Zenith Rising (26 page)

“We’re dating?”

“That’s what it’s called, yes. Don’t worry;
it won’t kill you. Now sorry to be… well, me, but I have to get
back to things here. Can we talk about it later?”

He looked at her long and hard, before
turning and leaving her office. She let out the breath she didn’t
realize she was holding. Walking around her desk, she sat down
while trying to ignore the eye-popping stares and whispers.
Everyone nearly salivated with curiosity, anxious to find out more.
Erica said nothing, but simply started reviewing the billing
statements for the last week’s patients. She knew this morsel of
gossip would spread like wildfire through her office, and
hopefully, through the rest of her life.

The funny part was: she didn’t care. She was
excited about dating Spencer with no idea what to expect, or what
he’d do next. Hell, she couldn’t even predict what he’d say to her.
She hadn’t looked forward to something or someone in years, way too
many years to count. She thought of her work as something she had
to endure before she could do what she really wanted to indulge in.
She never felt like that about any man. Never.

****

Spencer was power-washing the bottom floor of
the building, the first item on the list from Sherri. He had no
doubt the tasks came straight from Erica, but somehow, it was a
less bitter pill to swallow when it came from Sherri. Sherri was
someone who Spencer didn’t care about or think about. He didn’t
mind what Sherrie thought of him each time he stepped into her
office. He didn’t care that Sherri thought of him only as the
handyman, and ignored him thusly.

However, he cared a lot when Erica did all
those things.

And now, Erica blabbed to everyone that she
was dating him.
Him.
Spencer Mattox. God! What did that
mean? How could she do that? Why did she do that? In essence, she
virtually claimed him as hers.

Spencer turned at hearing the loud voice
behind him. Tamira stood there, wearing a short skirt and a tight,
black top. Her hair framed her pretty face, but now, her face
looked crestfallen. He released the handle on the power-washer, and
let it die down, turning off the engine, while lifting off the
earphones he wore.

“You and the doc? Is that true?”

He let out a deep sigh. Here it comes.
“Yeah.”

“I see. I guess I understand. I mean, you
couldn’t know about what I didn’t tell you. Really, you couldn’t
know. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

Tamira was oddly rocking on her heels, and
clutching at her middle, as if trying to soothe herself. She kept
chanting to herself that it would be okay.
Shit
. What he was
supposed to say to that?

“Look, Tamira, I thought we both agreed we
were just having fun, you and I.”

“What does she have that I don’t? What,
Spencer?”

Everything,
he thought, but didn’t say
it. Erica symbolized everything he lacked. Everything Tamira
lacked. “It’s not like that. It’s just…”

What? What was it about Erica? He wanted to
see Erica again after having sex with her; when, with every other
girl, he rolled away and instantly forgot their faces, and their
voices became mute to his ears. He didn’t care about any of them,
and didn’t want them near him after the act. But Erica? Erica
rolled around with him. Held him. Talked to him. Insisted that he
look at her. But the strangest part to Spencer was how he wanted
her to coax him to do those things.

Still, here was Tamira, standing before him,
rocking strangely back and forth, muttering to herself. Big tears
filled her eyes, cresting over her eyelids.

He didn’t owe Tamira anything. Not even an
apology, but she looked so pathetic to him, he offered it anyway.
“I’m sorry. I thought you understood how things were. I’m sorry if
you didn’t. I should…”

Tamira’s rocking stopped and her eyes pierced
his. “I’m pregnant, Spencer.”

Spencer stopped. He just stopped everything:
moving, thinking, breathing, even his heart seemed to stop.

“Yes. I’m pregnant. And it’s your baby,
Spencer. I’ve not slept with anyone but you in over a year. So it
has to be yours. And we’re going to share the responsibility
together. It’s okay. About Erica. You didn’t know the good news
yet. You couldn’t have known about it yet. But now you do and
things will be okay from now on.”

Spencer threw the handle of the power-washer
away from his body and tossed his gloves down onto the cement.

“You can’t be pregnant. We were careful.
Very
careful.”

Tamira shrugged, smiling happily. “Who knows
what happened? Maybe someone up there,” she said, pointing to the
sky, “knew we should be together and made sure we would. You know,
be together.”

She came closer, looking up at him with her
dark eyes, so clear and trusting. Almost a kind of innocent, puppy
dog adoration toward him. What the hell? What was this?

“You’re lying. You’re just mad about what
Erica said. You’ve got to be lying.”

“No. No. I’m not lying. I was just waiting
for the right time to tell you. Here. Here, feel it.” She took his
hand and put it on her stomach, although he tried to jerk it back,
but she pressed it onto her abdomen. Before pushing her away
forcibly, he felt that her waist seemed slightly thicker than
before, from what he could remember when he saw her naked.

His shut his eyes and mumbled, “This can’t be
happening.”

“Oh, but it is! It’s really happening for
us!” She beamed, actually glowing now, as she smiled at him. As if
it were happy news to a newlywed couple. His stomach churned with
anxiety, as his heart began beating erratically. She was his worst
nightmare!
No way. No fucking way. How could this be?

Pregnant? Baby? Fatherhood? Him? That was the
worst joke the universe could inflict upon him. Or the poor kid. He
wasn’t fit to be a father. Or responsible for someone else. Someone
else who was helpless. And with Tamira? God! No!

Not now. Not when he was… what? Almost
feeling content with how things were going. With Erica.

Erica. Shit. How could he tell her?

“Don’t worry, I already made an appointment
with Erica. We’ll see her together tomorrow.”

“You want to go to Erica?”

Tamira smiled as she nodded, apparently
oblivious to Spencer’s deadpan tone and visible displeasure. What
was wrong with this girl?

“I didn’t tell her why. We’ll tell her
tomorrow. Together. She’s my doctor, you know. And it’s okay about
you two, because now that we’re having a baby, well, you’ll be all
mine now.”

Tamira’s eyes were vacant, and her smile
vapid. He stepped backwards in surprise, thinking that he must’ve
missed something about her before. All those warnings Erica kept
saying to him about Tamira echoed in his brain. Young, naive, and
troubled.
What she meant to tell him was that Tamira was
fucking delusional. And now she was pregnant with his child?

Chapter Seventeen

Spencer waited in the reception room,
becoming so uncomfortable, he couldn’t breathe. There were plenty
of glances, looks and whispers. When did he ever wait in a
reception room? Never. But here he was, waiting to consult his
pseudo girlfriend about knocking up another girl.

Tamira got up when her name was called. She
was smiling vacantly, like a small child with a secret she couldn’t
wait to tell. Spencer stood up too. He began to hate Tamira. He
hated walking beside her or doing anything else with her. Erica’s
nurse studied them strangely before leading them to one of the exam
rooms, one he previously painted. Hanging on the wall, he saw
Erica’s diplomas along with several certifications and merit
awards. Her fucking pedigree. The nurse weighed Tamira while they
chatted amicably, and Spencer sat beside her, seething. His fierce
resentment of Tamira now was far stronger than he ever felt while
fucking her. He hated her weak, whining voice, and giddy laugh and
her stupid, moronic smile.

Jayda, Erica’s nurse, had always been nice to
Spencer. Now, she eyed him up and down several times, her frown
conveying her tacit disapproval. He sat there, silent and
miserable, with his arms crossed, and one ankle resting on his
knee. The last thing he wanted to do was face Erica.

After leaving work yesterday without a word
to anyone, Spencer didn’t even put the power-washer away. He did it
first thing this morning, and was relieved it hadn’t been swiped
overnight. Erica called his cell repeatedly, no doubt, feeling
confused, shocked, and hurt over why he left work so abruptly
without talking to her. He wouldn’t answer. He was hiding from her,
but knowing she’d surely track him down if he went anywhere he
usually frequented. So he disappeared and got drunk. So drunk, he
didn’t remember getting home and had a monstrous headache this
morning. He was late to work this morning and did everything he
could to avoid seeing or speaking to Erica.

Jayda left the examination room. Alone with
Tamira, Spencer just stared hard at the stainless steel sink.
Tamira chatted away, as if he were cheerfully responding and
answering her inane questions. Then there was a knock at the door
and in walked Erica.

She wore her white lab coat over a blue
business suit. Her hair was down and around her face. The smile she
had instantly vanished and confusion filled her eyes as she stopped
dead in the doorway at being confronted with Spencer sitting next
to Tamira. Her face fell as she glanced at the chart in her hand.
Her eyes seemed to glaze over, and begin to glisten in the span of
a few seconds. Then her horrified eyes met his. She knew.

But damn! If Erica wasn’t the most
professional, competent person no matter what. She entered the room
and shut the door, taking her seat on the stool, and setting the
chart on the counter beside her. Then she turned towards
Tamira.

“So you’re pregnant?”

“Yes, Dr. Heathersby. Two months along, I
think,” Tamira said, nearly glowing with enthusiasm. There was no
cattiness in her voice. No sense of triumph. It was almost as if
she thought of Erica as just her doctor, who was naturally happy
for her. It was like she didn’t comprehend the grave undertones
between the three of them. Erica finally lifted her eyes to
Spencer. He should have called her last night and told her. He
should never have ambushed her like this. Any reasonable human
being would have warned her. Anyone else in the world would have
known to do that. Except him. Because he didn’t know how to handle
himself in any kind of relationship. The least he should have of
done is freaking told her.

But words failed him. After being waylaid by
Tamira yesterday, he couldn’t get past his own thoughts. He knew he
wasn’t relationship material. Erica could finally see that now and
believe him for once.

Erica cleared her throat. “And you think the
child is Spencer’s?”

“Yes. There’s been no one else since… well…
you know.”

Erica nodded. She knew something. Spencer
knew nothing. Not even his own name anymore. Erica’s voice was
calm, kind, even compassionate. How did she do it? Control her
emotions? And restrain herself from ripping out Tamira’s eyes?

“Tamira in light of these circumstances, I
must refer you to someone else. I can’t be your doctor.”

Duh! Anyone got that. Except Tamira. “The
circumstances being you and Spencer? Oh, don’t worry about that,
Dr. Heathersby. He’s with me now. You know, since I’m pregnant. I
need you to remain my doctor. You know... considering...
everything. You can’t abandon me now. I need you.”

What was wrong with this girl? What did she
mean by “everything?” Why did Tamira insist on seeing only
Erica?

“Really, Tamira. I can’t do this.” Erica
refused to look at Spencer.

Tamira grabbed Erica’s hand, her face
suddenly growing tense, and finally losing the space cadet
smile
. “Please.
I can’t do this without you.
Please.
Please.
You can’t just turn me away.”

What the hell was going on? Spencer couldn’t
figure it out. Obviously, there was more to this than he
understood; it had to be something much bigger and deeper even,
than the pregnancy. But… what could be bigger than that?

Erica put her other hand over Tamira’s as the
tears glistened and rolled down Tamira’s cheeks. “Okay. Okay. Calm
down, Tamira. Calm down. I’ll look at you today. Then, maybe, we
can find you an Ob/Gyn you like. Someone you can trust too.
Okay?”

Spencer marveled at Erica. She was amazing.
Her voice was so calming and soothing. She seemed to be getting
through Tamira’s delusional craziness.

“Okay. Everything is going to be okay then,”
Tamira said, rocking again.

Erica’s mouth tightened and she finally met
Spencer’s eyes and horrified, confused, miserable gaze. Spencer
thought Tamira dragged him in to see Erica just to gloat, or try to
hurt Erica. But it seemed much more. Tamira seemed almost panicked,
with a kind of loony need for Erica. Why? What the hell was
happening?

“Why don’t you put the gown on? I’ll be right
back.”

Erica turned and left. Spencer waited a
heartbeat as he realized Tamira was starting to strip.

“I’ll just step out,” he said quickly before
she could grab him too.

He shut the door behind him and leaned
against it. He wanted to shove his fist through it. How could this
be happening? Some girl he didn’t give a flying fuck about was
pregnant with his child! And the only doctor she desperately needed
was Erica! Erica! Of all the women in the world. The only woman
that he ever wanted to have around him. Erica. He actually had her
for about two days, but now, he’d lost her. She was gone for good.
They were done.

But… he had to say something to her, even if
it was too late. Her office door was locked, but he popped the lock
in a second. She whipped around when he entered.