The Love of Lies

Family

Cori’s POV

It’s too early for me to be awake, but I couldn’t sleep, and now that it’s time to get up, I’m suddenly exhausted. I don’t feel bad, I’m just anxious about seeing my baby for the first time, especially now that Ashton has asked me to forget about ‘us.’

Mrs. Lewis already picked out an outfit for me to wear, just like I knew she would, so all I have to do is get myself ready.

I know the woman cooked breakfast because she told me, and because I don’t want her family waiting on me, I walk to the table as quickly as possible.

“Good morning,” I sing as I sit next to Ashton, not wanting to spark anyone’s curiosity.

“Are you okay?” The man questions, looking at me with a raised brow.

“I’m fine,” I reply while putting a few scoops of egg on my plate. “By the way, Julia looked beautiful last night. Did you choose her dress?”

“You know that I can’t control myself. Just like I buy things for you, I buy a lot of things for her too.” Mrs. Lewis becomes silent, but out of nowhere she asks me where I went yesterday.

“Oh, they served my table chicken thighs and spring vegetables. It was tasteless, so I couldn’t eat it. I was so hungry by the end of the night that I had to make a quick detour before coming back."

“I heard about that nonsense, and I promise you that it will not happen again, but why didn't you tell Ashton? He would have left early for you.” The woman's question leads me to believe that she has no idea what took place between her son and I, so I don’t want to be petty by bringing it up.

“There wasn’t a need. I know the address to this place, and I didn’t want to needlessly take him away from what he was-”

“Oh, come on Cori...” Ashton’s interruption was unexpected, and because he’s so close to me, I became startled. “You didn’t give me a chance to ever explain. I’m telling you that I didn’t give that woman my number.” Since Ashton wants to bring this up right now, I’ll go ahead and allow myself to speak my mind.

“I don't even remember what you’re talking about.” Ashton’s face falls, and I hope he feels as horrible as he made me feel last night.

Fortunately, no one gets involved in our exchange, so the conversation ends there, allowing me to pick up my fork and place a huge chunk of the scrambled egg into my mouth, only to chew into a piece of diced tomato that escaped my view.

The feeling of nausea was almost instant, but I managed to hold my food down, however I'm sure that my facial expression gave away my discomfort.

Ashton’s POV

I already told my mother what happened last night, so she attempted to play middleman for me, but when she greeted Cori this morning, she said that nothing about the woman’s behavior seemed out of the ordinary.

I thought she was just trying to make me feel better, but Cori entered the room with a bright smile, sitting beside me as though nothing happened at all.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Cori starts talking to my mother about Julia’s dress, but everyone here knows that she skillfully geared the conversation toward something that will lighten the mood and change the subject.

However, it doesn’t take too long for my mother’s enthusiasm to die down, but she’s also skilled in gearing a conversation to where she wants it.

“Oh, come on Cori…” As I expected, Cori didn’t tell me she was leaving because she misunderstood what happened, and my reaction scares her, but I’m too worked up to start apologizing right now. “You didn’t give me a chance to ever explain. I’m telling you that I didn’t give that girl my number.” Cori’s expression becomes dull, almost as if she’s avoiding the topic, but after an audible sigh, the woman responds in a tone so dry that it’s offensive.

“I don't even remember what you’re talking about.” My face falls, realizing at once that Cori is referring to my own stupid words, but before I can respond, the woman’s expression goes sour.

She covers her mouth, and I try to help her stand, but she flinches away from my touch so aggressively that I pull my hands back in surrender.

It’s clear that she doesn’t want me to touch her, and she disappears while I helplessly sit at the table, knowing that following her will only make her pull away from me more.

“So, you’re telling me that in one night, you managed to make her hate you again?” My father was already mad because I ‘allowed’ Cori to be embarrassed, then, after hearing my story this morning, he called me an i***t, and now, he must think I’m a complete failure. “You could at least go see if she needs help.”

“You know just as well as I do that she’d rather swallow her tongue than to let me help; especially now.”

“I’ll go check on her.” My mother leaves the table, leaving me to stew in my father’s death glare, but I can’t take it, so I stand to warm the soup she made specifically for times like this.

“About damn time…” It occurs to me that my father was waiting to see what I would do, and although he didn’t give me instruction, I know what he’s trying to say.

Cori’s POV

I didn’t want Ashton to touch me, but I really don’t need help right now. What I need is to get everything out of my system, and I regret eating such greasy food before going to bed.

“Cori dear, may I come in?” I roll my eyes and open the door, annoyed because I really just want to be sick in peace. “I believe Ashton…”

“He’s your son.”

“True, but I saw how you two interacted last night. You looked happy.”

“I was happy…” ‘Until I saw Ashton flirting with his ex, then give out his number.’ I didn’t say the last part out loud, specifically because it’s not important.

“Cori… Please don’t get caught up on this issue. Ashton explained it to you, and I don’t see why he would lie.” That’s true, and I probably wouldn’t have still been angry if Ashton didn’t threaten me.

“Mrs. Lewis, I know it may seem like I’m being petty, but I really don’t like being embarrassed, and I don’t like that in my twenty-one years of living, the person I’m pregnant by, is also the person who’s embarrassed me most.”

“What are you talking about?” I don’t want to repeat some of the things I heard Mark say, so I simply shake my head and rinse out my mouth.

“I’m going to brush my teeth again; I’ll rejoin your family in a few minutes.” I’m not sure what I said wrong, but Mrs. Lewis looked so hurt that I’m scared. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Why did you say family like that? Cori, you’re mad at Ashton, but have I ever treated you badly?”

“No… Mrs. Lewis… that’s not what I meant. I just…” I take a deep breath, releasing the air slowly because I really need to calm down. “I didn’t sleep at all last night, so I’m a little grumpy, and I’m nervous about my appointment.”

“What exactly are you afraid of?” Mrs. Lewis can’t possibly understand how I feel because she’s never struggled before.

“I guess I just don’t feel like I’m ready.”

“Well, take it from me dear; no one is ready; it just comes naturally.”

“Okay.” I don’t really want to keep talking about this, so I walk away and when I come back to the table, there’s a bowl of soup where my eggs once sat. I take a few sips and relax when my stomach doesn’t churn, so I look up with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Lewis.”

“Ashton’s got that for you…”

“But your wife cooked it.” Mr. Lewis shakes his head, probably annoyed with me, but ‘forgiving’ Ashton is not an option, at least for right now.

“So, you two have a doctor's appointment in a few hours, and I’m expecting to hear about my grandchild this time.” Mrs. Lewis leans toward her husband, reminding him that they’re going out of town. “Do we have to? I really don’t feel like sitting in a room with people who would treat Cori the way they did. We have to make a stand now.”

“We can make a stand in other ways. We’ll insist that Cori is given preferential treatment at all the other events.” I can tell that the Lewis’s are trying to make me feel better, but they are having the exact opposite effect right now.

“Mrs. Lewis, please stop… I was wrong. It’s not just ‘your’ family. Just please don’t invite me anywhere else.” Ashton’s been quiet since I returned, but he suddenly finds his voice.

“Mom, dad, I already told you both that we will only be going to events hosted by our family in the future.” Anger and ignorance are two different things, so I keep my mouth shut, hoping that the couple actually listens to Ashton this time.

“Since you two are actually on the same page right now, we’ll consider it.” I narrow my eyes, knowing that I’m being played, but I have no intention of speaking up. I just want to finish my soup and crackers so that I’m not starving later.

Ashton’s POV

I had only just put Cori’s soup down when my mother tried to smack me, but I was able to pull my face away in time. My eyes were wide in shock because I knew that she missed on purpose, but even so, her point has been made.

“Did you say something that would make Cori feel like she isn’t a part of this family?”

“I didn’t…” I pause, remembering that I told her to forget about us, and by default that also means forget about anything having to do with me. “I was jealous, and I said something stupid. She was hanging around Brandon all night, and I-”

“Brandon?” My father practically shouts, lowering his voice before he continues. “What was she doing with him?”

“I don’t know, but they were talking a lot.”

“I hope he didn’t tell her about his family. You know how his stepmother feels about him, Cori might…” I rub my temples, realizing that Cori may have drawn parallels between our baby and Brandon, but that will never happen.

I may not marry the woman, but I will never allow anyone, not even my future wife, to intimidate me into treating my own flesh and blood the way Julia’s uncle treats Brandon. To me, he’s worse than Chris’s father, who was absent altogether, because he keeps Brandon at an arm's length, taking advantage of the fact that the man is a damn good business attorney.

“What do I do? I’ve given her so many hints that I want to be in a relationship with her, but she’s not taken any of them.”

“Why are you giving her ‘hints?’ Why not just tell her how you feel?” I don’t actually have an answer that my parents would find satisfactory, but I know my family will help me in this situation, especially because they like Cori.

“That's not important, I just don’t want her to feel like an outsider.”

By the time Cori returns, my parents and I have a plan in place, one I’m sure Cori can see right through, but she’s saying nothing.

“Mom, dad, I already told you both that we will only be going to events hosted by our family in the future.”

My parents agree to ‘consider it,’ and my only hope is that this strategy doesn’t work against us later.