Chapter Fifty Three

After the funeral...Nina fumed as she tossed and turned in bed. How dare he? She wouldn't sleep when she was this angry. So she snatched for her phone and snapped out a quick message.

"Your loss."

Then she turned off her phone and headed down to the only really inhabitable room and turned on the TV she'd bights earlier that day. Her brother had stolen anything electrical or of value. Finding a rerun of an old American sitcom, she curled up on the sofa under a blanket and blocked out the rest of the world.

The next morning the sun was shining, as she made a cup of tea she turned her phone on, only acknowledging the message from Lilah checking on her. Anything else she ignored.

The only thing that took her mind off things was the house. As she slugged at the grotesque tiles on the kitchen floor with a sledgehammer her mind was clearer of the hell of her situation. She'd never liked them, and her research told her that they weren't typical of houses this old. The ceramic shattered rather rewardingly, and she squinted behind her protective mask as shards spread in a huge arc around her. This was what she needed, to imagine Theo's face on every tile.

She'd been told that the current kitchen/diner would have been the main parlour of the house in its original days, and as she kicked the damaged tiles away, she smiled, there beneath them was the patterned, beautiful wooden floor boards that she had been promised. Restored and loved they would be amazing. Once this room was assessed, she couldn't wait to rip up the other carpets in the house. Building, growing...she could do that.

Once she'd exposed an area a few metres squared, she cleaned up the area and snapped a photo to send to the restorer she'd been recommended.

Then slipping out of the overalls and protective mask, and started the kettle.

After toast, tea and she felt a million times better. And the knock at the door signalled the start of the day, she had a lot of people visiting to give quotes and advice, and now this floor was exposed she knew what she wanted from them all.

Pulling open the heavy wooden front door, she plastered on a smile that froze then fell from her face as she saw Theo's pale and worried face staring back at her.

She shook her head, this wasn't happening, he didn't deserve anything from her. She tried to close the door, but he stuck his foot in to its path and stopped her.

"Theo please. I can't do this now."

He lifted an eyebrow in her direction, "so YOU can say that but not me?"

She shrugged, "you could have said a million things Theo, but I am not letting you throw me around like a used tissue. I wouldn't have come to you if it wasn't important, you couldn't even be bothered to respond to me civilly."

He sighed running a hand through his hair, "look I'm in pieces, Mansell...Melody has started bedwetting, she's seeing more of Sadie...but she's really unsettled. I don't know what day it is. I'm happy to help you with this place, but not for a week or two."

She felt her jaw fall open in shock, "you think I came all the way to your house to offer my condolences and then wanted advice on building work? What do you take me for?"

It was his turn to shrug, "I didn't think you'd ever want to speak to me again...I offered to help."

She rolled her eyes, "you think I'm that superficial?"

"I don't know Nina. I don't know anything anymore. I just know that everything in my life is crazy, and I don't know what to think."

She wasn't going to feel sorry for him, he was visibly broken, but that wasn't her fault, no way. She wasn't going to do this.

"I wanted to talk to you; obviously this isn't the right time. Go be with Melody."

He shook his head, "if you want to talk, it must be serious."

Suddenly her heart was in her mouth, nausea started to rise in her....it was serious, but suddenly she was scared of what it all meant, she was about to give him a power over her life that she wasn't ready for. He'd hurt her time and time again...if she uttered those three little words, then it would change everything.

But everything was already changed, it was happening. He was grieving, his daughter needed him. Was that more than her unborn child? More than she needed?

She sighed, "you've enough going on. I'll talk to you after the funeral...as you said."

He groaned, "so you're going to keep on punishing me. I know I fuck up Nina, I know I don't do the right thing...but you never let me in! You've never let me in...I never know what you're thinking. I thought this was a trivial matter, you're making me think it's not, but I'm guessing again, as I always have been."

"I promise I'll talk to you when you're ready..."

Shaking his head he stepped into the house, pushing the door open, and moved into her personal space. "Not happening. It was enough to bring you to the house, so this is serious...are you in debt? Ill?" His eyes were studying her, and then he looked her up and down slowly and he visibly paled, "shit...are you pregnant?"

"What?" She was flustered and immediately defensive as she stared at him but he wasn't listening.

Instead he was shaking his head, "it all makes sense, you look amazing, you have never looked so...curvaceous." She wanted to punch him at that, cover her body from his eyes, but he was staring at her face now. "Emotional, ill...it all makes sense."

Her eyes were wide now; she stared back at him looking for a sign.

"It's mine. I realise that."

She let out the breath that she was holding in as he sighed, "he was never anything to you, was he?"

That pulled her from her trance, "who?"

He ran a hand through his hair, "Gabriel."

Nina scoffed at that, "what?"

HE shrugged, "doesn't matter, my bad. We haven't had sex in..."

"I'm almost twenty two weeks."

"Fuck." He closed his eyes for a moment, "why didn't you tell me sooner?"

She needed some space, some clarity, so she stepped back from him, "I only just found out...a few days ago." She closed her eyes for a moment trying to manage the surging emotions in her body. "I didn't plan this...I'm sorry."

With a dry laugh he replied, "it takes two. And I'd never think that about you. Are you feeling ok?"

She smiled, "I seem to have missed the sicky stages without even realising."

Silence, both staring at the other awkwardly.

"Have you got a doctor?"

She nodded, "it's all smooth."

"We need to sort things out..."

Holding up a hand she silenced him, "nothing changes Theo."

"I will be part of this."

"I'm not cutting you out, you and this..." she pointed at her belly, "are something, but me and you...you don't control me."

Theo rolled his eyes, "I'm not suggesting that."

"I know you."

Theo watched her walk into the kitchen and he almost collapsed against the hallway wall. A baby. When he'd left the house an hour earlier he'd expected to argue with her, then help her out as he'd promised. Now the pocket rocket who'd haunted his dreams since the moment he met her was having his baby. How hadn't he realised sooner? What the hell did this mean?

Being a father was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn't ever imagine his life without Melody. He had a feeling that he'd still have a better relationship with Nina than he'd ever had with Sadie. He ran a hand over his eyes, yesterday he thought he'd have to fight to see Nina again, now he was tied to her for the rest of their lives, part of that terrified him, but part of it definitely made him happy.

A baby.

He shook his head as he followed her into the kitchen. But what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Nina had pulled a pair of overalls over her clothes and was wearing a protective mask as she swung a sledgehammer at the floor, shattering the tiles.

It took three swings and his hand on her shoulder until she stopped.

"Nina, STOP."

She turned to him lifting the mask, "what?"

"You're pregnant, you shouldn't be doing this."

Shaking her head she made to lower the mask again, "you don't get to tell me what to do."

He grabbed the hammer and took it from her, "oh yes I do. You need to look after yourself, and for as long as you're carrying MY child then that IS definitely my business."

She glowered at him and he hid a smile, this was the fiery and feisty woman who'd stolen his heart, "you are..."

"...the father of this baby." He cut her off, "so you had better start getting used to me looking after the two of you. If I see you doing something this ridiculous again, I will drag you back to my house where I can keep an eye on you, AND find a dozen doctors who can repeat that I am right over this."

"You self righteous bastard!" She squared up to him, "you can't do that to me."

He knew when to quit, plus he had so many other things to do back at the house, so he dropped the hammer at her feet, "a man will be around within the hour to help you with whatever you need done here." She made to protest, but he held up a hand, "hate me all you want Nina, but this isn't me being overpowering, it's me being the one with commonsense for a while. We'll talk about this, but I know you need to me to go."

He didn't think he'd have a spring in his step for a long time, but suddenly as he left the scowling woman in her half demolished kitchen he was grinning, almost skipping. Suddenly life was back to making sense again, and he was going to be a father again.

Daniel looked up as he walked into his lounge; Melody was fast asleep in his arms, content and happier than he'd seen her in a long time.

"You ok bro?"

Theo glanced at his reflection in the mirror above the fireplace; he was glowing, and grinning like an idiot. Since he'd left Nina he'd called one of his most trusted workers and asked him to go help her. Immediately he was bombarded by text messages from said angry woman who was more than a little angry at his control over her life. It was non-negotiable, and he wasn't about to give in.

"Want a coffee?"

Daniel laughed, sliding Melody to the sofa beside him, "this seems like a hard drink story."

Theo had been hitting the bottle far too often of late, so he shook his head, "no can do. Too much hiding in a drink."

He filled the coffee machine then turned back to his brother, "Nina's pregnant."

It was the first time he'd actually said the words, and a wave of emotion washed over him, he blinked at the tears that appeared at his eyes, then smiled at his brother, "how fucking amazing is that?"