Chapter 11

I awoke on Tuesday to find Rob cuddled up close to me. It felt so good to be in his arms again. I didn't want this to end.

Rob woke up some time later. I could tell that he had forgotten where he was. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but once he did he looked for the clock.

"Shit, I'm late for school."

I grabbed him quickly before he could get up.

"Stay home today Rob. Please."

"I still have to be to work at 1:30. What's the difference?"

"I have to be to work at 2 myself. But at least we get a few more hours together."

He rolled back against me again, putting his arms around me as he did.

"Ok. I guess I can blow off a day of school. I've needed this for way too long."

"Rob, we need to talk."

"What about?"

I sat up and looked at Rob.

"Rob, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. You have always treated me like a princess even after I hurt you. You lose control once and I'm trying to crucify you for it. It wasn't right of me. I'm sorry."

"I know I hurt you. I should not have lost control like I did."

"Oh, speaking of that, I talked to Julie last week. You had some help."

"Help, what do you mean?"

"They slipped you some drugs to help you into a horny state. Julie had Jessica help her set you up."

"How could she do that to me? "

I could see that it was bothering Rob. He is always so trusting of others. When someone does something like this, he always feels like shit. Hell, people walk on him all the time. The moment they need help though, he is always the first person they ask. He is always giving of himself.

"She was just being young and stupid Rob. You remember how that is. You think you know it all. Later you find out the hard way that you actually didn't know much of anything. She's lucky that you're in good health."

He looked up me with a questioning look, "Why do you say that?"

"You could have had an adverse reaction to the drug."

"Geez, I didn't even think of that. That could have been trouble." Rob looked up into my eyes before continuing; "Mel, you know that the only reason I talk with her now is because of the baby. I really don't know her that well, but the baby is going to be my flesh and blood."

"I know Rob. She told me that too."

I noticed Rob was starting to have trouble containing himself. He was really starting to get rather upset.

"Why do I always seem to get mixed up in situations like this? I was just trying to be a nice guy, then..."

I reached out to give him a hug. Even I was guilty of taking advantage of this man and I knew it.

"I know Rob." I just held him tight.

After Rob settled down, we went back to some serious lovemaking. Rob still had 2 hours before he had to leave for work. We decided to put it to good use.

After Rob left for work, I stopped to think about what we discussed. I still had an hour before my ride was going to be there, so time was something that I had.

I realized that Rob was now pretty angry with Julie. That could be a good thing. If I could let them fight, I knew Rob would not be doing anything else with her. It might even lead to her keeping that little brat. I still didn't want any part of their illegitimate child. I also knew that if I could patch things up between Julie and her parents, they might be inclined to help her with the baby. That was going to take some time.

The week went pretty good. Rob moved back into the master bedroom when he had time. Really all he did move was his alarm clock. With work, school and homework, he didn't have much time for anything else. We both agreed that it would be easier on the weekend.

Rob had taken Friday off to deal with his car. It was that time of the year for it's inspection to be due. After school, he took the car to the local garage and walked home. Neither of us was prepared for Julie when she showed up.

Rob was in the guest room/office doing his homework when she arrived. I decided not to tell him that she was there.

"Oh, Hi Julie. I didn't know you were coming over."

"Sorry I didn't call. I needed someone to talk to. I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all. Let's go into the living room to sit. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks. I'm fine."

We both sat down and looked at each other. She started talking about school and how she felt about her parents and the impending birth. We must have been talking for close to an hour when Rob made his entrance.

"Melanie, has the garage called..." He stopped mid sentence when he saw Julie sitting there next to me.

"Hi Rob."

"Oh. Hi Julie."

"The baby's doing fine. I went to the doctors this week. He indicated the growth so far is as expected."

"That's good."

"Rob, I'm sorry for what I did to you."

I could see the look on Rob's face starting to turn. The anger that I saw on Tuesday was returning.

"Julie, how could you take such a chance with my life?"

"What do you mean?"

"Melanie told me about the drugs you girls slipped me. Did you know that high blood pressure runs in my family?"

"No I didn't" she whispered.

"Did you know that persons with high blood pressure and some other medical conditions could have some very bad reactions, possibly even death?"

I just turned to see what Julie was going to say next. The look on her face said it all. She had that horrified look that people get when they realize that they had passed an inch from death.

"Oh God Rob, I didn't know. It was Jessica's idea and it sounded good. I just wanted to..."

She started to cry again. I was noticing that as her trademark.

"Julie, giving other people drugs is very serious business. You have to know what you're doing or you could kill someone. Lucky for you, I don't have high blood pressure or any of the other potential problems. Thanks for really thinking about me in your plans."

With that, Rob abruptly left. Julie was in tears. Loosing Rob was like the last friend she had left.

"I can't believe that he's that angry with me."

"Julie, what did you expect from him, a medal?"

"I don't know what to expect anymore. Everybody hates me. Even my own parents don't want anything to do with me."

I left her crying when I heard someone at the door. I opened the door to find my own daughter trying to get it open. She had her arms full and was having trouble.

I noticed that after she put her books down, she disappeared. I went and retrieve a Pepsi from the fridge and returned to the living room. When I did, I found my daughter holding Julie and talking to her. I decided that it was better that I stay away. Something told me that Becky would be better for Julie than I would be. For one thing, I still didn't like the little troll and was only being nice to keep her away from my husband.

I went out to the kitchen and started working on dinner. I had gotten dinner almost finished when Becky came in the room.

"Mom, would it be ok if Julie spent the night?"

Oh God, what did I do to deserve this, I thought.

"Why?"

"She needs someone to talk to and I have nothing going on. I figured it would be nice for a sleepover."

"Why her? Couldn't you invite one of your friends from school, like Amanda?"

"Mom, Amanda is busy this weekend. Plus, Julie needs someone to talk to. Everyone else she knows hates her. Like you for instance."

When did my daughter get so damn smart?

"I guess. Just keep her away from your Father. He's not too happy with her right now either."

"Yeah, I heard about that too."

"Also be aware that during dinner, it may a bit stressed at the table."