The Other Side

“Get lost, Andy.”

She tried to shut the door quickly but Andy shoved at the door, knocking her back. She caught her balance as Andy slammed the door shut and jabbed a finger at her face. His smile was gone, barely contained fury in his eyes.

“It’s not over until I say it’s over.” He snarled.

Charli smoothed down the skirt of her dress and faced him down.

“Slight problem, I decided it was over weeks ago. You should’ve gotten the hint by now. I’m not going anywhere with you so get lost.”

Andy shook his head, staring at her like she had taken a leave of her senses.

“How can you throw away ten years of our lives like that?”

“I didn’t throw it away. You did.” Unable to look at him, Charli turned and walked into the kitchen. She knew it was a bad idea talking to Andy but he needed to get it into his thick head. “I kept forgiving you for all the cheating you did because I believed we were strong enough to get through it. But I realized at the end that I was stupid for staying. I should’ve walked away years ago.” She put her purse on the counter and turned to face Andy. “How long have you been fu*king Kim?”

“Just that night.” Andy spread his hands towards her. “I promise you.”

If she hadn’t caught them Charli might have believed him. But not this time. She had had enough of his lies.

“People don’t fu*k each other in the ass on their first time, Andy.” She accused. She pointed a finger at him. “You’ve been sleeping with her longer than that night. And don’t deny it because we both know it’s true.”

“She doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“No, she just gives you anal because I won’t.” Charli shook her head. “I don’t believe you, Andy. It’s over and I’m not getting back with you.” She took a step back as Andy came forward. “And if you touch me I’m calling the police. Now get out of here.”

For a moment she thought Andy was going to comply. He turned away with a scowl and a shake of his head. Then he stopped, almost appearing to freeze. Charli was about to shove him in the back to get him moving when Andy darted towards the trash can, snatching up the pregnancy box that lay on the top.

Charli froze. She had hoped Andy would never find out. It wasn’t any of his business now, they weren’t together but she knew if he found out who the father was…

“What’s this, Charli?” Andy turned and shoved the box under her nose. “What are you doing with a pregnancy test?”

“Give it back, Andy.”

Charli tried to snatch it back but Andy took it out of reach.

“Now what would you be doing with a pregnancy test? We haven’t had s*x in weeks.” Andy’s eyes narrowed. “You cheated on me, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Don’t lie to me, Charli. You’ve been caught red-handed. Tell me the truth!”

Charli planted her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“Not that it’s any of your business but I slept with someone after I broke up with you.”

“Really?” Andy clearly didn’t believe him. “Who are you sleeping with?”

“No one.”

“Then who got you pregnant?”

Charli kept her mouth firmly closed. She knew the answer would make Andy go into a fury. But she wasn’t expecting Andy’s fist to hit her. Her face exploded and she fell back, hitting her head on the edge of the counter. She collapsed on the floor, her head spinning.

“It was Hildenstern, wasn’t it?” Andy yelled. He grabbed at her hair and yanked her head up. His face was red. “You slept with that bas*ard, didn’t you?”

Charli didn’t say anything. Her mouth hurt and she could taste blood. With a snarl, Andy let go of her head, bouncing it off the cabinets.

“He’s going to regret this.”

Andy stormed out the room. The door slammed shut a moment later. Charli lowered her head to the floor and started to cry.

*****

Mark whooped and punched the air as cheers came up from the speakers and ‘Game Over’ came up on the screen.

“Gotcha!”

“Come off it!” Stephen groaned. He shoved Mark’s shoulder. “How did you manage to do that?”

“Because he cheated, that’s how.” Roberto teased.

“I didn’t cheat.” Mark smirked and reached for his beer bottle. “I won fair and square.”

“Now why don’t I believe you?”

Mark laughed. After Charli’s sudden news Mark didn’t know what to think. It was still floating around in his head, goading him that he was enjoying the last of a single life as he knew it. He wanted to be a parent and the thought of Charli’s belly swelling with his baby was a very endearing picture but Mark was still stuck. This was a big step and he wasn’t sure what to do next.

He needed some advice. So he had invited Stephen and Roberto over with the pretense of having a guys’ night in. They had been playing soccer on his Xbox and were waiting for pizza. Mark was planning on broaching the subject of Charli’s pregnancy while they were eating. Both of them knew about him sleeping with Charli and had berated him for taking advantage of her but he didn’t know how they would react over this.

But they were parents themselves, although Roberto’s children had been planned while Stephen’s had been sudden after a drunken night eight years ago. Although not with the mother, Stephen made a point of seeing his daughter whenever he could and paid child support for her. He made sure she never went without.

Mark was hoping they could help him out on the next step.

He was jerked out of his reverie when the doorbell went. Stephen shifted from the floor to the couch and stretched.

“That should be the pizzas.”

And the inevitable conversation. Mark put his controller down and went towards the door. His stomach growled as he thought about the meat-dominant pizza he was about to devour. Stephen acted as his dietitian as well and keep him on a strict diet but he was allowed a cheat night once a week. And Mark made the most of it.

He had barely got the door open when the door flew open and a fist hit him in the face. He stumbled back against the wall and felt his shirt being grabbed and he was held up.

“You utter bas*ard!”

Mark’s vision cleared and he saw the man in front of him, his face inches away from Mark’s. He blinked. His nose hurt.

“Henson?”

Henson slammed him against the wall. He looked furious.

“You think you can get my girl pregnant and keep her away from me?”

How did he know? Mark couldn’t see Charli telling Henson about it since it wasn’t his business. His mind was still foggy.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

Roberto and Stephen appeared, wrestling Henson away. Mark sagged onto the floor and watched as Henson shrugged out of his friends’ hold and start back towards him. Roberto stepped in the way.

“Keep back, Henson.”

“Keep out of this.” Henson slapped Roberto’s hand away and pointed at Mark. “This is between him and me.”

“Henson, I am a police officer. And while I may not be on duty, I can have you arrested for assault if you don’t calm down right now.”