He cast three more words toward Hershey’s ears, and hoped like all hell that they would fall like stones.

“... I found you.”

Upon hearing his words, Hershey’s eyes began to tremble. The teardrops wanted to flow, but she tried to keep them at bay. A power struggle ensued as Brandon continued.

“I threw away romantic notions a long time ago, Hershey. I would have never guessed that I would’ve been here, with you, like this. I just didn’t even think it was possible, but here we are…”

Brandon leaned closer…

“Hershey, I love you…”

Tears began streaming down her face. The power struggle was over, and Hershey had lost.

“I have since the moment I saw you. Before that, actually. Something told me that I’d be meeting the woman I love. I envisioned it. And then, as sure as sunrise you came knocking on my door the very next day. You smelled exactly the way I expected. Just like cocoa butter… ”

Brandon looked at her tenderly and continued.

“... It happened so fast, it shouldn’t have made sense, yet it did. To me, it made perfect sense. I felt, in my heart, that you were perfect for me in every way.”

Hershey smiled expectantly. Tears kept streaming down her face.

“And then we made love. It was so beautiful! It was the most sublime experience that I’ve ever had. Didn’t you feel like we were connected on a different plane?”

Hershey nodded gleefully. The tears dripped from her face.

“... I did, too. I wear your claw marks like a badge of honor. I am yours, in my heart and body. I don’t care who knows it…”

Hershey nodded again. This time less gleeful and more curious. Where was Brandon going with this?

“... And my marriage. It had been on life support for years. Then, as soon as you showed up, it imploded right on cue. It was almost as if God himself was playing marionette, pulling my strings perfectly. I know this might be moving faster than you’re used to, but to me, it seems like fate. I’m sure of it. I’ve lived by my instincts in business, and it’s gotten me this far, and right now, everything in my heart tells me that we were meant to be. If you feel differently than me, I’ll totally understand, but I have to ask. I have to at least try… “