The Commitment (32 page)

Chase

It’s crazy how everything can change in the blink of an eye.

Even stranger are the things that pop into your mind when your world shifts, seemingly spinning on its axis while the rest of humanity sits on the sidelines, oblivious.

I wouldn’t be brave enough to admit it until later, but the second she told me she loved me, the hospital staff rushing her towards our fate, I saw a piece of her vanish as her thick eyelashes fluttered closed.

Instinctively, I knew our fate was sealed the moment I’d lifted the blanket from her legs, but my heart wouldn’t accept it. It couldn’t…

I should have gone to the chapel down the hallway.

I should have called her aunt right away.

I should have sent for Ana and Jack, called and told JT how much she loved him.

But I didn’t. I didn’t do any of that.

Instead, I took the last bit of energy coursing through my body and I ran, blocking out the reality I knew I could never accept.

I followed the bed she’d spent twelve hours in crying and in pain, hiding her distress by singing to our baby, making promises that only she could keep.

As I rushed behind them, passing rooms that held a fate that should have been ours, I saw her teary emerald eyes, smiling up at me as she vowed to love me forever in my mind.

I saw wisps of blonde hair, sweeping across her collarbone as she sang in her truck at the light the first day I saw her.

I saw the blush of her cheeks as she flashed me her rogue dimples, the perfect dust of freckles scattered perfectly across the bridge of her nose, heard her breathing hitch as I ran my lips up her neck, pulling a sigh from her parted lips.

I saw all the things that made up us as I ran behind the nurses, desperate for one last glimpse of the girl who had taken me completely.

Taken my name…

Taken my heart…

Taken my very soul as her own…

I ran until they made me stop, staying as close to her as I could while she fought for our baby, our fate, our forever.

The memory of her fingertips tracing my wedding band beneath the twinkly light that put the stars to shame was enough to keep my feet moving, my heart pumping enough for the three of us.

If her voice telling me she loved me was the last thing I’d heard, I may have done all the things I should have done before I ran after her.

But it’s crazy how everything can change in the blink of an eye.

I’d covered every inch of us in my mind as I ran after the other half of my soul, filling myself with the hope that she knew I’d be there waiting.

“I can’t find a heartbeat,” echoed through the depths of my soul as the doors closed behind her, shattering me completely, as I felt my body slide down the side of the wall beside me and I wept.

I can’t find a heartbeat…

In that moment neither could I.

Chase

Two Days Later

As I gaze down at the miracle swaddled in the blanket the nurse had given me, I see a flash of my own blue eyes behind thick black lashes. The yawn forming over the face I’d spent the past two days memorizing reveals two tiny rogue dimples, filling my heart to capacity.

Our baby is the spitting image of Sophie, just like I wanted, with the exception of my blue eyes. Mom said they still might change to green.

I hope they do.

“Have you put that baby down yet, Son?” Mom says as she walks in with a gentle smirk.

“Nope,” I admit shamelessly.

“Well, some of us…” she starts, trailing off. “Oh good Lord! Where in the hell is your father?”

“He was with you,” I tell her, letting out a light chuckle when I hear her groan and march out into the hallway.

“Damn it, Benny! What the hell are you doing, Honey?”

“I’m coming, Woman!” I hear him bellow down the hallway, sure the staff is looking forward to us leaving soon.

“We’re about to go and grab some breakfast,” she says from the doorway. “Anything you need me to bring back?”

“No thanks,” I say, glancing up to see them go before I return my eyes to the baby with a sigh. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”

A shift from the other side of the room catches my attention and I can’t help the wide grin that spreads across my face.

“What do you think about the name Zooey?” she asks in a husky, post-sleep voice.

“I think it’s an okay name, but she doesn’t feel like a Zooey to me,” I start, standing to walk over to her bed and leaning down to kiss her. “Good morning, Baby.”

“Good morning, Babysaurus,” Sophie smiles. “Well, we’re going to have to come up with something better than Peanut Mitchell. Are you getting in?”

“Yeah,” I nod. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m still really sore, but the doctor said I would be for a little while” she says as she scoots into the middle of the bed, reaching for our daughter. “Hello my beautiful Noodle!”

After an emergency cesarean, a blood transfusion and her heart stopping for nearly two minutes, I wasn’t surprised she was sore. For exactly one minute and forty-eight seconds, I’d thought I’d lost them both. As far as most things go, one minute and forty-eight seconds isn’t long.

When it comes to your reason for breathing, it’s an eternity.

The placental abruption that caused Sophie to have so many complications was somewhat rare, but she’d be at a higher risk in the future if we ever had any more children. With as infatuated as we are with our daughter after only two days and how completely we both love JT, I can’t imagine either of us feeling like we need more.

“Have you talked to my Sweet Pea yet?” she asks, seeming to read my thoughts.

“No, but I talked to Jack,” I tell her. “He’s bringing him up in a couple hours.”

“Good, I miss him,” she says. “I didn’t get to see him yesterday at all.”

As she gives her a gentle kiss on her forehead, I slide in beside them, letting out a sigh of contentment as Sophie rests her head against my chest. After gazing at her for a few minutes quietly, my girl breaks the silence.

“Can you believe how beautiful she is?” she sighs. “I’m so in love with her.”

“Me, too,” I say softly, kissing Sophie’s hair. “She looks just like her Mama.”

“You’re so sweet, Sugar Dumplin’,” Sophie smiles, turning her head to gently kiss my chest. “She looks like you, too. She has your eyes and your chin and her hair is closer to your color than mine,” she whispers, kissing her gently. “She’s just perfect.”

When she starts to stir, Sophie quietly begins to sing ‘Just One Look’ by Doris Troy to her, warming my heart as I remember it from our wedding. As she sings to our daughter, I can’t stop the tears that begin to sting my eyes.

“I love you so fucking much, Sophie,” I whisper, kissing her hair.

“I love you, too, Baby,” she says softly, running the pad of her thumb under my eye. “Everything’s okay my Love.”

Resting her hand on my neck, she parts her lips for me slightly. As I slip my tongue inside and touch hers, it sends chills through me, just like that first time in her apartment.

Standing in her kitchen that night, neither of us could have predicted everything that would happen between us. We’d been through hell. The past year and a half had brought things our way that I’d never imagined I’d ever experience.

As I look down at the little piece of Heaven resting in my arms, I have no regrets. She was worth every bit of the fight and I know without a doubt I’d do it all again if it meant getting back to this moment with her.

This moment with this girl whose rogue dimples and perfect green eyes stole my heart at a stoplight on Madison Avenue.

Jack

Four Months Later

It’s been a year ago today since I got home.

To say it’s been eventful would be the understatement of the century. There were lots of days I wasn’t sure what would come of all of us. Truth be told, there were lots of days I wasn’t sure I’d make it through at all. Everything’s working out though and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.

Four months after leaving the hospital, Sophie’s doing much better. That day in the hospital, when we thought we’d lost her? Well, I don’t need to tell you that was one of the scariest of my life. I won’t lie, seeing how hard Chase took it when he thought she was gone was hard to watch. It’s never easy to see someone go through something like that, but seeing a man of six-foot four reduced to a sobbing heap on the floor was a whole new kind of devastating.

If I’d ever had my doubts about his love for Sophie, he wiped them clean that day.

Since she’d needed more time than she anticipated recovering from the birth of her daughter, Madison Renee, and JT getting ready to start Kindergarten, Sophie isn’t in a rush to get back to work. With Chase now in charge of the Corpus branch, it was easy to arrange.

Although everything with Sophie delayed their leaving for a few days, Ana and Drake seem to be doing pretty good in Florida. The new branch is doing well and Ana’s happy, which is what matters most to all of us. It’s been weird not seeing her, but I’m happy to see that she’s finally putting her own happiness first. I miss her, but between talking daily and her visiting once a month, we’ve made it work.

As for me? Well, as of an hour and a half ago, I’m on my first vacation in far too long. I’m still working at Drake’s company in Corpus, but was promoted to foreman when Chase took over. When Ana told me she was moving, I’d considered going with her, but I knew she needed some space to start her own life. Not to mention, I could never have left JT. I thought it would be weird having Chase as a boss, but it’s actually been working out great. Now that we’ve got all our shit aired out and Sophie and I are in a good place, we get along surprisingly well.

Right now, I’m sitting at a bar waiting on Matty to get here from Austin. He’d recently sold his business and after a bad breakup, is looking to relocate. Although staying at Drake’s beach house definitely has its perks, all that space for a single guy has its downfalls. I’ve been on a couple dates here and there, but so far, I haven’t met anyone who’d really sparked my interest.

I won’t lie, moving on was hard at first. What Sophie and I had when we were together was big. For a while, I tried everything I could to forget it all because it just hurt too much to let it go. Eventually though, I realized that’s not something I ever could or would even want to do. There’s a big piece of my heart that she was always meant to have. She’ll always be in my life. That’s just the way it was always meant to be.

Getting here was an adjustment, but I’m happy for Sophie. Seeing her slip into motherhood and married life so effortlessly wasn’t a surprise. I’d always known she’d be great at both, but watching her become the woman she was meant to be has been amazing. I’m glad we can finally have a relationship where things aren’t awkward or filled with guilt.

For the first time in a long time, we feel like us again, just shifted.

As I peel the label from my half empty bottle, I glance down at my phone and see Matty’s text saying he’s hit traffic and will meet me at the house in a half hour. Glancing up at the flat screen, I check out the scores for the last game, getting lost in the highlights and I drain the last of my beer.

“You want another?” I hear from across the bar, breaking my thoughts.

Later, I’d say it was the sound of her laughter as she took in my dopey expression that made the world turn on its axis, but in this moment, I know it’s those eyes, that smile.

Her eyes are deep blue and against her fair skin, look like sapphires.

She has a smile that looks like it came straight out of a John Mellancamp song. The kind you long for, the kind you don’t
ever
forget.

“You alright there?” she chuckles as I sit staring at her rudely, still not having spoken.

“What?” I ask, making her laugh harder.

“Beer?” she smirks. “You want one?”

“Oh! Yeah,” I laugh in embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she smiles, setting a fresh bottle in front. “I haven’t seen you in here before. You new in town?”

“Sort of, I guess. I’ve been here for a few months, but not gotten to any of the local spots much,” I shrug. “Are you from here?”

“Born and raised,” she winks.

“Well, what’s good around here?”

“You like music?”

“Absolutely,” I nod, taking a sip from my beer.

“Well, there’s a cool place down on the beach called The Dive,” she starts. “They have a different local band every night if you’re into that?”

“I am into that,” I nod, holding her eyes. “How about you? Are you into that?”

“I am,” she smirks.

“What about your boyfriend, fiancé or husband? Are they into that?”

“Smooth,” she laughs,
a real laugh
, blushing slightly. “I don’t have any of those.”

“Hmm,” I nod. “Good to know.”

“Oh, is it, now?” she chuckles.

“It is,” I tell her. “And just in case you’re wondering, I, too, do not have a boyfriend, fiancé or husband.”

“Good to know,” she laughs.

“Oh, is it, now?” I tease her. “Well in that case, is there any specific night you’d most be into that?”

“I could probably be into it tomorrow night around eight.”

“Awesome,” I say, pulling my wallet out to settle my bill before facing her with a smirk. “Thank you for your help…?”

“Jenna.”

“Jenna,” I nod. “I’m Jack.”

“Nice to meet you, Jack.”

“Very nice to meet you, Jenna,” I smile. “Maybe I’ll see you up there.”

“I have a feeling you will, Jack.”

“Good,” I shoot her a wink and smile, not surprised I’m still wearing it as I pull up to the house.

As far as the world was concerned, I was dead for nearly two years.

I guess if I’m being honest, a part of me died when I kissed Sophie and I truly realized she wasn’t mine anymore.

For the first time since I placed my foot on that gravel driveway in Camden a year ago, something’s finally sparked back to life.