Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
S hocked
Maribel
It’s official. I didn’t win the trip to Paris. Although I don’t think that would have worked out. Dez would have found a way to track me through those tickets.
When I disappear, it needs to be without a trace. I sit in my rental car, staring at the baseball team facility. If Cam is serious about helping me, I need him and his help.
I chew on my lip. I’m nervous about telling him about the baby. I don’t want him to think I’m trapping him into anything.
Our baby needs to be safe. If Dez finds out I’m pregnant, I don’t think any of us will be safe. I suck in a breath and build up my courage.
“It’s now or never. You’re running out of time. You can feel it,” I murmur to myself.
I watch as the team jogs off the field, heading into the facility. Caleb comes into view first and not that far behind him is Cam. I rush out of the car to catch Cam before he disappears into the building.
“Cam,” I call out to stop him.
He turns and a smile comes to his face. I swallow hard as I almost change my mind and turn to run. Instead, I force my feet to keep moving forward.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” I say softly.
Concern fills his eyes. “Yeah, of course. Come inside. There’s a meeting room we can sit in.”
I nod and follow him into the building. Once inside, Cam places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to sit down in one of two chairs that are facing each other. I sit and fidget in the seat nervously.
“What’s up? I was going to call you to talk before flying out for the draft. Is everything okay?”
“I was wondering if you still want to help me,” I push out before I chicken out.
“Of course I do. That’s why I was going to call. I leave for the draft with my family in the morning.”
“Wait, you entered?”
“Yeah, long story. I figured I’d see what happens.”
“Oh,” I say, looking down into my hands.
“Mina, what’s wrong, baby? You’re making me nervous. Did something happen with that asshole?”
“No and yes.”
“Listen, I have a plan for you. I can’t go, but I can get you somewhere safe if you need it.”
He can’t go with me. I start to panic. Why can’t he go with me?
This was a bad idea. I’m totally screwed. How am I going to raise a baby on the run by myself?
“Mina, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out in my panic.
I watch as his face turns white as a sheet. I’ve never seen him look this white. His skin is always tanned from all the time he spends outdoors.
I stand and begin to back away. This was dumb. He doesn’t owe me anything.
This was my stupid mistake. He doesn’t need to put his life on the line for me. I will figure things out on my own.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake. Forget I said anything.”
I turn and race back to my car. I can hear him calling after me, but I don’t stop until I’m behind the steering wheel of the car, speeding back toward my apartment.
I need to pack my things and make a plan. Tears are streaming down my face, making it hard to see the road before me. My phone begins to ring, but I ignore it.
I fell in love with Cam. Never once has he told me he loves me as more than a friend. I had gotten my hopes up for nothing. He doesn’t want me or this baby.
I feel so stupid. As I stop at a light, I place my hand over my belly and take a breath. I have to figure this out for him or her.
“I’m going to keep you safe. If it’s the last thing I do … I would give my life to keep you safe. We’ll be fine,” I sob to the tiny being growing inside me.
I manage to get to my place in a daze. A plan slowly begins to form. I’m going to need Ximena’s help. Hopefully she can get me on a flight without me using my real name or being tracked.
Somehow, I get out of my rental and make it to the apartment. I’m startled from my thoughts as Taylor calls my name. I look up to find her waiting in front of the door for me.
I almost forgot. She’s here to borrow some outfit or something. I really couldn’t tell you what it is at this point.
“Maribel, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?”
I shake my head. I hadn’t told the girls why I had to rush off to New Jersey or anything about what happened between me and Cam. I don’t have the time to get into all of that now.
“I’m not going to finish my last semester. I’m dropping out,” I say, not wanting to give too much information.
My friends shouldn’t know much about where I’m going or why. I don’t want it to come back to bite them. Taylor has been nothing but a friend and I love her for it.
“Let’s get inside and we can talk about it,” she says.
I shake my head. “There’s nothing to talk about, I need to pack.”
“Then I’ll help you pack, and you can help me understand what’s going on.”
I run my arm under my nose. My head is starting to hurt, so I’m not going to argue with her. I’m relieved when we step into the apartment and Ximena is home.
Because Taylor is watching me like a hawk, I pull out my phone and text my cousin to set my plan in motion. I’ll be gone before the end of the night.
My child comes first. As long as my baby is safe, I’ll figure out the rest. This is my sign—I can do this by myself.
Cameron
I had entered the draft to see where I would land. Now that I know I have not one but two babies on the way, I need to be in the draft.
I didn’t mean to upset Amina. I was just shocked. For the second time in the past month, I’ve been told I’ve gotten someone pregnant. First, I was hit with shock, then I was filled with overwhelming excitement.
By the time the excitement kicked in, Amina was running away from me. I tried to chase her down, but there was a crowd in the way when I got outside the building, and I didn’t see which way she went.
I tried to call her phone, but she didn’t answer. I’ve been trying all day. It keeps going to voicemail.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” my father says as we’re cleaning up in the back of the coffee shop after Caleb proposed to Nicole.
“I do.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“What if marrying Kay isn’t the right thing to do? I know about the baby and all, but something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“You mean your little friend is still in the picture,” he replies.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“I’d say take care of your responsibilities. Don’t forget you and Kay took some time apart. If I were you, I’d make sure to sweep under the rug before lying down your hat.”
“You don’t think the baby is mine?”
“I think you need to make sure you have an ironclad prenup and a clause to walk out of the marriage on your terms. That little girl wants to live a comfortable life. If that’s my grandson or granddaughter, fine.
“I’ll be happy to spoil the whole lot of you. But if not, your happiness is all I’m worried about. I want you to have what your brother has. Someone you’re crazy about.
“Life is hard enough as it is. I’ve learned money doesn’t fix everything, but love will make it tolerable. You want to have peace in your home,” he says.
I nod as I think his words over. He pats me on the shoulder and gives it a squeeze. I look into his eyes and read his concern for me.
“Don’t allow your mama to rush you into anything. Kay is what she wants. I want you to have what you want.”
“I hear you, Daddy. I need to go make a call.”
I leave out the back of the coffee shop where I parked. I drove the SUV I bought for Amina. I was hoping she would answer so I could take it to her and explain my plan.
This vehicle seemed like the best choice. It’s brand new and reliable, it’s spacious for her things and her height, and now that she’s carrying my child, he or she will have plenty of room for a car seat. It will also be hard to run off the road.
As I sit in the driver’s seat, I stare down at Bernie’s phone. I asked him to borrow it to see if Amina would answer a call from his line.
Blowing out a breath, I dial her number and wait as it rings. My heart is hammering as I place it on speaker, and it continues to ring. I start the engine, ready to race to her place.
Caleb doesn’t need me anymore tonight. I’ve done my part here. Now it’s my turn to get my girl.
“Hello?” she finally picks up.
“Baby, don’t hang up. You misunderstood. I’m so excited we’re having a baby.
“I want to take care of you. I want to be there for you and our baby. I was just shocked,” I begin to explain before she can disconnect.
“But you said you can’t come with me. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be okay, Cam,” she whispers.
“Mina, please. There’s so much more you don’t know. Kay and I were going to try to work things out. I didn’t know you were carrying my baby.”
She scoffs on the other end of the phone. “Stay with the one you want. I’m only going to bring you drama.”
Anger fills me. She’s not listening. I need her to hear me out.
“Maribel,” I bark. “Listen to me. You are the one I want. You never bring me any drama I don’t want.
“You told me we should break up, but I’ve been making plans for us. I was planning to run with you. You mean everything to me, baby. I’d do anything for you.”
The line falls silent. As I pick the phone up from the cup holder, I see it’s still connected. When I zero in, I can still hear her breathing.
“Then why did you say you couldn’t come with me?” she finally says.
“I fucked up. Everything is so fucked up. Kay’s pregnant and she says it’s mine. My mama called me to Kay’s place for her to drop the bomb on me.
“You and I … you told me we were done. I was going to go through with the engagement and work things out. It felt like the right thing to do for the baby.”
“Maybe it is. Listen, Cam, he practically admitted to murdering my father at the funeral. I can’t go back.
“He’d kill me and this baby and then you. Let me go. Marry Kay. That’s what’s best. I’ll take care of our baby.”
“What’s best for who?” I growl into the phone. “If he wants us, let him come. I’m going to protect what’s mine.
“I’m coming over, baby. We need to talk. I’m going to get you two somewhere safe. I leave for the draft with my family in the morning.
“I’ll go to support Cal, but I won’t accept my offer. I have somewhere for you to go that’s safe. When I get back, we can disappear.”
“I’m already gone, Cam. I had to run.”
“Then I’ll come to you. Where are you?”
“We can’t.”
“Why not? Please don’t do this. Don’t take my family from me. I want you. I want you both. Please.”
The line falls silent again. However, this time, I think I hear her trying to muffle her cries. It’s then that I realize my face is soaked with my own tears.
I lean my head back and look up at the roof of the truck. My mind is racing. I don’t want to lose them. I’d die to protect them.
“Please, baby. I’d do anything for you. Please.”
“We need to be smart. You coming to me isn’t smart. I think he knows about us. He didn’t just kill him because I wouldn’t come back; he knows about us.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I found cameras in the apartment,” she says.
All the blood drains from my face. This guy is a fucking lunatic. Who cams up their fiancée’s place? It’s not even her place. That’s so fucked up.
“Okay, I was going to hire these special ops guys for Cal. I’ll hire two extras to be with you until I can meet up with you.”
“I said we have to be smart. That’s not smart. Not smart enough.”
“Okay, what are you thinking?”
I pick the phone up and take it off speaker. I breathe a little easier now that I feel some hope of getting to my family. My heart is still racing.
“Go to the draft and get drafted. I’m sure he knows all about you. If you don’t go, he’ll know you ran with me.
“We need you to look like you moved on with your life. Go through with things with Kay?—”
“What are you talking about? You want me to marry her? No, Maribel. No.”
“Cam, please. This man killed his own brother to get to the top. You and I are nothing to him. This baby is even less.
“If you marry Kay, that’ll be even more convincing that you’ve moved on and I mean nothing to you. He’s not going to watch you as closely or try to harm you to find me.
“You said I mean everything to you. If you care about me, trust me,” she says.
“I don’t just care about you, Mina. I love you. I need you to know I love you.
“I’m not marrying someone else out of love. Because it’s you who will always have my heart. I do this; I need you to know I did it out of love for you. I would do anything to protect you,” I say as my heart breaks.
“Cam?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you too. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“I’m not sorry. I got you away from him, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you may have. I wish I could go all Colombiana on his ass. He killed my dad. That can’t go unanswered.”
“One thing at a time. We need you and our baby safe. Maribel?”
“Yes, Cam?”
“He’s never going to take you from me. I’m coming for my family as soon as we figure out how to get rid of him.”
“You’re getting married and getting drafted tomorrow, Cam. Stop sounding like your world is over,” she teases.
“I’m getting married to the wrong woman and I’d rather be with my family than be at a draft.”
“You will be with your family. Your brother needs you. You need to do that thing you do for him. Whatever it is you do.”
I pause for a moment in thought. She’s trusting me with her life. I can trust her with my secret.
“Caleb has autism. We’ve been hiding it so he can get drafted to the majors. My mama has wanted to hide it from the world all his life, but my daddy and I agreed to hide it during college to give him a shot at normal.”
I scoff to myself. All we have ever wanted is normal. Not just Cal, but I’ve been longing for some sense of normalcy. Now, the concept doesn’t make sense to me.
What’s normal? Right now, my brother’s life is more normal than mine will ever be. Yet I know if it means Amina is in my life, I wouldn’t change a thing.
“Wow, Cam. I had no idea. I mean, now that you mention it … you’re an amazing brother.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. All his dreams are coming true. He doesn’t need me anymore. You do.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I sit, trying to find the words to tell her all I’m feeling. I wish there was more I could do. I wish I was there with her.
I want to be on one knee proposing to her for our family to be together. I want to rewind time and pull her into my arms after she spoke those words to me to let me know I’m going to be a father to our child.
Suddenly, I know just how to let her know how I feel. I connect my phone to the Bluetooth as I hold Bernie’s. Then, I scroll for what I’m looking for.
The song begins to play. I close my eyes. When I hang up and go home, I’m going to be destroyed.
“Do you remember what I said about when I play one of these songs for someone?”
“If you play one of their songs, you mean the words from your heart,” she breathes.
“Yeah, Mina. I mean this. I mean every word. I want to do this. I love you.”
Tears stream down my face as we both remain silent as the song plays. I feel like someone is cutting my insides up. I double over, leaning against the steering wheel as I cry like a little boy lost.
This is tearing me apart.