Chapter 14

Lance

When I heard her say “I'll be right there, Jackson” as she hung up, I couldn't help the pissed off feeling that filled my veins. Part of me wanted to call her back to tell I'd already been through, but I couldn't do it. She'd been so happy when she called. I couldn't take that away from her. For a moment, I thought about calling them myself and telling them how I'd gotten through. It was a competition, and technically I'd gotten through first. It was also my dream job. Then I thought about the happiness in her voice as she walked me through the exact steps on how to do it.

“Fuck,” I growled, as I threw my phone down and took off for the shower. “She's a pain in my ass.”

The saddest part of it all was that I'd thought about her all day long while I was at work. I was actually looking forward to her calling when I got home. It didn't help that my mom was working that day and mentioned Lauren twice. I needed to get my shit together. What I needed was a night out. All I had to do was bury myself deep inside of a sexy woman, and I'd be fine. Wait! I hadn't been with anyone since I'd been with her the first time, and I'd already been with her three times. That was not okay, and I was going to resolve that problem very soon.

When I got home from work, I heated up a frozen meal and headed for my office. I jumped right in and had come up with a few things before she'd called. The second I answered the phone, I started rattling off ideas, and she came right back at me. By the time we hung up, I was exhausted, and I was pretty sure she was too.

The next two weeks went by quickly. We were super busy. I hadn't even had the chance to go out and take care of my problem yet. Lauren seemed to work during the night. I wasn't sure why. I hadn't asked since it was none of my business. Each day my schedule changed a bit. By the end of the second week, I was working during the day, sleeping after work, and up talking to her all night. We'd made a huge amount of progress together. I'd come up with something and she'd add to it, or she'd come up with something and I'd add to it. It was actually going very well. Even though all of our conversations revolved around work, I couldn't wait to talk to her. She got it, and it was awesome. She was just as passionate as I was. It was so damn nice talking to someone that was right there on the same page with me.

Things were going great, and then one day they stopped. I went back in my mind over our last few talks. Had I said something to offend her? Was she pissed at what I'd come up with? Shit! Was she using me? Had she gotten everything she needed so she could go to them without me knowing? Would she do that? Why would she have told me how to get through if that was her plan? I seriously couldn't figure out what was going on. She'd told me what time she was going to call, but she didn't, and she hadn't messaged either. I tried calling, but she didn't answer. I tried messaging her, but I got nothing back. It was like she'd vanished. I was pissed. She'd played me, I knew it.

Screw her, I thought. I wasn't having that shit. I grabbed my phone and typed out a message.

Me: I get it. You went to them. I understand. You won. Congratulations!

It only took a second for me to figure out that she hadn't vanished. Nope, she was ignoring me.

Lauren: It's not what you think.

Really? That was it. Ugh!

Me: Nothing ever is, is it? Answer your damn phone.

I hit call on her name. My blood was boiling. I was so ready to tear her a new one.

“Hello,” she said in a strange tone.

“Lauren,” I said.

“Yes,” she said with her voice shaking.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she mumbled.

“Don't give me that shit,” I said rougher than I should have. “What's going on?”

“My grandma died,” was all she said before bursting into tears. Not just small tears, but I could hear her sobbing through the phone kind of tears.

“I'm on my way,” I said, as I jumped up from my seat, grabbed my keys, and took off out the door.

“No,” she said through her sobs. “You can't come here. I'm fine. Stay there.”

I hung up before she could say anything else. There was no way she was talking me out of it, and I needed to get there as quickly as I could. Her grandma was the only one she had, I remembered her saying that. Her parents both sucked, and the only person that really cared about her was gone.

“She doesn't need you,” I said into my empty car. “She has Jackson, whoever he is.”

I thought about stopping and turning my car around, but I didn't. Something felt off. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something there. She didn't seem like she'd had someone there for her. Hearing her burst into tears tore at my heart. All I wanted to do was take her pain away. If I couldn't do that, I was at least going to be there.

The drive seemed so long. Was she alone? Was she okay? It made me sick being so far away. The closer I got, the more unsure I was about going. Would she even want me there? She'd told me no. What would I do when I finally got there? How could I help ease her pain?

I pulled in the driveway that belonged to the address I'd found for her. She wasn't the only one that could dig shit up. There were two cars there besides mine. Maybe she did have someone, I thought. Maybe driving there was a waste. I looked up at the house. It was nice. There were two floors. It wasn't huge, but it was enough for her grandma and her. Was her mom there? She'd said that her mom had pulled away from her and that her grandparents raised her. Where was her mom?

I got out of the car and walked up the walk. When I lifted my hand to knock, I was more nervous than I'd been in a long time. My nerves always revolved around work. I'd never had a reason to be nervous around a woman. It wasn't because of her. It was because of the situation. Yeah, that was it. When I knocked and nobody answered, I knocked again making sure to be louder.

I heard the lock on the door move and took a deep breath as it opened. The moment I saw her, I felt a tug in my chest. She wasn't the cocky competitor I'd seen before. She was the opposite really. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her face was filled with sadness.

“Lance,” she said when she looked up and saw it was me. “You have to go. You can't be here. I told you not to come. I'm fine.”

She had a tissue in her hand, and I could hear the little sniffles she was trying to hide.

“You don't look fine,” I said, as I moved to step forward.

Her hand came up to stop me, and her head shook.

“No,” she said. “You need to leave. I don't need anything.”

“You might not need me, but I'm here anyway,” I said, feeling something between hurt and offended that she was pushing for me to leave so quickly.

Was she afraid I'd see him? Was she worried I'd tell him that we'd been together? Did he know anything about me? I wanted so badly to say something, but seeing her looking the way she was stopped me. It wasn't about them. I knew about him before I was with her the second time. It was about her and the pain she was going through.

“No,” she said. “Just go.”

She reached up and grabbed the door behind her to close it.

“Why?” I asked.

“Lance,” she whispered.

“Mommy,” a very young voice yelled out.

I watched Lauren's eyes widen and a nervous look cross her face.

“Go,” she said, as she pushed the door forward.

I reached out to stop it and pushed it back against the wall.

“You have a child?” I asked quietly.

Lauren burst into tears and instantly covered her face with her hands. A little boy rounded the corner and walked up to us. He looked to be somewhere between three and five and looked just like her.

“Hi,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Hello, I'm Lance,” I said.

“My name is Jackson,” he said.

It felt like someone punched me in the stomach.

“Jackson,” I whispered.

The hotel, the phone, the person she'd been talking to. It all made sense. She was talking to her son.

“It's nice to meet you, Jackson,” I said.

“Are you my mommy's friend?” he asked.

“I am,” I said.

“She's sad,” he said. “Our grandma died.”

“I heard,” I said, wanting to reach down and hug the little guy that had just lost someone close to him. I couldn't imagine losing my grandma.

“Did you come to help her?” he asked.

“I sure did,” I said. “Would that be okay with you?”

I could hear her crying even harder and felt my heart breaking for her.

“Sure,” he said. “I'm going back to watch my cartoon.”

With that, he was gone.

I took a step forward, and she didn't move. Her cries had turned into sobs. I stepped forward again, reached up, took her hands away from her face, and leaned down so I could see her eyes. She slowly opened them, and there was so much emotion there.

“Jackson is your son,” I said as more of a statement than a question.

She nodded but didn't speak. Tears were sliding down her face faster than my fingers could wipe them away.

“Why didn't you tell me?” I asked.

“I couldn't,” she said.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her close, and held her tight.

“It'll be okay, Lauren,” I said. “We'll figure this out.”

In that moment, I was so glad I hadn't turned my car around. She was alone with her son. Nobody should ever have to be alone.