Curveball: A Second Chance Romance (Double Play Series Book 1)

by Nicole Rodrigues

  I trail off when I see her cover her mouth with her hands and her eyes go wide.

  “The kids...your kids are…”

  “Shit,” I whisper, “What did Gabriel call you for?”

  “He said he is comin’ to town next week, wanted to have lunch and catch up before Thanksgiving.”

  “Oh,” I say defeated.

  I close my eyes and slam my palm on my forehead.

  “I’m an idiot,” I scold myself.

  “My God, Charlie,” she says, shaking her head.

  “Sav, I’m so sorry. Please, don’t be angry with me,” I plead with her.

  “Charlie,” she says, putting her hand on my arm, stopping my rant. “I’m not angry with you. I think I’m more hurt. We’ve been friends all our life, I would have thought you would come to me with this. I mean...damn Charlie,” she says, her eyes starting to water.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say, my own eyes watering. “I...I didn’t think about it. I didn’t do it to hurt you, I swear. I just...Gabriel...it was terrible, Sav,” I say, starting to cry.

  She pulls me into a hug and runs her hand down my hair.

  “Charlie...start from the beginning.”

  Eighteen years ago...

  “How many more do I need to take Gabe? I need to see a doctor, they’re all positive, I told you,” I say, putting another test on his bathroom sink.

  There are six strewn across the counter and they’re all the same. Two pink lines.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he says rubbing the back of his neck.

  I reach out to touch his back but he flinches.

  “Gabe,” I say, hurt lacing my words.

  “There’s a clinic next town over. Let’s see if we can get you in to see someone, find out our options,” he says, leaving the bathroom.

  I gather all the tests, put them in my backpack and follow him outside. I hop up in his truck and we drive the twenty minutes to the clinic in silence.

  The building is dark and cold and it reminds me of a scary, psycho movie.

  “I can get an appointment with my doctor Gabe, I don’t wanna be here.”

  I pull on his hand but he continues walking.

  “It could take longer and what if they call your parents? This is fine, come on.”

  We walk into the office and he gives the receptionist my name. They ask if we have insurance, but Gabriel says no. I open my mouth to protest but he holds up his hand. He takes out his wallet, puts cash on the counter and the receptionist nods. He walks back over to me and I feel dirty. It feels like some sort of drug deal and I’m the drug.

  “I have insurance, Gabe,” I whisper.

  “Insurance that will notify your parents when you see a doctor. I got it, it’s fine,” he says, his foot tapping against the off red carpet.

  My name is called, and the nurse leads us back to a room. Everything is white; the walls the bed, the counter, the ceiling and the floor...everything.

  “I’m just gonna take some blood. We would do a urine test, but since you’ve taken so many and they’ve all been positive, a blood test will tell us more,” says the woman.

  I nod and look away, as she takes my blood, thinking of something to take my mind off of it. I look to Gabriel for comfort, but his face is pale and he is looking down at the floor.

  “When can we find out the results of this?” Gabriel asks, his voice wavering.

  “We do have an in-house laboratory, so y'all can get the results in a couple hours, if you want to wait,” she says.

  “We’ll wait,” he says, not looking to me for an answer.

  She puts a bandaid over the inside of my forearm and leaves the room.

  “I don’t wanna wait here Gabriel, what is the difference if we go home and get the call? I’m pregnant, you need to start dealin’ with that,” I say frustrated.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  He gets to his feet and I follow quickly behind him. He tells the receptionist to call with the results as we both walk out of the door. We drive back to town in silence again and I reach over the console to grab his hand.

  “Gabriel, talk to me,” I say quietly.

  My heart is breaking at how cold he is being towards me.

  “What do you want me to say Charlie? We fucked up. We have to fix this.”

  He pulls into his driveway and cuts the engine. He doesn’t take my hand and I pull it back.

  “Gabriel, I can’t…” I say, my voice cracking.

  “Forget what the church says Charlie-”

  “It's not about that!” I snap. “It's about me! I'm not that person, I can't just...I'll feel horrible.”

  He turns to me and cups my cheek.

  “Charlie, I can’t be there for you and a baby. I’m gettin’ drafted, I’ll be travelin’, you’ll be playin’ at Louie State. You have your dreams too. A baby don’t fit into either of ours.”

  “But eventually I want them, Gabe… what if...what if somethin’ goes wrong. What if I regret it and I...I just don’t know…”

  My voice breaks and I start to cry.

  “Don’t cry Charlie, please don’t cry,” he says, pulling me into his lap for a hug.

  “Can I stay over tonight?” I ask through the tears.

  He nods, takes my hand and we walk into his house and go straight up to his room. I call my parents to let them know I'm sleeping at Savannah's. After his parents do their final check for the night and head to bed, I sneak back to his room. I bury myself in his strong embrace all night, reveling in his comfort, because when we wake, all hell breaks loose.

  The doctor calls first thing in the morning and they have my test results. My hCG levels were extremely elevated so they want me to come in for an ultrasound to determine how far along I am before the procedure. We both called into school sick, crossing our fingers that the office doesn't call our parents to validate our story's.

  “So, I was readin’ up on it and you just take a pill. They say it feels like a period. That’s not that painful, right?” Gabriel asks me, as we drive back to the clinic.

  “Sometimes it is,” I mumble.

  He’s been talking about an abortion all morning and I feel nauseous. I don’t know if it's because I’m pregnant or if it’s my body telling me not to get rid of this baby.

  “It’ll be fine,” Gabriel says, grabbing my hand.

  His phone rings, he glances at the screen and answers it.

  “Hello? Hi Coach. Yes, of course. Absolutely sir. Thank you. Of course,” he says excitedly.

  “Holy shit,” he yells, smiling after he gets off the phone.

  “What happened?”

  “That was Coach. Rankings just came out and it looks like I’m gonna go in the first round.”

  “That’s amazin’!” I say smiling.

  He kisses the top of my hand and smiles.

  “See Charlie, this was a sign. We’re doin’ the right thing.”

  He squeezes my hand and I try and give him a genuine smile, but I can’t. His dreams are coming true and those dreams don’t include a baby. I feel a small piece of my heart shatter.

  We walk into the office again and I sit in the waiting room, playing with my fingers. I have millions of thoughts running through my head, but one thought sticks out from the rest. I can’t do this.

  “Gabe...I can’t...I don’t think I can do this,” I say quietly.

  “Think about our futures, Charlotte. We’re eighteen, what type of life can we give a baby right now?”

  “I don’t know but…”

  “Charlotte Daniels?” says the nurse.

  I get up from the chair and Gabriel stands too.

  “I...I'd rather do this alone,” I say.

  Gabriel eyes me curiously and opens his mouth to protest but I fix him with my gaze. He nods and sits back down and I walk towards the nurse.

  We walk towards an open room and she shuts the door. The sound snaps me out of my thoughts.

  “How are you feelin’?”

  “Umm...nauseous actu
ally,” I say, sitting on the table.

  “Well your hCG levels were extremely high, so nausea is normal. We’re gonna to do an ultrasound, to see how far along you are. Based on your levels, you might be passed the medicinal phase and we may need to proceed with the surgical route. We’ll take a look.”

  I nod and feel a tear forming in my eyes.

  “There’s counselors on site, if you need them,” says the nurse, putting a hand on my knee.

  I nod without opening my mouth, for fear I’ll start sobbing or tell her I don’t want to terminate this pregnancy.

  “Bottoms off and put this gown over. I’ll be right back,” she says, leaving the room.

  I take off my bottoms fast and she knocks a couple of minutes later and comes back in.

  “Okay, this may be a little uncomfortable but just relax.”

  She takes a long probe and rolls a plastic looking condom over it. She squirts gel on the top and I feel the cold againt me and I gasp. I feel her hand go to my knee.

  “Relax,” she says again.

  The screen comes to life and I don’t know what I’m looking for. She turns moves the probe and presses buttons on the screen and I see her type the words “T1” and “T2”.

  “What does that mean? T1 and T2?” I ask, looking at the screen furrowing my brows.

  “Your levels were so high because you’re already ten weeks, but you're also pregnant with twins.”

  My heart drops in my stomach and my hand goes over my mouth.

  “I...I think I’m going to be sick…” I say, trying hard to swallow down the acid.

  The nurse gets off the stool and grabs the small garbage bin. I immediately vomit into the bin. Tears are streaming down my face and my hair is in a mess, stuck to my forehead.

  “I can’t do this,” I whisper.

  “Can’t do what, Charlotte?”

  “I can’t terminate this, I...I don’t want the abortion,” I say, shaking my head.

  The nurse study's me and nods her head.

  “Okay then, I’ll change the appointment to a prenatal appointment. I guess congratulations are in order. I stand by what I say though, psychologists are on site. Twins is a big responsibility, especially for a girl as young as you.”

  “I know,” I say, nodding my head furiously. “I just...can this stay in this room? My boyfriend...he’s gonna need some time to process this,” I say, making my decision.

  She nods again and continues on with the exam, giving me a list of things to do and not do. She gives me a prescription for anti nausea medication and the name of a prenatal vitamin I should be taking, everyday. I have instructions to make an appointment for 3 weeks from today and I say I will call to schedule the appointment. I walk out of the office, into the waiting room and see Gabriel on his phone, typing. He looks up at me and he eyes me curiously.

  “All good?” he asks, his voice breaking on the last word.

  No, it is not all good. I almost just got rid of two babies, dammit. Everything is far from good.

  “It’s fine, let’s go,” I say, walking past him.

  The car ride is quiet and I feel the change. All the love I had circulating through my veins for this boy, just changed its route. Gabriel grabs for my hand over the center console, but I pull it away into my lap. I feel his gaze on me, but I turn towards the window.

  I discreetly put my hand over my belly. You two have all my love now, I’ll protect and love you, forever.

  I'm standing outside school a couple of days later, waiting for Gabriel. We haven't talked much since the doctors and I made my decision in the car that day, I just wasn't sure how to tell him.

  “Hey,” Gabriel says, walking towards me with his head down. “How are ya feelin’?”

  “Fine,’ I say in a clipped tone.

  Stick to your guns Charlotte.

  “Listen, this ain't gonna work Gabe. You're goin’ to Houston I'm goin’ to State. We both knew it wasn't gonna last through all that.”

  I try to keep my voice strong but even I hear the emotion seeping through.

  “Charlie, is this about what happened? Come on we both know it was for the best. Now we can focus on us and our dreams, not dirty diapers and cryin’, stayin’ up all night and-”

  “Go to hell, Gabe,” I snap, turning on my heels, leaving him behind

  “This is how you wanna end all this, huh? That's it? You're not even gonna fight for us?”

  I whip around, itching to slap some sense into him.

  “You didn't fight for us, you took the easy way out. How can I plan a life with a coward?”

  His jaw goes slack but I turn around, not waiting for his response. A lifetime of love and it ended with those words.

  Present Day

  I look down at my desk and see my phone buzzing. I recognize Gabriel's number and connect the call.

  “This kid is about the most stubborn damn human there ever was. Why did he get all the bad traits from me?” Gabriel drawls through the phone.

  I can't help but giggle a little.

  “I don't feel bad for you, Gavinwood. You got eighteen years to make up for. What's he doin’ now?”

  “He's gonna burn out his damn arm slingin’ like that. I get he's still pissed, but hurtin’ his arm is only gonna hurt himself.”

  “I'll call him.”

  “Can we have dinner next week?” Gabriel blurts out.

  “Uhh, we are. Thanksgiving, remember?” I laugh.

  “No. Just me and you.”

  “Why?”

  “We still need to clear the air Charlotte, once and for all. Can we do that?”

  I'm nervous, but he's right. We need to clear the air and move forward. I need to forgive Gabriel and move past this if I expect the kids to. Practice what you preach, right?

  “Okay sure...by the way, I uh…”

  “What happened, Charlotte?” Gabriel asks with concern.

  “Savannah...I told her accidentally. She might be callin’ you soon,” I say quickly, hoping he didn't catch my words.

  “Shit. I was hopin’ to talk with her before Thanksgiving next week. I uh..I was thinking of askin’ my parents to come up. Have a whole family thing.”

  “Gabriel, that's a lot,” I say, unsure.

  The kids adjusting to Gabriel has been hard enough, now to throw in his parents and Savannah? I'm not sure how that would go down.

  “You're right, it's too soon I just...they lost a lot of time, I just don't want them to lose anymore. We can take it slow though...it's your call.”

  His words slam into me and stop the protests I can conjure up. He's right, the kids have lost enough time with their grandparents and aunt, they should not lose anymore.

  “No, you're right,” I say quickly, “Talk to them. It'll be fine, my mama will help me cook.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yep. I'll see you next week.”

  I hang up quickly and text Devin to call me when he's free. That boy may have the stubborn Gavinwood genes, but us Daniels’ put up a damn good fight.

  Gabriel: 1 more day until you see me. Have you been gettin’ any sleep or you too excited?

  Charlotte: Mighty full of yourself, G.

  Gabriel: Well, facts are facts.

  Charlotte: Oh yeah? And what are those “facts”?

  Gabriel: That ya still can't resist me, even if ya tried to. And we both know you ain't gonna try to. Night, baby cakes, see ya tomorrow. Dream of me. I'll be dreamin’ of you.

  Chapter 11

  Charlotte

  I sip on the tequila I ordered and regret it. I should have just went with the beer, but I needed the hard stuff to get me through this night. Our text exchange from the other night is still fresh in my head.

  I told Caryann to text me in a couple of hours, to make sure I was okay and mostly because I needed a good swift kick in the ass to make sure I didn't let Gabriel come home with me tonight. Having an empty nest now, means I could easily allow him to, but the last thing I need to do is give in to my
primal urges of Gabriel Gavinwood.