CHAPTER 19
Kaya
“Gretchen, wait!” Sophia yells.
Gretchen rips her car door open. “No! I have to get out of here.” She quickly gets in and starts the engine before Sophia or I can reach her.
Sophia turns to me. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah, I’ll ride with you,” I say, knowing Maverick will need my car to come get his bike from the apartment.
“Let’s go!” We quickly get in Sophia’s car and follow Gretchen back to the apartment. We ended up a few minutes behind her because we got stuck behind a tractor.
When we finally walk into the apartment Gretchen is sobbing on the couch holding a pillow to her chest. I recognize it immediately. It’s a goofy looking blue pillow in the shape of a book with a smiley face stitched onto it. Ty won it for her when they were together in high school.
She raises her head as we enter, but doesn’t move. Sophia takes the chair across from her while I plop down next to her and rest my head on her shoulder. She pinches her eyes shut as more tears fall. “How in the hell is this happening? Did you two know?”
“No! I texted you both right after Mav told me.”
Sophia shakes her head. “Grayson didn’t tell me shit. When I told him I had to leave and why, he came clean saying he was going to tell me before we headed to the clubhouse later.”
Gretchen shakes her head. “Fourteen months. For fourteen months he never once reached out. I can’t believe he would do this to me.”
“It didn’t sound like he had a choice. Bishop and his club wanted him dead.”
Sophia and Gretchen both glare at me.
“Come on Kaya. He could have gotten her some kind of message. Anything would have been better than silence.” Sophia shifts in her seat.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m not taking his side. It just sounds like they were being extra cautious in case Bad Blood was watching.” I turn to Gretchen. “If they told you he was safe, would you have just let it go?”
Gretchen narrows her eyes. “Of course not.”
“And that’s why they didn’t tell you. I’m not saying it’s right. My take on it is that they should have taken you too. I know you would have dropped everything to be with him.”
“Then we would have been the crazy ones.” Sophia says. “I can’t imagine what we would have done if you both would’ve disappeared.”
Gretchen hugs the pillow tighter and sniffles. “I slept with five men since he’s been gone.”
“Stop that right now!” I command. “Do not feel guilty about that. For all you knew he was dead or left you for another woman. What were you supposed to do, stay celibate forever in case he decided to show back up? Fuck that!”
“It’s not like you ran out the minute he was gone, Gretch. It was what? Ten months? Eleven? We could barely get you to leave the apartment for half a year.” Sophia reminds her.
Gretchen shrugs and then grabs the remote to the TV. She turns it on, finds Grey’s Anatomy, and starts from episode one. She’s obviously done talking for now.
We watched two episodes, discussing nothing but the show, until Sophia finally asks, “Are you going to talk to him?”
Gretchen gets up, letting the pillow drop to the floor. “I don’t know. Wine?” She heads to the kitchen and pulls out three wine glasses and a bottle of Pinot Grigio.
She fills each glass and brings them to us before starting another episode of the show.
I take mine and hold it for a few minutes before setting it on the end table.
Halfway through the episode, three loud knocks hit the door and I know it’s Maverick before looking through the peep hole.
I open it and grin at the sight of him. He’s just so unbelievably sexy.
He may not be everyone’s taste with his scowly expressions and big beard, but damn, does he ever do it for me.
He snakes his hand around to my ass and pulls me to him. He gives me a quick kiss and shifts his attention to Gretchen. “Ty’s downstairs.”
“No! I don’t want to see him. You need to tell him to leave. Please, I can’t see him yet.”
Maverick nods and meets my eyes. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I shake my head. “We’re just hanging here tonight. Why don’t you go back to the clubhouse and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No. I’m not leaving you alone. Cipher found footage of the guys that shot up the Petal.” He leans down and whispers, “Bad Blood.”
I pull my head back in surprise. “I thought they were…”
“Apparently these two weren’t there when everything went down. That’s all we know.”
I rest my hands on his chest. “Ok, well can you give us some time?”
He nods and gives me a kiss on the cheek before heading back downstairs.
“So, are you two official now?” Gretchen asks, trying to sound upbeat.
“Yes, we talked and are” I do finger quotes in the air, “official.”
“Oh my God Kai! Your first boyfriend!” Sophia says, while animatedly celebrating with her fists.
I roll my eyes. And just because I love getting a rise out of them and having the upper hand, I sit down, and blurt out, “And we’re having a baby.” I’m hoping that the confession will keep Gretchen from crying for a few minutes.
Silence.
They look at each other and then to me. Gretchen laughs. “Good one.”
But Sophia glances over to my untouched wine glass and slowly raises her hand and points at the glass. “Is that why you haven’t drank any of that?”
I raise my brows. Sophia throws her hand over her mouth. “You really are?”
“Yes, but Mav doesn’t know yet.”
“What?” Gretchen gasps out.
“I’m going to tell him. I was actually planning on telling him tonight or tomorrow, but with everything going on… It’s not a big deal waiting another day. I just found out.”
“Holy shit.” Sophia says leaning back on the couch and taking a giant drink of her wine. “So are you going to? I mean, are you…?”
“I don’t know what Maverick’s thoughts are on the whole thing, I mean, Jesus, I just finally agreed to being with him. For all I know he’s going to run for the hills when he finds out, but,” I sigh, “I’m keeping it.”
Both Gretchen and Sophia’s faces are wide eyed and pretty much frozen in shock. I’ve never been the most responsible one in our little trio, so I’m sure they are both wondering how in the hell I’m planning on raising a kid. I’d be thinking that too, if I were them.
“Even if he leaves?” Gretchen asks.
“Uh yeah. I had already decided I was keeping him before I decided to be with Maverick. And please don’t think, I’m with him because of the baby, because I’m not. If he decides he doesn’t want to be a part of it, I’ll fall apart, you both know I will, but I’ll handle it. The baby isn’t negotiable.”
“It’s because of Trudy.” Sophia says.
It’s not a question, because she knows the answer.
My foster mom, Trudy, had a botched abortion when she was young, before she met her husband, Bill.
She ended up needing a hysterectomy. It was the reason she turned to fostering.
Now, I know damn well that the chances of something like that happening now are basically zero, but the devastation Trudy went through with not being able to have a baby always stuck with me.
“It is and it isn’t. It’s not like I can’t afford it and I have nine months to prepare. With you two here to help me, it will be a cake walk,” I joke.
Both of them get up and rush over to hug me. Congratulations, tears, and belly touching ensue, even though my stomach won’t get any bigger for a while yet. I’m just happy to see Gretchen smiling, even if it’s only for a little while.