Forgiving You: A Switched Series Novella (The Switched Series Book 3) (2 page)

Maya

“What do you mean we have a problem?” Trent asks.

“I was almost out of town when Ava got really hungry. So I pulled over and we stopped at Ms. Betty’s to get some lunch. It was really crowded,” I say.

“Please say you didn’t see Jaxon,” Trent says, sounding almost suspicious.

“No, but his sister and future sister in law were there. Of course Ava found them first thing and started talking to them.”

“How did Molly not recognize you?” he asks.

“It wasn’t Molly. Apparently Molly isn’t really their daughter. She was switched at birth or something. I don’t know,” I say, thinking how I didn’t even know that was an actual thing that could happen.

“Are you serious? He has another sister.”

“Yep and this one looks exactly like them, exactly like Ava. She was actually pretty nice, given the circumstances. And she’s married to Ash,” I say, wondering if he knew anything about Ash getting married.

“Ash got married,” he says, sounding as surprised as I was.

“He did and they have twin newborns. Those babies couldn’t have been over a couple of months old. Anyway, Ava told them her name, then my name, and they definitely knew exactly who I was.”             

“Who else did you say was with her?” he asks calmly.

“Leighton something. I don’t remember. Soon to be Taylor, though, I definitely remember that. She is marrying Brody soon,” I say.

“Brody’s getting married too? Wow, things have definitely changed around there. I’m still not understanding the problem, Maya. Jaxon has never wanted anything to do with Ava. Why do you think he would want to now?” he asks.

“Because they said he didn’t know about her,” I say, hoping Ava isn’t picking up on anything I am talking about.

“I thought you sent him pictures of her when he wouldn’t talk to you.”

“I did, but apparently he has some other pictures of me, and he never looked at the ones I sent.”

“What kind of pictures?” he asks.

“Pictures of us,” I say, not wanting to say what we were doing in those pictures. I’m sure Ava wouldn’t have any idea what I was talking about, but I still don’t like talking about it with her in the car.

“Pictures of us, huh,” he says sounding distracted. “Are you on your way home?”

“I was, but now I am pulled over in a parking lot. I need to think about some stuff. I’m really confused right now. I don’t want to keep Ava from meeting some of her family. She has cousins. She needs them in her life,” I whisper over the phone. I grew up an only child and never had any cousins around. If it hadn’t been for Jaxon and the rest of the Taylors, I never would have known what a big family felt like. They were the best, until he cut me out of it.

“Baby, come home. We can talk about it when you get here. I don’t think you should go running back to him just because of what two strangers said.”

“I know, I’m just tired and confused. It’s really late now anyway, what’s one more night?” I say.

“Maya, it’s not that late and I don’t mean to sound rude, but just because he saw a picture of us in bed together that had to be fake, doesn’t mean he should have not looked at what you sent him. It’s his fault he didn’t know about Ava,” he says, sounding angry.

“I know, you’re right. I am pulling out now and we will be home in a few hours,” I say, trying to keep my cool.

“Okay baby, come by when you get back. I have really missed the two of you,” he says before hanging up.

I have no idea what is happening right now. Trent has been my best friend for the past five years. I know he has always wanted more, but I haven’t. I know he is getting tired of me not returning his feelings, but the truth is I lost my heart a long time ago and I never fully got it back.

I know Trent is a great guy, he was with me when I had Ava, he has been with me through all of her firsts, but now……I don’t know what to think because I know for a fact I didn’t mention what was in those pictures………but he did. I know one thing, I can’t go back home tonight, not yet.

I pull the folded up napkin out of my purse and can’t believe I am actually about to do this. I turn around to look at Ava who is just looking out the window. This may be the biggest mistake of my life, but right now I need to keep Ava safe and for the first time in almost five years, I’m not sure Trent is the one who can help me do that.

I take out my phone and dial the number she scribbled on the napkin. It rings three times before a woman answers.

“Hello,” she says.

“Hey, is this Callie?” I ask.

“This is Callie, who is this?”

“It’s Maya. I think I need your help. Is there somewhere I can meet you maybe, not with Jaxon? I know it sounds bad, but I just need to talk to someone and it can’t be him, not yet,” I say, praying she will keep her word.

“Of course, we just got home. Do you want to come by? I promise Jaxon isn’t here,” she says, sounding sincere.

“That sounds great. What is your address?” I ask, hoping I haven’t just made the biggest mistake of my life.

I pull up to the address she gave me and realize it’s the same place Ash has always lived. I think Brody may have lived with him at one time, but I’m guessing he has moved out by now. There are three vehicles in the drive, and I am hoping one is not Jaxon’s.

I get out of the car and grab Ava out of the backseat. I can’t believe I am doing this.

“Mommy, where are we?” she asks, yawning.

“Do you remember the nice girls we had lunch with? This is Callie’s house. We are going to visit for a little while,” I say, hoping she doesn’t throw a fit while we are here. She adores Trent and is probably ready to go see him.

I grab her in my arms and hold on tight to her before heading up the steps. I’m about to knock on the door when it opens and Callie is standing there with the biggest smile on her face. “I am so glad you called. Hi Ava, how are you?” she asks, looking at her like she is the greatest thing in the world. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Ava smiles at her and actually reaches her arms out to her.

Callie looks at me surprised before reaching out her hands and taking Ava in her arms. Callie looks up at me and smiles before holding onto Ava as tight as I was walking up here. “Thank you,” she mouths. I nod my head at her and walk inside after her. As soon as I look up, I want to turn around and run. I am staring at the most unfriendly eyes I have seen in a long time, Brody Taylor’s eyes.

“Be nice,” I hear Callie whisper to him.

“Maya, long time no see,” he says to me.

“Hi Brody,” I say. “Anybody else here I need to know about?” I ask.

“Just Leighton and Ash,” Callie says right before Ash walks into the room.

“Hi Maya,” he says. “This must be Ava. It’s nice to meet you,” he says walking over and running his hands over her head. I don’t know what has happened to him, but this is definitely not the Ash I know.

“Can I go see your babies?” Ava asks, finally raising her head up from Callie’s shoulder.

“You sure can,” she says smiling at her. “Leighton, will you take Ava to see the girls?”

“Sure.” They have a ton of toys to only be two months old,” she says, taking Ava from Callie. “We’ll be in the nursery,” she says, walking by me. I nod my head at her and try to smile, but I’m pretty sure it was more of a grimace.

“So, where have you been for the last five years?” Brody asks, breaking the ice.

“Atlanta,” I reply quietly. “I tried to tell him.”

“I know,” Brody says surprising me. “Of course, we only found out this afternoon.”

“He really didn’t know?” I ask.

“No, the envelope was still sealed. He opened it this afternoon and found out he has a daughter. Of course, he’s not sure she’s his,” Brody adds.

“Brody,” Callie says quickly.

“I would never cheat on him,” I say, feeling the tears building in my eyes. What a mess I am in now.

“Can you explain the pictures?” Brody asks me. I take a deep breath.

“I didn’t know about the pictures until this afternoon. He never asked me about those. But, I think I may know who sent them. That’s why I’m here. I need help and my first priority will always be keeping Ava safe.”

“Who sent the pictures, Maya?” Brody asks.

“Trent, but I really have no idea how he got them. I never slept with him,” I say, before the dam breaks and I can’t stop the tears from streaming down my face.

“Why do you think Trent sent them?” he asks. That’s definitely the million dollar question. Why would Trent send them? I don’t know that he did, but I do know that he knew about them. So either he sent them or Jaxon told him about them and he never told me. Either way, I’m not sure who I can trust anymore.

“It’s a long story and as much as I’m not ready for this, I need Jaxon to be here. I’m only saying it once, but I also need some answers.”

“I can call Jaxon to come over and we can leave and let you two talk,” Callie suggests.

“Y’all can stay. I need someone in my corner, and right now that someone has to be you. I know you don’t know me, but I know you will do anything to have Ava in your life considering the circumstances that brought you here. Y’all already know everything anyway,” I say. Mostly because I am scared of how I am going to react when I see Jaxon, the only man I have ever loved, the only man I will ever love, and never be able to have. “I don’t want Ava here though. I know he has a right to meet her and he will, but right now, I need her to be safe, and I don’t want her to hear any of this.”

“What if Leighton takes her to my parents? We don’t have to tell them what’s going on, or who she is. They won’t mind,” Brody says. I nod my head because I know she will be safe with them.

“Okay,” I whisper.

“I’ll go talk to Leighton,” Brody says, walking out of the room.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Ash asks quietly. That’s a good question, too. I don’t think I’m in any trouble, but I also didn’t think Trent would ever hurt me or keep anything from me, so now I am just really confused.

“I don’t think so,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m just really confused and I’m not quite sure what has been going on. It’s a long story and I’m pretty sure Jaxon isn’t going to like it.” They both look at me with pity and nod their heads at me. Great, now they feel sorry for me. I guess that’s okay, since I kind of feel sorry for me too right now.

Brody and Leighton come back into the room with Ava and Callie’s girls. I hope Ava doesn’t throw a fit about going with her. I can’t believe I am about to send her to Bo and Cindy’s house, my in-laws, but I know if I’m going to get everything out in the open tonight, I don’t need her here to overhear anything.

“Hi, baby girl,” I say to Ava. “I need you to go with Leighton for a few minutes, okay.” I say, squatting down to look her in the eyes.

“Why, mommy?” she asks quietly.

“I just need to take care of some adult stuff. She is going to take you to see Callie’s parents for a little while. They are really nice and I know you will love them. They have dogs and horses and lots of other stuff. I will come get you in a little while.”

“Okay,” she says turning around to look at Callie. “Are they coming, too?” she asks, pointing at the babies.

“They sure are, so you will have sit between them in the car and take care of them, can you do that?” Leighton asks smiling.

“Yay!!!” she says, clapping her hands.

“Thanks for doing this. Can I have your number in case I need to drive you crazy with texts checking up on her?”

“Of course, Brody give it to her while Callie and I put the girls in their seats,” Leighton says. Brody gives the baby he has in his hands to Callie and they walk outside to load the babies. Brody grabs my phone and starts typing into it before I can grab it from him. I really hope he’s not seeing my last phone call was to Trent just a few minutes ago.

“I’ll take her out and grab her booster out of my car,” I say, grabbing Ava’s hand and taking her outside.

After the kids are all loaded, I am standing here with Callie watching my baby girl drive off with some girl I met a few hours ago. What am I doing here? We turn around and walk in silence back inside the house.

As soon as we hit the living room where Brody and Ash are sitting, Brody stands up and hands me my phone.

“Anything you need to tell us?” he asks. I shake my head at him, knowing he did in fact see who I just talked to before coming over here.

“It’s not what you think. He’s a friend, my only friend for the past five years. I’ll explain everything, but I think Jaxon needs to be here.”

“I’ll call him now,” Brody says, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

Jaxon

“So they really are real?” I ask again.

“They are definitely real. I’m sorry man. I wish I could help you more. I can run the prints on them and see if anything comes up, but that old, even keeping them safe in the envelope, I can’t make any promises,” our forensics guys tells me.

“Run the prints. At least I can say I tried. Thanks man for doing this and keeping it on the down low,” I say.

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything else,” he adds before heading back to the lab.

“You ready to head back home?” Collin asks, while we are walking back to the truck. Am I ready to go home? I have no idea what I want to do right now. Maybe I need to go find a bar and get into a good old fashioned fight. It’s been so long since I have punched somebody, which would probably be the one thing that would make me feel better.

I’m about to turn on a street that would probably be the worst place I could possibly go, as pissed off as I am feeling right now, when my phone starts ringing. I pull it out and see that it’s Brody.

“Hey man, I’m fine,” I answer. I know Callie is probably the one that put him up to calling me. That girl has been such a mother hen since coming into our lives a little over a year and a half ago. She has some crazy idea that she needs to keep her nose in all our lives and make sure we are all always perfectly happy.

“Where are you?”

“Nashville, why?” I ask. He is sounding very off and very nervous right now and I have a really bad feeling in my gut that I know why.

“Can you come back to town and head over to Callie and Ash’s?” he asks quietly and calmly. Something is definitely up with him.

“Sure man, what’s going on? If Callie put you up to this, tell her I’ll be fine and I will even come by and see her in the morning. It will be at least an hour before I can make it home, and that would be flying there.”

“Fly here then. You are definitely going to want to stop by,” he says.

“What’s going on, man?” I ask again.

“Maya is here. She wants to talk to you. Just get here as soon as you can. We’ll be waiting,” he says calmly. When I don’t reply, I guess he takes my silence as an okay and hangs up on me.

“What’s going on?” Collin asks.

“Maya is at Callie’s. She wants to talk,” I say, still feeling shocked.

“Let’s go meet you daughter then,” he says, trying to make me feel better. For some reason, I just feel dread. If those pictures are real, then how do I really know that little girl is mine? I guess there is only one way to find out.

I turn my truck around and head back toward our home town. I punch the gas and pray I can get there before she changes her mind and runs from me.

A little over an hour later, I finally pull up to Ash and Callie’s house. Collin opens the door and hops out of the truck while I just sit back and stare at the front door. I want to go in there, and I want to grab Maya, and I want to meet my daughter, at least one part of me does. The other part of me wants to run in there grab Maya by the neck and demand to know what the hell has been so important the past five years that she couldn’t have shown up on my doorstep sooner with my daughter.

I finally force myself to get out of the truck and head up the steps to face my past. I walk up the front steps and open the front door to find Callie standing there.

“Hey,” she says quietly. “She’s in the living room.” I smile and nod my head at her before pulling her into my arms and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Thanks for being you and getting her here,” I whisper. “Do you really think she’s mine?” I ask quietly. I had completely given up on the idea of ever having kids. If I couldn’t have them with Maya, there was no one that would ever be good enough in my eyes.

“Yes, I think she’s yours. Just so you know, Ava’s not here.”

“What do you mean, she’s not here?” I ask, starting to get mad. How can she show up here and still keep my daughter from me?

“Maya said she needed to talk and explain some stuff and she didn’t want Ava to hear any of it. Leighton took all the kids to mom and dads,” she says. I don’t know if Callie realizes what she said or not, but that is the first time she has referred to my parents as mom and dad. I’ll have to remember to tell them about that. I’m starting to understand what that would mean to them. “I think she may be in some kind of trouble. I don’t know what’s going on, but she has a serious obsession about keeping Ava safe and she says that’s why she came back.” Great, what has Maya done now? I need to ask why she thinks Maya is in some kind of trouble, but a movement at the doorway keeps me from saying anything. I look up and straight into eyes that I never thought I would see again, but have imagined every day.

“Hi,” Maya whispers.

“I’ll be in the living room,” Callie says, walking out of the room. I completely ignore her and continue staring into the most gorgeous green eyes I have ever seen, eyes that I used to get lost in daily. I have imagined this day every day for the past five years. What I would do, what I would say if I ever got the chance to confront her about what she did. I know I should have asked a long time ago, but I was so hurt, I just wanted her gone and because of that decision I have missed out on so much of my daughter’s life. That little bit of anger is the only thing stopping me from running straight to Maya, pulling her in my arms and pretending the last five years never happened, especially when I see the tears pooled in those eyes and watch them spill over onto her cheeks.

“Hi,” I whisper back. “Are you in some kind of trouble?” I watch her eyebrows scrunch up while she gives serious thought my question.

“I don’t know yet. I have some questions and I need to tell you where I’ve been the last five years,” she says.

“Then I get to meet my daughter,” I say, knowing it sounds more like a question than I meant for it to.

“Of course, I never wanted to keep her away from you. I want all of you to be a part of her life or I wouldn’t be here, but it’s complicated and you’re not going to like it and I am sorry for that, but I was alone and scared and I was having a baby. I did what I had to do in order to survive,” she says, with more tears falling. What has she been up to the last five years? Whatever it is, I know I’m not going to like it, but I also know it’s all my fault.

I can’t stop myself this time when I walk over to her and pull her into my arms. I know I should be mad, at me and at her, but right now I just want to hold the woman I have always loved more than anything in this world. I walk over and pull her to me. I feel her stiffen briefly before she throws her arms around my waist and starts sobbing into my chest, breaking what little was left, of my heart.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, pulling back away from me. “We need to talk. I want them to hear too. No secrets and honestly I’m not sure what’s going to happen after tonight, but I need to make sure Ava is safe.” I keep wondering why she doesn’t seem to think Ava is safe here. What has Maya been up to?

“Let’s go talk,” I say, leading her into the living room.

We walk into the living room to find Brody, Ash, and Callie sitting on the couch quietly talking to each other. Callie looks up and smiles at Maya, making me so thankful she came into our lives. Maya walks over to sit in the chair across from them and I sit on the other couch with Collin.

“I have a question,” Maya says, starting this long overdue conversation. I look at her and nod.

“Did you tell anyone about those pictures?” I want to ask her what pictures. Now that I know there were two sets and they were completely different. From her expression, I’m assuming she is talking about the first set.

“My family, no one else knows about them though,” I say calmly.

“Did you tell Trent about them?” she asks, not looking me in the eyes.

“No,” I reply.

“Are you sure, it’s important.” I’m starting to get angry now. Why would she want to talk about Trent? He’s the reason for all of this.

“I’m sure. I remember that day very well,” I say through gritted teeth.

“So you didn’t confront either of us. You took for granted that the pictures you saw were real. They weren’t, I never cheated on you,” she says, with tears streaming down her face.

“The pictures are real. I had them checked today. They are legit,” I say watching her close. “And I did confront him, if that’s what you want to call it. I found him that night. I beat the crap out of him and I haven’t seen him since. I figured he knew why I was doing it without me describing the pictures to him.”

“That’s impossible,” she whispers, before sobbing again. “I don’t understand.” It’s killing me not going over to comfort her, but something is off. I am trained to figure out when people are lying, and while I actually believe her right now, there’s still something way off. “Can I see them?” she whispers.

“I don’t have them. I left them at the lab to see if they could get prints off of them. I want to know who sent them,” I say.

“I think I already know,” she says, finally looking me in the eyes.

“Who?” She shakes her head at me.

“I need to tell you about what I have been doing the last five years first and you aren’t going to like it,” she says. Wiping her eyes one more time, she turns and starts telling me a story, a story I have always dreaded hearing, a story that makes me want to hunt that man down and kill him this time, a story that completely shatters my heart.