by Kayla Perrin
“It’s very early, but I know that you understand I have to make the decision that’s right for my life. I won’t be forced to do something I’m not ready for.”
“You can’t terminate the pregnancy,” Aaron said, his voice leaving absolutely no room for discussion.
Why was he saying this? Guilt? Ella had made it clear that Aaron didn’t want children.
“Aaron, I’m not going to have this conversation on the street. I’m also not going to have you telling me what I can and can’t do.” Defiance crept into her tone, and she was glad for it. She needed some anger to help her stay focused. She and Aaron didn’t have a relationship, and yet here he was expecting her to have his child if she were pregnant?
Perhaps he would feel an obligation to his child and want visitation on the weekends, summers with his son or daughter. She would constantly have to deal with a man who was not her partner... Or worse, he might try to force a relationship because of the baby, but how long would that last?
Oh, Melissa had done her best to tell herself that she could sleep with Aaron and not get emotionally involved, but she knew now that she’d been lying to herself. He’d always been the man she had wanted, but did she dare to trust him with her heart again? She had been crushed when their relationship fell apart the first time. If she allowed herself to fall for him again and it didn’t work out, then what? Especially with a child in the mix. She didn’t want Aaron to want her only because of the baby.
“...consult me,” Aaron was saying.
Melissa realized that she wasn’t fully paying attention to him. Her pulse was thundering between her ears.
“I’d like to go home now,” she said.
Aaron was silent for a long moment as he regarded her.
“Aaron, please. I feel so overwhelmed right now.”
After a moment, he nodded. “All right. But we’re in this together, so I need you to call me.” When Melissa said nothing, Aaron went on. “Are you hearing me? I need you to call me and let me know if you’re pregnant or not.”
“I doubt it, but—”
“Call me regardless,” Aaron said.
She opened her car and quickly got behind the wheel. The moment she closed the door, Aaron tapped on the window. She didn’t roll it down; she needed to get away. Aaron frowned, then mimed a phone call.
Melissa looked ahead and drove her car into traffic, not acknowledging Aaron’s request.
Good Lord, she’d hoped to find out if she were pregnant and deal with the news on her own. Now Aaron knew it was a possibility. He was going to be waiting to hear back from her.
And he expected her to keep the child, no matter how it might affect her life.
Well, she wasn’t going to have him tell her what to do. This was the twenty-first century. A woman was entitled to make pregnancy decisions for herself. And she intended to make that decision without any interference from a man who was incapable of committing.
* * *
Melissa couldn’t bring herself to take the test until several hours later. Arlene had come to pick up their parents and take them to a park for a change of pace. Melissa had begged off, claiming that she wasn’t feeling well.
Which wasn’t a lie. Although now, besides the nausea, she also had a pounding headache. The reality that she could be pregnant was too much to contemplate.
With the house quiet, this was the time to finally take the test. Waiting wasn’t going to change the result.
She withdrew the test stick and followed the instructions. And then she sat on the edge of the bathtub and waited.
The seconds that passed seemed like hours. Was the line going to appear telling her that she was pregnant or not?
Melissa closed her eyes and kept them shut for probably a minute before she reopened them, reached for the stick on the bathroom counter and held it in front of her. As she looked at it, her stomach sank.
Positive.
Oh, God, the worst had happened.
She was pregnant.
With Aaron’s baby.
What was she going to do?
* * *
Aaron didn’t sleep a wink.
He had expected a phone call from Melissa hours ago, but midnight had come and gone and there had been no call.
He was trying to bide his time and be patient, not aggressively tell her what she should or shouldn’t do. Even though he knew that there was only one acceptable action if she were pregnant.
To keep the baby.
Something inside him had perked up when he’d realized there was a possibility that he might become a father. He didn’t even know how Melissa felt about him, and yet the idea of becoming a father had excitement filling his heart. It was something he’d wanted for years, a little boy or girl to call his own.
Sure, the situation wasn’t ideal, but if he and Melissa had conceived a child, he would see it as a sign from God—that God had forgiven him for what had happened to Chantelle.
Aaron swallowed at the thought of his sister and how he’d lost her. When would the pain truly heal?
He had to convince Melissa to keep the baby. She had to know that he would accept all responsibility for their child without reservation.
He had the means to take care of a child. And it wasn’t like they were two teenagers. He would give the baby all the love in the world.
Enough love to make up for his one fatal mistake.
And yet, Melissa hadn’t called him.
Aaron realized when he felt the pain in his jaw that he was clenching his teeth. He drew in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. He turned onto his side and glanced at the bedside clock—5:14 a.m.
Given Melissa’s track record of disappearing, she could very well be heading back to Newark today. Before she left, he needed to know. He would give her the morning to get back to him, but she had to know that if she didn’t call him, he was going to go and find her.
He had to know one way or another if she was carrying his child.
* * *
Melissa’s feet felt like lead as she swung them off the bed. She sat there for several seconds. Her hands sank into the mattress, and she squeezed hard.
She wished she had just woken up from a dream, but she hadn’t. The dawn of another day didn’t change her reality.
She was pregnant.
Every time she thought about the positive pregnancy test, she felt such disbelief that she could hardly accept it. She needed to do another test. But not in this town. Getting one here had been bad enough, and she wouldn’t put herself through that again.
When she got back to New Jersey, she would verify the test. False positives happened every day, didn’t they? Taking another test before accepting the first result was the smart thing to do.
She couldn’t stay in her bedroom all day, so she got up and made her way into the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the small table, as was her father. They had teacups in front of them, and they both smiled when they looked up at her.
Melissa returned the smile, trying to forget her own dilemma. It was good to see her father sitting up and smiling. He looked so much better than he had right after the heart attack.
“You look good, Dad.”
“I feel better, too,” he said. “Almost like my old self.”
“That’s because he’s finally eating the veggies I made for him. This morning, he had steamed veggies and some roasted potatoes. He didn’t even complain when I didn’t give him any bacon.”
Melissa looked at her father in awe. “Wow. That’s progress.”
“I’m getting used to it,” he said. “This low-fat diet nonsense. I guess it won’t kill me.”
“It’s meant to keep you alive, actually.”
Her mother gave her husband a pointed look. “See? I’m not the only one who knows what’s best for you.”
Me
lissa smiled and wandered over to the counter. She reached for a single-serve coffee pod, but her hand stilled in the air. She’d done some research on the topic of coffee and pregnancy, and the experts said pregnant women should limit coffee consumption to one cup a day. But why not cut it out altogether to be safe? She would have peppermint tea instead.
The thought made her realize something. If she were indeed pregnant, she wanted this baby. Very much.
“I didn’t know what to make for you,” her mother said. “But there are some potatoes and veggies left, if you’re okay with that.”
The potato idea sounded heavenly. Melissa needed as much starch as her stomach could take.
“Sounds perfect,” she told her mother.
She ate, and the potatoes did seem to do the trick. Although she’d felt a wave of nausea earlier, she was able to keep her food down. Maybe whatever she’d been feeling wasn’t due to pregnancy after all. Maybe her stress over her father’s accident and Aaron had led to a false positive. The only thing she knew for sure was that she needed to have a proper test with a doctor to verify whether or not she was indeed pregnant.
She would do that as soon as she got back to Newark.
* * *
A few hours later, Melissa was packed and ready to head out. “Dad, please stick to the new diet the doctor prescribed for you. I want to see you around for a long, long time.”
“Exactly,” her mother said. “He needs to be here for the grandchildren you’re going to give us.”
Melissa stiffened, a chill slithering down her spine. Why had her mother just said that?
But as she looked in her mother’s direction and saw that she was smiling at her father, she knew her mother hadn’t had some psychic revelation; she’d merely said the kind of encouraging thing a person would say when one’s partner was facing a life-threatening illness. Stick around so that you can see your future grandchildren. There was nothing suspicious about her mother’s words.
But still, the comment held far more meaning now than it would have just last week.
Melissa drew in a breath to steady her nerves, then made her way to the sofa and leaned down and gave her father a hug and a kiss. Then she did the same with her mother. “All right, I’ll be in touch when I get home.”
“You sure you can’t stay a couple more days?” her mother asked.
Suddenly, Melissa started crying. Her mother got to her feet and put her arms around her. “Oh, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to pressure you. I know you’ll come back as soon as you can.”
“I need to take care of some things,” Melissa said, trying to contain her soft sobbing. Good Lord, what was wrong with her? “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Her sudden outburst was proof that she needed to get to Newark and her doctor’s office immediately. She was an emotional basket case.
She hoped that when she returned to Sheridan Falls, this burden would be lifted from her shoulders. That she would know, once and for all, that she wasn’t pregnant.
Chapter 27
Melissa felt a modicum of guilt as she exited her parents’ home and brought her bags to the car. She’d promised Aaron that she would be in touch. And now she was leaving without speaking to him.
She sat behind the wheel of her car and decided to send him a text.
I need to go to the doctor to get a proper pregnancy test. That’s the smartest thing to do.
And then she backed out of her parents’ driveway and onto the street.
About a minute later, she glanced in her rearview mirror. And her heart spasmed. Was that...Aaron?
It didn’t take more than five seconds for her to realize that it was him. The Mercedes pulled out from behind and sped up alongside her. She glanced to her left and cringed. He put the window down and gestured for her to pull over.
She turned her attention back to the road, not wanting to stop. Had he already received her text? Had he been lying in wait for her?
Aaron continued to gesture at her, but she didn’t engage. And then he sped up and pulled in front of her. Melissa gasped. She feared he was going to stop the car, but of course that didn’t make sense. Several seconds later, the traffic light changed to red, and he stopped. She was forced to stop behind him, trapped.
Aaron quickly exited his car and walked toward her. He rapped on the window, and she put it down. What else could she do?
“Turn into the next plaza. We need to talk.”
Darn it, there was no avoiding this. She could run now, but he would track her down. And the truth was, she did owe him an answer. Perhaps he hadn’t slept all night, just as she hadn’t.
She pulled into the next driveway behind him, which led into a strip mall plaza. Aaron drove to the far end of the parking lot and parked his car. Melissa pulled up alongside him.
He glanced through his window at her. She looked back. Then he got out of his car, came to her passenger door and pulled on it.
It was locked, and Melissa quickly unlocked it so that he could gain access to her car. As Aaron got into the passenger seat beside her, his disappointment was clear. “You were supposed to call me.”
“I sent you a text.”
“I just saw that. You didn’t give me an answer about the pregnancy test.”
“I think it’s best that I go to the doctor to have a proper test done.”
Aaron was silent, his eyes scrutinizing her. “Does that mean that the test was positive?” he surmised. “Because if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t go to the doctor to double-check, would you?”
When Melissa said nothing, he nodded, convinced of his own assessment. “Yeah, that makes sense. You got a positive result, now you’re panicking. And you were gonna leave town without telling me what was going on.”
“Aaron, this is all so overwhelming. I need time to digest this. Time to...deal.”
“You mean we,” he said. “You didn’t get pregnant by yourself.”
“But I might not be pregnant. There’s definitely a chance that the test was wrong. I think it makes perfect sense for me to want to validate it first before you and I have this conversation.”
“Please tell me you’re not considering terminating the pregnancy.”
“I need time to figure out what’s best.”
“What’s best is keeping the baby.”
“Do you even want a baby?” Melissa asked. “You’re a jet-setter. You’ve retired from playing, but you might end up coaching in Europe or God knows where. A child would cramp your style.”
“That’s what you think?”
Melissa sighed softly. “Look, maybe I shouldn’t mention this, but the day we met in the coffee shop, Ella was there.”
“Yes, I saw her leaving.”
“Well, she told me a bit about your marriage. Specifically that you didn’t want kids.”
Melissa saw rage fill Aaron’s eyes. “That’s what she said?”
“She also said that you sabotage relationships because of your guilt over Chantelle.”
Melissa saw the way Aaron’s jaw flinched. But he said nothing.
“You’re still not going to talk about your sister?”
“Chantelle has nothing to do with why my marriage to Ella ended.”
“Doesn’t it?” Melissa challenged. “It makes sense that you ended our relationship because you didn’t think you deserved love—”
“I don’t want to talk about Chantelle,” Aaron said through gritted teeth.
“Ella said you didn’t want the baby, and that you cheated because your guilt led you to destroy everything good in your life. If she hadn’t mentioned Chantelle, I would have dismissed everything she said. But I know how much guilt you carried over your sister.”
“It seems you’ve let everyone else talk to you about my marriage without giving me the chance. It’s about time you hear my side.”
“Okay,” Melissa said softly. “I’m listening.”
“I know it can be hard to ignore the crap you hear people gossiping about, or the stuff that’s in the tabloids. But I’m not this playboy that the world thinks I am. Yes, I’ve dated my share of women. Dated, not slept with. But I’ve had a lot more women chasing me. It comes with the territory when you’re a sports star. They all want something superficial. Bragging rights. A sugar daddy who will wine and dine them.” He paused. “And that includes Ella. She lied to me from the very beginning.”
“You must have loved her if you married her.” Just saying the words left Melissa with a bad taste in her mouth.
“She told me she was pregnant.” Aaron held her gaze, let that sink in. “Before we were married. We met up one time when I was in town, hung out a few times, and one thing led to another. I thought she loved me. But she had an agenda.”
Melissa stared at Aaron, waiting for him to continue.
“One day she tells me she’s pregnant. Far from what she told you, I was excited. A baby...it felt like a blessing. Like forgiveness for what had happened with Chantelle. I was determined to be the best dad ever. To spoil the baby and never let any harm come to him or her. So I did the right thing. I married her. It was quick. I was happy. Only after we got married, I noticed that she wasn’t developing. Her stomach wasn’t growing. She wasn’t having any morning sickness. I asked her if we could go to the doctor, check on the baby’s progress. Well, the very next day she came home crying, telling me that she’d had a miscarriage. Said she’d been to the hospital and the baby was gone. I asked why she never called me, and she didn’t have a good reason, except to say everything happened so fast. I found that odd, but I figured it could have happened that way. Mostly I was upset she hadn’t called me. I wanted to be there for her. Anyway, several months later I ran into her doctor. I talked to him about the miscarriage, and he was confused. In fact, he was confused by the claim of pregnancy altogether. And that’s when I found out she’d been lying. She was never pregnant.”
Melissa gasped. All this time, she had assumed that Aaron had fallen for Ella’s looks and sex appeal. Instead, he had tried to do the right thing by her, only to find out he’d been deceived.