FicWad

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Chapter 11 - After Our Enemies Attack
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Shay pressed the key code and the door buzzed open and she walked up his short drive way, up the stairs to his door. Natalie cooed at the surroundings as she curled around Shay's hip.

"Hold on baby..." Shay said gently as she reshuffled Natalie on her hip again and knocked on h is door.

"Shay!" Pete said breathlessly, scratching the back of his head quickly.

"Hi." She sang gently.

Pete opened the door, quickly looking before closing the door behind them.

"Hem! Hem!" Natalie smiled, reaching for the dog, Shay put her down and she stomped confidently after the dog as he stomped away from the child.

"How are you?" Pete asked, his eyes looked right into her soul and she couldn't speak. How did he do that to her, immobilise her only a look. Shay looked away and closed her eyes.

"I'm taking each day as it comes." She replied after a long silence.

"You're doing an amazing job Shay." He said, she threw away that gesture of encouragement straight away.

"You are!" he said, his hand reached out and touched her face, he moved closer, she lost it, pulling him close to her and they kissed long and hard.

Shay began clawing at his T-Shirt.

"Shay!" he whispered, taking her wrists, she kissed him again and he couldn't resist her passionate lips, he gave in kissing her again.

Shay began undoing his belt and his jeans and he moaned hard into her lips, objecting to this in every way but unable to stop his emotions. He pulled hard at the shirt she had on, squeezing her breasts in his hands firmly before devouring her lips again, suddenly he growled and he pulled himself away firmly.

"No!" He said, Shay leaned against the cabinet and caught her breath, her shirt undone and flushed face from being clearly worked up by him.

"You're Patrick's wife!!" he said, pointing to her. Shay could only stare at him.

"You're his /wife/!" he said again, more to himself, to make it clear to himself that these were boundaries he should never have encroached on.

There was a minute as both caught their breaths.

"You're Natalie's father." She said flatly.

Pete's eyes opened wide and he frowned hard as Shay's eyes just stared right back into him.

"No..." Pete said shaking his head slowly, tears welling up.

"I lied to you." she said weakly.

Pete stared at her, this was the ultimate betrayal and he felt so deserving of something this big coming to destroy him, he'd done so much of it to other people's lives.

"NO!!" Pete growled angrily, pointing at her. Shay nodded and Pete put his hands on his head and stumbled into his kitchen.

He kept saying 'No.' over and over but this revelation would not hide itself, it was standing right before him. He had to confront it.

"How could you do this?" He cried. Shay moved slightly, her clothing still undone, she'd never felt more exposed in her life, Pete had got her to bare her soul. Her deepest secret.

"No, this can't be happening!" he cried and put his head in his hands as he stood over the worktop.

"Are you doing this to get back at me?" he asked, his red eyes looking up at her. Shay stared at him hard.

"What?"

"Because I won't have you - is this because I won't let us happen?" he frowned. Shay didn't know what to say. She walked away and a few moments later, walked in with Natalie on her hip.

"Would I lie about the one thing that's so damn obvious that every time I see her, the only thing I see, is you and a reminder of exactly what I've done?!!" She shouted angrily. Pete stared at Natalie.

"Mommy." She said slowly, touching her Mom's upset face. Pete looked over his supposed daughter, taking her in, in an unnatural attempt to see the similarities.

"You're her father Pete .....but I don't want anything from you. I'm telling you because the lies are tearing our lives apart." She cried.

"Mommy..." Natalie said softly, getting upset.

"It's ok baby, Mommy's just a little upset - don't worry!" She said, smiling quickly and kissing her cheek.

"You may be the father but Patrick's her Daddy......and he always will be. Because that's the way it has to be." Shay said with a stealth-like determination to her voice.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked weakly, Shay stared at him.

"Look at you, you were willing to come in here and make that same mistake again, what are you trying to do?" he frowned.

"I'm trying to make things right." She whispered.

"Right?? - What, by dragging up the dirty lies you've been keeping - how could you have done this - we had the test, what, did you lie to me about the test?" He asked, suddenly clicking, a deep frown scorned his handsome features.

"I did what I thought was best-"

"-You don't decide what's best for me Shay, I decide what's best for me!" He said angrily.

"Go play with Hemmy, Natty.." Shay said softly , putting her down.

"I had the right-"

"-Sleeping with me gives you the right to nothing Pete."

"It was more than that." He said bitterly.

"No, no it wasn't!" Shay said shaking her head, Sue had made her come to realise this.

"It was passion! It was excitement! It was everything I wanted to feel but nothing I couldn't get from Patrick...."

"What are you talking about?" Pete frowned.

"You were just a fantasy Pete! Some fantasy I had of amazing sex with someone who was willing to give me the time I needed!" She blurted out.

"You're crazy, you're actually crazy!" Pete said, moving around his kitchen awkwardly.

"That's just it Pete! I'm not! I'm not crazy at all. I was crazy for thinking that you could give me what I wanted, I was crazy for letting you into my bed and I was crazy for thinking I wanted more!" She revealed and it was so honest, so brutal.

Pete looked at the woman who he'd fallen in love with, realising she'd discovered herself fully and that she'd put into perspective exactly how she felt about him.

"Then what were you just doing with me?" he asked, gesturing to her open shirt.

"I was making sure that when you and I were together, it was Patrick I was thinking of and not you." she said calmly.

Pete raised his eyebrows.

"Oh wow, that's...that's ...." Pete said, he couldn't choose his words.

"I told you because it's the right thing to do, not because I want anything from you. I don't expect anything from you and I don't need anything from you. "

"Are you going to tell Patrick?" Pete asked suggestively.

"I have to." She croaked.

Pete put his head in his hands, he couldn't even visualise exactly what this was going to do to. An atomic bomb of lies was about to be dropped and they were about to ripple forth, devouring anyone who was affected by them or anyone who stood in close range.

"He'll still be her father Pete, because he's the one who's cared and nurtured her since the day she was born and although I know what the truth is going to do to us as a couple, I know Patrick's morals won't allow him to fail as a father." She said.

There was yet another long silence, all that was heard was Hemingway's heavy breathing and Natalie in the background.

"This is the end you know that don't you?" Pete asked.

Shay nodded.

"I know."

"But it's the right thing to do. And I'm ready to take responsibility for my actions as much as you are." Pete said.

Shay fastened her shirt buttons and Pete watched as she did. It pained him to see this wonderful woman sign the death sentence on her marriage and also his own relationship with Patrick. They both knew Patrick well enough to know that this could not be covered over with anything, including time.

"I'm sorry that this has happened to us." Shay said softly, she touched Pete's face.

He pushed his face into her hand further.

"But thank you for giving me a wonderful daughter..." she croaked, Pete kissed her forehead quickly before she rushed away and collected her little girl from the other room.

"Bye Pete." She said, he could only stare.

The door closed gently behind them.

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"The heart is treacherous and who can know it...."