Rags 2 Pitches: A Secret Baby Sports Romance

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chase

  This whole thing was nuts.

  Why the fuck were we in a back room?

  The doctor came in for a brief second and, as quickly as he came in, he left again. At least, I thought he was a doctor. Who knew?

  He was probably the same age as the old man. He had a little case, a hat, and a seedy look on his face. I didn’t know if he didn’t want to be recognized, because he had some kind of fake moustache that kind of stuck out. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, I could have found it quite comical, but all I was worried about, as the old man told him to leave, was Kayla’s life.

  “We have to get a doctor. Why does she keep blacking out?” I asked the old man. He hadn’t told me his name, but I could see by Kayla’s reaction to him that she thought a lot of him. She seemed to trust him in the ring and, when she woke up, she looked kinda relieved to see his face, unlike when she saw mine.

  “We NEED to get her out of here,” he replied anxiously, ignoring my question. That was not what I expected him to say. He gazed across the room for a split second as if he was lost in his thoughts.

  Reg and I exchanged glances and nodded. This could only mean one thing.

  Kayla was in some sort of trouble.

  Why did the old man tell the doctor to leave? Especially without exchanging words. It was as if they had some secret eye contact when the doctor shifted his hat as he entered the room, staring at the old man.

  It all started to fall into place. When we approached the old man and said we were friends of Kayla, he’d let us come into the back room with no questions asked. He’d practically ushered us in as they brought Kayla on the stretcher. The two guys that carried her on it quickly dumped her on the bed and left. The old man closed the door after he told us to quickly get in. Then, the doctor came in, they did the secret eye contact thing, and he left.

  The old man wanted our help.

  Not the doctor’s.

  Or even the guys’ who brought her in.

  But he didn’t even know us. In this dark, dingy room, how did he know that we could be trusted?

  He wanted help to get Kayla out of here. I noticed that the red-haired woman he had been talking to while Kayla was fighting had left as soon as Kayla collapsed the first time. I hadn’t seen her again.

  Maybe he was running from her?

  I didn’t know.

  Shit, I didn’t care.

  “Open the door, Chase,” Reg commanded as he slowly lifted her up and she curled in his arms.

  That was when the old man blurted out, “Chase? Did he say your name is Chase?” He raised his eyebrows and stopped for a second as he held on to my arm.

  I nodded, unsure what he was going to do next. The stocky, little man nodded and sighed. “That’s why she kept looking up when she was in the ring.”

  Did he know me?

  Had she mentioned me before?

  All these questions that I wanted to ask came to an abrupt end as the old man demanded, “Shit, do you know the area well?”

  He knew I was from out of town. We both looked as Kayla sighed in Reg’s arms. She was bruised and probably had a few bits broken.

  “No,” I replied abruptly.

  “Well, you need to meet me in front of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in one hour. Don't be fucking late. I have something for you. Then, after that, don't bring her back here again. Like, never. You understand?”

  I nodded like a bobbing doll and Reg shifted. His phone was ringing and we knew that there could only be one person ringing this time of night.

  Miles!

  The old man shouted, “What are you kids waiting for?”

  He didn’t need to ask us twice. He pointed to the exit and added, “I have something for you, Chase. Something I know Kayla would want you to have.”

  That made no sense to me.

  What could Kayla possibly want me to have?

  I didn’t ask and, before we knew it, he was gone. The old man hobbled down the long hallway in the opposite direction.

  “Shit, just say it’s all some kind of trap?” I asked Reg as he started to head in the direction the old man told us to go.

  “I don't give a fuck. We need to get out of here. Now.”

  There were people with loud voices and heavy footsteps heading in our direction. I couldn't see the old man any more. Reg whispered, “Shit, she’s shaking.”

  I had visions of her dying in his arms and I got scared. I would do exactly as the old man said, but the first stop would be the hospital. I had just found Kayla and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her go.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chase

  We were both talking and making no sense, trying to replay the events in our minds about what had happened back there in the fight, and in the room, and wondering what we were going to do now.

  Even with all the confusion, we still found the car easily. Reg and I were slightly tipsy and had had hardly anything to eat, which was part of the reason that neither of us was making much sense. Reg made sure that he carried Kayla like a delicate flower.

  I knew why he held on to her and didn’t want me to carry her; my mind was completely fucked up. If I held on to her, I probably would have dropped her, or panicked and done something stupid. Reg held on to her to make sure that I saw sense and did what we needed to do.

  Get to the car.

  Then, after, get to the old man to pick up whatever he wanted to give me.

  Most of the cars that had been parked on the street were gone. It was almost as if they were never there. The air was still and, without a breeze, the whole thing felt kind of eerie, as if we were the last people on earth. I didn’t think we’d been in the back room that long, but obviously I was wrong.

  I looked at the time, and it was way past three.

  So late, especially for us to be in this neck of the woods. The whole thing was crazy. I kept glancing at the back of the car, where Reg had laid her. I kept a spare blanket in the car because every so often I liked taking a puff of pot and I would sit in the woods, just to get my thoughts together, or rather to forget Kayla.

  Yet, here she was, nearly three years later, in the back of my car.

  “Let’s just wait for Miles one minute and then we’ll get her to the hospital,” Reg reassured me, but he was confused about the whole turn of events.

  “What kind of fucked up shit is she into, Reg?”

  He shook his head as he started to light up a cigarette. I thought he had quit. The way I was feeling right now, between my head messing me around with so many stupid thoughts and my stomach growling like a bear, I knew the best way to get rid of it was to have a cigarette too. At parties, we’d sometimes light up together. This wasn’t a party, but I was fucking scared and I needed something to calm me the fuck down.

  “Shit, what would have happened to her if we hadn’t shown up? And where the fuck is Miles?” I was getting anxious about the whole thing.

  He didn’t respond. Instead, he just picked up his phone to call Miles again. We had been waiting for about fifteen minutes, every minute checking on Kayla to make sure that she was okay. I hadn’t felt comfortable parking my car here in the first place. Now we were on a deserted street, with Kayla in the back with God knows who after her. I remembered the words of the old man.

  “Shit, he said to be at that church in an hour. It’s been nearly thirty minutes, and my GPS says it will take us around twenty to get there. We need to get out of here.”

  Reg didn’t need convincing, which surprised me because I thought that Miles and he were good friends. Yet, he didn’t hesitate as he opened the door and said, “You going to drive or what?”

  The responsible voice came out of me, “But we should wait for Miles.”

  Reg didn’t agree. “Fuck that. He called me a baby about twenty minutes ago, asking where we were, now he can’t pick up his phone or get to the car. Drive.”

  There was something about the way Reg said it t
hat made me think it was a lie. He just didn’t want to get into the details of it.

  I had partied plenty of times with Reg and he’d never left me at a party, no matter whose it was or even if I was stuck in between some girl’s legs. When he was ready to leave, he would make sure that the people he came with were by his side or he wasn’t going anywhere.

  This feeble excuse about Miles not picking up his phone was a lie.

  I didn’t hesitate to leave Miles. I pressed the “Start to Navigate” button on my phone and drove off. Whatever was going on with Miles had to wait. I had to get Kayla to a hospital, but first I had to get this gift that she had left with the old man.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kayla

  “Where am I?” I whispered. I saw two men in the front of the car. They were arguing, but between the phone giving them directions and the height of the leather seats, I couldn’t make out who they were.

  I was so fucking light-headed from the fight. My ears had a siren ringing through them. My eyes were bloody, and I had a blanket wrapped around me as if I was a baby. I didn’t know who these guys were, but as I unwrapped myself and moved closer to their seats, I was shocked to find out that it was Chase and Reg.

  For a second, I’d thought that maybe Hannah had gone back on her word and kidnapped me.

  Everything was all mixed up. I had taken one too many knocks on the head, dropped on the ground countless times this evening and before. Maybe something in me had finally given up and that something was paying the price right now.

  “Shit, she’s up.”

  Chase darted his eyes across to me for a brief moment. “You okay?”

  He had a look of concern on his face. I didn’t deserve that; he should have wanted me to be beaten in the ring. Dead. Not be asking if I was okay. I felt bad, sick for a second, as what little contents I had inside of me fought to come out.

  “Stop.” I tried to hold it inside. “I’m going to puke!”

  Chase didn’t need asking twice. Within a few seconds, he screeched to a halt, and I opened the door and everything came out.

  I puked, and Reg screamed, “You okay?”

  Chase interrupted, “Shit, she just puked. What do you think, man?”

  I tried to get myself together, taking deep breaths, and then Chase handed me some tissues and said, “Take this. We need to get going. We have only ten minutes to get there.”

  I wondered what he was on about, but I felt too queasy to ask what he meant by ‘there’.

  I had somewhere to be, but I couldn’t tell him. If I did, then he might leave me on the street. I had kept this secret for too long. But sitting in the back of the car, wearing bloody shoes and a bra top, with a blanket wrapped around me, wasn’t exactly the time to start confessing shit.

  Especially something as big as this.

  I nodded as I shut the door, coughed a bit, and whispered, “I’m not going to puke again.”

  He didn’t need any more confirmation. Chase looked Reg dead in the face and said, “Good, I need to go and get my gift.”

  I should have asked what he meant by that. Instead, I closed my eyes. I was tired, and puking what little I had in my stomach had wiped out every last piece of energy. The last thing I heard was Reg whispering, “Looks like she’s sleeping again.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chase

  I quickly turned my head around and, as Reg had confirmed, Kayla was sleeping. She looked peaceful this time, not like when she’d passed out.

  “Why did you leave Miles?”

  It was a stupid question, but the GPS was telling me that we only had five minutes to get there and I was scared. Too many fucking overflowing emotions in one night were doing my head in.

  “Cause he’s messed up in all sorts of shit. I meant to tell you,” he paused as I took a corner, “but sometimes I just think that you’re too distracted for your own good. Ever since you got together with her.”

  I knew he was right. Part of me was pissed that Reg hadn’t been honest with me from the start. We shared everything. But there was no denying that if I wasn’t studying, I would be spending my time in the woods, just trying to get out of my fucking head. I had always been a good student.

  Dad was already pissed that I hadn’t tried to play professional football, but my head was never in the game. I was a geek at heart; being in high school and on the football team was kind of cool, but when you go to college, it’s a whole new world.

  “Not saying I shouldn’t have told you. So don’t get all sensitive and shit on me. Just saying, you’ve been distracted.”

  Curiosity got the better of me as the GPS said we were only two minutes away. “You going to tell me what kind of shit?”

  Reg cut his eyes at me, probably hoping that I would forget the whole conversation. After all, we had more shit to worry about than Miles’ problems.

  “He ran out of money from like the first day he was in college.” He stopped to clear his throat. “So he kind of got into this thing by gambling.”

  That made no sense to me. In around two or three weeks, we’d be out of college. How come he was still at it? Miles could easily get a job if he wanted, instead of going to medical school.

  “Shit, one minute left,” I confirmed, more to myself than to Reg.

  “Yes, but he got hooked on the gambling, and three months ago when we went to a fight, he got beat up pretty bad. He didn’t need the money, but he just seemed to get off on the buzz of it all. Shit, maybe it’s all the drugs he keeps taking? That’s why he keeps doing it for the money?”

  Reg was trying to make sense of it all. I remembered that one time, when Miles took some time off from school to go back home. He’d said that one of his relatives was sick or something.

  Okay, another lie.

  “But I thought he went back home?”

  “Nah, he just stayed in some hotel. Had some friend who is a nurse back home or something come and check on him. That was where he was that time.”

  I nodded. We were at our destination, in front of the church as the old man had demanded we should be.

  Reg and I were speechless when we saw the old man. I realized what my gift was as Reg said, “That’s the old man, right?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t even speak. I was fucking speechless.

  What the fuck was going on?

  “So, that must be my gift.” I confirmed as I looked at what the old man was holding in his hand.

  I turned to the backseat because I was pissed. Reg got out of the car and started to head towards the old man.

  “Kayla, fucking wake up.” I shook her furiously. I was so damn angry. “You got some fucking explaining to do. Get up now!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kayla

  “Chase, what is it?” I choked. I sat up as he got out of his seat. The next thing he did was rush over to open my car door, and then he bent down to point at her.

  “Her. Who is she?” Chase spat out. Tears were in my eyes as I turned to face him as he spoke with disgust. His face was so close. Every single time before now I would have kissed him. Even teased him. Right now, with his eyes bright and ready to explode. I felt like all the punches that were inflicted on my body earlier were nothing compared to the way he was looking at me right now.

  “My daughter,” I whispered.

  That wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was all he was getting for now. I couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. Not as she rushed to the car and gave me kisses as soon as she saw my face. Reg came over and broke the tension that was building as Chase couldn’t take his eyes off us.

  “Mummy?” Sydney asked as I held her in my arms like a precious jewel. I knew what was going through her mind; the tears that rolled down her cheeks told me more than my two-year-old could speak.

  “The old man said, “this is your mommy’s friend”, and gave me her hand with a message for Kayla.”

  Reg turned to face me, “He said that she found out. He couldn’t help you. This was th
e only way.”

  It all hit home. Hannah had found out that Willy was helping me. She probably would have kept me prisoner if I hadn’t left. After all, I had won the big fight. Hannah would have thought about ways to make me stay. Threatening me. Using Sydney. Until she would take my soul and there would be nothing left of me. I stroked Sydney, thinking that as pissed, hurt and angry as Chase was right now, it was nothing compared to the wrath of Hannah.

  Reg chocked, “Then he left. Just like that! Seriously, what is going on?”

  I shook my head, because Chase didn’t say a word as he got back in the car. He must have been in shock. He closed the door and his legs didn’t move and, as Reg got in, memories of that last day on campus flashed through my mind.

  ******

  My father wasn’t dead. And somehow, he’d ended up at my campus. There was no way I could have just laid low and then gone back to my old life. Contacting Mom would have definitely blown her identity, too.

  But I still couldn’t get it out of my head.

  We’d seen the news; they had said that Dad was dead, that we were all dead. Mom had been planning it for weeks. It was the only way we could escape. No one wanted to admit, especially the police department, that one of their boys was a bad husband, let alone a bad father. It was kind of like they had a halo over the men who were cops. The ones who were supposed to protect and look after us. Yet, that seemed to be so far from the truth.

  I’d gotten to the stage as a kid that I hated going back home.

  Seeing him on campus had brought that memory back to me, and I realized that nothing was going to change.

  Dad must have found me somehow, and I had no choice. I couldn’t go back. Sure, I could trust Chase and he wouldn’t tell them where I was, but my dad was a cop. If I had told Chase about the problems and pretended to disappear and he had called me or anything, then the cops would have been able to trace the calls and find out.

  I was so confused about Dad turning up at Stanford. How had he found me? Then, it all fell into place.