Innocence (16 page)

He looked at her deeply worried.

“Yeah…I’m taking her. What bothers me more is that she hasn’t seen medical help since her last scan at twenty weeks. That’s not right is it?” he asked.

“No, she should be going for frequent check-ups, monthly. I suggest you take her as soon as possible,” his mum expressed.

“I could take her,” Ross voiced.

Calvin turned to scowl at him. “No, I wish to take her.”

He watched Ross look at his parents seeing his mum fixing her eyes on Ross, seeing terror in their eyes, clearly something else troubling them.

“Is something the matter that you’re not telling me about?” Calvin asked, baffled. He watched them all stare at one another and grimace as though they had something to hide.

“What?” Calvin asked, suffering with tightness in his chest, something wasn’t right. The atmosphere went cold and he shivered throughout his body. The tension crucified his heart…there was certainly disturbing them all.

“Ross,” Calvin said, eager to know what was going on.

Ross gaped at Calvin sensing a bad hunch.

“I went to see Kacey to fill in the housing form,” he said, holding the form in his hand and stepped forward to place it on the island.

Calvin stared at it.

“And?” he asked miffed.

“Calvin, Kacey isn’t her real name. I suspected I had seen her before, but I was not certain, and you recall how she wouldn’t mention her parents and where she was educated,” Ross told him.

“Yeah so, and what are you talking about, of course that is her name,” Calvin objected.

“No, it's not her real name, well it is, but not her first. It’s not the name you knew, and neither myself, that was why I got confused. The girl has been lying…well, kind-of.”

“Ross, you aren’t making sense at all,” he said puzzled.

“When you introduced her I knew I had seen her before, but I couldn’t think where from and this clarified it, I’m amazed you didn’t recognise her,” Ross said.

Calvin watched Ross turn his attention back to the form.

Calvin glanced at his parents, not having the foggiest what Ross was talking about. He shook his head from side-to-side, feeling a dive at something but what he had no idea. He stared at his father who lifted his brow.

“Look at the form, Calvin,” Ross ordered him.

Calvin could not say anything, tongue tied, dreading what he was about to discover. His heart inside his chest beat fast, his breathing almost stopped and his tummy ached like never before. He took a few steps closer to the counter noticing everyone watching him. He chewed his lower lip, not liking the audience he had, but what had he to fear? He didn’t understand why she would use a different name, confused, and he had thought he’d seen her before, at least had questioned himself whether he’d seen her before but just not sure where. He longed to understand what his best friend was telling him.

He inhaled a deep breath followed by picking up the form and started reading.

First Name— Sophie Kacey      

Surname— Richards

Calvin read the paper a few times, confused.

“Do you remember her saying how she left the village when she was sixteen?”

“Yeah!” he said. He gasped. He lifted his hand and pressed it to his mouth, while frowning, trying to work it out in his head. Then in sheer horror, he remembered. He froze. His heart shut down. “Fucking hell, it’s her…it’s her,” he said his voice rising. He stared at Ross. “Oh my God, no…no…holy fuck,” he said, pressing his hand firmly onto mouth in sheer shock. His legs weakened. His chest tightened preventing him from inhaling or exhaling, choked, unable to understand. He stared incredulity at the form, trying hard to get his head around what he read.
It cannot be, it cannot be her, no never, and there has to be a massive mistake. No, fucking hell no!

He could hear voices but all distant. His mind was overrun with reading the form. Paralyzed unable to think clear, shaking frantically, needing something to kick start him.

He couldn’t bring himself to take his eyes of the form. His eyes filled with a blanket of cloud, his body became cold, scared and anxious, just needing vital minutes to understand. He had to understand and see his mind was playing tricks on him.
It’s all a sick joke, it has to be.
He tried picturing Kacey in his head trying to identify her from all those years ago. The truth was he couldn’t, things were vague, yes over the years he had thought about her, wondered what happened to her, and now…now…

“Calvin...” his mum said.

“No, there has to be a mistake…she is lying to us…” he said uncontrollably shaking the piece of paper. There was a mistake, he would rest his life on it.

“Calvin she is Sophie Richards,” Ross told him.

Calvin froze to the spot, just hearing her name repeated in his head sent his world spiralling out of control. His inner soul wrenching, scratching his head puzzled.

His heart and mind weren’t focused, his mouth dry. Still he held the form, still looking at her name, reading it over and over again.
The girl I fell in love with left the village…so did Kacey at the same age. Sophie lived in the village, Kacey said she lived close by…Sophie went to an all girl’s school, Kacey never stipulated….she was playing me a fool a damn fool. Did she know who I was?
He shook his head she couldn’t have.
It had been one night, one night only!

His heart sunk into the pit of his stomach, he gasped, he stared into mid-air, thinking back, thinking back to that night, the one night…it all occurred the same time…her past, Sophie disappearing and Kacey’s time of events, it was all tallying up…
It is her, she is Sophie Richards, his one true love, the girl he…
 

“Oh God, no she left the village because of me…” he distressed. The horror and fear took over, shadowing him with darkness. He could not stand the pain his heart skipped vital beats. “Please, no, it cannot be, there has to be a mistake?” he cried out at the top of his voice. When he could feel someone wrapping their arm around his shoulder, he glanced at the person through tearful eyes, his mum. Her warmth felt, only he couldn’t bring himself to force her off him. He loved her. She cared and loved him more than life itself. Her only son…her wonderful, glorious, well to do son, a man who did his parents proud…only now… “Oh God,” he sniffled.

“What is it, son?” his mum voiced.

He couldn’t answer her, he could not believe what he had just worked out,
there had to be a mistake, his heart unable to take the pain. The fact that…no please no…it cannot be!
“Oh no…please no,” he said, working it all out in his head.

He heard the conversation in his head him and Kacey had recalled telling him how she left the village due to her mum forcing her to have an abortion, after becoming pregnant…
God, no…that was my baby!

“Oh no,” he said, hand over his mouth trying to get his head around the information, not believing, not wishing what he had predicted to be true. His emotions overtook him in pure devastation. He could hardly breathe his chest so tight, torrents of tears streamed down his cheeks. His heart raced, mystified, an air of coldness surrounded him, sinking him into the unknown of darkness. Speechless, his palm across his mouth, trying to numb the pain the truth, the horror, mortified to the repercussions that occurred had all been his fault.    

Kacey’s fate had all been because of him, she took the journey of hell because of him. Her life spun out of control because of him. Her life a walking disaster, and spending nights on the streets, homeless, no money, was all his fault. He had created that route for her. He should have visited her after the event, he fucked up. While he had been living his life okay, wealthy, living the life of luxury, Sophie Richards suffered the last ten years because of what he had done and had no idea.

All her years of great misfortune, alone, no one caring for her, running away from home, security was because of him. It was his entire fault. She had suffered and still suffered from the consequences he placed on her, and now their paths had come together once more, under very different circumstances.

He broke down feeling her pain, the grief and all because of what he did all those years ago.

He made her pregnant.

* * * *

Nine years, nine months earlier

“Tonight is going to be the best, my friend,” Ross said hitting his shoulder.

“Damn right. Already guests are turning up and bringing plenty of booze. I was just wondering if you know if the girl from the village will be turning up,” he said holding his vodka and Coke.

“Ah, are you referring to the stunning, Richards’ daughter, Sophie?” Ross mocked.

“You know I am. I really fancy her and like my chances of getting close to her,” Calvin told him. He really wished for her to turn up so he could try and sneak away and share some time with her, getting to know her, maybe…just maybe the possibility of having some naughty fun. Now that she was finally sixteen due to overhearing his parents mentioning her birthday meal, they all attended. He had been invited only had been busy, gutted, but always felt there would be further opportunities for them to get together in the near future.

“She is so pretty and my parents know her parents pretty well, with all the local village activities they organize. Unfortunately I hardly get to see her, well not as much as I’d like to.” Calvin wagged his brows.

“You really are thinking dirty thoughts there, my good friend,” Ross said, slamming his arm against his shoulder again. “Now go and see to your guests and make sure you say
thank you for coming!
”

“Do you think she will come?” Calvin asked urgently, wanting her at his eighteenth party.

“I’m not sure, depends if she got the message about the party, but then I haven’t seen her appear at many parties in the area if any. Then I also haven’t seen her around the village very often.”

“Her mum is pretty strict, they don’t like her going out and hanging around with the wrong people apparently,” he said adding his fingers to interoperate. He sighed and cocked his head to the side.

“I can see why they would worry.” Ross chuckled.

“Very funny, mate. I am simply suggesting I would like her to come to my party.”

“Exactly
come
. I am not silly my good friend.”

“You’re far too sensible, and anyway you can talk. What about that girl last weekend?”

“I simply made sure she got home safe.”

“Yeah into bed,” Calvin scoffed.

Ross laughed.

“Do you think she’ll turn up, or do I need to go to the village to get her,” he said, meaning every word.

“Calvin, stop thinking about her and think about the guests who are here and enjoy.” Typical of Ross always being the voice of reason.

“Cheers, Ross. What would I do without you?” Calvin winked.

“Be lost,” he added and headed off in the opposite direction of the party.

Calvin started making his rounds of the guests some from the university and some old chums from secondary school. He had no idea how many of his friends would turn up, but the turnout appeared to be more than expected with friends bringing friends, doubling the guest list. Calvin came to the conclusion the more the merrier. The upstairs level of the hall was shut off, a serious agreement with his parents, they didn’t need any young hormonal women and men full of testosterone heading to the glamorous bedrooms and making a mess. His parents would never forgive him. After all, it took him a while to convince them to have the party. And then they are only down the lane sleeping at a friend’s house…well keeping a close eye on the hall.

He walked around finding some guests in the snooker and others in the media room where the music boomed making the walls vibrate and struggling to hear what anyone said. He necked the first few drinks, but decided to slow down not wishing to succumb to the paralytic and have a hangover from hell in the morning. The music continued to blare, and he joined in with a few girls having a dance. The girls grabbed his hands waving them high in the air, laughing and having a good time, one he would certainly say was flirting with him.

After a short while the sweat poured off him, and he felt a little giddy. He needed to get some air, cold water and slow down with the drink. He didn’t with to be a blithering wreck if Sophie showed up.

He stepped out the back door into the courtyard.
Wow, that fresh air feels bloody awesome!

He stepped further out into the courtyard with the warm summer air. The air was tight, no wind, and even though he was in a cool area as the sun went down over the stunning hills beyond the hall, it still felt like the middle of the day.

He could hear the music hammering from the media room and saw a guy and a girl snogging in the far corner. He hitched his brows aware such shenanigans would go on, he wasn’t that stupid, hell he lost his virginity a year ago to a girl who, well was his girlfriend, but moved away from York to Manchester ending the relationship of two months.