Chapter Twenty Two – Rebekah

Ice cold anxiety runs through my veins as I glance at my reflection in the mirror. In my dress, which is slightly too tight around my ever growing bump, I feel really exposed and on show. I’m not, of course, it’s a very modest outfit really, but since I’ll have a lot of media attention on me, I can’t help feeling vulnerable.

“Are you okay?” Mya asks me with a tremble to her voice. “You must be pretty freaked.”

“I haven’t been out much since the news broke about me and Bryn,” I admit. “And now I’m thinking maybe I should’ve done because there’s a big chance that they will all want to take pictures of me.”

I keep waiting for it all to die down, but it hasn’t. I guess there haven’t been any other scandals for the papers to concern themselves with which is unfortunate. The nearer the Pistons have gotten to winning the whole tournament, the more people have been interested. If I’d known about this beforehand, maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to jump into bed with Bryn. But then again, that chemistry would’ve still been there.

“Oh, they would anyway though, just because things are so new and today is what it is.”

I give her a curious look. “How are you still here anyway? Isn’t Tia going to kick your ass for being late?”

“Tia isn’t quite as… vocal with her opinions as she once was,” Mya replies with a shrug. “After what happened with you, people have been much less inclined to deal with her shit so she’s a lot quieter. It’s nice.”

“Oh!” I don’t know how to take that. So much has changed. It all seems to have started when I came along. I never planned to have this much of an impact, I assumed that I would be the wall flower that I’ve always been. I guess I just thought that getting the position on the cheerleading team would be the end of my journey, not the beginning. “Wow, well that must make things a lot easier, right? If she isn’t being quite so bossy…”

“Yeah.” Mya tosses her arm casually over my shoulder. “But I’ll still be happier when you come back. Farrah is nice enough, but she’s a bit of a push over. I can see how Tia won her around after everything that she did to her, but she’s not like you. I mean, we always managed to have quite a lot of fun, didn’t we?”

“I’ll definitely be back.” The more that I think about it, the more I know it’s the right move for me. “As soon as my body recovers after… well, all of this birth nonsense which I really don’t want to think about, then I’ll be back. Now that my mom is a little happier with things, she wants to babysit, and Bryn’s dad too. Speaking of which, I better go and pick him up because we’re going to the game together to watch from the box.” I grab onto my car keys and smile inanely though the nerves. “Do you need a ride or are you okay?”

Mya glances down at her watch, swishing her cheerleading skirt around her. I can’t wait until I’m back in my own. However long it takes I will get back there. “Nah, I have my own car, and I do need to be early. The boys have been gearing themselves up for ages, which of course you know, and even with Tia’s more relaxed attitude I think she’ll want to have some sort of pre-game time. Maybe. Anyway, I’ll see you afterwards, okay?”

I give her a hug and we walk to the door together. The home, which used to only belong to Bryn, is now feeling much more my own and I love living here. I keep adding touches to make it feel less like a show home and more like somewhere we both live… something which Bryn seems to be very happy about. I keep checking in to see if everything is okay and he doesn’t feel like I’m overstepping any boundaries, but he’s very insistent that I’m not. Very soon, we’ll have to get the nursery ready anyway, so maybe we’ll do a big redecorate then.

I step into my car after saying goodbye to Mya and I whiz along the road to Bryn’s father’s home. Bryn hasn’t ever told me, but it seems that the two of them have always had a very close relationship. I suppose that would happen if his mother was never around, and I want to keep that going. I think he might have neglected his father a little when we were first seeing one another because we were so wrapped up in each other. I didn’t know what I was making him give up then, which is why I won’t allow it to happen again.

As I pull up next the sidewalk outside of his home, he jumps in the car quickly. “You better get out of here,” he tells me in a slightly panicked tone. “The paparazzi have been hanging around all morning, I guess they must know or assume that you’re coming to pick me up and they want to interview you. I just about managed to put them off the scent for a while, but I don’t know when they’ll be back. We don’t want to be here when they are.”

“Urgh, really?” I hit the gas pedal, disgusted. “Today really isn’t about me. Thank you for that though.”

We drive in silence for a while so I can focus on the roads while I escape them. I don’t like the intrusion, the pictures of me when I’m unaware, the late night phone calls from people pretending to be concerned friends, and the online hate, which I’ve had to avoid before it crushes me. But after today, it’s bound to die down, and for Bryn it’s worth it anyway. We cannot help who we fall in love with, this isn’t necessarily something that I went out searching for, but this is where I am in life and if that means I have to take some bad with the good, so be it.

“Are you okay?” Bryn’s dad asks when we’re far enough away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out…”

“No, it’s okay.” I give him a smile. “It’s all just a part of it for the moment.”

“You’ve had it pretty heavy from the start, haven’t you? It’s all been pretty rushed and intense.”

“It has, but in a good way. There have been times when I thought it might destroy us, but it’s good.”

He’s quiet for much too long, which indicates to me that there’s something else he wants to discuss. I don’t say anything right away, I simply dart my eyes across to him every so often while I try and be patient. I know him well enough, but I don’t feel like I can push him. In the end, my patience is rewarded.

“I haven’t dated anyone since Bryn’s mother died, you know?” he says quietly. “Like, no one at all. She was the love of my life and after she passed away I dedicated everything to my son. I was happy to do so, it isn’t like I resent what happened or anything. I wanted to do the parenthood thing together, but it turned out okay.”

“Yeah, right…” Why is he telling me this? This isn’t a conversation that will lead to a dead end.

“And I haven’t met anyone to grab my focus either. There hasn’t ever been anyone.” I can feel his eyes on me now, but unfortunately, I need to keep mine on the road. “But now I have. Very recently I met a lovely school teacher, her name is Sarah and I really like her. I think she’s someone I could actually fall for.”

Oh! I get it now. “You know, I’m very sure that Bryn just wants you to be happy. He wouldn’t want you to be alone forever.” I might not have discussed it with him, but I’m sure this is accurate. “You should talk to him.”

I can hear a real happiness to his tone when he speaks again. “You know what, I think I will!”

That’s going to be a dramatic change for their family, but since Bryn is moving forward himself and starting a life with me and our child, I’m sure he’ll be pleased. It’ll be nice to have our little extended family grow a little more. I grew up in a very quiet household where it was only me and my conservative parents. I would like my baby to be surrounded by love and laughter. Maybe even siblings, although not right away… I probably should get used to the idea of parenting one child before I plan more! Getting carried away never works out.

Eventually, we pull up my car into the car park and we both climb out. As predicted, instantly pictures are snapped of me, but I do my best to ignore them. It feels much less stressful to have the photographers here, because it’s at a public event where they are to be expected. At home is where I really don’t like it.

Me and Bryn’s dad make our way through the crowd and we’re taken up to the special VIP box which hangs over the rest of the crowd giving us an amazing view. I might not be able to feel the sweat flicking off the players from up here – which is quite frankly a relief – but I won’t miss a thing. As I glance down at the empty court, I start to get nervous for something else. I’ve held on to a lot of confidence that the boys on the Pistons team will be fine, that they’ll nail this game just like they have done all the others, although I suppose that have been a couple of scrapes, but now I can’t help feeling a little worried.

This is the biggest game of Bryn’s career so far and considering everything that it’s taken to get him to this point, he has a lot to prove. I really hope the pressure doesn’t get to him and he cracks. I silently cross my fingers to myself and say a little prayer for him. I really want him to do well, for his career, but for himself as well. He needs this. Come on, baby, I think to myself. Go ahead and kick some ass, will you?

The cheerleaders come out first, and I have to admit that I feel a little pang as I watch them. If things had taken a different path, then I would have been there with them, loving every minute of it, but I don’t let the sadness of that overwhelm me. It isn’t over for good, I always have next year and the year afterwards, it’ll be fine.

Then the players come out one by one and my heart skips about ten beats. Seeing Bryn there, so close to me yet so far away as well, it torture, but all I can do is cheer him on. I scream so loudly for him that my lungs will be red raw tomorrow, but it’ll be totally worth it. I’m happy to have a day of not speaking to support my man.

He waves to the crowd, I think they all do but my eyes are only fixed upon Bryn, and he takes a moment to flick his eyes up to the box to give me special attention. He presses his hands to his lips and sends a kiss up to me, which makes me feel amazing. I pretend to catch it, feeling like the luckiest woman alive. For a second, it’s like we’re back in our own little bubble, just me and him once more.

Then, everyone gets into their positions and the whistle rings out. It’s finally time to begin.