Carrying Hope

by Tate, Sennah

  “Yeah, but I’m kind of a hermit.”

  “Ah, the reclusive millionaire. You’re not eccentric by any chance, are you?”

  He paused, making a show of thinking about the question.

  “Well, there was this one time that I invited a strange woman that I met on the street to share my home without knowing anything about her. Does that count?”

  I did my best to suppress the grin that threatened to split my face.

  “That does seem a wee bit crazy,” I teased.

  “So I’ve been told.”

  I heard a note of defeat in his voice and felt guilty.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any stress. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

  “Marcie, you’ve done nothing wrong, I assure you.”

  I smiled, accepting his answer, but there was still the niggling feeling that he wasn’t telling me everything. I didn’t know him well enough to press the matter, so I let it go.

  I know I shouldn’t have been surprised by the luxurious hotel accommodations or the lavish presidential suite that Bryce booked. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but I still found my mouth hanging open in awe.

  Everywhere I looked there were gleaming polished surfaces: marble tile, freshly waxed wood floors, stainless appliances, and the sparkliest chandeliers known to mankind. The extravagance seemed almost obscene. I was just about to say so when I stepped into one of the bedrooms.

  “Oh. My. God,” I groaned, flopping onto the most ridiculously plush bed I’d ever seen. The soft down engulfed me and I felt myself sinking into the bed further and further.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Bryce asked from the doorway, one eyebrow cocked in amusement.

  “I didn’t even know that they made things this soft,” I moaned, nuzzling the pillows.

  “Did you even look out the window yet?” He asked, that self-satisfied smile making him look irresistible.

  I tried to push those thoughts aside and sprang out of the fluffy cocoon that had me trapped in its snuggly embrace. I practically skipped past Bryce on my way to the main room. The curtains were closed, and I tried to tug them open, but they didn’t budge.

  “Try this,” Bryce said smoothly from behind me.

  The curtains began to move of their own accord and I glanced back in time to spot Bryce slipping a remote into his pocket.

  As the curtains moved, a whole new world was opened up before me. Another click on the remote and Bryce turned the lights down. Without the glare on the glass, I could see the whole city spread out at my feet. We were on the top floor of the hotel, giving me a clear view of the National Mall, the Washington Monument and the Capital Building.

  Without a sound, Bryce was next to me.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

  His voice was barely a whisper; it made goose bumps rise up on my arms.

  My eyes flicked to him only for a moment before returning to the spectacular view. Though the sky was dark, the city was anything but. Street lights, car lights, and the numerous spotlights that were scattered around made watching the bustling streets easy. I could see autumn’s early effects in the handful of red and orange tinged leaves.

  The sky was clear and a waxing moon shone brightly, an icy halo surrounding it. I’d never seen anything more glorious in my life.

  I turned to Bryce, trying to explain without words the way he made my heart swell.

  “It really is,” I breathed. His pine and cinnamon scent wafted towards me and I leaned forward unconsciously.

  “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I continued, trying to regain my senses. How did he have this effect on me?

  When Bryce was near, my head felt fuzzy. My heart raced and my tongue became heavy. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, or stop imagining those perfectly shaped lips against mine.

  His eyes never flickered from my own.

  “Neither have I.”

  And then, he kissed me.

  Chapter 12

  Her lips were delicious delicate rose petals that I would never tire of. All of the times I imagined kissing Marcie over the past couple of days, I never imagined that her kisses would be so sweet.

  She was surprised at first, but quickly sank in to my persistent ministrations. She let out a soft moan on a sigh and her lips parted just enough to grant my tongue access.

  I knew I shouldn’t let this go any further. I knew I should stop before I did something we’d both regret. But damn, she was addicting. Her taste, the soft contented moans, the timid way her lips moved against mine… they were all intoxicating and I needed more. I would always need more. I could never have enough of this woman.

  Soft feminine hands snaked up the hem of my shirt, gently stroking my heated skin. She began to lift my shirt and I raised my arms over my head with a wince.

  Confusion marred her features until her eyes landed on my abdomen. In an instant, the entire room shifted. Marcie’s hand flew to cover her mouth and tears sprang to her eyes.

  Her fingers skated over my bruised flesh with feather light touches.

  “Oh, Bryce,” she cried, her hand barely resting against my chest.

  I tried to smile to ease her worries, but it came off as more of a grimace.

  “I’m sorry!” She said, pulling her hand away like she’d been burned.

  “It’s fine Marcie. I promise.”

  I stroked the injured side of her face before tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She leaned into my hand and I felt a tear spill out.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered, wiping tears away from her eyes, “I think it’s my hormones. I never cry this much.” Her hand moved to her stomach, reminding us both of the little one between us.

  “That’s okay. Why don’t we order dinner and a movie or something?”

  “That sounds great,” she said brightly, renewing my confidence.

  At least now I knew that I wasn’t the only one that felt this crazy pull. Of course, I was the one left with blue balls, but it was my own fault. I told myself not to get to close to Marcie and then I was stupid enough to bring her on a cross-country trip with me. I certainly couldn’t blame the girl for being confused by my intentions.

  “Any special requests?”

  “A burger with fries!”

  I smirked; at least she knew what she wanted.

  “Okay, anything else?”

  “A chocolate shake!” She grinned before looking sheepish.

  “Admirable choices. Let’s make it two of each,” I said, dialing the number for room service.

  We browsed through the movie selections, her arguing the case for the newest romcom chick flick and me trying to convince her that Fast Cars 7 was a better choice.

  “Your life is fast cars; you don’t need to watch a movie about it,” she joked.

  “But my life has a sad lack of explosions and police chases. And explosions during police chases.”

  I tried to keep a straight face as she rolled her eyes.

  “Do you really want to argue this with a pregnant lady?”

  I pretended to look nervous.

  “Oh, boy, you’ve got a point there, huh? That is kind of a Trump card.”

  Her boisterous triumphant laugh was infectious and we were both lost in a fit of giggles when our food arrived.

  “So,” Marcie said, munching on a french fry, “tell me something about yourself. I don’t know anything about you.”

  I frowned for a moment; I knew she was asking out of genuine interest and it wasn’t some kind of ploy. I couldn’t help my knee-jerk reaction to want to shy away from discussions of my past, though.

  “Well, what do you want to know?”

  She took a bite of her burger and closed her eyes and moaned with sheer bliss.

  “Holy wow, that is a good burger.”

  I took a bite of my own burger and nodded my agreement.

  “Okay,” she said, washing her burger down with a big gulp of her milkshake, “do you have any siblin
gs? Where did you grow up? Do you talk to your parents?”

  I shook my head.

  “No siblings that I know of. Not a good area. No.”

  The disappointment in her eyes made me feel guilty for my terse reply, but anything more than that and I would destroy the mood even more.

  “What about you?” I asked, trying not to imagine her on top of the coffee table instead of sitting under it.

  “Only child. I’ve always lived in the city. And no,” she frowned, “my father passed away years ago and I have no idea where my mother is.”

  Though I could tell that saying the words hurt her, she didn’t let it ruin her good mood. If she could be so candid with me, it was only fair that I show her the same courtesy.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your father. I never met mine. My mother passed away when I was a child,” my jaw clenched against my will. I didn’t want the rage to take over tonight. I wanted to enjoy Marcie’s company.

  “Oh, Bryce, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  I held up a hand to stop her.

  “It’s fine Marcie, you didn’t know.”

  She blushed, her eyes trained downward on her plate.

  “To be honest, I was thinking you might be royalty or something with how secretive you are.”

  It was my turn to start the raucous laughter that consumed us both.

  “I guess I haven’t been very forthcoming with you, have I?” I said with a twinge of regret creeping into my voice.

  “Well, no. Not really,” Marcie answered, “but that’s okay! You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. You’ve already done plenty for me,” she added hastily.

  “Marcie,” I chastised, “I think I’ve proven to you that I want to do much more than talk to you.”

  An attractive blush crept up from her chest until her face was a delightful shade of pink.

  “Well, we have plenty of time to get to know each other. Why don’t we start the movie?”

  She nodded eagerly, claiming a spot at the other end of the couch.

  “I don’t bite, you know,” I teased.

  “Well… I know… I just thought that…” her cheeks turned pink again and I tried to think of all the numerous ways I could replicate the effect.

  I dimmed the lights again and started the movie that she picked out.

  “We could have watched the other one, you know.”

  “I wouldn’t want to argue with a pregnant lady. And if that’s your way of saying ‘thank you’: you’re welcome.”

  “Thank you,” she amended.

  “Shh, the movie’s starting.”

  She stifled an adorable giggle before turning her attention to the large television on the wall.

  Ten hours later, my alarm went off in my pants pocket.

  My eyes struggled to adjust to the early morning light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I started to stretch, but realized that something — or rather someone — was on my chest.

  Marcie was curled up on the couch beside me with her head resting right above my heart. One of my arms was wrapped around her and she slumbered peacefully.

  I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep on the couch! For years I struggled to fall asleep at all. Now, two nights in a row I’d had restful dreamless sleep. I was hesitant to credit Marcie with the phenomenon, but the coincidence wasn’t lost on me.

  I didn’t want to wake her: she looked angelic with a halo of radiant sunlight shining in her auburn hair. I couldn’t miss my meeting though. I gingerly wriggled my way out from under her, replacing my chest with a pillow as seamlessly as possible. I jumped in the shower and put on a less wrinkled ensemble. I didn’t know who I was meeting and I wasn’t about to give anyone an excuse to spread rumors about me. Appearance mattered to some people.

  Before I left, I scribbled a hasty note instructing her to order breakfast or whatever she wanted. I felt bad for leaving her like this, but she knew the circumstances… or thought she did.

  A breath of crisp fall air helped me shake off my sleepy haze and prepare myself for what was to come. I looked at my phone again to get the address that Tanner sent me the day before and hailed a cab.

  I tipped the taxi driver generously for the speedy trip across town. The address I was given happened to be another five-star hotel. It was still early enough that Congressmen and other government officials from out of town were just leaving their rooms to start the day. The lobby was full of men in suits with briefcases. I had no idea who it was I was supposed to meet.

  I approached the concierge with my dilemma.

  “How may I help you, sir?”

  “I’m supposed to be meeting someone here, but I’m not sure who or where. I was hoping maybe they left some information with you.”

  “I can certainly check for you, what’s your name?”

  “Dorian. Bryce Dorian.”

  He looked through a stack of papers before removing a yellow envelope from the stack.

  “Mr. Dorian, this was left for you.”

  I took the envelope from him, wondering what could possibly be inside of it that couldn’t have been mailed to me.

  First, I pulled a hand-written note out of the envelope.

  Sorry I wasn’t able to meet you in person. It wasn’t safe. Don’t open the second envelope until you’re home.

  - A Friend

  I scoffed and pulled the second envelope out of the first. I was tired of people warning me that this search wasn’t safe. I wasn’t going to be scared off by some hypothetical boogey man that didn’t have the balls to face his own son.

  I pored over the documents; each piece of paper had a large ‘CLASSIFIED’ stamp across it. Businessmen and politicians alike swarmed around me in their efforts to get to work. I was so anxious to see what was in the envelope I hadn’t even bothered to remove myself from foot traffic.

  If I understood what I was looking at, this was the closest we’d gotten to my father. The documents in my hand proved that someone from the Capital Building redacted my original birth certificate and issued a new one. I had never been able to find proof that something like that happened. This was a huge break. I now knew what I was dealing with.

  Without hesitation I called Tanner.

  “Do you know what fucking time it is?” He groaned half-asleep.

  “Shit, I forgot. I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell you I got what I came here for.”

  “No shit!” He was fully awake and alert now. “You know who he is?”

  “No, but we’re getting close. This changes everything, Tanner.”

  “Damn straight! It’s about time we caught a break.”

  “Yeah it is. Get some sleep. I’ll be back home in a few hours.”

  “Hey, how are things with Delilah?”

  I rolled my eyes at his reference.

  “She’s not going to bring down my empire. And things are fine. Also, none of your business.”

  “I’m just saying it’s pretty shady that she just happens to be there…”

  “I know your position on the subject, Tanner,” I growled, giving him the unspoken warning that he should drop it.

  “Sheesh, okay. See you later.”

  I place my phone back in my pocket and tucked the precious documents into my breast pocket before heading back out onto the busy city street.

  Chapter 13

  In the week since D.C., I hardly saw Bryce at all. My bruises were starting to fade, but my morning sickness was stubbornly sticking around. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to take another eight months of this.

  Clara, Francis, and I became quick friends. Clara’s endless flirtation and Francis’s bemused reaction to her was always entertaining. They still had a job to do, though, and I couldn’t keep interrupting them all of the time just because I was bored.

  I asked multiple times what Bryce was up to, but no one ever really gave me an answer. I still had no idea what kind of business he practiced.

  Actually, I hadn’t learned an
ything new about him since our night in D.C. I woke up on the couch that morning and found his note. I couldn’t remember falling asleep, but I’d slept through the night.

  I was disappointed to find him gone, but I knew he had business to attend to. I ordered breakfast for the two of us and had a table set and everything when he returned. He took one look at me and asked why I wasn’t ready to leave.

  That’s when I realized that trying to predict how Bryce would act toward me was harder than using a hula hoop for a fishing net. One minute he acted like he couldn’t keep his hands off of me and the next he was gone.

  On the plane ride home, I tried to jokingly apologize for my movie choice since I’d fallen asleep, but he only grunted in reply. He was engrossed in a stack of papers that he kept making notes on. I wished I knew the secret to unlocking his mysterious brain.

  I tried my best to find a new job, but there weren’t many openings for pregnant homeless high school drop-outs. I did have one skill I could fall back on. Surely Nana would understand how desperate my situation was. I had a baby to think about! I couldn’t just stay with Bryce forever, as glorious as that sounded. I would need seed money if I was going to pick up old habits. I knew that Bryce would give me anything I asked for, but I didn’t want to ask him for money.

  It was probably for the best. I knew I shouldn’t anyway. No matter how tempting it was, I needed to stay strong.

  I wandered around the big empty house, wondering why Bryce had this place when it was only him. Then again, I knew better than to try to understand him.

  I hated how frequently my mind wandered to the kiss that we shared in the hotel room. I could still smell him, taste him, feel his warm skin under my fingers and I wanted more. His kisses left me breathless, panting, and aching for his touch. Kissing Bryce was not like any other kiss I ever experienced. He was gentle and sweet, but there was a barely contained heat simmering behind his cool facade. He gave me a tiny taste and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. If his kisses alone could drive me this crazy, I didn’t even want to think of how other things would affect me.

  While I was lost in my memories and fantasies, my feet brought me to my favorite part of Bryce’s home: the garden.