years ago.
“That day you kicked me out, I was running late because I had gone to the doctor. I hadn’t been feeling very well and I had taken a pregnancy test. It was positive, but I didn’t want to tell you yet, because I didn’t want you to be disappointed if it was a false positive. So, I called and got an appointment so they could confirm it for me. They told me I was around five weeks and everything looked perfect. I was so happy. I couldn’t wait to come home and tell you.” I purposely leave out how scared I was something was going to happen to the baby. We had tried for months to get pregnant and I know I was going crazy wanting it so badly. “But when I got home, instead of my happy husband I found my suitcases on the porch and you telling me to get the hell away from you. I had no idea why you were so mad. I also had nowhere to go. I got a hotel for the night and tried to get some rest, I also tried to call you a million times. You never answered,” I say, glancing at Jaxon who is staring straight ahead.
Most people would say he is emotionless, impossible to read. Me though, I can read him like a book. I know right now he is feeling all kinds of guilty for treating me that way. I also know that this story is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
“I ended up staying in a hotel a few days. I called my parents to see if I could stay with them for a while. You can probably imagine how that conversation went,” I say, not wanting everyone to know how horrible my parents really were. Jaxon can probably understand though. They never approved of him and always thought I was marrying beneath me. He didn’t have enough zeroes in his bank account in their opinion. He knows all of this, so he should have known I had no one.
“I finally decided I was just going to have to start over somewhere else. I had a baby to support soon and I needed to make sure I did everything I could to protect it. I checked out of the hotel and headed out of town. I just started driving. I had no idea where I was going. I got a couple of hours away before I had to stop for gas. I pulled into a gas station and had a complete meltdown. I was sitting in my car sobbing and screaming and no telling what else when someone tapped on my window.” I stop talking and think really hard. I was so glad to see someone I knew that I never questioned how he found me. Have I really been so blind these past few years? I’m deep in thought when I hear Jaxon’s voice.
“Maya, I said who was tapping on the window?” I take a deep breath and I look straight into his eyes and then I say the word he knows I’m going to say.
“Trent.” He looks back into my eyes and I can see a million different emotions on his face right now. I can pretty much tell what he’s thinking.
“Did you sleep with him?” Jaxon asks quietly.
“No, never,” I whisper. “I never really thought about why he was there or how he found me. I just felt relief that I finally had someone on my side, someone to talk to. He looked awful, now I know why. I asked him what happened and he shook it off and said it was nothing. He never said you two got into a fight. I told him everything that had happened and how confused I was. He never mentioned anything about you talking to him.”
“I didn’t talk to him. Like I said, I beat the crap out of him.” I ignore him and keep talking.
“He said he had gotten transferred to Atlanta and was on his way there. He said I could come with him until I figured things out with you and so I wouldn’t be alone. I had no one, so I went and that’s where I have been the last five years. In Atlanta with Trent,” I say, before letting a breath out.
“Are you with him, with him?” Jaxon asks quietly.
“No,” I whisper shaking my head. “He’s my friend, my only friend for the past few years. He loves Ava and she adores him. He was with me for all of her firsts and he was with me when I started my business and he was with me
Carl Hiaasen, William D Montalbano