Chapter thirty nine

Ten months later

































Christiana

“I’m telling you she’s pregnant.”

“You’re wrong!” Jason said. “She’s blatantly just fat. Do you see how much she eats?”

“Well no wonder she does, she is eating for two.” Christiana replied.

“I’m confused, who’s pregnant this time?” Adam asked.

“Chloe,” Christiana said.

“She’s not pregnant!” Jason insisted.

“So who’s going to ask this time?” Adam asked.

Christiana looked expectantly at Jason.

“Don’t look at me!” He said. “I’m only just walking straight from the last time.”

“Adam?” Christiana asked, batting her eyelashes at him and flashing him her most enticing smile.

“Forget it,” Adam said. “This is your game, I’m a mere spectator… Who do you reckon the father is?”

“Take your pick,” Christiana said. “She’s not exactly a ‘one guy’ woman.”

Duncan lifted his head from the other side of the table where he had been crashed for the last half hour. He groaned heavily as he addressed the rest of the group.

“Okay, if it means you guys will shut up about it, I’ll go.”

He got up and stalked over to Chloe who was busy flirting with another one of her conquests. Interrupting the conversation, Christiana watched him smile seductively at Chloe and lean in to whisper in her ear. Chloe’s face went from a large flirtatious smile to a look of disgust in a matter of seconds. She started yelling something at Duncan, although they couldn’t quite hear what it was she was saying. Duncan responded with something else and his hands went up in a surrender. All of a sudden Chloe’s slapped Duncan around the face hard. Christiana stifled a laugh as Duncan turned and walked back to where they were sitting.

“Well?” Jason asked.

“No. Apparently she is not. Also, she doesn’t like me very much.”

“Just another one to add to the list, huh?” Adam said, grinning.

“You owe me twenty.” Jason said to Christiana, throwing her a smug grin.

Christiana rolled her eyes and dug into her bag, pulling out her family size pack of Rolos. She gave them over begrudgingly whilst Jason kissed the pack and then Christiana.

“You’re a doll.” He said.

“You keep this up and you’ll never have a Rolo again.” Adam said.

Christiana pouted at him. “I was certain this time. I mean, come on, when you sleep around as much as she has, the odds are pretty high that one of those little suckers got in.”

“Maybe she is but she doesn’t know it yet?” Adam offered.

“Well someone else can ask her that,” Duncan said. “I’m officially out.”

He threw them all a wave and walked out of the bar. Christiana watched him go sadly.

“He’s not going back there again, is he?” She asked.

“I’ve got to hand it to him, this has to be the most committed I’ve ever seen him to a woman.” Adam said.

“Yeah, that’s because she’s his ideal woman, she’s not exactly clingy is she?” Jason said.

“She’s not anything.” Christiana said sadly. “I should go there again. I haven’t been in a while.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Jason said. “People tend to steer clear of situations where they can do absolutely sod all to help.”

Christiana checked her watch. “Ah crap, I have to be in The Wild in five minutes.”

“I’ll come with you.” Adam offered. “I’m going that way anyway.”

“Sure,” Christiana said.

Adam and Christiana waved goodbye to Jason and headed off in the direction of The Wild.

“Hey, you'll never guess what I watched last night,” Christiana said.

“If you say it’s another one of my films, I will throttle you.” Adam said.

“What? Can I help it if you happen to be in some of my favourite movies of all time?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Well, just so you know, I am about two more films away from getting a restraining order.”

Christiana gave him a playful punch. “Oh come on, you know you love me really.”

Adam grinned and Christiana saw that look in his eyes again. The one that told her she was a lot closer to the mark than she thought. She hated that look, it made her feel awkward. He’d never said anything directly to her but there had definitely been hints and he made no secret about how he felt towards Connor. Christiana could feel the awkward silence getting the better of Adam and she feared what he might say, he was walking along pensively, his face suddenly very serious. She needed to change the subject quick so she said the first thing that popped into her head.

“Connor’s coming back tomorrow.”

Damn, that probably wasn’t the most tactful she’d ever been. She mentally chastised herself and searched for something new to talk about.

“Are you still pissed at him?” Adam asked. 

Crap. Christiana really needed to stop drinking with Adam. She had no filter on what she said after a couple of glasses of wine.

Truth was she was still pissed at Connor. He’d been gone for almost a month now and she hated him being away. She also worried about how he was. After a couple of months of settling into Utopia, Kelly had put together a scouting party to examine the entire grounds of the building and make sure that everything was safe and without exposure. This, apparently, was a massive job as the full extent of their underground lair spanned over 100 miles, designed to house an ever growing population. Connor had been getting stir crazy being stuck in a building with nothing to fight or kill so he had been the first to volunteer for this trip. What’s more, he had volunteered before telling Christiana. He’d just turned up one evening and started packing. She had been livid.

She hated that he hadn’t told her but even more, she hated that she didn’t know if he was okay. The group that had gone had phones to contact but, the only person able to receive those calls was Kelly, and Christiana tried avoiding talking to that woman at all costs if she was able.

Kelly had found her yesterday however and told her that Connor was safe and on his way back. Christiana had hated it, but she had found herself despite everything else, letting her anger subside. She was just so eager to see him well and safe.

She thought over this at Adam’s question but couldn’t quite find the words she needed to describe how she felt, especially not to him. Instead she just shrugged.

“He has a lot of making up to do, let’s just put it that way.”

They had reached the entrance to The Wild. Adam gave her a reassuring smile.

“Well, I’m glad he’s okay.” Adam said. “I’m pretty sure you would have been a nightmare to handle if he hadn’t been.”

Christiana laughed at that. “Too right. There would have been no living with me.”

She smiled at him and he smiled back. The silence between them stretched and Christiana could feel that awkwardness creeping back.

“Well, I’d better…” Christiana said, gesturing to the doors.

“Yeah, of course.” Adam said, waving her off. “You don’t want to be late.”

“Right.” She smiled at him again and opened the door. “See you around Adam.”

“Yeah, sure.” Adam said and briskly walked back in the direction they had just come.