Chapter 19
Colton
“So confused ya don’t know up from right or down from left.”
~ Papa Duke
My eyes cut over to Bella as I turned onto Willow Lane. I was trying to read her, to get sense of what was going on in that pretty head of hers, but I couldn’t. Right after we’d made love, she’d stood up. Grabbed her clothes and started leaving. I’d tripped over my jeans catching up with her.
She was adamant that she wanted to walk home, but I’d insisted on giving her a ride. She’d finally relented, but it took me promising not to talk.
As happy as I was about what we’d just shared, it was clear that she didn’t want to talk about us. I had to respect that, even though it was killing me.
I drove about ten miles under the speed limit to make this trip as long as possible, hoping, most likely in vain, that she’d say something. I’d have gone one mile an hour if I thought she’d stay in the truck. The trick was driving fast enough so that she couldn’t jump out. Because, I had a feeling if she could, she would.
The farm came into sight and my heart deflated. I wasn’t defeated, I still had plans to fight for her. But there was a vulnerability about her right now and I didn’t want to say or do anything that would upset her. I had a feeling if I pushed her right now, that’s exactly what I’d be doing. But I wasn’t giving up. I didn’t care how long it took for me to convince her, for me to get past the emotional walls that she’d constructed. If it took years, decades, so be it.
Now that I found her again, there was no way I was just going to let her get back on a bus, or in a Prius, or on a plane or train and leave me without knowing how I feel. And if she still left, then I would do everything short of harassment and stalking to make her know that I was waiting for her. That I would go anywhere and do anything to be with her.
But not today. Today had been emotional enough. I needed to give her time.
I turned the steering wheel and the left tire dipped in a pothole and the truck jostled. I turned my head to see if Bella was okay and I saw that she wasn’t, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with getting jarred in the truck.
“Sadie!” She was staring straight ahead but her hand was on the door handle. She opened it before I even stopped the truck and was flying out of it.
I reached for her but I was too late, she had jumped out and was running towards the house. I slammed on the brakes and was out in flash, right behind her. When I cleared the driver’s side door I saw her throwing her arms around a girl who was sitting on the front porch.
It had to be her daughter.
I stopped a few feet away from them, not wanting to interrupt. The girl was facing away from me, so all I saw was her long blonde hair.
“What are you doing here? Are you okay? Where are your grandparents?” She was asking rapid-fire questions, not giving the girl a chance to answer.
“Mom, I can’t breathe.” Her voice was muffled.
“You can’t breathe?” Bella dropped her death grip on the girl and wrapped her hands around her upper arms, searching her face in full-blown panic. “Do we need to go to the hospital? Are you having chest pain? Did you take your medicine?”
“Oh my god, Mom!” The girl shook her head in exasperation. “I couldn’t breathe because you were suffocating me. I’m fine, I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Bella brought one of her hands to her chest and her shoulders sagged in relief. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Bella had just aged ten years in front of my eyes. She wasn’t the girl that I’d seen in line for kindergarten. Or the girl that I’d asked out on her first day of middle school. Or the girl that got on the bus sobbing. Or even the girl that showed up at my sister’s wedding five weeks ago. She was a mother. One that obviously loved her daughter more than life itself.
“What are you doing here? How did you get here? I just Facetimed with you last night.”
“I’m so tired. I didn’t sleep at all last night.” Her daughter whined as she laid her head on Bella’s shoulder. “Can we talk about this after I sleep?”
Bella ran her fingers through the girl’s hair and I had déjà vu. I flashed back to when her own mother had done that. Every time we’d be watching television or at the dinner table and Mrs. Connor would pass by, she’d run her hands through Bella’s hair exactly like that.
“No. I need some answers, then you can go lay down.”
The girl sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’m here because dad showed up with her, and he wanted to take me on a camping trip. Which, I was whatever about, but then I went to look for Anderson Pooper and heard them in their room talking. They wanted to take me because they are engaged, mom. Engaged. You and dad barely broke up and he’s getting married.” The girl’s voice broke and Bella pulled her daughter to her chest. This time she wasn’t crushing her, just cradling her head.
“I’m sorry, ladybug.” Bella kissed the top of her head as sadness and exhaustion filled her eyes.
They remained like that until the girl pulled back and wiped her eyes as she sniffed and said defensively, “I don’t even care.”
Wow, I thought. That was a one-eighty. One minute she’s hugging her mom, leaning on her for support and nurturing. The next she was pushing her away. Probably normal kid stuff. I guess I would be finding out since I was going to be an uncle.
The personality switch didn’t seem to faze Bella one bit. She didn’t even address it, instead asking, “How did you get here?”
“Uber.”
“To Texas?” Sadie clarified.
“I flew,” she answered as if it was the dumbest question in the world.
That fazed her.
Bella’s already large eyes grew to the size of apples. “Alone?!”
“Yes, mom, I’m not a baby. I’m practically a teenager!” Bella just stared at her.
“Fine.” The girl snapped. “I showed them the paper.”
“That’s for medical emergencies so you have the right to consent to treatment, that’s not for taking flights. By yourself.”
The girl shrugged. “Whatever.”
Bella was shaking her head. “How did you pay for it?”
The girl’s arms flew up, as if Bella was the one being ridiculous. “I used your credit card.”
Bella’s voice rose slightly. “That’s for emergencies, too!”
“This was an emergency!” The girl saw her mom’s vocal increase and raised her.
Bella took a deep breath. “Do your grandparents know where you are?”
“They were asleep when I left, but I left a note.”
“A note.” Bella said flatly. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket as she mumbled under her breath, “I need to call them.”
“Fine. Call them, but I’m not going back there if he’s there.”
The girl leaned down to get her suitcase and that’s when we saw each other for the first time.
I froze.
She screamed.
Bella dropped the phone and grabbed her daughter, pushing her behind her like a fierce mama bear protecting her cub. When she saw it was just me standing there, she released her arm around the girl and put her hand over her stomach.
“I forgot you were there.” Her breathing was rapid, but the rest of her body relaxed.
I, on the other hand couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!” The girl pointed at me. “That’s…you’re…that’s…”
“Sadie Jade, this is Colton—”
“McCord!” Sadie finished. “You’re Colton McCord! Oh my gosh! I’ve seen every show you’ve been on! I saw the finale last night! I love Heather by the way! If you had picked Sasha or Julie I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Bella must’ve seen the look on my face, because she spoke to her daughter in a tone that I’d never heard her use as she unlocked and opened the front door. “Sadie. Go inside and call your grandparents. Tell them you’re okay.”
“Mom!” She protested.
“Now, Sadie.”
“Fine.” The girl rolled her eyes and grabbed her suitcase. Before she went in the house, she walked towards me and her hand fluttered up and down. “Oh my god. You have no idea how big of a fan I am. After I call my grandparents can we take a selfie?”
“Sadie.” Bella warned.
Sadie dropped her head back and rolled her eyes, but then when she straightened and looked back at me she was smiling. “It was so good meeting you, Colton!”
Finally, I was able to find my voice and speak. I hoped that I looked and sounded normal when I responded. “It was good meeting you, too, Cara.”
“Sadie.” Bella corrected harshly. “Her name is Sadie.”
“Oh my god,” Sadie’s eyes widened. “Colton McCord just got my name wrong! Just like the outtakes on YouTube. I have to call Natalie!”
Sadie started running inside, but Bella stopped her. “You are not going to call, Snapchat, text, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or use any other form of communication to any of your friends. You are going to call your grandparents. Tell them where you are and that you’re safe. Apologize for running off and then you are going to go to bed. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, mom.” Sadie had a lot less attitude with that answer. She must’ve sensed that Bella was serious.
The girl went inside and when the door shut, I opened my mouth to speak but Bella lifted her hand, halting me. “Back house.”
She picked up her purse, that had fallen on the grass when she’d run to Sadie and I followed behind her. But this time I wasn’t looking at her ass, there was no Pied Piper about it and there was no way that I was going to let her off the hook without answering my questions. The first one being, “Why didn’t she tell me that I had a daughter?”