Rags 2 Pitches: A Secret Baby Sports Romance

by Jessica Evans

  “Mindy, how’s college?” Mindy was our neighbor and had looked after me as a kid. I remembered her mom telling me that she was coming home. I couldn't think of anything more exciting then having her around. She knew about Dad and what he used to do to us. Unlike most people, who turned a blind eye, Mindy used to practically have me stay with her, or she would hang around the house to keep me safe. When she went to college, my world just got worse.

  “Hey, little sis.”

  She used to treat me like a sister, and call me that. It used to make me feel special.

  “You miss me?”

  I nodded like an obedient dog.

  “Well, I missed you too. Stanford is fantastic. The sun. The classes. The rooms and, most of all, the boys.”

  The smile on her face had sold it to me already. She needn't say anymore. I had known from that moment onwards that I was going to go to Stanford when I grew up. And I talked about nothing else. One day I would be going there, but I thought we couldn’t afford it. Until Stephen stepped in and told me that we could.

  ***

  Three months after I left, I was in the motel, feeling sorry for myself. Such a short time ago, I had been thinking about being a business major, I’d had a boyfriend, and everything in my life felt like a dream. That was when I began to feel sick, and I thought it was strange. I had lost my appetite, which was weird, because a few weeks before I couldn’t stop eating. I put it down to the stress of training and losing my job at the diner. Also, being on the run meant that I was constantly paranoid. If I saw someone that looked like Dad, Mom or Chase, my whole body would go into a frenzy.

  I looked down, and my nipples were erect for no reason. They were blatantly hard through the bra that I was wearing.

  Then, I started to get more indecisive. Thinking twice about absolutely everything. From what I was going to wear, to what I should eat, every single day. I could spend hours just walking around the block, thinking about it. I never had the luxury of eating at different places. The options were simple: somewhere cheap, cheap, or cheap.

  Crazy indecisiveness had taken over my body like a drug. That was when it hit me. I hated chips, yet I was eating them like crazy lately. I loved hot dogs, but the smell of them suddenly made me feel sick.

  My body was being sent into a whirlwind, and then I remembered that one night. The one where Chase and I were slightly drunk and didn’t use a condom, and I’d vowed that I would go and get the morning after pill the next day.

  I’d thought I had three days to take it.

  The next night, I’d seen my dad. I’d found out that we hadn’t killed him. I held my hand to my face as I sat in the tiny room that I’d rented, with the cracked walls and worn out carpet, thinking, baby?

  I ran to the drugstore and picked up a pregnancy test. I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers waiting for the results.

  It showed exactly what I’d suspected it would.

  I was pregnant, but there was no way I could keep it.

  I went to the clinic, only to discover it was eight hundred dollars to have an abortion and the crazy thing was that was the price of the pill, without even having an operation. They had developed a pill, but instead of the whole thing being cheaper, it felt like they had made it even more expensive. Not that I knew how much it was before the pill.

  Neither did I care.

  I was fucking stuck. But not alone: I had a baby on the way.

  That amount of money was so out of my reach, I felt suffocated. I went to the gym to talk to Hannah about it.

  “I can’t train anymore,” I wailed like a baby through my words. I couldn’t believe the one opportunity that I was being given I had to turn down. My whole body felt numb.

  “What do you mean? We had a deal. You told me that you would fight. You promised that you would go through with it all -”

  We were in Willy’s small office above the gym. He lifted his hand and nodded for me to continue speaking, “I’m pregnant.”

  I thought there was no need to beat around the bush. I was and I had no-one to turn to, apart from two people that I barely knew and the worst part was, they didn’t even know my name.

  “You knew,” she snarled at me.

  No, I really didn’t know.

  Our deal was that I would fight my first fight. Once I did, then Hannah would take me under her wing and I would make big bucks. Right now, she was supporting my training, feeding me and paying my motel bill.

  Shit, I had little money and time was running out. I didn’t even know how far along I was.

  “Well, she’s been in the ring. Training like crazy. I doubt she knew.” Willy had a way of calming Hannah down, with simple words. She never retaliated, if anything she would just sulk. But, I had seen her with the fighters. If they tried anything, she would slap them into place. Let them know who was boss.

  I avoided looking at either of them. I just couldn’t think straight.

  It seemed I had just one option.

  The one I didn’t want to take.

  This meant that I had to go back; I really had no choice.

  I couldn’t afford an abortion or anything else. And soon, I wouldn’t have a place to live. With a baby, I had to take a chance and go back to Chase. Maybe that was what I should have done in the first place.

  “You’re going to pay for this,” Hannah practically spat on my face, before she stormed out.

  I got out of the chair to leave Willy’s office. He sighed. “Go home, kid. Whatever it is, this is not worth it. Just go home.”

  I should have listened to his advice. Instead, Hannah was waiting outside of the gym. She cornered me and said, “I could give you money for an abortion. That way you could fight and pay me back what I am due.”

  I had calculated that she had given me a grand, but I knew that she meant more then that. A lot more. I shook my head. I was thinking about what Willy had said; I should just go back home.

  Hannah handed me a card, “See Doctor Burt tomorrow morning. I spoke to him already. He will give you the abortion pill. Take the rest of the week off and come back on Monday. Understood?”

  I nodded, but that was the wrong thing to do. I went to get the pill, that didn’t work. Only later on did I find the real reason why; the great Doctor Burt wasn't even a real doctor. Hannah just wanted me caught up in her web. She wanted insurances that she would get paid back. She told me all about it one night when she was drunk. I should have left then, but I stayed. Too scared to leave, unsure if being out in the open with my dad trying to find me was worse then staying with Hannah. Either way, it was all fucked up. I’d had our baby, and now I was paying the price for it. Not only for having her, but for keeping her a secret.

  ***

  I just hoped when he looked into her eyes and held her in his arms he would forgive me.

  “Drive!” Reg blurted out. Between Willy disappearing and Sydney being in the car, Chase had just seemed to freeze. He just sat there.

  “Let’s just get the fuck out of here.” Reg avoided looking in the back. The whole thing was making me uncomfortable. Chase didn’t say a word. Reg’s phone kept ringing until he decided to turn it off, and Sydney just kept holding me for dear life.

  I had no clothes.

  No money.

  No mobile phone.

  The whole damn thing was a mystery to me.

  I was so fucking confused. “Chase, did you know Willy before tonight?”

  That had to be the answer; he had set up the whole thing with Chase. I had mentioned him once, by accident, when Sydney was a few weeks old. I had said to Willy that she looked just like her dad, Chase, with his blue eyes and fair hair. Looking at her must have been like looking in the mirror. That was why Chase was so mad. There was no denying that she was his child.

  Either way, it didn’t matter now. I didn’t even know where we were going. Reg gazed at Chase, waiting for him to answer. Chase didn’t, and I knew what that meant. He was driving way over the speed limit. His focus was forward as if
he had to pretend we weren’t in the car.

  “We’re going back to the dorm,” Reg replied quietly, but loud enough for me to hear. He didn’t look at me, but just lifted his head as he spoke. Then, he directed his attention out of the window. I just held on to Sydney with all my might.

  Sooner or later Chase would have to talk.

  There was no way he was going to the dorm with me in bloody clothes, never mind with his child in my arms.

  A secret that I had kept hidden.

  Until now.

  Chapter Twenty

  Chase

  My head was spinning out of control as I tried to keep my eyes on the road. I didn’t want anyone to talk to me. Especially her.

  Kayla had had our baby. God knows who was watching the baby and where they kept her when Kayla was getting into black market fights.

  I didn’t know the woman at all.

  I felt like the person I had been sleeping with and pining over for the last few years was the devil in disguise. The whole thing was fucking fucked up. I didn’t even want to know what had put the fright into Reg as he told me to drive. I just couldn’t take my eyes off Kayla, and then before I knew it I was looking at the little girl.

  Shit, I didn’t even know her name.

  I wondered how old she was.

  But I could easily figure it out by doing the math from the time Kayla left to when the little girl ran into her arms.

  A fucking carbon copy of me. Kayla wouldn’t dare deny that she was my daughter.

  No woman had made me want to lose control before.

  No woman had made me cry.

  Or make me want to give up everything in my life just to be by her side.

  Finding out that the person I felt that way about was nothing but a lowlife and the devil in disguise made me feel numb. At first I was angry, but I knew the only way to get us safely back to Yale was to be numb, and pretend that I was alone in the car. No one else was in here. All sounds would be blocked. Nothing would be seen, apart from the highway and other cars. Everything would be invisible until we got there. Then, I would get Reg to sort her out. So I could fucking blow.

  This whole thing had been a shock to the system.

  It had started when I saw Kayla in the ring. Tonight of all nights. Imagine if I had stayed away? I hadn’t wanted to go to the fight in the first place.

  Shit, if I had stuck to my guns and said, “Hey Reg, I don’t want to go to the fight,” I never would have fucking known that Kayla was fighting in black market fights. Even worse, I never would have known that I have a daughter. I’d missed over two years of her life, and not by choice. That had been taken away from me by the woman I’d thought I loved.

  There was one thing I knew for sure: I didn’t love her anymore.

  Those nights of pining for her and worrying about her ass were put to an end the moment I realized her true colors. There was nothing left but contempt and hate.

  I didn’t even want to know the answers - she would lie. Women like that had it in their blood, which made me think not only had she left knowing that she was carrying my child, but she hadn’t told me the truth about how she felt about me.

  The love we’d shared was only one-sided.

  I would make it clear when we stopped that I would look after my daughter.

  Without her.

  One thing I didn’t want or need was someone like Kayla in my life.

  ***

  “Here!” I said as I stopped in front of The Study at Yale Hotel. There was no way I was bringing her to my dorm. Then again, I was confused for a second. I didn’t trust Kayla one little bit. What would I do, leave her here with my daughter?

  Or take my daughter to the dorm with me?

  Shit, that wouldn’t go down well. I glanced a few times in the rearview mirror. The way the baby was holding tight to Kayla, I knew that I couldn’t keep them apart for the night.

  There was only one option: we were all going to have to spend the night here. I would make sure that Kayla wouldn’t leave. It was almost as if Reg read my thoughts when he blurted, “Right, I’ll get us a suite.”

  Great, that would mean we would all be in the same room. I would lock the fucking door and make sure that she didn’t escape.

  What a fucking fantastic birthday my best friend was having.

  Shit, I needed to make it up to him big time after I got rid of Kayla and got possession of my kid. Those were the two things that I had to do this weekend.

  I just didn’t want to see her ever again, and I knew the best way to get rid of her.

  Money.

  She was the type of person that seemed to thrive on pain and hurting people but, most of all, she must have loved money. That must have been the reason that she wanted to fight in the black market.

  “We need to sort out clothes, Kayla,” Reg said as he opened her door and she slowly crept out. I kept an eye on her from the corner of my eye, avoiding direct contact because I didn’t want to see her. She would probably give me a soppy look that would say I should forgive her.

  That she was sorry.

  But I knew what lay in her heart - she didn’t fucking have one. It was fucking nonexistent. What kind of woman would raise their daughter in that kind of lifestyle, knowing that they had options? My Dad was a fucking oil tycoon. She didn’t need to do that shit to get money. My family had enough to make sure that she would never need anything in her life. Then again, maybe she thought that if I found out, I would make her have an abortion.

  Nah, she would probably say that, but that wasn’t why she did it. It made no sense. The only thing that made sense was knowing that Kayla was the type of girl that I had always stayed away from.

  The bad girls.

  The ones that were nothing but trouble.

  I laughed to myself because the quiet girls always had that type of reputation. They were quiet because they were always up to something. Up to no good.

  “Wrap the blanket ’round you,” I commanded Kayla as I got out of the car. She only had her bloody shorts and a sports top on. I could imagine the looks she would get if she walked in like that. The staff would probably call the police.

  “Reg, get us a suite and then call and let me know the room number. We’ll take the elevator up.”

  Reg simply nodded. They had suites with a couple of rooms. Reg and I would share one, and Kayla and the little girl would be in the other. As soon as they went to their room, I would make sure to lock the living room door. They would only be able to leave by that exit.

  I didn’t trust Kayla one bit.

  Not at all.

  I needed to get my thoughts together before I dealt with her.

  But, one thing for sure. I wanted her well and truly out of my life.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chase

  Kayla and the little girl went into the bedroom. Reg had asked the receptionist to make sure that the living room had beds for us to sleep in, so we had to wait a little while.

  He even managed to pull a few strings at nine in the morning and get some clothes and underwear brought to the hotel for both the little girl and Kayla. I had spent most of my time outside of the car, smoking way too much, trying to avoid looking inside, and watching my phone frantically to see when Reg called so I’d know what to do next.

  I even spoke to Miles. He said something about hooking up with some girl, and that he wouldn’t be back until Tuesday, which suited me just fine. Seeing his face and hearing him ask a million questions about what we were up to was something that I wanted to avoid.

  Kayla appeared grateful. She tried to talk to me again as she stood in front of me and smiled, but I walked away and ignored her. She had never seen me angry and, if she had pushed me, she would have seen a picture that she never thought was possible. I was a laid-back kind of guy.

  “You ready to talk now?” Reg asked as I sat down on the sofa bed. I didn’t feel like sleeping after driving hundreds of miles and smoking nearly a whole pack of cigarettes.


  “Talk?” I asked. I stood up, trying to figure out what to do. The last thing I wanted to do was talk. I should have been tired, but I had too much adrenaline rushing through my body.

  “Fucking talk!” I slumped on the bed as he headed to the bar. “Something strong, please. Anything. I need to knock out so that I can fucking calm down. She’s fucking…”

  He waved his finger in the air, warning me to calm down. I think he was probably regretting asking me to talk. I wanted to scream, shout, and fucking punch the wall. Do anything but talk. I was so damn mad. He’d opened the gateway to this conversation and he shook his head. “I’m not the one you should be fucking mad with.”

  He handed me a glass of whiskey, which went down in one gulp. “Shit, that felt good.”

  He laughed as he headed back to the minibar and I said, “Shit, forget the damn glasses.”

  “Your daughter is beautiful, man. Even if she looks just like you.” He handed me a bottle.

  I questioned his statement. “What do you mean, ‘even if she looks just like you’? You saying I’m ugly or something?”

  I think it was the lack of sleep and the whiskey that made me focus on unimportant things.

  I had a daughter I hadn’t known about.

  A girlfriend that I found out was black market boxing.

  And we were having a discussion about whether my daughter was pretty or not?

  “Seriously, man, the girl’s cute.”

  I nodded at his comment. We had the blinds drawn and the room only had the dim light from the lamp that was by his bed. It was enough to know the difference between when the bottle was coming in my direction and when the bottle was going in his direction.

  “She takes after her old man.” I laughed to myself. Shit, I was a fucking Dad. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  “What did Dad marry? I mean, Kayla is a piece of work. I get the feeling that her mom is too.”