Finding A Way (39 page)

"Mac. I have to tell you something." I take a deep, calming breath, willing myself to clear my conscience.

Mac's hands grip each side of my face, and I open my eyes to see his worried expression. I can tell he thinks I'm going to break him, but it's not as bad as what he's done.

"Do you remember after we slept together for the first time, when I locked myself in the bathroom to calm my nerves?"

He nods his head, his brow furrowing together slightly.

"I didn't run away to calm my nerves because I was upset with what we did. I ran away because it was then I knew I loved you with everything I had. I knew at that point Derrick would no longer be an issue for me. I knew you filled his shoes, even more importantly, I knew we would be together."

His expression changes into one of happiness.

"So, we will figure out this thing with Caroline. Okay? I love you, Malcolm Davis," I say, my voice small and vulnerable.

"I love you so fucking much Callie Rose."

He grabs my hand, leading me inside and out of the snowy weather.

"Come on baby, I'm going to show every inch of your body how you make me feel. I'm going to make you feel as worshiped as you truly are."

I let him lead me to the place where I can escape from our horrible reality and just focus on the man I love. We can figure this out. Together.

This has to be the most awkward conversation in the entire world. Two women who both have had me in different ways, one physically and one emotionally. It doesn't help the fact that Caroline keeps referring to me as Bear which just pisses Callie off more. She's trying, I'll give her that, but from the glare she keeps shooting at Caroline, I know she's plotting how she could murder her slowly and quietly.

"So Caroline, how old are you?" Callie asks her, her glare still in place.

"I just turned twenty-two," Caroline answers.

Callie's eyes grow wide and she shoots daggers at me.

"You have your whole life ahead of you. Are you sure you want a child right now when you haven’t even figured your own life out?" Callie still watches me on the couch in the waiting room, her tone not changing. It's full of hatred and jealousy at the same time. Jealous Callie isn't something I'm used to, and as fucked up as this situation is, I can't deny how incredibly sexy it is…jealousy.

"If it's Bear's, which I'm sure it is, then yes, I want to keep the baby," Caroline states, trying to mark her territory.

Too bad for her, I've already been marked. Callie did that a long fucking time ago.

"Caroline, how are you so sure it's mine? You already said you were with two other guys the same week. It could be theirs," I say, watching her reaction.

"Why don't you call me Princess anymore?" she asks, looking at me with those same sad eyes she had when she was a kid.

I let out a long sigh, resting my elbows on my knees in a crouching position.

"Because Caroline, that was years ago. I have a princess now, and she's sitting right across from you." I nod toward Callie.

A lone tear runs down Caroline's cheek and she speaks softly.

"You promised me. You promised I'd always come first. You promised if I needed you, then you would be there for me. I need you Bear, and where are you? Because I know you're not here for me. You're with
her
."

Caroline says the word
her
with pure hatred. Hatred for Callie. She hates her because she can't have me the way Callie does. I made it perfectly clear on the phone I’ll never be hers before making the appointment to have the paternity test done.

Callie speaks her mind, but gets cut off when the nurse comes out of the door.

"Caroline Lavelle. Malcolm Davis," she yells, grabbing our attention.

Caroline stands up and I lean over pressing a kiss on Callie's forehead.

"I'll be done in a minute baby. I love you," I tell her softly.

She nods her head, her arms still crossed over her chest, scoffing at my words.

I look up, warning her.

"Don't start Caroline."

I hate her. I really truly hate her. She’s a lying bitch. I know she's lying. The signs were written all over her face. Not to mention, she kept checking her phone every five minutes. I'm going to assume the real father was texting her.

She tried to stay with Mac and me after we left the clinic, but I squashed it quickly. For the past two days, I've been trying to keep that crazy bitch away from Mac. She’s up to something, and I'm going to assume it has something to do with her wanting him to love her. Too bad for her, she will never experience that side of my man. I’ll never allow her to get close enough to him where she wraps him back around her pretty little finger. It may have been okay when she was a little girl, but now it's absolutely not okay.

She’s a young lady, and even though I hate her, I have to admit she's beautiful. She's so tiny, thin, and tall, unlike me who is curvy and short. She rivals me in every aspect, and I freaking hate it. I hate that she has a piece of Mac I'll never have. She's known him for a long time, and from what I gather, they were very close when Mac was engaged to her sister.

I refuse to let it bother me, though. The only thing which keeps me going is the fact that Mac will only answer her phone calls when I'm there too. He won't talk about her unless I bring it up. He's playing it smart, luckily for him.

The nurse told us it would take roughly three days for the results to come back and I swear the past two days have dragged by with every second feeling like an hour. It's been unbearable, and my anxiety is at an all time high right now.

One more day.

That’s the only thing which keeps me going. One more day and hopefully everything will be back to normal. One more day, and Caroline will go away for good, and my life can go back to normal.

I’m in the middle of cleaning every speck of dust in the apartment when my phone rings. I look down seeing Sierra's name flashing across the screen.

"Hey," I answer.

"Callie, this shit is the worst. I'm entirely too pregnant and Evan is driving me fucking crazy! He won't even touch me because he thinks he's going to hurt the baby. It's been four weeks since I got any, and I swear if he doesn't touch me soon, I'm going to hurt him instead."

I laugh at her, shaking my head. This has got to be killing her. Sierra has never been one to hide her love for sex, and the idea of Evan keeping it from her is ironic in a way since that was always her play.

"Well at your appointment tomorrow, just ask the doctor. Maybe if he hears the doctor saying it's okay then he'll calm down."

"Cal, hang on. Shay's on the other line, and I'm going to just beep her in with us."

I hear the click of her switching lines before I can even get out an okay. A few seconds later, I hear Shay's voice, along with Sierra's.

"Hey Callie," Shay says.

"Hey, how's it going?" I ask her.

She pauses a minute before answering me.

"Things are all right. How's everything with you? Is Caroline letting Mac loose yet?"

I scoff into the phone, giving Nook a rub on the head as she nudges my leg.

"Not yet. That girl is psycho. I know it's not Mac's. I can feel it. She's lying. It's a part of her evil master plan."

Sierra chimes in, cutting Shay off from what she was saying.

"What if it is his Callie? What are you gonna do?"

My lips turn into a scowl, as I plop down onto the couch.

"I know it's not his, Sierra. So I'm not worried, and if it is then we'll figure it out."

"Is he home? Evan has been trying to call him, but he's not answering."

"Nope. He's at the garage; Trent had some appointments today so Mac went down to help him out. I dropped him off like three hours ago."

"Well, I'll just tell Evan to call him later then."

My phone beeps, alerting me I have a voicemail. I realize my line being tied up with Shay and Sierra, forced the call to head to voicemail.

"Guys I gotta go. I have to check my voicemail, it might be Mac. I'll call you both later," I say to them, already getting ready to hit the end button.

We say our goodbyes and I click the voicemail icon.

You have one new message.

Hi, Miss Matthews.

This is Natalie. I'm calling about the results from Mr. Davis' test a few days ago. I tried calling Mr. Davis' phone but I was sent directly to voicemail. He has you listed as a secondary number, so I'm also leaving this message with you. Mr. Davis' test results came back negative. He is not the father of Miss Lavelle's child. I have also notified her. We will send out a paper copy of the results but from what Mr. Davis said, I assumed you would like to know ahead of time. Thank you. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at the office anytime. Have a wonderful day.

I listen to the message twice before I can comprehend what I'm hearing. He's not the father. He isn't the father. Tears form in the corners of my eyes and a smile breaks out on my face. Everything will be okay. I need to tell him.

I call his number, getting sent straight to voicemail the same way as the lady from the office. Why can't this man ever just charge his phone? All he has to do is plug it into the wall and presto, he can receive important calls like this one.

I grab the keys to his truck, slipping on my coat. I need to tell him. I need to drive there and tell him the news. I need to tell him everything will be okay, and more importantly, that I love him. I hop into the driver's seat, starting up his truck, and pulling into traffic.