Trust in Me (Saved #1.5)

by Shelby Reeves

  Knowing Bo, he’s not okay at all with just being friends with Jess. “Have you two mentioned dating since?”

  “No, we haven’t. But Cassie, he seems different here lately.”

  “Different how?”

  “We hang out almost every weekend, he doesn’t go to Colt’s parties hardly anymore, he doesn’t drink hardly, and from what I can tell, he hasn’t slept with anyone recently.”

  “That’s good!” Bo is changing right in front of her and I don’t think she realizes he is doing it for her.

  “How long will it be before he gets tired of not being who he used to be? What if Bo goes back to being a womanizer and waking up with a hangover the next morning after a party? I don’t want to get my heart broken again, Cassie,” she whispers the last part with sadness.

  I hug my best friend and silently pray that she and Bo can find the same happiness I have found in J.

  “Just talk to him, Jess, and let him know your fears.”

  “Okay, I’ll try,” she relents.

  April thirtieth, a day I will always remember. Shocked, scared, excited, and nervous. That’s how I am feeling right now. A piece of me is growing inside me. Finding out you are eight weeks pregnant and still in high school is not how I envisioned my life. Of course, meeting J and his wonderful family and living ten hours from him is not how I saw my senior year either. My life has been full of surprises here lately, some of them have not been great and some of them have. But, what is life without a little disappointment now and then?

  My parents have been on my mind here lately. I think about them a lot and wonder if they are watching over me.

  J and I have only been together seven and a half months so us having a baby is quite a shock. That weekend with J had been one of the best weekends of my life and now I will have a little miracle from it.

  I hope he is happy when I tell him the news. Seeing his face light up would warm my heart. Even though we have barely talked much here lately, I know how strong we are as a couple. J and I have made it through some tough trials and in the end, we have come out stronger together. If can get through jealous girls and crazy ex’s, I feel like we can survive anything.

  “Cassie, you still there?” J asks through the phone. It’s almost midnight here and I am finally getting to talk to J. With him helping his dad a lot here the last few weeks and with me picking extra hours at the diner, our talks have either been short and sweet or we have been settling with goodnight texts.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “I asked how your day was.”

  Oh, you know, it’s wonderful. I found out I am pregnant. There is no way I am telling J over the phone that he is going to be a dad. “It’s good.”

  “Anything interesting happen?”

  Yep…

  “No, nothing I can think of.”

  There is a pause. “Cassie, I know you, babe. I can tell by your voice that something is wrong, now please, tell me.”

  I can’t. Not yet.

  God, I hate lying to him. Next month when he picks me up at the airport, I will tell him. “I’m fine, J, just tired.”

  “Go get some sleep, Cass. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”

  Gripping the phone tighter in my hand, I resist the urge to blurt out the news. “Love you, too.”

  The next thirty-five days need to fly by at the speed of light.

  The last few weeks seemed to take longer than the rest of the months. It’s probably because it’s the most anticipated day. I’ve been fighting with myself over whether or not I should tell J he is going to be a father, but I managed to keep it a secret still. The morning sickness has been hit and miss. Some mornings I wake up and throw up my guts while other mornings I’m perfectly fine. I’ve learned I can’t eat bacon. The baby doesn’t like it, which stinks because I love it. Aunt Beverly cried when I told her the news. I almost didn’t tell her, but I needed advice and Seth isn’t the one I wanted to go to with the news. He doesn’t know yet, but that’s fixing to change. He is supposed to come by and say goodbye before I leave.

  An hour before I am supposed to leave for the airport, Seth arrives, engulfing me in his arms immediately. “I can’t believe my best friend is leaving me.”

  “You knew from the beginning that I was going back to Brilliant.”

  He sighs, dropping his arms. “I did, but I can’t believe it’s already time for you to go.”

  “Thank you for being an awesome friend. Without you, I don’t how I would have survived these past months.”

  Seth beams. “You have to come visit me sometime.”

  “I will.” Pausing to take a deep breath, I close my eyes, inhaling slowly and letting it out. “Seth, before you go, I just wanted to tell you that…I’m pregnant.”

  Unable to hide his shock, his jaw hits the floor. “That’s unexpected news, but congratulations! How far along are you?”

  “Thirteen weeks. Only my Aunt knows, but I plan on telling J today when I see him.”

  “You haven’t told him yet?”

  I feel bad for not telling, J, but I feel like I am making the right choice. Being hours apart while delivering shocking news to your boyfriend is not the scenario I wanted to use. J and I need to be able to talk face to face. “I figured telling him in person would be better.”

  He nods in understanding. “Well, I should go. I will miss you, Cassie.” With one last hug, the only friend I have up here, leaves.

  Once Seth is gone, I mentally go through my checklist in my head.

  Bags packed? Check.

  Heart beating a mile a minute. Check.

  I take one last look around my Aunt’s house realizing I will miss this place. It is almost like my home away from home.

  Aunt Beverly joins me in the living room. She cups my cheek, her eyes filled with unshed tears. “Cassie, please don’t be a stranger. I’ve loved every minute with you these past few months and as much as I’m going to miss you, I know where your heart belongs. And it’s with J.”

  Fighting back my own tears, I hug her tight. “I’ll come visit when I can, I promise. I’m definitely not going to let you miss out on seeing your new great niece or nephew.” She has helped me tremendously with my pregnancy so far.

  With my bag in my hands, I head toward the door, my heart almost beating out of my chest in anticipation of seeing J. We have been slowly drifting apart since I have been gone, but I hope we can be the couple we were once I am back in Brilliant. Especially now that there is a baby growing inside me.

  Opening the front door, I am halted in my tracks when I see Heather standing in front of me with her hand raised like she is about to knock. How in the heck she knows where I live is baffling, but what is even more shocking is how pregnant she looks? She has to be at least seven months along. A huge knot forms in the pit of my stomach causes me to place my hand over mine. Whatever reason she is here for, there is no way it can be good. The last time I talked to Jess she mentioned Heather being up to no good. Apparently, she is relentless in attempting to have J to herself. Heather’s been tight-lipped on how who her baby’s father is. If I had a guess, I’d say she has no clue.

  “What are you doing here, Heather?”

  A malicious smirk appears on her face. “Since he didn’t want to break your poor little heart, J wanted me to come tell you that he and I are having a baby together. We are going to be a family. He said for you not to come back to Brilliant.”

  Her words might have well been a slap to my face or a sucker punch to my gut. “I don’t believe you,” I force out. In the back of mind, though, I kind of do. J has been pulling away from me after we spent my birthday together, along with Bo and even Jess. Even when we do talk it has been short, nothing like our normal long talks. Texts from him don’t come as often as they used to either.

  She shrugs a shoulder, unfazed and pulls out a picture of them together. He is arm is around her, a little too close to her breast. He looks drunk, but he is all smiles as she kisses his ch
eek. “Believe me now, don’t you? Our relationship started right after Ellen passed away. Hiding it from everyone has been hard, but we managed. Why he couldn’t just break up with you I don’t understand, but whatever. He was so excited when I told him we were having a baby together. Have a nice life!” Heather waltzes away with a giant smile on her ugly face.

  Pulling out my phone, I open my messenger app, finding Seth instantly.

  Can you come get me? It’s an emergency.

  Seth responds instantly.

  On my way.

  Memories of J and I fall down my cheeks in the form of tears. How could he do this to me? After all that we have been through he couldn’t handle us being apart? He had to cheat on me with Heather of all people?

  The pain becomes too much and my knees buckle as the dam breaks. I want to call him and tell him how much of a coward he is, but I don’t have it in me. Hearing his voice would make the pain even more unbearable.

  Arms are suddenly around me, pulling me against a solid chest. “Cassie, talk to me. What happened?” Seth asks, his voice full of worry.

  “He cheated on me and got a girl pregnant.” The words leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

  Seth mutters a curse, his arms moving beneath me. He stands, bringing me up with him, cradling in his arms.

  I must have zoned out because when I come too, we are at the airport. “Seth, what are doing here?”

  He takes my hand in his, locking gazes with me. “I figured you need to get away so I booked us a flight to South Carolina. We are going to Myrtle Beach for a few days, Cassie.” At a loss for words, I simply stare at Seth wondering if I should go or not. “Cassie, get away from reality for a while. It will be good for you.”

  “I don’t know, Seth. Yes, my heart is shattered from what J did to me, but is running really the answer?”

  “Don’t look at this as you running. Think of it as a vacation.”

  I haven’t been on a vacation before. “Okay,” I concede.

  “Good. Now let’s go board the plane and get the heck up out of here. I’m ready for the beach!”

  I can’t help but smile slightly at his enthusiasm. Grabbing my phone to make sure it is turned off, my heart sinks further in my chest when I don’t see any missed calls. My phone feels like a huge weight in my hand. Once it’s off, I chunk it in my bag and exit the car.

  I still can’t help thinking I am running and maybe I am, but like Seth said, it wouldn’t hurt for me to get away for a few days. I’m going to attempt to have some fun and forget about J. Although a piece of my heart will always belong to him, I have to accept the fact that he is with Heather now.

  Staring at the huge building in front of me, my hand returns to my stomach. J should know about his child. Correction, his second child. But now is not the time, I’ve waited this long to tell him, what’s a little longer?

  Seth and I make it through the security checks and on the plane in an hour. Any moment, the plane will be taxing back. My mind drifts back to months ago when I was on a plane heading to Aunt Beverly’s. I remember exactly how I felt that day. Leaving J was the last thing I wanted to do and I couldn’t wait until I would get to see him again. Now, it’s the opposite. I should be on a plane on my way back to Alabama, yet it’s the very last place I want to be.

  A warm hand covers mine. “Your heart will be put back together one day by someone who deserves you way more than he does, Cassie.”

  What if I want J to be the one who mends it? “It’s going to take a long time for this heart to be whole again. J may not have been my first love, Seth, but he has left a mark that will won’t erase.” Not to mention this baby growing inside me will undoubtedly remind me of him.

  Seth only pats my hand. I guess he doesn’t know what to say.

  Closing my eyes, I rest my head against the seat. As the plane ascends in the air, I drift off to sleep.

  Seth wakes me up just as we are about to land. Once we retrieve our bags from baggage claim, we hail a taxi to take us to our hotel.

  “What do you want to do first?”

  I chew on my bottom lip indecisively. What is there to do in Myrtle Beach besides the beach? “It doesn’t matter.”

  “The beach sound okay? We can swing by a store and grab you a suit really quick,” he suggests.

  “Sure.”

  Seth has become a really great friend to me and I am grateful to have someone like him to depend on. “Where’s your head at Cassie?” Seth asks once we are seated in the taxi.

  “I was thinking about how grateful I am to have you as a friend.”

  He smiles and squeezes my hand. “If you need my help with the baby, I’m there. This baby needs to know his father, but if J doesn’t want to be there for him or her, then I can.”

  I don’t know what to think about what Seth just said. J needs to be in his child’s life, not Seth. I have no doubt J will step up, but in case he doesn’t, I will do it alone. It will be hard, I know, yet I don’t want my child unsure of who the biological father is. Seth being in the baby’s life will only cause confusion and I can’t have that.

  “We will see what the future holds,” is all I can think to say. My head and my heart are not on the same page. My head believes the evidence stacked against J, but my heart tells me a different story. “What if I am wrong, Seth?”

  “Wrong about what? J cheating on you?” When I nod, he sighs. “Here is my philosophy: if he comes running for you, you will know your answer. A phone call or a text isn’t enough. If he really loves you and if he honestly didn’t cheat, he will put forth the effort to come to you.”

  His words sink in and I swirl them around in my head, pondering them.

  “Cassie, look inside your heart. Do you honestly believe he slept with Heather?”

  “I don’t know. My head and heart are in conflict. He’s been pulling away from me the last couple months so yeah, I have doubts about our relationship.”

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you give it a couple of days and then decide? Now let’s get to the beach before I have to leave.”

  “What? You’re leaving me here?” He never said anything about leaving!

  Gathering my hands in his, his gaze locks with mine. “As much as I want to stay here and spend time with you, you need to do this on your own without anyone here to try and persuade you. Besides, who’s going to be Indy when J comes looking for you? Someone has to be there and I want to be the one question him.”

  To say I’m afraid of being alone in a different city by myself is an understatement. “I don’t know about this, Seth,” I reply shakily.

  “Have fun, Cassie. You deserve to relax. Now, let’s go get you something to swim in before I have to return home.”

  I’m standing at the airport waiting for Cassie’s plane to touchdown. I have been unable to get a hold of Cassie all day and I am starting to freak out. Bo and Jess are here with me to welcome my girl home. The last several months I have not been myself, but no more. Today is the day Cassie is finally coming home.

  I wait. And wait for the passengers to file off the plane that just landed. This is the plane that brought my girl home.

  I cringe when I see a familiar face heading toward me. “J! Fancy running into you here!” Heather’s voice makes me want to go deaf.

  Did she just get off the same plane as Cassie? Heather has been relentless in trying to get me to date her. I’ve lost count in how many times I have turned her down. We all know she probably has no idea who the father of her baby is. “Run along, Heather. I’m waiting for someone special.”

  “Cassie isn’t on the plane, J. In fact, I’m pretty sure y’all are through.” The satisfaction in her eyes has me on alert.

  “What did you do, Heather?” I demand.

  Her smile is malevolent. “I only told her about our baby. One picture of us was all it took for her to believe me. J didn’t want to break your poor little heart so he sent me.”

  I can’t believe what I am hearing. “Why would you do that?!
And what pictures?”

  She makes a tisk-tisk sound. “You shouldn’t drink so much, J.” She holds out a photo for me to see. I almost throw up seeing her kiss my cheek. And I’m smiling! Why in the hell am I smiling?

  “Cassie,” I breathe. My knees try to buckle beneath me, but I refuse to sit. I have to get to Cassie.

  “You won’t find her in Indy,” Heather says suddenly. “I saw her at the airport with some guy.”

  Seth. While I still don’t trust him, I’m happy she’s not alone. I need to get her.

  Running back through the airport, I search for Bo and Jess. I find the Starbucks they said they would be waiting at.

  “I have to get to Indy. Heather went up there and fed Cassie a bunch of lies and showed her a picture. I have to go get her,” I rush out in a breath when I find them.

  “What a bitch,” Bo comments, jumping up from his seat.

  “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go bring her home!” Jess says, gathering her things.

  I want to do this alone, but I may need them for support.

  The next flight to Indy wasn’t for several hours so we were forced to drive. Cassie must have her phone turned off because each time I call, it goes straight to voicemail. I leave her message after message, voicemail after voicemail, hoping she can hear the desperation in my voice. Bo and Jess even try calling her and they are met with the same results.

  I should have never deleted Seth’s number!

  The more my calls and texts go unanswered, the further my heart sinks in my chest.

  It’s in the wee hours of the morning when we hit the Indiana state line and as much as I want to keep driving, I know we need to stop and sleep for a few hours. We find a reasonable hotel to crash for a while. With almost three hours of driving still ahead of us, I don’t want to sleep too long. I still have been trying to get a hold of her and all of my calls and texts have still been unanswered.

  With only two beds, I offered to bunk with Bo since there has been so much yelling and fighting between Bo and Jess. So far, they have managed to reign in their anger and insults for me. They are both worried about Cassie as much as I am.