Oh, It's just a stomach bug.... [Jared]

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden was late for work. Again. But really, it wasn't like she could really predict what times she was going to get sick.

It had been three weeks since that night she'd spent at Jared's, and starting about two weeks ago, she'd been getting sick. A lot. And it was sporadic too. It was going to be hard to work tonight, but she needed to do it. If she didn't, then Jared would think something was up and then he might find out about her being pregnant. She couldn't have that. Not yet. She didn't really think he could handle it, not now, especially since he still wasn't even able to tell her 'I love you.' She understood that he wasn't exactly 'Mr. Commitment' but still. It was hard sometimes, not knowing how he felt. And now, with a baby, she was sure he would be mad. Or frightened. Or something. She just... couldn't tell him. Not yet.

So, she went to work, like normal. She managed to make it through the first part of her shift, like normal. The second part of her shift started out alright, until about halfway through she had to run to the bathroom. It was unfortunate, but it could have been worse. She was only gone a couple minutes, and when she came back, she was able to work until her next break, at which point she sat at the bar, her head down and her eyes closed, mumbling to herself how this much morning sickness should not have been normal. She finally lifted her head after a minute and asked for a bottle of water and an advil. She was getting dehydrated since she couldn't seem to keep very much water down with all of the morning sickness she was having. She really could only hope that it wouldn't last long, and that the baby would be alright.

Oh, and that Jared wouldn't find out just yet. She wasn't ready to tell him, and he wasn't ready to hear. Definitely not ready.

(( I'll make it pretty in a little bit! Promise! ))

[theo22]

Jared hated being interrupted when he was trying to get the bills and files sorted for the club. He had a reason for his office to be soundproof, but something always came up when he needed time to himself during business hours. Most of the reasons were rowdy and obnoxious drunks fighting over a waitress or stripper. *Knock, Knock* The sound came again, but the reason was far more personal. “Mr. Carson. Kayden has run off the stage…again.” One of the other strippers said in a less than thrilled voice. She closed the door and proceeded to disappear behind the stage. Jared had to take things like he would any of his other employees, even if he was dating Kayden, he couldn’t be biased.

He left his office and proceeded to the bar where Kayden had her head down, but she lifted it to ask for something. Jared slid onto the bar stool next to her and motioned for the bartender to leave them. “Kayden, we gotta talk. Are you okay? You look terrible, like you haven’t been eating or something.” Jared wasn’t beating around the bush because he needed to know why she wasn’t acting normal. “Are you sick? I think I should call a cab to take you home.” Jared said as he retrieved his cellphone, which had the taxi company on speed dial. He wanted to comfort Kayden, but the other girls would get suspicious and then all hell would break loose if they figured out that him and Kayden were dating.

### WORDS
Kayden!TAGGED
CLICK! OUTFIT
PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION TEMPLATE
BLAH BLAH NOTES

[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden thanked the bartender when he brought her the waterbottle with an advil set in the cap like a little medicine cup. She took it quickly, being careful not to drink too much water- it might upset her stomach again. The bartender gave her a concerned look, but he left when instructed by Jared. Kayden took another sip of her water before capping it.

What was she supposed to say to Jared? For sure he would want to know why she'd run off stage in the middle of her shift. And she really had no good explanation for him. Finally, after a long moment, she looked over at him, biting her lip as he told her she looked terrible- oh good, so she didn't just feel that way. "Jar- Mr. Carson... I'm- I'm alright.... I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me. That's all. There must be something in my fridge that's gotten into all of my food." It was a bold-faced lie, and she knew it, but she couldn't tell Jared. Not here. Not now.

"Maybe it's a stomach bug. I don't know.... I just haven't been able to eat much these last couple weeks." She shook her head vehemently then as he offered to have a cab take her home, "No- No!" She pulled the cell phone from his hands and set it on the bartop, "No... I'm alright... I'll just... switch to waitressing for the night, okay? That way I won't mess up the show...." She needed him to think she was alright, otherwise things could get really bad.

He might suspect something was up. He might suggest he take her to see a doctor. He might tell her... Oh, she didn't know what he might do. But somehow he might figure it all out, and that wouldn't be good. Not in the slightest.

[theo22]

"Jar- Mr. Carson... I'm- I'm alright.... I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me. That's all. There must be something in my fridge that's gotten into all of my food." Jared’s brow rose slightly from Kayden’s words. “Why are you lying to me, Kayden? What is REALLY up?” Jared’s face hid the pain that Kayden’s lie had caused, but he needed to know why she thought it was appropriate for her to lie. "Maybe it's a stomach bug. I don't know.... I just haven't been able to eat much these last couple weeks." Jared was pissed at her at this point. A stomach bug doesn’t last more than a week. "No- No!" Jared let her take his phone from his hand. "No... I'm alright... I'll just... switch to waitressing for the night, okay? That way I won't mess up the show...."

Jared felt like he needed to heave from the why that Kayden was lying and being secretive. They were adults and dating, so she shouldn’t feel like lying, especially when he could tell if she was lying or not. “Kayden. Go home, right now.” Jared could only spare her those words before he had to close his mouth and clinch his jaws together. “You have a lot of explaining to do. Lying is childish. Just go home and I’ll call you when I get a chance.” Jared’s words were harsh, a bit too harsh, but he couldn’t show her respect when she wanted to spit lies at him. Jared stood up, grabbed his phone, and called the cab company. After they confirmed, he turned back to Kayden and just glared at her. He had never been upset with her because she never lied to him.

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[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

Kayden didn't know what to say. He knew she was lying, but it wasn't like she could tell him the truth. She knew he was mad, but she really didn't have any other choice. Not there, anyways. She could tell he was hurt. He was mad. And he had every right to be, though she hated keeping anything from Jared. She had always been honest with him. Couldn't he see that she just couldn't tell him one thing? Couldn't he trust her?

She floundered a little bit to try and come up with a more reasonable explanation, but she couldn't, so she just shut her mouth and dropped her gaze to the floor. She closed her eyes after a minute, trying her best not to cry. She blinked back tears, biting her lip as she looked up at Jared, trying to explain, "Jared.... Jared, I'm sorry, I-.... I just, I can't...." She bit down harder on her lip then as he told her she was being childish.

Jared had never been that harsh with her. Ever. Just his tone alone made her want to cry, but then the fact that he was clenching his jaw and glaring at her, it made her want to crawl into a dark hole and never come back out. She watched then as he called the cab company, dropping her head into her hands as he hung up and watched her in silence. Angry silence.

Kayden hadn't meant to hurt him so badly, but now that she had, she couldn't forgive herself. Not reasonably. Her shoulders shook a little as she started softly crying, "I'm so sorry Jared... I just... I can't tell you.... Not here. Not right now....." She then rest her head down on the bartop, doing her best to stop the tears. "But if you really want me to, I'll go home..." She couldn't look at him. Not like that, with him upset and her upset in a different way.

Dang hormones.

[theo22]

Jared’s temper hadn’t subsided. His eyes stayed fixed on Kayden, like he was looking for some wrong twitch or movement that would give a hint to why she had been lying. His stomach felt hollow when he noticed her eyes go glossy and water begin to well in her eyes. Dammit. Seeing her cry made Jared want to just hug her. He stood there with his arms crossed, fighting the urge to comfort Kayden. Whatever it was, it was really bothering Kayden. Jared’s mind began to wander.

"Jared.... Jared, I'm sorry, I-.... I just, I can't...."

Yeah. Jared had the right to assume that either Kayden was going to break up with him or she had cheated. He felt the color fade from his face at the thought. *She. Cheated. On. You.* The seed of anger and jealous sprouted roots and began to bury deep in his mind. Jealousy tasted so weird to Jared. He hadn’t experienced the awful feeling before. His mouth felt dry and his body was trembling and he felt the urge to beat the shit out of some random guy.

"I'm so sorry Jared... I just... I can't tell you.... Not here. Not right now..... But if you really want me to, I'll go home..."

Here came the venom. “Yeah. Just continue to lie. I don’t give a fu…shit.” Jared felt his chest swell with air and his fist clench. “Honestly, Kayden your work ethic seems unsatisfactory. I think that you should go home and I’ll clean off your table and drop it off later.” Jared had just fired Kayden. He had gone to the extreme and was slowly cutting Kayden off. He wasn’t even sure if she was cheating, but a guy new to jealous seemed to do a large amount of damage when they finally feel it’s claws.

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[KAYDEN MACKENZIE]

“Yeah. Just continue to lie. I don’t give a fu…shit.”

Kayden could tell that Jared was upset, but she really didn't think he'd been that upset. Her head snapped up off the bar as he spoke, his words biting. Hard. She tried to speak up, but her breath caught, and she was forced to take another deep breath before she could speak, "J-Jared! I'm not lying to you! I just... I can't tell you right now. Now is... It's not the time for this."

“Honestly, Kayden your work ethic seems unsatisfactory. I think that you should go home and I’ll clean off your table and drop it off later.”

She stopped dead in her tracks at his next statement, looking, for all intensive purposes, like a deer in the headlights. She floundered for a second to try and figure out just what to say. She'd just been fired. By her own boyfriend.

How the hell did she get fired by her boyfriend? Kayden couldn't figure it out. Okay, so she had been a little late today. And a couple other days. And she had messed up a show or two because she was sick. 'Kayden, how the hell did you get fired?! By your own damn boyfriend!' Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she blinked them back, trying desperately not to cry. Not there. It really wasn't the time for that.

A moment of silence passed before Kayden finally found the words that had been avoiding her so cleverly, "But- Jared! I really need this job! Especially now! You can't just- Please, just- I'm sorry!" She really couldn't afford to lose her job. Not now- she now had higher calorie amounts to consume, meaning more food to buy, doctor bills to pay, vitamins to buy, baby supplies to buy, such as the necessary tools like the crib, changing table, baby-proofing items, etc. She needed to be working. She couldn't afford to be unemployed.

Really, this was about as bad as things could get, so Kayden figured that Jared would need to know. Tonight. Or... Tomorrow. Soon. She'd have to tell him soon. Sooner rather than later. Really, it couldn't wait.

At least if she didn't have work she didn't have to worry about having to be late to work because she was getting 'morning' sickness. Or not being able to dance because she was feeling nauseous again. Still, she needed the money. Biting her lip, Kayden looked up at Jared, the hurt quite obvious in her face- he thought she was lying to him. "Jared... I swear, I'm not lying to you... We just... Really need to talk later... I-It's important....."