by Ashley Blake
The next morning I woke up with renewed energy and a new plan for my life. I was going to move in with Sophie, focus on completing my final semester and immerse myself in my internship so that I would be guaranteed a job offer when it was over. As long as I stayed busy, I would not have time to think about Declan. That was my plan but I would soon find out that was not necessarily the best plan for me.
Declan called me that morning before I went to class but I just let it go to voicemail. I wasn’t ready to talk to him yet and there really wasn’t anything he could say to me. I was still in college and I didn’t want to deal with baby mama drama when I didn’t really have to. The fact that Sarah showed up at the airport like she did was probably just the beginning of the kind of stunts she would pull. I wanted nothing to do with a situation like that. I had to keep telling myself that over and over because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was really sad about having to walk away from what I could have had with Declan.
I literally threw myself into school, work and moving the next three months to keep my mind off of the pit I felt in my stomach. I had never felt what I was feeling for Declan before and I didn’t quite know what to do about it. Sophie was the only person I could talk to about it and I was sure she was getting sick of my lamenting so I mostly kept my feelings to myself. The one good thing that came of my mom and Arty breaking up is I never had to tell her about Declan.
My mom and dad were getting married the week after my graduation and I was dreading it like crazy. She was acting like a giddy school girl constantly calling me and asking my opinion on everything to do with the wedding. They were inviting 100 people and she wanted me to be the maid of honor, which was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to do it. I couldn’t believe that they were actually still together but my mother seemed happier than I had ever seen her in my life. My dad kept trying to have dinner with me but I had no interest in doing that yet. It was going to take some time for me to want to spend time with him in person. I was perfectly happy with the cordial sporadic email relationship we had.
I had not seen Declan at all during that time and his calls, texts and emails eventually stopped. Of course I was upset about it but I was so busy with everything else going on in my life I didn’t have time to dwell on my feelings.
The morning of graduation Sophie and I were getting ready and I could tell that she had something on her mind because she kept glancing over at me while I was doing my hair. After her 20th glance I turned to her.
“What’s up, Soph? You feeling okay?”
“I have to tell you something and I don’t want you to get upset.”
She piqued my curiosity so I gave her my full attention.
“Okay.”
“Declan asked me to ask you if you would meet him for coffee sometime.”
“What? Since when have you been talking to Declan?” I instantly felt annoyed.
“Calm down, I ran into Declan at the grocery store yesterday. I was trying to figure out the best time to tell you because I didn’t want to upset you, but I had to let you know that he wants to see you. I know you don’t want to have anything to do with him Brielle, but I have to tell you he looked really sad when he asked about you. I can tell that he misses you.”
I didn’t expect the tug at my heart when she told me he wanted to see me, but I had to push those feelings aside. Declan was going to have a very busy life in less than a month and there just wasn’t room for me. I was pretty sure Sarah was always around and I had no interest in getting in the middle of anything. Maybe Declan and I would talk after the baby was born but I felt it was best to just leave things like they were. There was no reason to see him…at least not yet.
“It’s just not a good idea, Sophie. Declan has nothing to say that would change my mind about us. His whole life is about to change and I don’t want to be in the middle of that.”
She let out a deep breath and she gave me a look that I had not ever seen, so I knew she was getting pissed.
“Brielle, lots of guys have kids with women they don’t end up with and it’s not a reason to cut someone off. I have never seen you as happy as you were for that short time you were with Declan in Mexico and I want to see that look on your face again. Can’t you at least have a cup of coffee with him? He’s really hurting.”
I thought about what she said and the tug at my heart was getting stronger as I thought about the fact that he was hurting still after all those months of not seeing me. It was time for me to be honest with myself also. As much as I tried to deny it, I missed Declan like crazy. Sophie had never looked at me like that so I really had to take a minute and seriously consider what she was saying. Sometimes she knew me better than I knew myself and I knew she only wanted what was best for me. What could a cup of coffee hurt?
“Okay, maybe you’re right. I guess I could take 30 minutes to catch up with him.”
“I really think you should. Just go with an open mind and see where things go. You never know what could happen. I’ll email him and tell him it’s okay to contact you.”
“Okay, okay. We should get going or we’re going to be late.”
She looked at me with a huge smile on her face.
“I can’t believe we’re finally graduating!”
“I know, I am so excited to move on to the next chapter of my life!”
Chapter Twenty-Two - Declan
I had not been able to get in touch with Brielle for three months and it was killing me. I missed her and could not stop thinking about her. I got that she didn’t want to be involved with the whole Sarah thing but I really needed her to understand that she didn’t have to be. I was not getting back together with Sarah and I wished there was a way I could convince Brielle of that. I decided to back off of the calls and texts for a while to give her some time to cool off and I was planning to reach out to her again after the baby was born. Sarah was constantly calling me and asking for help with this, that and the other so it was probably best that Brielle stayed away during that time. She wanted me to help decorate the nursery but that was going too far. I didn’t want Sarah to think there was any chance of us getting back together so it was best that I just gave her financial help.
The day I ran into Sophie at the grocery store my heart skipped a beat. Seeing her brought all my feelings for Brielle rushing back to me and all I could think about was seeing her. She told me they were graduating the following day so I thought it was best that I wait a couple of weeks to contact her to ask to meet for coffee. I was sure she was going to be busy with family, friends and graduation parties and I did not want to intrude on her celebrating. Graduating from college was a big deal and I wanted her to have a positive memory of that time.
I canceled all of my upcoming fights when Sarah told me she was pregnant. There was no way that I would have been able to focus and be in the right headspace for a win. Zach totally understood but made sure I still practiced like I was getting ready for a fight. He didn’t want me to lose any of the techniques we had perfected and practicing actually helped me get out all of the frustration I had about the whole Sarah thing. Zach was the one person who knew everything about me and it was good to have a friend like him to vent to. Two weeks before Sarah was due we went to grab lunch and it turned into a venting session. Something about the timing of everything was really starting to bug me and I needed to run something by Zach.
“So, how are you doing man? You ready for your life to change?”
I looked at him and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Something I saw the other day reminded me of the way Sarah broke up with me. Do you remember how surprised I was?”
“Yeah dude, it totally came out of left field. She was acting really weird at Dave’s party the night before but I just thought she was in one of her famous moods so I didn’t think twice about it. Then when you told me the next day that she broke up with you it kind of made me think that maybe she was going through something. I don’t know. I just felt bad for you because of the cold-hea
rted way she did it.” He shook his head. “And now she’s pregnant with your kid. Dude, make sure you get a paternity test.”
“It’s already lined up.”
“Good.”
I looked down at the ground and then looked at him.
“Did you ever see her with another guy when we were together?”
“No. I would have told you if I did. You know that.”
“I know, I know. Something about this whole pregnancy does not feel right, Zach.”
“You said something you saw reminded you of the way Sarah broke up with you.”
“Yeah, remember Tim Waverly?”
“Sure.”
“He posted on social media that his girlfriend dumped him out of the blue but he said he should have had his eyes open a little wider because she was cheating right under his nose. He said she spent a lot of time with her study group because they were working on some big final project and it turned out her study group was one guy. He was the one she was cheating with. He put all of his business out there for everyone to see.”
Zach’s eyes got really big.
“Wait a second! I remember you were complaining because Sarah was spending so much time practicing at the dance studio hoping to get a big break. Do you think there was another guy?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even give it a second thought at the time probably because my ego was so big.”
“Was?”
I punched him in the arm and he chuckled.
“Sorry dude, I couldn’t resist. Go on.”
“Anyway, maybe she was messing around on me.”
“You know how I feel about the girl so I wouldn’t put it past her. No one is more manipulative than her. You’ll know the truth in two weeks or so, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t let her get out of taking the test.”
“I won’t. We’re doing it at the hospital right after the baby is born.”
“If you want me to be there just give me the word.”
“Thanks, dude.”
“So what’s happening with Brielle?”
“Nothing yet. I ran into Sophie a couple of weeks ago and they were getting ready to graduate so I thought I would wait a couple of weeks to reach out to her again. Hopefully she will take my call.”
“I’m sure the baby on board thing freaked her out but I bet she’ll come around. I saw the way you guys were with each other and that wasn’t just a casual thing. There is something there.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Chicks, man.”
“Dude, I know. Speaking of girls, when you do talk to Brielle can you put in a good word for me and tell her I’d like Sophie’s number?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, we had a chance to get to know each other on the flight back and she’s pretty cool.”
“Zach, why have you waited so long to reach out to her?”
“With everything you had going on with Sarah and Brielle I didn’t think it would be a good time. But I can’t stop thinking about her so I want to ask her out.”
“Good for you, dude. I’ll let Brielle know.”
Later that night just as I was climbing into bed my phone rang.
“Declan! I’m in labor and I’m scared!”
I jumped out of bed, grabbed my keys and raced to meet her at the hospital. My heart was pounding in my ears as I thought about how my life was possibly about to change. They were wheeling her in just as I got there and I was quickly given a gown to wear. It all happened so fast. Her parents were in the waiting room and I barely had a chance to acknowledge them. The whole thing was very awkward and I couldn’t wait for it all to be over.
Two hours later Sarah gave birth to a baby boy and I couldn’t let myself be excited until I knew the truth. Her parents came in to see her and I went to have the nurse take my DNA sample from my cheek. After that I decided to leave and let Sarah have that time with her family. If he turned out to be my kid I would be much more involved, but until I knew for sure, I was staying away. The nurse came in as I was saying goodbye and Sarah begged me not to leave and she tried to make a scene but I didn’t play into it. Was that fear I saw in her eyes as the nurse took her DNA sample? It wasn’t the kind of fear people had when they were afraid of being left alone. It was the kind of fear people had when they were about to get caught. I would know in three days if it was the kind of fear I thought it was.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Brielle
A week after graduation my parents actually got married and it shocked the hell out of me. I really didn’t think my dad would go through with it but he was there, waiting for my mom at the altar in front of about 100 guests. She beamed as she glided down the aisle and I had never seen her look more beautiful. As weird as it may sound, their story gave me hope for true love. My mom waited over 20 years for my dad to come around and go back to her and it paid off. They went on a month long cruise for their honeymoon and I was happy that my mom was finally truly happy.
A week after that, I was sitting in the break room eating my lunch at my new job when a familiar number popped up on my phone. I immediately lost my appetite and my throat went completely dry. Declan. I almost let it go to voicemail but I decided to answer because I knew it was around the time that Sarah was due.
“Hi, Brielle.”
I had almost forgotten how deep and rich his beautiful voice was.
“Hi, Declan.”
“How have you been?”
I decided to use the standard answer.
“I’m good. Busy, but good. How are you?”
“Not so good. I miss you.”
My words caught in my throat and butterflies fluttered in my belly. I didn’t expect those words from him and I didn’t know what to say.
“Declan…”
He cut me off. “Don’t say it, okay. I know how you feel and I just wanted you to know that my feelings about you haven’t changed.”
I didn’t want to play games and hearing him say he missed me brought back all of my feelings for him.
“I miss you too.”
My words hung in the air for a minute and I wondered if I should not have said anything. Declan finally let out a deep sigh.
“Brielle, what are we doing? We both miss each other and it doesn’t have to be this way. Will you meet me for coffee so that we can talk face to face?”
I didn’t even hesitate. I decided that whatever happened with the baby I would just deal with it. Sophie was right. People don’t dump people just because they have kids with someone else. If they did we would have a lot more single people in the world.
“I would love to.”
“Great. I have a new coffee maker so we can break it in here if you want. We’ll have more privacy if we hang out here instead of a coffee shop.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You just want me to come to your place so that you can take advantage of me!”
“There will be time for that later, believe me,” he said with lust lacing his voice.
My body started to respond to him and I had to remember that I was at work. “We can discuss that later.”
“Sounds fair. Are you free Friday night?”
My belly did a little flip. “Well, I don’t have any plans yet.”
“You do now. I will pick you up at 6:00.”
“Okay, sounds good. I better get back to work, my lunch break is almost over.”
“Okay, I want to hear all about your new job and I will see you Friday.”
I smiled into the phone. I couldn’t wait to see him.
“See you then.”
I was on cloud frickin’ nine when I got off the phone. All of my reservations about us went out the window and I couldn’t wait to see him. I don’t know if it was hearing him say he still missed me after three months of not talking or if I was more open to love prevailing over everything after seeing my parents finally get married, but I wanted to see Declan. I wanted to be with him. I decided that we would take thi
ngs one step at a time together and figure out what was best for us. The rest of the day crawled by and I did my best to focus on the work I had to do, but Friday could not come soon enough for me.
As soon as I got home on Friday I jumped in the shower and got ready for my date. I decided to keep it casual but sexy with a V-neck t-shirt, cut off jean shorts and wedges. Sophie walked in just as I was putting on my lipstick.
“Wow, you look gorgeous! Declan is not going to be able to keep his hands off of you, you know.”
“I don’t know about that, I just want to see him and talk to him. I miss him Sophie, much more than I realized.”