Katelyn.
Katelyn glared at her boyfriend as she blocked him at the door, her hackles raised, the young woman projecting her frustrations directly toward the large idiot standing before her.
"I am pregnant!" She seethed, nearly yelling to the point that she was sure the neighbors were all listening, nosy cunts that they were.
Brandon just glared back at her, looking down with a bizarrely strange mix of emotions: anger, frustration, love, attraction, exasperation… it was all there...
All those various pieces that were the waning remnants of his prior devotion to the very ground she walked upon, intermixed, of course, with his spiraling resentments...
Yet, conversely to the way he'd once stared at her with naught but ardent devotion, now his eyes bore into her with a building anger that seemed perpetually at the risk of boiling over...
His thoughts flashed across his eyes at the speed of light as he regarded her, glancing from her face to her stomach, then back again.
"Then why haven't you been throwing up?" he shot back, expression shifting towards a grimace, tone lost between bitterness and despairing hope.
He was frustrated, of course, but then again, so was she. And as things stood, their clashing would quickly reach a fevered pitch.
"Not everyone has morning sickness! Pregnancies aren't some magic thing that's the exact same for every single woman!"
"Oh, oh, sure, then it's just my sister, my aunts, my mother, Ben's mom, his wife… and you know, everyone who confirmed it online!"
Kate simply bustled up, chin rising in defiant irritation, "You calling me a liar?"
"N-no… but…"
"But what?" She demanded, pushing him back as she invaded his personal space, the young man retreating before her five-foot-five pilates wraith!
Brandon—hesitated, jaw working back and forth, eyes almost taking on the semblance of a desperate man… Clearly, herBrandon was not entirely gone yet, but the words that left his lips did very little to calm her down. "Maybe—you know… if you just agreed to go to the hospital with me…"
Katelyn fumed, her arms crossed, eyes blazing, furry filling her gaze as she stared up at her boyfriend, who was clearly quite nervous but hadn't yet been willing to budge on the matter.
Usually, he wasn't this difficult for her to manage!
Usually, he would already be groveling at her feet! Typically while she shouted and insulted him for daring to question her! Storming about their apartment, threatening to leave him for one of his friends as he apologized, begged and promised her the world!
She'd always tell him that they would know how to treat her right, that they would leap at the chance to be with her!
And who wouldn't?
She was wealthy, beautiful, the perfect height with the perfect bodily dimensions!
Medically speaking, she was the ideal pinnacle of femininity! Luscious curving hips, a slender waistline, the face of an actress, breasts as big as her own head, and an ass that was made to be worshiped by lesser beings than herself!
She knew she could have anyone she desired in this world, corraling them beneath her thrall with but with a simple touch here and a small taste of flirtation there...
Then, they'd be on their knees... begging to be graced by her attention...
However, the truth was, Katelyn really had no interest in anyone except for Brandon himself, and she hadn't since she'd first met him years ago in high school.
She'd uplifted his sorry ass from the dregs of the student body and made him popular.
She'd trained him on how to behave and be social.
How to dress and how to sound like he gave a shit about sports!
Katelyn had given him cool friends, fixed his self-esteem, and even helped pay for his education with her father's money.
Everything he had! From their apartment to the clothes on his back had come from her.
However...
Telling him who it was that so desired whom wasn't something she would ever admit to! And certainly not when such a thing was liable to flip their entire dynamic on its end.
Still, he wasn't really leaving her with very much choice here… And Katelyn had spent too much goddamn time creating her perfect devotee and lover to have him suddenly fuck off on her so close to marriage!
Annoyingly, while her gambit had worked thus far, reeling her wayward soulmate back away from the grasping clutches of those who could never care for him as she did, the universe, as it was, hadn't been willing to play ball…
"Come on, Kat!" Brandon whispered, exhausted but still willing to freaking fight her on this, his duffle bag yet slung precariously over his shoulder. "Look, all I'm asking is for proof!"
"And then what? A DNA test? A prenup?"
"Your families fucking rich!?" He laughed aloud, incredulous as his face twisted with amusement, "The hell would I want a prenup for?"
"It's the concept! When does it end? When do the people in our lives leave us alone? If I say yes now, then at every turn in our relationship, somebody is going to be filling your head with vile lies, and I'll be stuck trying to help you see the truth!"
She reached out, gesturing with her fingers, inviting him to embrace her with her poutiest and most innocent face. Usually, it made the men in her life quickly melt into a puddle before her. Yet, Brandon only scowled at her...
He wasn't having it…
Too many fights…
Too many threats…
She'd made a terrible miscalculation and now, he was leaving. Had left, technically… And had only come back after she'd called him, once working herself into a frenzy of emotion, sobbing and sniffling on the phone while debasing herself and claiming that she was pregnant.
The plan had worked flawlessly! Until, of course, she'd failed to actually—follow through.
Not for lack of trying, mind you, but… still, it hadn't yet happened. Of course, Brandon had started getting suspicious… The dissonant whispers of his family and friends, the useless wastes of existence as they were, all doubtlessly filled his head with enough nonsense to erode his trust in her...
And now, here they were again.
Gratingly, and to her immense consternation, they were even right about questioning her claims! Fully willing to call the bluff for exactly what it was. And lacking any way to prove it, Katelyn was fighting a losing battle…
"Look…" Brandon whispered, placing his bag on the ground before giving in and pulling her tight, peering down from his lofty stature with an adoring but weary smile. "You know I love you. And I know that, in your own way, you love me…"
There was that word again…
Love...
Katelyn hated it…
Not hearing it spoken to her, no, that was quite nice. Yet, whenever she'd tried to reciprocate, it always sounded so—wrong…
Quite honestly, she had no way to really describe the anomaly, the word simply never arriving with the same warm oomph that it did when other's used it. By comparison, her's always sounded empty and lifeless, which was why she tended to avoid its use like the plague…
"I do!" She tried, biting back a near screech of outrage that she'd be pussy-blocked by that fucking word again! How many times had Brandon gotten all bent out of shape because she couldn't properly emulate a silly freaking sound?
"I know! I know… But this… I don't know Kat… I just… I don't know why it's such a big deal for a little—you know… Ugh! I… I feel like I deserve to know! You say I'm the father, and I believe you; I really do. But If I am going to be a dad, then don't I have the right to see—something?"
"Why do you need evidence? Isn't my word enough? Don't you trust me?"
Even in her own ears, the argument rang hollow… But, in the past, she hadn't needed this much—anything to keep Brandon wrapped around her finger!
M-maybe, the fake breakup she had engineered had been too much… Maybe she could have gone about things in a—different manner?
Too late now... And hindsight could go fuck itself besides…
"It's—that's…" He corrected, sighing as he did so, "Not the problem… I'm not—were not… working…"
"We're perfect for each other!"
"Then why does everyone tell me how fucking shitty you are to me?" He burst out, suddenly furious as he pushed her away, glaring just as angrily as she'd been! "I don't hang out with any of my old friends; I can't talk to anyone remotely female without you screaming at me and calling me a fucking misogynist or a cheater!
You fucking lose it if I bring beer home with me, and you freaking threw my PlayStation against the wall literally a month ago! Do you wanna talk about where it ends with other people? Well, where does it end with us? When do we start living like—normal fucking people who aren't at each other's throats every night?"
This wasn't her Brandon.
This was—someone else…
She knew that, and knew she had to be careful… Katelyn didn't think he'd strike her; however, the normally timid and gentle giant that she'd been able to lead around by the nose was finally starting to bite back against the hand that fed him.
Years of repressed issues with their relationship were all coming to a head… And though she hadn't expected him to suddenly grow a damned backbone these past few months, it had certainly thrown enough of a wrench in her plans to be cause for concern.
"You know what?" She snarled, face scrunching into a doubtlessly ugly thing, but she couldn't help it; desperate and frantic as she was, the words were already out of her mouth before she could even stop them! "You're a fucking dickhead, Brandon! Go ahead! Leave! I'll raise your son without you!"
"That's not what I fucking want! Jesus Christ! Just—come with me to the hospital! Why is it always so freaking difficult with you Kat? Always! Fucking everything! Can you, not once, just do something so small and insignificant for somebody other than yourself? Is it really that hard?"
Brandon was heaving now, his frustration causing him to practically loom above her like he wanted nothing more than to reach out and start strangling the object of his vexation—and, Katelyn felt something in herself—snap…
It wasn't rage or hatred or any other source of emotion that she'd been channeling, but rather, a very sudden, strange, and abnormal calm that flicked her greater conscience like a light.
All at once, she returned to a state of oblivion… that strange space she'd learned to crawl towards when existence was simply too much to bear.
The world deadened around her… A sound not unlike a high-pitched siren drowning out all other noise she didn't directly focus on as she finally nodded her head. Giving in to his demands…
There was simply nothing else for it… And if she didn't do something, then Brandon would leave her… and this time, she felt like that might be for good…
Life, from that point on, was a blur.
Conversation, scenery, the radio, the other motorists on the roads… nothing truly registered as she stared out the window in silence, contemplating what, if anything, she could do.
Doctors wouldn't help her here; no, in fact, the medically professional world was as good as a game over. Yet, Katelyn had unequivocally witnessed that none of her typical tricks and tools were working anymore...
It was immensely frustrating for her… But that was the problem with making someone desirable, now wasn't it? The assholes always felt like they had options…
Katelyn was better than ninety-nine point nine percent of anyone else he could find; of that, she was positive in the extreme.
It was simple math really…
She had every advantage in life one could desire while most people could hardly say they had, well—any…
She didn't view such comparisons as fair or just, merely reality as it currently stood in the world. Thus, she was perfectly willing to leverage what she had to its utmost.
Still, how much had that helped her recently?
She was rich, but Brandon was willing to walk away from the life of a trophy husband and live without her for financial better or worse.
Katelyn had feet that she could earnestly say were prettier than many women's faces!
She had the tits!
The ass!
An hourglass figure meant for the red carpet and a bone structure that was scientifically perfect.
Christ! She'd taken sex courses just to ensure her lover was swamped in as much kinky and blasphemous hedonism that she was sure few, if any, other girls would be capable or even willing to match!
Still, he wanted to leave her for—normal...
Fucking normal!
It was—absurd as it was—stupid!
She was the dream girl!
The perfect dream girl!
And if she'd deigned to be any sort of famous on reality TV, or in Holywood, then they'd of replaced Barbies with her visage!
And yet, Brandon had dumped her…
None of it made sense… was it the world? Was that what was broken?
No… there was definitely something not wired quite right, but it wasn't the world...
Admittedly, at least some part of Katelyn knew about that fact…
"Kate..." Brandon whispered, even while she was yet submerged within the protective shell of her own mind... "Look... I know you're not pregnant... I... you don't need to pretend..."
Kate glanced at him for only the briefest moment, hearing the sounds but not the words... No, everything was distorted and murky, her watering eyes merely noting the movements of his lips...
"I just... I don't know... M-maybe we can try counseling or something, maybe if we start small and actually work through all our issues..."
Again, all Kate could really hear was the garbled nonsense of his voice... Yet, she could imagine the words clear as day...
He knew...
Ha! How couldn't he know?
So then, what was the point? Not just of this, but of anything?
For several long moments, minutes, or even hours, honestly, she had no comprehension of time; she just sat there, watching without hearing. Focused on the way Brandon's mouth became more animated, more excitable, the prior rage subsisting to be replaced with something else...
Something good?
Something she could work with?
No... It was already too late. And Katelyn... Katelyn was tired of all of this...
Rather than continue to wallow and despair and contemplate how things had ever gone so wrong—there was a sudden jerk to the vehicle that snapped her from the dark stupor of despair!
The very next moment in which Katelyn found herself returning to conscious thought also saw her staring out the windshield with abject confusion…
Brandon was screaming, yet all Katelyn could focus on was how tightly her future husband was holding her outstretched arm, her hands still white-knuckling the steering wheel.
It was a death grip for each of them.
Hers unshakable...
His still scrapping and yanking at her wrist, trying to pry with all his might.
Each, in their own respects, being born of a certain kind of fear and horror, involuntary as much as it was instinctual...
And yet, in her lightly twisted and perhaps unusual mind, all Katelyn could discern from her lover's despair was that, in the end, he chose her to cling to in their shared final moments.
It was bliss.
It was wonderful!
And it filled her racing heart with butterflies, knowing that everything, every argument, threat, and assurance that he would never speak with her again, was all a lie.
She'd, of course, known it was a lie. After all, there was nobody else in the world who cared for Brandon the way she did.
Not his mother, not his sisters, not that red-headed whore Rebecca who always made offhand comments about how controlling Katelyn was with her best friend…
Ha! As if best friends meant shit.
No, Brandon was her's and would always be her's. It wasn't her fault that he didn't understand that! However, it was his fault that she'd felt that this was the only way to secure that reality.
After all, if Kat couldn't have him, then nobody could...
The cacophony within her SUV reached a crescendo as they plummeted towards the inky waves below, the high beams splashing across the expanse of water they were hurtling towards! And, from the back of her own mind, Katelyn realized that she was screaming, too.
Perhaps what she'd done was a—tad bit excessive…
Surely, a more normal person, while in the passenger's seat, wouldn't have yanked so hard on the steering wheel while a vehicle was crossing a bridge. But she had been rapidly running out of options!
The hospital was only another ten minutes away, and once inside, her ruse likely wouldn't have held up to the scrutiny of a real doctor. Claiming she'd been pregnant really hadn't bought her as much time as she'd desired.
And, despite how many occasions she'd ensured Brandon had finished inside of her, nothing had yet taken hold in her womb.
It was—exhausting.
Honestly, it seemed to her that it was actually far harder to get done than the damned internet had assured her! Christ. The way people talked about it, one accidental creampie was enough to seal the deal…
And yet, here they were! Moments away from crashing into their final destination because her damned mommy oven had decided it wasn't ready to start baking Brandon's babby-batter.
She'd even gone out and tried another man's cum when hers couldn't seem to properly fertilize her. Gone through all the trouble of tracking someone down who looked like Brandon with the hopes that, maybe, she could get away with that.
The kid really didn't matter so much as Brandon did himself. And, after, once she'd secured her one and only, watched him get down on one knee and propose, promise her that he'd take responsibility and be there for the rest of her life, then she could figure out how to give him a kid that was—technically his own.
Sadly, she'd come to a disastrous conclusion that, maybe, the issue might just be on her end of things.
It was not an unworkable situation, but sadly, one that made her plans to keep Brandon in her clutches somewhat problematic.
If she'd only had more time.
If Brandon had only been less of an asshole about the entire situation!
If only that slutty trailer-trash bitch hadn't been cawing and braying like a mutt in heat every time Brandon tried to leave!
Whoever said family was a good thing was a filthy liar. If Kate could have figured out how to better alienate her boyfriend from his previous life then everything would have been fine!
However, this world was filled with utterly frustrating people who, apparently, had nothing better to do but stick their noses in other people's affairs!
And, look what happened.
Was this what they'd wanted? Because this was what they'd driven Katelyn to do! Boxed into a corner with no visible way to escape, she'd performed as all animals do when finally hitting 'fuck it'.
This wasn't her fault!
It was everyone else!
His family, his friends, co-workers, neighbors, and anyone else who'd decided to; 'have an opinion' on their relationship!
Still, so far as endings went, Katelyn decided that dying together was an—acceptable compromise.
Sure, she'd of preferred this occurrence to transpire when they were both old and grey, after a lifetime spent in each other's arms, and of course, after they'd chosen their burial plots where they'd spend eternity ever thereafter! Side-by-side, together until the end of time…
However, sometimes, things in life simply weren't as perfect as one desired.
Compromise was all...
The car smashed into the water at speeds that made the frozen moments preceding it flash as though they'd spanned but a mere fraction of time!
Katelyn's final thoughts before her head crunched against the dash and existence faded away to the darkness, was just how cold the river actually was this time of the year…