Against All Odds

by Alexia Vella Deguara

  “You said that not me,answer me please.”

  “David I'm here with you,isn't that enough?” I said with a broken voice.

  “No Cassidy it's not enough,you might be here but you're far away from me. You're thinking about him. I know that,you're still in love with him.”

  This wasn't a question,it was a statement. I felt bad my heart raced.

  “David listen,please. This will pass,we will get married and I'll be faithful to you I promise. I will forget him. I' will OK.”

  “No,you never will, you can't,” he said drinking the rest of the whiskey in a gulp.

  In that moment my mum returned back and sat down again.

  “What's happening ,can you please tell me? It seems that you have just returned from a funeral. What happened after I left from school? Have you argued?”she asked worried.

  “No mum, it's everything all right” I said.

  David stood up.

  “No it's not, tell her what happened,” he said angrily.

  My mum looked at me questionably.

  “What's going on Cassidy?”

  “David please. Mum-”

  "I'm not so sure the wedding will take place Angela.” David continued taking another drink.

  “What?” My mum stood up.

  “David enough,” I shouted.

  At that moment there was a knock on the door which made us all freeze.

  “Who can it be at this time of the night?”

  My mum asked.

  David looked at me devastated and then his expression changed, a flicker of anger flashed across his sapphire blue eyes. He he put down the glass. I knew what he was going to do. I knew he would go and open up the door. I ran in front of him and hugged him.

  “David.”

  “Leave me alone,” he shouted. “If he followed us here, I swear that this time I'll take the hell out of him. Damned who he think he is?!”

  My mum was stunned, she never saw David like this.

  “Who followed you here? Cassidy,” she asked.

  “Tell her, come on,” he shouted.

  “Ty. Mum we've met,he came back,” I said with a trembling voice.

  My mum looked at me her mouth open.

  "Oh my God that's why you're in this state.”

  “So she knows about him? You've told her?” David asked me hurt.

  “Yes,but she only knows his name. Nothing else.”

  “Oh, then you better tell her cause I'm going to open. I've never been a fighter but this time I won't let him win. You're mine Cassidy,” he said hugging me to him.

  We heard another knock this time more strong .

  “Enough this time I'll kill him!” David pushed me away from him and began to walk towards the door.

  “No please David,don't hurt Tyler. It's not necessary please!” I begged while I began to cry.

  “Cassidy what do you have to tell me?” My mum asked holding her breath.

  “Mum you know Tyler,” I said weakly.

  “I do? Where? Cassidy what are you hiding?”

  In that moment I heard David shouting at Tyler. They were arguing.

  “I have to see this guy.” My mum said putting her glass down.

  “Mum please no!" I cried.

  “Why?”She asked. "Cassidy what's the problem?"

  “Cassy!!! Cassy I want to talk to you please.!!” I heard Tyler shouting from outside.

  My mum looked at me astonished and then she put a hand on her mouth. She seemed shocked.

  “Mum are you OK?”

  “Cassidy, no this can't be true. There's only one person in this world who calls you Cassy and that was Mr Spencer.”

  I swallowed, tears began to roll down heavily from my eyes. I sat down, my knees had weakened. I felt without strength. Too much emotions,too much things happening at once for me to bear.

  “Cassidy, please tell me that you didn't sleep with another teacher. Cassidy!!” she shouted angrily.

  “Yes mum I did. I had a relationship with him. I loved him OK,” I said covering my face.

  My mum let herself go on the sofa and took the glass in her hand again and drank all the whiskey. I couldn't look at her, I couldn't meet her eyes, I knew how much I was deluding her. Just then we heard a yell and a big sound. I felt my heart stopping. My God what had happened? I stood up and ran to the entrance. Mum came after me. There I saw Tyler on the floor and David breathing heavily leaning against the door.

  “David, what have you done?” I shouted.

  “Nothing. I'm just defending myself OK?” he said.

  I went near Tyler and saw that he had blood coming out from his nose.

  “Oh My God. Tyler...Tyler are you OK?” I cried.

  He looked at me and smiled.

  “Yes sweetheart. I'm fine now that you're here with me.” Saying this he grabbed my hand and I helped him to get up. Then I looked at David,he had bruises on his face as well.

  “Are you OK David?”I asked him. He looked at me, his eyes full of pain and anger. He was hurt.

  “Thanks for remembering I'm here. I will be always the second best. Will I Cassidy?” He asked me in anger.

  “What? No I...”

  “You ran to him and not to me,” he cried out.

  “He was on the floor. I thought you,Oh my God-”

  My mum was looking at Tyler in a strange way and he noticed.

  “Ms Hastley. I'm sorry,” he apologized.

  “My God Mr Spencer, that's why you wanted to give private lessons to my daughter? What type of private lessons were you giving her eh?” She said angrily.

  “I'm sorry but I never wanted to take advantage of her. I just fell in love with her,” he said looking softly at me.

  "Then why the hell did you leave her? You know how much she suffered because of you?”she said looking at him with anger.

  “I didn't have choice. I was reported, I had to go.”He said trying to defend himself.

  My mum looked stunned at me.

  “Cassidy this was the reason he left? Everyone got to know about you?”

  I nodded.“Yes mum. Tyler didn't go to prison because he accepted not to see me again.”I explained.

  “Why no one told me anything. Mr Daniels should have informed me. Oh my God. So what the hell are you doing here now? You want to finish in prison ?” she asked him.

  “Yes. I decided to face the trial, that's the only way I have to be with your daughter. I love her and I can't stay away from her anymore.”

  “You can't have her now Tyler, she's my fiancee. She's carrying my baby,didn't she tell you that?” David shouted.

  Tyler looked at me and then at him.

  “I know she's pregnant but it might be not your baby. What if that baby is mine

  David?”

  David looked stunned at me.

  “Cassidy you've told him.”he said devastated.

  “I'm sorry David.”

  “Why she shouldn't have told me? I had the right to know Damned!” Tyler said angrily.

  “No, you lost every right when you left her. Now it's too late Tyler. Another one month and she will be my wife. Just accept this and leave us alone.”

  Saying this David came near me and pulled me to him. Tyler shot him a challenging look.

  “No,I won't. I will never give up on her, ever. Not when I know that she still loves me. David you can't decide for her. She will have to do that. I will only leave her if she tells me she does not love me anymore, that all we passed through together wasn't important. That making love to me that day meant nothing to her.”

  I felt embarrassed, my mum was drinking again in silence looking at me. I knew I had disappointed her and a lot. This wasn't me. I was there pregnant with a teacher's baby, while two men fought for me. I was doing worst that she ever did. David was holding me tight. I could feel him tense. I was causing so much pain to a lot of persons. I felt miserable. I felt awful. I just wanted to escape, far away from there. Far away from the two persons I loved so much , because thi
s was the truth I loved them both and I knew that whoever I was going to choose I would have still felt bad for the other. That I would have still loved the other. I had built myself a cage. I felt torn between two men.

  “Cassidy.”

  I looked up at David, his eyes were bright, he was holding back tears.

  “Tell me,” I said weakly.

  “Tell him, tell him that you love me. That we will get married. Tell him to go away from our lives, please. I love you.”

  Tyler made a pace towards us. “No Cassidy, tell him that you won't marry him. Tell him that a love as big as ours can never fade and will go against all odds. I love you.”

  I began to cry. I felt bad. I couldn't choose. I couldn't. David or Tyler? My God I loved them both and the baby. I had to think about him as well, who was the father?

  “I...I don't know “ I said crying.

  My mum came near me and......

  “Cassidy, it's not fair what you're doing to these guys. You know who you want to stay with. I know you do. Honey you have to find the courage to admit that to your self and to them. You can't not hurt them both and you can't love them both. You have to choose who will you spend the rest of your life with. It's the rest of your life we're talking about.”

  She was right. I knew she was. I left David's side and made a few paces back so that I could look at both. My God, how could I do this?

  “Cassidy go on.” My mother encouraged me.

  My heart was beating fast. I couldn't stop crying but I knew what I had to do.

  “OK, I love you both in different ways but I can't be with both. I know I'm going to hurt one of you and I feel awful right now but I can't keep living like this.” I turned around to face him, I felt miserable, tears rolled down my eyes as I tried to find the courage to express my decision. “ I'm sorry, I have decided to stay with.......”

  CHAPTER 60

  The months that followed were the worst of my life. Although I had taken the decision I wasn't happy. I had hurt a person I loved. I had hurt myself as well because I was missing him badly. Unfortunately I couldn't stay with both but I did want them to be both in my life especially since we didn't know yet who fathered my baby. They had both attended with me to every doctor's appointment and initially it was really embarrassing, the doctor was shocked and had looked strangely at us but she never asked who the second man was ,although I was sure she suspected. They were also both there when my water broke and I had to be taken to hospital. I had been in labor from early morning but I didn't want to go to hospital before the contractions had started. I had been attending to prenatal classes and they had advised us to stay at home. They were both near me in the car when my mum was driving us to the hospital, but not in the labor room. Only one person was allowed to come in during that time and I didn't want to choose again,it wasn't fair. So I chose my mum, she was there with me. Encouraging me while I tried to cope with the unbearable pain I was feeling. It has been a long labor and I cried a lot. How I wished they were near me. I wished to hear David's calm voice telling me it's going to be OK and I wished to have Tyler's strong hand ,squeezing mine while I pushed and breathed trying to give birth. I felt exhausted,sweat ran down my temple. I felt dizzy as if I was in another dimension. I heard the voice of the midwife urging me to push and my mum who hugged me from behind encouraging me. I screamed as I gave a last strong push. It was then that I heard my baby crying.

  “Congratulations Cassidy, you have a beautiful and healthy baby girl.”

  The midwife told me while she gave me my baby. I cried when I saw her and kept her in my arms. She was so small. I cried with happiness because she was beautiful. I cried also because I knew already that I was going to hurt her. Yes because the man I chose to stay with wasn't her father. There was no need for any DNA test to be done,she was his spitting image. My God she had his beautiful blue eyes and his beautiful lips. I kissed her and prayed she wouldn't hate me when she grows up. No she will not because I wasn't going to do like my mother. I wanted her to get to know her father. My mum smiled and cried at the same time.

  “Oh Cassidy she's beautiful.”

  "Yes she is, my God she looks just like him,” I said feeling so emotional. My baby was beautiful.

  “Yes, no doubt she's his daughter,”she agreed.

  My life have changed a lot during these past 7 years. I got married. I continued my studies while I tried to be a good mother and a good wife. It wasn't easy but with mum's and my husband's help I managed. Lucy and I kept in contact, she and Logan are still together but unfortunately we rarely meet. I miss her and I miss the good old days when we daydreamed and fantasized about our future. My future turned to be very different from what I ever thought but I am happy,and now here we are at the airport waiting for him to arrive. My daughter can't stay still for a moment, she keeps moving trying to spot her father at the arrivals, she is so excited, she didn't sleep all night, and didn't let me sleep either. She kept coming in my room asking if it was already time to go at the airport. I know how much she loves him and how much she misses him every day. Living so much far away from each other had caused her a lot of sadness although I always made sure she saw him at least twice a year and that she passes half of the summer holidays with him.

  “Mum, when is he coming?” she asked me again.

  “Oh honey he'll be here soon,just be a little more patient," I said.

  “Oh mum I'm so happy. I can't believe Dad is coming to live here and very near to where we live. I will see him whenever I want. “ she said happily.

  “Yes honey I'm happy too.”

  And I really was. When I got married we had left the city and even changed state. Her Father had really taken it badly. I was sorry for him but I didn't have choice. We had argued a lot and he had cried. He was a good father and had been very present during the first year of her life but this changed when we left. I knew how much he had missed her and this made him following us here.

  “Mum.”

  “Yes."

  "Don't you miss him like I do?”

  I stopped and looked at my beautiful daughter, her eyes as blue as her father's.

  I thought about her question and replied.

  “Sure honey I do.”

  She smiled at me happy with my answer and then..

  “Then why you didn't marry him?”

  I looked stunned at her, not that this was an argument we had never talked about.

  She loved her step father but like other girls she always wished that one day me and her father would have been a family. I have always said the truth to her but she was stubborn.

  “Honey. I love your father very much but-”

  “I know you love my step dad more but maybe you can change your mind one day. Adults change their mind frequently,” she concluded.

  “Who told you that?” I asked curious.

  “My friend Bethany Wilson. Her father has a different girlfriend every week,he changes his mind frequently.”

  I couldn't help but to smile.

  “Well honey I'm not like Bethany's father.”

  But she wasn't listening to me anymore, she began to jump in excitement and..