Bmb Version 4 4

Disclaimer

: This is a work of fiction, and it was created solely by me as the author. Any similarities to characters, businesses, places, or things are all happenstance, though my appreciation to those who have

inspired

my works is immense.

Sidenote

: Please excuse the length of time between submissions. Technical difficulties! I'm going to ride that newbie train of excuses until I finally get it! I hope you're as excited to see it up as I am!

Author's Note

: This entire series is based on the same characters, places, and general situations, but will be shared in the form of five different versions. I'm hoping you'll appreciate the various approaches as they are posted. And be aware: some versions go into certain details more than others, so remaining calm and awaiting the next installment may be necessary, but I assure you, it'll be worth it. Questions and comments are welcome. I hope everyone will be kind.

And this story will make little to no sense if you haven't read Versions 4-1 through 4-3.

BMB: Version 4-4

"Trin, wake up," Tommy said as he sat on her bed and shook her. "Trin," Tommy said again and sat back as she sat up. She looked over at the clock which read, "8:30AM."

"What's the matter?" Trin asked and tried to gain her composure. She was confused.

"You didn't answer your phone, and I got worried," Tommy admitted and watched her reaction. She picked up her phone and found that she'd forgotten to turn the sound back on since Jeremy's house. She'd missed 9 calls and 16 texts.

"Oh, my gosh," Trin said with confusion and looked through the messages. Most were from Tommy.

"I just... I didn't know you wanted me to come over last night," Tommy began to explain and stood up. "You said you'd be home, but you didn't say you were expecting me. I ran into Dougie this morning. He asked me why I stayed home last night when you were expecting me. Did you tell Dougie about us?"

"I think you did when you told your group that you brought me up to the cabin," Trin said with a shrug.

"Oh, shit," Tommy said and shook his head. "Duh," he said aloud to no one in particular. "Did he say anything to you about it?"

"Yeah, yesterday right after I tried talking to you about what my mom said," Trin told him with a little more pain in the words than she'd meant to let on. It was his birthday. She wanted to make it as special as it could be, keeping in mind that a dear family friend had just died at the age of 26, his girlfriend's mom had basically insulted him along with all the people with whom Trin works, and that they were essentially in a fight already. "He confronted me and then got really mad that I never told him or even let on that I liked you in the first place."

"My dad told me about what your mom said and that you blew up at her in the parking lot while he was out there," Tommy told her and reached over to take her hand. "She really has a thing about dirty hands, huh?"

"Never has before, Tom," Trin told him and shook her head. "She's ridden motorcycles all her life, and all of a sudden, she's acting high and mighty about those who service those bikes, let alone

build

them. I was mortified when she talked about you guys in the shop where I'm pretty sure you heard her, and I didn't say anything

then

because I thought she'd just shut up. But I went off on her like I never have before in the parking lot a little later on and ended up telling her about you and me. Unfortunately, your dad heard that part."

"He heard all of it," Tommy corrected. "He then confronted me about the status of our relationship. He's totally cool with it, though. He said he wasn't stupid and knew that we'd had something going on since Christmas. He even brought up the Easter basket in my room and how we disappeared for fireworks. He was the one who covered me up the first night we slept together after our date and let us sleep in that Sunday. He had planned to start heading home a couple hours earlier. He

was

surprised to hear we only ever

slept

. As far as I know he still doesn't know we went away together, but at this point, it doesn't matter. He said we're good to come out into the open with it as long as it doesn't affect the business."

"Your dad told me that there's no work now until Tuesday," Trin shared with him.

"Yeah, uh, you know sometimes we talk about Jeremy? Dougie has had him as a best friend since kindergarten. He's been sick for a long time. Well, he passed away early this morning."

"Yeah, I know," Trin told him and touched his arm. "Are you OK? That means you've known him for a long time. Tom said he was closer to you guys than some of your own cousins."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's hit me yet," Tommy admitted and stood up. "Um, so the funeral will be this weekend or Monday, I think. They're still solidifying the details. Dad's taking the RV, and anyone from work who wants to go to be there for Dougie can go. Did you plan to go?"

"Yes, I'll be going," Trin told him quietly.

"So, um, I wasn't very nice to you yesterday when you tried to talk to me," Tommy told her as if she didn't know it. "I did hear what your mom said, and it was really frustrating that you didn't speak up for us, or at least for

me

. When Dad had me come up to his office, he called me up there to tell me what you had said and then used the opportunity to confront me about the relationship part. But he was adamant that we all should be so lucky to have such a devoted team member sticking up for us. When I heard what you said to her, I realized that your silence wasn't in agreement but, like you said, out of being upset by it."

"You couldn't possibly believe that I have ever felt that way, Tom," Trin said to him and shook her head. "I have the utmost pride in where I work and who I work with, and I could never say

that

without also admitting that I thank God every day that I get to be part of such an amazing team. I was mostly flabbergasted that she could ever think like that, let alone say those things out loud, and in front of all of you! It actually," Trin began to say and then put her hand on her stomach. "Oh, God," she moaned and ran to the bathroom and slammed the door.

As Trin threw up, she groaned and held her stomach. What the hell?

"Trinity!" Tommy was yelling from behind the door. "What's going on?"

"Give me a --," she tried to say but threw up again. Once she felt like she wasn't going to throw up again, she flushed and then opened the door as she rinsed out her mouth with water and then with mouthwash. "I was going to say the way she was talking actually made me feel like I was going to throw up, but then my stomach churned, and I

did

have to throw up. Oh, I haven't felt like this in a long time."

When she said the words, she stopped in her tracks. The last time she felt that nauseous was when she was pregnant with Irelyn. And it was fast; the morning sickness, that is. She knew she'd gotten pregnant around Valentine's Day that time. By the 23

rd

, she was in the bathroom daily throughout her whole first trimester. She had slept with Tommy on the 15

th

. Today was the... 24

th

. "

Oh, my God

," she thought.

"Um, Tommy, I might have one more present for you," Trin told him and then covered her face. "Oh, my gosh. Tom, I'm sorry. Happy Birthday! I can't believe I didn't say it," she told him and kept her hands on her face. "I'm so out of sorts right now."

"What's going on?" Tommy asked her and tilted his head to look into her eyes when he'd pried her hands off her eyes.

"Um, I need to go to the store," she informed him. "Let me take a shower, and I'll be ready to go." She stopped again and then looked up at him. "Wait,

did

you want to spend time with me? Is that why you're here? Oh, God! Did you come over to break up with me already?" That would certainly change things.

"What?" Tommy exclaimed, and then he laughed. "Where'd you get that impression? Because I was upset about something yesterday? No, Trin, I really didn't realize you had meant for me to come over last night. When I called and called, the first thought I had was that you were done with

me

. When I walked in and saw all the decorations and then realized that things had been set out for last night, I felt horrible."

"Tom, um, I need to tell you something," Trin told him. "A few things, actually," she corrected.

"Don't worry about it," Tommy said and waved off her concerns. "If you're still good with it, I want to spend all day with you. I'm fine if we just lay around all weekend. I just want to be with you. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I was mean to you. It really caught me by surprise hearing your mom say those things, and the way that you didn't respond just had me worried that you might share those feelings. When Dad told me what you'd said, or rather, screamed at her, I realized that I was stupid to even think it."

"Um, Tom," Trin tried again but failed.

"No, babe," he told her and shook his head. He took her by the shoulders to stop her from saying more. He made direct eye contact and shook his head. "No worries. Go take a shower, and we'll go to the store to get you some crackers for your stomach." Trin nodded and then turned around to head back into the bathroom.

"Hey, Jeremy?" Trin whispered as she took a shower. "Don't look at me, first of all," she told him and laughed, "but I think I'm pregnant. I told you things were going to get more exciting for The TipTop Show. And I twice tried to tell him that I knew you. And now I have to tell him that we're pregnant, or at least that's how I think the test will come out. Can you believe it?"

When she came out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go, she found Tommy sitting at the kitchen table. He was holding a picture. The picture of Jeremy and her. He'd found it where she'd hung it on the cabinet next to her stove. The stove where he'd made himself an omelet which was still sitting in the pan.

"Um, what's this?" Tommy asked her as she walked into the kitchen. She sat at the table and looked at his face. Betrayal is what he seemed to be feeling if she could guess. She didn't blame him.

"That's Jeremy and me in January, about a month after we met," Trin explained. "I took it the day he got home from the hospital."

"I think this is the part where you tell me more, Trinity," he said coldly. "How do you know him? How close were you? How often did you visit?"

"Dougie introduced me to him when he was in the hospital before Christmas," Trin began. "Um, I visited him every week on Mondays and Wednesdays after work." Tommy let out a laugh of disbelief and stood up.

"I have another question for you, and I think I already know the answer," Tommy told her. "Were you with Dougie this morning?"

"Yes, he took my house key from your keyring to let himself in and woke me up so I could go say goodbye before Jeremy passed this morning. I was there when he died. And then Dougie took me home and put my key back on your keyring again."

"And you didn't ever tell me about this friendship because..."

"At first, I enjoyed having that one thing for me," Trin told him. "Here I was in a new place with a whole new set of coworkers who quickly became family. When Dougie introduced me, he thought it would be good for me to meet someone who wasn't directly related to BMB. Jeremy just happened to be the next closest thing. By the time it would have been good for me to admit to you that I knew him, we were well into the kissing, and it became, at least what I felt, too late to tell you without upsetting you."

"So, you just hid it from me?"

"I just never talked about him to you," she clarified.

"Same difference."

"Not the same intention," Trin noted. "I would have told you the truth if you'd have ever asked me about him. He never came up in our conversations, so I never told you I knew him."

"We talked about him at all the parties at my house," he argued.

"Yes, you and the guys brought up the good memories about Jeremy at the parties," Trin told him. "I never spoke up at them."

"You hid them, Trin," Tommy fought back. "You basically lied."

"If everything I've ever said and done needs to have been told to you before today, we're going to have a problem," Trin argued.

"That's not the same thing, and you know it!" Tommy yelled. "You purposely withheld something that you could have told me. You

should

have told me."

"I've had a miscarriage before," Trin told him suddenly. "I've never told you that. Two of them, actually. Does that need to come out now? Or that I've only ever had sex with one other man, and my first experience was on my wedding night? Or how about this one? I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant," she told him and then put her head in her hands. "I was due for my period when we went on that trip, Tom, but I didn't get it, and when I got sick this morning, I realized the last time I felt like that was when I was pregnant with Irelyn. I think my cycle is screwed up, and when we made love up there, we got pregnant. That's why I need to go to the store. It never occurred to me to think it could have happened."

When she looked up, Tommy was glaring at her. It was like he had a whole lot to say, and he didn't know which sentence to say first. When he finally said something, he blew her mind. "Are you sure I'm the father? You've either been at a bedside of or in bed with one at your bedside three time already today." As soon as he'd said it, she turned suddenly numb. It was like her body went into defense mode, and she couldn't process anything else. She didn't even look at him. She turned and walked away from him and shut her bedroom door behind her.

When she heard the front door slam, Trin closed her eyes. It was extremely unfortunate that it was Tommy's birthday because it had turned out to be, by far, one of the shittiest days in her entire life, closely following the day she became a widow.

"Well, I didn't see that coming," she told Jeremy as she sat down on her bed and reached for her phone. She needed to talk to someone fast because she could feel herself starting to lose control.

"Um, can I come over?" she asked the person on the phone. "OK, I'll see you in a half hour."

"Trinny! What's wrong?" Gram asked her as she walked into the house. "Oh, sweetheart! Come on, come on," she encouraged and had her sit down on the couch. When she couldn't handle it, she excused herself. For about 15 minutes, Trin had a bout of uncontrollable sobbing which took place in the guest bedroom she'd used when she lived there for that short time. When she finally calmed down, she went into the bathroom and took the test. She then went back into the bedroom and cried for another 15 minutes. She was having a baby. She left the test in the bedroom and went to go talk to Gram.

Trin spent the next hour catching Gram up on the events which led up to today. Then she got to the part about telling him that she thought she was pregnant. Trin got up and went to her room, and when she returned, she held up the test. "Congratulations, Gram. You're going to be a great grandma again. But unfortunately, your grandson didn't take the news very well. He was quiet for a while, like he was debating about what to say. What he chose to ask was, 'Are you sure I'm the father? You've either been at a bedside of or in bed with one at your bedside three time already today.'"

"Oh, honey! He said that to you?" Gram asked her and sighed. "You know he didn't mean it, don't you?"

"Of course, I know that," Trin admitted and closed her eyes. "But it's out there. I know he knows I've never been with anyone other than my husband. I know he knows I look at Dougie as a brother. And I know he'd never even think that I could do something like that with Jeremy. But he feels betrayed, and I don't blame him for that."

"No, I don't either," Gram admitted. "But I agreed with your points when you were arguing too. Because Jeremy never came up in your conversations, it was fair that you didn't share that. However, Jeremy certainly knew a whole lot about what was going on with you and Tommy. Why didn't you tell him?"

"Because by the time it mattered that I was visiting Jeremy regularly, Tommy and I were already kissing, and I had told Jeremy about us. If I had admitted that I was visiting Jeremy, I was afraid Tommy would suddenly show up and visit Jeremy, and Jeremy would think I was the reason for the visit, almost like a pity visit. And Jeremy hated those. So, I just treated the visits to Jeremy like I would private doctor visits and left them out of the conversations."

"I see both sides of the story, Trinny," Gram shared and nodded. "I get it, but I get why he's upset too. You two have shared so much. And now you two are having a baby. What are you going to do?"

Trin's phone rang. It was Tom. "Let me call you back," she told him when she'd answered and then hung up again. "Gram, thank you for letting me come here and talk this out. I need to go find out what Tom wants, and then I think I saw that I had a text from Jeremy's sister. But can you do me a favor? I'm

praying

that Tommy hasn't told anyone that he said what he said to me. Can you not tell anyone else about what he accused me of? Just that. I just don't want anyone knowing that it ever came out of his mouth. He doesn't deserve that."

"You're a good girl, Trinny," Gram told her as she opened her arms to welcome the hug Trin was standing up to give her. "I've always known you were meant for our Tommy. Ever since the day I witnessed your first encounter with one another. Destiny if I've ever seen it."

Trin pulled away and gave her a shocked look. "Gram, what are you saying?" She sat back down and watched Gram setting herself back down.

"Oh, honey," Gram said with a smile, "while I do believe in fate, sometimes fate needs a little push. In this case, I had a talk with my son and suggested that he make you and Tommy partners. Tom decided that he'd do it, but only if he could make an agreement with Tommy that he wasn't to have a romantic relationship with you until the year was up."

"Tommy never told me that," Trin noted and then thought about all the times he'd mentioned how much time was left until her one year was up. "Well, I never knew there was an agreement. I knew something was up, but he never shared that with me."

"Oh, he wouldn't have, now, would he?" Gram asked and smiled again. "He knew if something had been agreed upon between him and Tom, who was and is your boss, you never would have gone through with those special kisses you were engaging in. And by the time Labor Day came? Oh, you should have heard the way Tom described how in love you two looked, my Trinny. He knew you guys hadn't had any time together, so he used the phone call excuse, but called me instead. And so, when I heard that, I asked him how badly he needed you two the next day. It was then that I told him to give you two the day off. How was it, by the way?"

"So nice, Gram," Trin told her and smiled until she felt a little giggly. "He took me out to eat, and we played games, and we saw two movies, and then we went back to the hotel where we fell asleep holding hands."

"Yeah, but how much kissing was there?"

"Hardly any, Gram," Trin admitted. "We held hands for the first time, and when we went to sleep, he gave me a really gentle kiss, but otherwise, we just enjoyed each other's company."

"Huh," Gram said thoughtfully. "So, um, when did the bun in the oven occur?"

"We came back on Sunday and got those three days off I'd told him I needed, so Tommy offered to bring me to his cabin," Trin answered. "That Monday, he asked me about Mark and the girls. We had a really nice talk, and I got to show him their picture. But that night when we fell asleep, I had that dream about them, remember? I shared that with you the last time we got together. It happened on that trip. I woke up, cried, and he consoled me. Then he almost told me he loved me, but I stopped him and told him I didn't want him to say it until we could be official.