The Love of Lies

Defeated

Ashton’s POV

Cori is setting hard lines between us, but I know this can't be her reaction to our doctor's appointment. If it were, she wouldn't have talked to me this morning, nor would she have apologized for forgetting to cook.

Therefore, her attitude must be because she thinks that I maliciously fired her for some reason, so I try my best to dispel that notion within the woman's mind.

“Cori, Tia Linda isn't your replacement. She's helping me take care of you because the doctor said that you needed rest. When I heard she was coming by the house, I asked her to stay because she’s the one who took care of mom when she was carrying Troy. It had nothing to do with anything else.” Cori makes a weird face and glances up at me as though I should just quit talking.

“Ashton, you don’t have to make excuses. I know how hard it is to deal with difficult people, so you can stop pretending. I promise that I won’t interfere.” Now, I’m really confused, but because Cori seems to be enjoying her meal, I say nothing.

When she’s done eating, she picks up her plate, washes it, and puts it away, not even looking at me all the while, so I step in her line of sight, hoping to catch her attention.

“Cori, I think you need to see a doctor.” The woman gives me a look that tells me she’s unhappy with my words, but I keep pushing. “Your mood is all over the place, and it’s beginning to scare me.”

“Is that your idea, or hers?”

“She suggested it, but Cori, you have to know that the way you're behaving doesn’t make sense.”

“So, what's the plan? Declare me crazy so that you can take my babies away from me to raise them without me?”

“What?” Cori tries to walk around me, but I stop her as gently as possible. “You need to tell me what the problem is, otherwise, I can’t fix it.” With a disgusted expression, the woman pushes my hands off her shoulders, glaring at me in such a foul way that I’m actually offended. “TALK!” Cori jumps, holding her belly as though she’s protecting my own children from me, and seeing that I’m going to get nowhere, I leave her alone.

I don’t know where she went, who she was with, what she was doing, or anything else, and that scares the sh*t out of me. I don’t love Cori, but I care enough about her to want her to be happy, healthy, and safe, but for whatever reason, every word that comes out of my mouth makes her irritated.

Defeated, I call Chris, wanting to ask him what to do, but I’m instantly put off by his greeting.

“Mr. Lewis, how can I help you this evening?”

“What the f*ck is that about? You okay?”

“Sir, if it’s not an emergency, please call me at the office between the hours of 8AM and 4PM.” Chris must have put down his phone, because I can hear him in the background asking his wife if she was ‘happy.’

She’s obviously mad about something, and because she’s ready to pop, Chris is probably doing all he can to keep her calm.

Hours go by with me just staring at the ceiling, wondering if I should go check on Cori, and when I get the courage to move, I open the door to find the woman packing.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorting my clothes.”

“Into a suitcase?”

“That’s where they came from,” she coldly replies, and feeling helpless, I sit at the woman’s desk and notice that her email is open to a response from a home for ‘pregnant women.’

“Cori, have you lost your mind? Whatever it is that you want me to do, I’ll do it, but going into a shelter is off limits.” The woman looks back at me as though she’s surprised that I even care, but I do, I care more about her than I’ve cared about any other woman I’ve been with. “Can you just talk to me?”

“I didn’t get approved for a bed,” she whispers, “But I just feel so uncomfortable here that I want to be ready to leave.”

“If this room makes you uncomfortable, come into my room. We already…” I let my words trail because Cori’s expression becomes gloomy.

“Ashton… are you planning to take my babies away from me?” Sensing that this is a good opportunity to get closer to the woman, I move to where she’s sitting on the floor, but I don’t touch her, not wanting her to recoil.

“Do you not see the irony in your statement? You’re packing your clothes while carrying my children, and you're asking if I’m trying to take them away.”

“Only because-”

“Cori, please tell me what's wrong?”

“Ashton, my feelings are hurt, and I’m sad, but I’m not crazy. Please, don’t let another woman determine whether or not I need help.”

“But, she’s a doctor, and I trust her judgment. However, if you don’t think you need help, I won’t force you, but please let’s keep open lines of communication, if only for the twins.” Cori is really quiet, and wanting to break the awkward mood, I nudge her shoulder. “Please tell me what you’re thinking about.”

“I guess I’m just scared for the future of my babies.” Cori is using ‘my’ again, but since she’s opening up, I won’t correct her right now.

“You don’t have to be afraid. You have me, you have my parents. Julia. Troy. Do you really think that we’ll abandon you?”

“No… but, I can tell that woman hates me, and I don’t know how far she’s willing to go.” I have no idea what Cori’s talking about because from what I observed, her doctor really likes her.

“She doesn’t hate you; she’s simply concerned.” Cori’s entire demeanor changes, and with slumped shoulders, she asks me if I already told ‘her’ about the twins, which makes me raise a brow.

“It’s okay if you did, but I don’t want her to be alone around them until our differences have been resolved.” That raises a red flag, and I stop Cori from attempting to stand.

“Cori… who are we talking about?”

“Your girlfriend…” I try not to get annoyed because I know that she got the thought that I’m with someone else from somewhere.

“Cori, what are you talking about? You… You are my girlfriend.” The woman blows air through her lips with a huff, pushing my hand away as though my words are insulting.

“I’ll pass.” I flinch, not expecting the woman to reject me so mercilessly, but it’s my fault for assuming that she’d want to be with me anyway.

“So just like that, we’re nothing to each other?”

“Ashton, what happened between us was a mistake, but I will never live up to my name.” Cori is speaking through gritted teeth, and considering her words, I realize exactly where her mind is, which brings me back to the fact that she thinks I’m seeing someone else.

“Cori, you are the only woman I’m with. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Ashton… I’m not pregnant.” I say nothing, glaring at the woman because she’s obviously lying. “You see… Just because a person says something, doesn’t make it true.”

“But-”

“Ugh!” Cori quickly covers her head with a blanket, annoyed by my insistence, but before I get to say anything to her, my phone rings.

It’s Chris, and I desperately need the man's help right now, so I take the call, pulling my ear away from the phone because he’s cursing me out.

I don’t want to subject Cori to his vile, nor do I want her to hear what I want to ask the man, so I leave her room, and take the call in the kitchen.

“Chris, what the hell man? What did I do?”

“After that show you put on with Cori at Troy’s dinner, you’re back with Vanessa anyway? What the hell are you thinking?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I do something so stupid?” I’m baffled, but now I know something must have happened that I’m unaware of.

“Let me find a parking spot, and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.” I could tell the man was driving, and just because he’s mad at me right now, doesn’t mean that he’s no longer my best friend, so I’m curious as to where he’s going at this hour.

“Everything okay? Pauline isn’t in labor, is she?” Chris and I can literally curse each other out, come to near blows, then share a meal, that's how close we are, so I'm not at all offended by the insults he was hurling at me earlier.

“We’re good bro. She’s just having a craving for churro ice cream, so I’m out to get it, otherwise, she won’t be able to sleep, and I’ll end up staying awake in worry.”

“When do those kinds of cravings start?” I question, noting that Cori hasn’t asked me to buy her anything, but then again, we don’t share a room, so for all I know, she could be up at all hours of the night, trying to coax herself to sleep because she doesn’t think she can come to me for things like that.

“Truthfully, I don’t remember. Why? Doesn't Cori have cravings?”

“There’s a bakery she likes, but I wouldn’t call it a craving per se…” My phone buzzes and I open Chris’s text, cursing loudly when I see what it is.

“I screenshotted it just in case she tried to delete it.”

“Why didn’t you call me as soon as you saw it?”

“First… My wife is my priority, so when I came home and she was telling me that I had to break up with you, I had to first listen to why we couldn’t date anymore.” I slightly chuckle, knowing that Pauline said exactly that because she knows it will get her the reaction that she wants. “Second, I saw that you posted something about missing her, so I just assumed…”

“That was about Cori, not Vanessa…”

“But do they know that?” Another text comes through and my jaw drops. I don’t follow Cori’s social media profile because we’ve never talked about it, and Julia said that it was stalkerish, but I know her handle.

“To be honest bro… You kind of deserve that.”

“Shut the hell up. I didn’t even know Vanessa was taking pictures, and we are not a family.”

“Cori isn’t going to believe that. Hell… I hardly believe it.”

“Then I’ll just post a picture of us together to clear up the confusion.”

“You’ll only add to her humiliation…”

“Chris!” At this point, I’m totally at a loss, but it seems like my ‘best friend’ is just having fun with me. “She’s planning on going to a shelter to get away from me because of this.”

“Ash bro, I’ve never been in your shoes, so I don’t really know what to say. Have you already tried to beg?”

“I’ve been begging all evening.”

“Then beg with gifts.”

“Useless…” I hang up, texting Chris my thanks before I head back to Cori’s room, but the woman is fast asleep, so I retreat to my own space.

Sadly, I can’t sleep at all, so I sneak back into Cori’s room and sit on her bed, hoping that she’ll wake up and talk to me.

She’s usually a light sleeper, but she hasn’t moved, so I know that she’s exhausted.

I gently touch Cori’s belly, still amazed that she’s carrying twins, but my awe is distracted by the twitching of her legs, making me frown.

I don’t know where she went, but the fear I felt was something I never want to experience again.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, taking the woman's laptop and phone before leaving.