CHAPTER 5
Sophie
“Goodnight Mommy.”
“Goodnight baby.” I kiss Gabe on the head, pull his blanket up to his chest and leave his room. He could definitely sense something was off after we left the hospital because he’s been super cranky. Or that could just be my paranoia and everything to do with the fact that he broke his poor little wrist.
I make my way down the hall and into the kitchen. The house isn’t large so it doesn’t take long to get from A to B. Looking around I take in our home. There are toys scattered everywhere but it makes me smile. I’d rather have a messy house full of love rather than a stuffy house with no character. It makes me wonder what Kyle would think of our house. I’m sure he’s used to far better accommodations and couldn’t imagine a mess like this in one of his gigantic mansions.
Or so I’ve heard he has a few.
There’s a knock on the door and I freeze. I’ve been waiting for this all day and my gut tells me Kyle is finally ready to talk. As I make my way to the front door, I place my hand on the knob and take a deep breath. After I slowly exhale, I pull the door open and find a pissed off Kyle.
“Please don’t yell, I just got him to sleep.”
He checks his watch and must notice how late it is when he furrows his brow.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” I don’t want to let him in but I need to be an adult instead of acting like my sons age.
I usher him into the living room and take a seat on the couch, opposite the side he sits on of course. We sit in silence for what seems like hours before he starts talking.
“He’s mine.” It’s not a question.
“He’s yours.”
“What the fuck Soph? I… What happened? I thought you lost the baby.”
At the mention, my mind goes to the worst day of my life.
“This isn’t normal Kyle, I’m bleeding so much.”
“Should we go to the doctors?”
Tears streak down my face when the realization hits me. I’m losing the baby, our baby.
“Aw Soph, everything’s going to be okay babe.” Kyle pulls me into a hug trying to console me.
“I’m losing it Ky.” I whisper.
“I know. Everything’s going to be okay.” He kisses my forehead and rocks me back and forth. “You know, maybe this is for the best?”
At that my head whips up. “How can you say that? This baby was us… me and you!”
“There’s too much going on in our lives. You have school to finish and I have my fighting career starting up. It was bad timing Soph.”
I pull out of his arms and stare at him. Is he for real right now? “You never wanted this baby did you Kyle?”
“I never said that, don’t put words in my mouth.”
“You just said this is for the best! My god, who are you? You know what, that’s fine. I’ll just get out of your way so you can go live your life with nothing to tie you here.”
That day I walked out of Kyle’s dorm room and out of his life forever. Other than the one time I went to tell him I was still pregnant. I regret that every day. Actually, I shouldn’t because it showed me his true colors and let me know I made the right decision about not telling him about Gabe.
“Where’d you go just now?” Kyle questions.
“Our last conversation.”
He winces and looks away. “What happened?”
“A few weeks later I found out I didn’t miscarry. I had something similar to what happened with Ashlyn when she was pregnant with her first.”
“A clot?”
“Yup.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Soph? Didn’t I deserve to know?”
“I tried…” I whisper not wanting to get into that right now. Not the first time I’ve seen him in several years.
“What…” I cut him off.
“Listen Kyle, it’s late and I don’t want Gabe to wake up. He’s had a really long day at the hospital and needs his rest. Can we rehash all of this later? Preferably not tonight?”
“What the hell happened to him?” He genuinely seems concerned and I explain the whole situation about him falling and his broken wrist. “Are you gonna let me see him?” His head turns and his eyes lock on mine.
I feel moisture sting my eyes and I have to look away. His eyes say so much, how hurt he is. I try to tell myself he has no right to be hurt… but he absolutely does.
“Of course. If that’s what you want. But know this, I will not let you in his life if you’re gonna be a part-time Daddy. He needs stability. A Dad that’s going to be there on a regular basis.”
“Fuck…” I hear the grit and emotion in his voice. “Dad. I’m a Dad.”
I don’t know if he’s happy about it the way it comes out. It makes me wonder if he’s having second thoughts. “Listen, you don’t have to…”
“Give me your phone so I can get your number. I’ll give you a call tomorrow and we’ll plan something. But Soph, don’t make me wait to see him again.”
There’s a threatening tone to his voice that pisses me off. “I’ll schedule a time that works for us. Me and Gabe.”
“Soph…”
“I’d like you to leave. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
With a deep sigh, Kyle makes his way to the front door. I walk to the kitchen to grab a pen and paper so I can quickly jot down my number.
As I walk to the door with Kyle’s eyes clocking my every move, I hand him the piece of paper and shut the door in his face. I turn around and walk to the couch, grab a pillow and shove my face in it. Letting a scream rip from my mouth calms me a bit. I’m wound so tight and there’s so many thoughts waging war in my head.
“God give me strength.” I say to no one in particular but praying for an unknown force to help me out.
***
Kyle
Once Sophie slams the door in my face I stare at it for several minutes. This little meeting didn’t go as planned but it wasn’t horrible either. There’s one person that can help me make some sense of all this so I jump in my car and start my trek towards her house. My Mom makes everything better… or so I remember.
Halfway there my phone starts ringing and the screen flashes my managers name. “Hey man.”
“Sorry I missed your call. I was with Clarissa.” I can hear the smile in his voice and it makes me laugh.
“Still up to your old tricks huh Preston?”
“You know it, I learned from the best. What’s going on?”
“I have a kid.”
Preston’s been one of my best friends since elementary school. He stayed back in Texas when I moved up to Massachusetts with my family but we always stayed in touch. He came up here to go to college with me and Soph. They never got along all that great which sucked but what can you do? Not everyone gets along in life and they seemed to have some sort of rivalry going since high school. That’s the point when they went from dealing with each other to barely talking.
“I’m sorry can you repeat that? It sounds like you just told me you have a kid.”
“I did Pres, and I do. I ran into Sophie…”
“That piece of trash? Are you sure the kids even yours?”
“Watch your mouth when you’re talking about her.” I growl.
“You have to admit this is pretty good timing on her part. The most sought after fighting career, homes all over the world and the money you’re raking in. I don’t know man, seems fucking opportunistic to me.”
“It’s not like that, she’s not like that. Do you remember her at all from school?”
“Of course, I do. I remember her making you jump through fucking hoops for her. That girl invented playing hard to get.”
“Let’s get back on subject please. I have a fucking kid… a boy. His names Gabe and he looks just like me, there’s no denying he’s mine.”
“As your manager I still advise for you to get a paternity test.”
“There’s no need. I know he’s mine.”
“But what if he isn’t? You see it all the time in Hollywood. You said she had a miscarriage. What? She miraculously kept the baby?”
“That’s exactly what she said, that she never miscarried.”
“I’m calling bullshit on that one. I’m sending you one of those mail in tests. Before you start bitching about it all you have to do is swab the kid’s cheek and your own. There’s no needles involved and you’ll have peace of mind.”
“I can’t promise I’ll do it. If you saw him there’s no way you’d be questioning if he was mine.”
“Yes I would, it’s my job to be skeptical for you.”
I sigh because this conversation isn’t going anything like I thought. Sure, I didn’t think he’d take it great because he’s looking out for my best interest and career but he’s still my best friend.
“Send it but I’m not promising anything.” I finally concede to make him happy.
“Fine. Want me to come back out there and help?”
“Fuck no. If she sees your ugly mug she might second guess letting me see my kid.”
“Then we’ll just go to court and get custody with the best lawyer’s money can buy.”
“Preston, knock that shit off right now. I’m done with this conversation.” I hang up the phone as I pull into the driveway of my Mom’s house. Damn, I should have called on the way, it’s well after nine. I remain seated in my car debating if I should get out. What if she’s sleeping?
I’m about to put my car in reverse when the light next to the door turns on and the front doors pulled open. My mother sticks her head out and waves for me to get out of my car. With a deep sigh I shut off my car and make my way towards the house.
“Hey sweetie, what’s the matter?”
“How do you know there’s something up?” I pull her in for a hug and hold her for a minute.
“Because you’re sitting in my driveway late at night. Just because we haven’t seen a lot of each other lately doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten you. I know you my dear boy and I know there’s something you need to talk about.”
“I don’t know where to begin.”
“Let’s go sit in the kitchen so I can make us some tea.”
I don’t drink tea but I follow her anyways. After we each have a steaming mug she looks at me with serious eyes that only mothers can pull off.
“What’s going on Kyle?”
“I ran into Sophie today.”
“Oh, that must have been so nice! It’s been so long since you’ve seen that girl. I ran into her Mom the other day, she’s such a lovely woman.”
“She was holding my son.”
My Mom looks at me with shock written all over her face. Then tears well up in her eyes as the first round make their way down her cheeks.
“You have a son?”
“I do.” I have to clear my throat when it cracks. She brings so many emotions out of me that I’m not ashamed or afraid to hide. “He’s almost five and Mom, he looks just like me.”
“What’s his name?”
I clear my throat again because I keep getting choked up. “Gabriel.”
She whimpers and her hand flies to her mouth. “I can’t believe it, another grandchild.” She smiles then reaches her hand out to place on my hand. “When do I get to see him?”
“I need to meet him first Mom.” I laugh.
“You said you already met him.”
“I saw him before I panicked and ran off. He was asleep when I stopped in at Soph’s before coming here.”
“Oh Kyle. How are you feeling about all of this? I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“I’m fine.”
“Kyle… always my stubborn one.”
I gasp in mock outrage. “Me, stubborn? Have you met Jayden?”
She laughs for a second. “He was a pain in my ass but you were never good at showing your emotions. You had a crush on Sophie since the sixth grade and didn’t make a move until college for crying out loud.”
“Sure, throw that in my face.” I mumble.
“What I’m trying to say is that it’s okay to be mad. It’s okay to be shocked. It’s okay to be… happy.”
“Honestly, when I first saw him I freaked out. I ran out of the elevator like my ass was on fire. Then after talking to Zander he puts things into perspective for me.”
“That son of a bitch. He was over here just a short while ago and didn’t tell me!”
“I can’t wait to tell him you called him that.” I laugh. “I made him swear not to say anything so don’t blame him.”
“Still… alright I’ll deal with him later. What’s the next step?”
“Waiting for Sophie to call me tomorrow so I can meet Gabe.”
“Can I come?”
“Mom...”
“Fine but I won’t wait long!”
“Let me get used to him first because this is going to be a lot on a four-year-old. Man…” I wipe my hand down my face. “I don’t even know his birth date.”
I quickly pull out my phone and shoot a text off to Sophie hoping she’s still awake. For some reason this is important for me to know right now.
My phone chimes almost immediately and my eyes must show my surprise because my Mom questions what Sophie said.
“She told me his birth date.”
“And… don’t keep an old woman in suspense!”
“June 2nd.”
“Oh my.” My Mom’s hands go back to her mouth as another tear comes out. “Your father’s birthdate. Well that settles that then. He’s yours.”
“You won’t question it when you see him.”
“Aw baby. Everything’s going to be okay, I’ll be here every step of the way.”
“Thanks Mom.” I stand up and pull her in for a hug before saying good bye and leaving.
On my drive home, it computes in my head that Gabe’s birthday’s in a few weeks. Putting in a quick call to my friend I decide I’m throwing him a party no matter what Sophie says. I’ve missed four so far and I’m going to make number five the best yet.
I really hope he doesn’t hate me.