The Choice (28 page)

As I listen to the ringing in my ear, I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been.

She’s such a pain in my ass
. I think to myself as I roll my eyes, ignoring Drake’s chuckle.
What the hell is taking her so long? I swear. She really is the worst best friend ever
.  

“Hello?” she says quietly on the fourth ring.

“God, what took you so long? Were you humping your boyfriend again or something? Sheesh.”

“He’s my fiancé and if this is your way of apologizing, you really should rethink your strategy.”

“Well,” I start. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not calling to apologize, then.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Sophie says with a sigh as Drake shakes his head at me. “Well, if you just called to ask me about my sex life, it’s great. Thank you for your inquiry.”

“Wait!” I shout into the phone, knowing she’s about two seconds from hanging up on me. “Ugh! Fine! I’m sorry you got your feelings hurt!”

“Really Ana? T
hat’s the best you’ve got?” she responds. Although I know she’s trying her best to hide it, I can hear the smile in her voice.

“
Well, you’re not doing much better, Soph!” I tell her, exasperated as I throw my free hand up in frustration.

“Sorry you got your feelings hurt, drama queen.
Feel better?”

“You’re such a freaking brat,” I laugh. “Are we good
or what?”

“S
hut up,” she says quietly. “You know we are. We’re always good, Ana.”

“Thank God!” I say dramatically. “That was the longest week ever!”

“I know right?” she laughs, trying to hide her sniffles. “It’s Friday! What the hell took you so long to call me, you jerk?”

“You know, you could have called me,” I offer, immediately chiding myself for putting
all the blame back on her. “It was my turn though. Sorry I’m so dramatic.”

“It’s okay,” she says. “I should have called you before. Sorry I’m crazy.”

“It’s okay,” I smile, happy to be talking to her again. “So what’s new?”

“Not much,” she admits. “We’re just packing up to head to Camden tonight to see JT for his birthday. Y’all are still coming, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” I answer. “We may not get there until tomorrow though. Drake’s got some things to finish up for work. He’s been trying to get everything together for the Houston bid.”

When Chase had his accident, everything went on hold for a while. Now that he’s able to travel again, he and Drake have been working like crazy to get caught up on projects that had been pushed back.

“Okay,” she says. “Do you want to get breakfast in the morning when you get in?”

“Sure,” I agree, happy for the first time in days. “I’ll call you when we’re almost there.”

“Okay sounds good! Drive safe, I’ll see you then!”

“You, too,” I start. “
Soph?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“
I love you back.”

***

Letting out a deep breath of relief, I set my phone on the couch cushion beside me and lean my head back, finding blue eyes staring down at me.

“Feel better?” Chase asks me, a smile playing on his perfect lips.

“Yeah,” I confess
, loving the feel of his strong hands on my shoulders. “I hate fighting with her. It’s the worst! The only thing worse is fighting with you.”

“Ugh!” he groans. “Yeah, I ha
te it when we fight, too, Baby. You
are
hot when you’re mad, though.” His words cause me to roll my eyes and we both chuckle. “Are you almost ready to head out?”

“Sure!” I laugh, standing to get off the couch and smile at him. “I’ve just got to shower, get dressed, pack and call Lucy.”

“Hmm, so not ready at all, huh?” he grins, following me into our bedroom where I make a beeline for the closet.

“Nope,” I admit as I toss an overnight bag on the bed. “It won’t take me more than an hour, though. I
did
manage to get his birthday presents, so at least that’s taken care of.”

“What did you get him?”

“
We
,” I emphasize, making him smile. “Went bat shit crazy at the store,” I laugh as I toss jeans into the open bag. “He’s getting three boxes full of nothing but clothes, every Marvel action figure they had at the store and a swing set is being installed as we speak.”

“Holy shit, Sophie!” he says, his jaw dropping. When he sees the look on my face, he smirks. “You weren’t done were you?” Shaking my head guiltily, I can’t contain the smile I’m trying desperately to keep to myself. “Okay, what else?” he grins, folding his arms over his chest.

“Not that much,” I lie. “Just a new bike and then only other thing is just his usual present.”

“Uh huh and what is that?” he laughs.

I mumble my answer as I move past him to select a couple shirts, unsure of his reaction to my generous annual gift.

“What?” he asks. When I repeat in the same hushed mumble, he grabs my elbow and raises his eyebrow with a smirk I know he’s on to me. “Wow, Babe! Thi
s must be one hell of a present,” he muses. “Come on. Spit it out, Sophie. How much overtime am I going to need to work,” he teases.

“None!” I scoff playfully as I smack his arm. “I’ve already taken care of it.”

“I still don’t know what
it
is, Baby,” he reminds me as I turn the knobs on the shower to full blast.

Watching me carefully as I begin to pull my clothes off, Chase switches on his MP3 player before settling on ‘Miss Jackson’ by Panic!
At the Disco and tossing his own clothing into the hamper.

I step into the steamy shower, my eyes raking over his chest as Chase follows, causing me to bite down onto my lip.

“That lip won’t save you, Baby,” he growls, pressing his lips to my neck. “Just tell me.”

Releasing a breath, I rest my forehead against his chest as I finally tell him.

“Five thousand dollars,” I say, internally cringing as I wait for his response. Nothing he can say will change my decision on this, but I’m still unsure of his reaction.

“You’re giving a toddler five grand?” he shouts in shock, surprising us both.

“You know he’s not a toddler anymore, right?” I eye him curiously, amusement crossing my face.

“Really?” he says
, his face contorting in question as I lean my head under water with a chuckle. Shaking the thought away, he squirts shampoo into his giant palm and begins rubbing his hands together. Standing up straight to face him, my cheeks heat as I catch him unashamedly staring at my chest before his eyes find mine again and he winks. “Well,” he starts, working the shampoo into my hair. “I guess it’s none of my business, but why are you giving a five year old five thousand dollars?”

“For college,” I explain, taking a deep breath before meeting his gorgeous blues. “You know I have all that money from my Dad’s inheritance and what Jack left me.”

“Yeah,” he says softly, tipping my head back.

“Well,” I start. “I’ve never wanted any of it. With the exception of paying off Jack’s truck and helping my mom or Lucy here and there, it’s just been sitting in an account growing interest. Every year on JT’s birthday, though
, I withdraw five grand and deposit it into an account for him for college. Lucy can’t afford it and I don’t want him to ever worry about it. By the time he’s old enough, he’ll be able to go to any school he wants. His options will be limitless. He can have whatever life he chooses.” When I raise my head to face him, he’s staring at me, speechless. “You okay?” I laugh, nervously.

“You’re fucking perfect, Sophie,” he whispers. “I can’t believe someone so amazing is mine.”

Resting my palm on his cheek, I blush deeply at his words as he bends to press his lips to mine. His soft kiss leaves me dizzy, my head spinning as he rests his hand on the small of my back. When he pulls away from me, I can’t stop the slight whimper that escapes me.

“Better believe it, Baby,” I smile, resting my palms on his hard, wet chest as the water continues to spray us. “I’m yours and yours alone.”

“I love you,” he whispers, pressing his lips to my forehead.

“Oh, Chase,” I say, wrapping my arms around his perfectly
sculpted waist as I kiss the dip in his collarbone. “I love you, too, Baby. I love you so much.”

“Love you more,” he chuckles, kissing my hair as he pulls away and begins lathering body wash into his hands.

“That’s stupid,” I say drily, causing him to let out a belly laugh. “I creepy love you.”

“What is creepy love?”

“Like if you ever left me, I’d hide in your bushes and stalk you,” I confess.

“
You don’t think I creepy love you, Baby?” he asks, running his soap covered hands over my arms and stomach before bending down to wash my legs. “I’d stalk the shit out of your sexy ass.”

“Maybe,” I laugh. “We’d be the worst stalkers ever, though. We’d just be hanging out in the bushes looking at each other.”

“Oh, I bet we could find something to keep ourselves busy,” he chuckles huskily, propping my foot on the side of the tub before burying his face into my sex.

Not for the first time, I’m grateful for having a garage when I make my way out to load the truck. It’s absolutely freezing out here and I can hear the wind whipping through the trees outside as I get the heater running inside for Sophie.

After we get settled inside the warm cab, we head out to Camden, hand in hand. My girl rests her head on my shoulder, tracing the lines of the tattoos on my forearm lazily as we talk about nothing and everything. Occasionally, she’ll softly sing a line from what’s on the radio, press her lips against my wrist or bite me gently.

As
Alicia Keys’ cover for ‘If I Was Your Woman’ spills from the speakers, Sophie gasps in happiness.

“I love this song!” she groans dramatically, causing me to laugh.

“I remember,” I smile down at her, reaching over to raise the volume as I remember the first time I saw her. She had been stopped at a light, singing at the top of her lungs to this very song. “You gonna sing it for me?”

“Always,” she smiles, leaning her head on my arm again as she begins caressing each lyric with her angelic, soulful voice.

“Sing it for me, Baby!” I call out when she hits the hardest notes, causing her to falter slightly from her laughter.

She blows me away with her voice for the next two minutes, taking me back to the day I first saw her. I can’t believe how far we’ve come, how much we’ve been through.

“I can’t believe you remember the song,” she whispers at the end of the song, blush heating her cheeks.

“Of course
, I remember everything about that day,” I smile over at her, kissing her temple. “That was first time I ever saw you.”

“Well, yeah,” she agrees with
a small chuckle. “But at the light on Madison, I was just some girl, Chase.”

“Baby
,” I shake my head. “You’ve
never
been just ‘some girl’ to me. You’ve always been
the
girl… my girl,” I whisper, squeezing her hand. “It may have been the first time my eyes found you, but my heart’s known you all along. I’ll never forget the day at that light on Madison. That was the day my heart first started beating.”

“
Oh my God!” she whines, letting her head fall back against the seat. “Are you serious?”

“What?” I chuckle, glancing down at her
. “It’s true. I’ve loved you since the very first moment I saw you, Sophie.”

“Chase,” she says softly, gripping my arm to her chest and I hear her sniff her tears back. Rising up slightly, she kisses me chastely on the lips so not to take my attention from the road in front of us. “I love you,”
she says softly. “Forever and ever my heart is yours completely, my Sweet.”

Leaning against me again, she grips the hand I’ve left resting over her thigh and holds it tightly before biting my arm.  Blowing the stray hair from her eyes, she lets out a small sigh and grows quiet.

“You okay, Princess?” I chuckle as she wipes the tears from her cheeks.

“Yeah,” she breathes. “I think my ovaries just exploded,” she says seriously as she glances up at me, causing me to let out a loud laugh. “That shit was intense! I’m tearing you up later, Baby.”

***

As we pull onto the main road that will take me to the place I called home for so many years, I can barely contain my excitement. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing JT. Much to Chase’s amusement, I’m bouncing in my seat in anticipation at seeing him.

We’ve arrived a little later than we’
d hoped because of traffic. Although JT is still awake, it’s nearly dark outside and his bedtime isn’t far off. I selfishly couldn’t wait, though, so we’re driving straight to him before we check in to our hotel.

Making our way down the long, gravel driveway, the porch light illuminates the house just enough that I can see my favorite little face pressed against the front window. When he sees us, my heart soars as he begins jumping in place before running towards the door. Before he even gets it open, I’m launching out of the passenger side to meet him.

“Aunt Sophie’s here! Aunt Sophie’s here!” I hear him yelling excitedly as Chase shuts the truck off. “My Aunt Sophie is here for my birthday!”

The second Lucy opens the door, he’s running down the steps and into my arms, hitting me like a ton of bricks.

“Oh my goodness,” I say, holding him close as tears of joy threaten. “I missed you so stinking much, my beautiful, silly, handsome boy! Let me see your cheeks so I can kiss them off!” Pulling away with a giggle, he returns my beam as I shower him with kisses. “Oh you’re getting so big, my Sweet Pea! I love you so much!”

“I love you so much
, too, Aunt Sophie,” he says. “Where is my Uncle Chase?”

“Aw,” I melt at his words, pulling him closer to my chest. “He’s getting out of the truck.”

JT’s eyes wander to Chase’s side of the truck and as soon as he sees my love making his way over, he begins clapping in excitement.

“
My Uncle Chase is here for my birthday!” he cheers enthusiastically, causing us to laugh.

“Hey, Little Man!” Chase beams at him, bending to lift JT when he runs over to him.

JT hooks his little arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely and causing my eyes to tear up.

“Hey!” he says back, laughing as Chase tickles his belly and they make their way over to me.

“Have you been good?” Chase asks.

“Yep!”
he promises confidently. “Did you bring me presents?”

“JT!” I chide him, Chase and I both laughing. “That’
s impolite!”

“I’m sorry,” he says quickly to me before leaning into Chase’s ear and whispering. “Did you bring me presents? I won’t tell.”

“You trying to get me into trouble, kid?” Chase chuckles as we make our way to the front door where Lucy’s waiting inside.

Pushing it open, I see her coming around the corner
with a smile on her face. She pulls me into her arms, hugging me hard.

“Hey Baby Girl,” she says quietly as she pulls away from me. “Don’t scare me like that again!”

Being that this is the first time I’ve seen her since I was attacked in the parking lot at Logan’s, I know exactly what she means and I nod.

“Hi Lucy,” Chase says, smiling politely at her.

“Hello Chase,” she returns his smile, giving him a respectful, sideways hug. “Thanks for taking care of my girl.”

“My pleasure,” he smiles down at me, shooting me a wink
as he pulls me to his side.

“Have y’all eaten?” she asks and we both shake our head.

“No,” I answer. “We’re fine though. We actually aren’t staying long tonight. Chase worked all day and is beat. We’re going to check in to the hotel, we just couldn’t wait to see JT until morning,” I admit with a laugh.

“He’s been climbing
the walls all day waiting for you,” she smiles. “I’m so glad you could make it for his party!”

“I wouldn’t miss it, Luce,” I smile, watching JT as he climbs onto the big couch in front of the television.

“Aunt Sophie,” he calls, rubbing his eyes. “Would you come and sit with me?”

“Of course,” I tell him immediately. I pull my jacket off, l
aying it over the arm of the couch and settling in beside him, smiling when he climbs onto my lap.

“What’s that?” JT asks as he spots my engagement ring when Lucy walks into the kitchen to grab us some sweet tea.

“Shh!” I tell him quietly, shooting Chase a wink. “It’s a secret!”

Since we’d come for
JT’s party and didn’t want any attention to be taken from his day, we’d agreed to wait until it was over to tell everyone we’d gotten engaged.

JT’s smile at knowing a secret before anyone else makes me laugh loudly before clamping my hand over my mouth.

“What are you two in there laughing at?” Lucy says with a smile as she comes back in, handing us our tea.

“Can’t tell
ya,” JT says proudly. “Aunt Sophie said it’s a secret!”

“Smooth Little Man,” Chase belly laughs, giving JT a fist bump.

“Oh!” Lucy gasps, throwing her hands over her mouth in excitement. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

“What?” I say, shocked that she’d immediately make such a j
ump. “No, I’m not pregnant, Lucy! Good Lord!”

“Sorry,
Soph,” she blushes, embarrassed. “You look great!”

“Oh shut up!” I roll my eyes at her, playfully smacking Chase when he laughs. “Y’all are both being real…” glancing down to see JT listening intently, I catch my near slip. “Meanies,” I chuckle, sticking my tongue out at them both.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Lucy,” Chase says, smiling at me as I take a sip from my tea. “Maybe next time we stop by.”

Choking on my drink
, they both erupt in laughter as I right myself.

After we visit for a few more minutes, JT begins rubbing his little fists over his eyes and lets out a big yawn.

“Are you getting sleepy, Baby Boy?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he
says, resting his head against my chest before playing with the bottom of my braid. “Would you sing to me?”

“Always, my Love,” I say, kissing him on the forehead before taking his hand and leading him into his room, the room Jack and I had shared.

After getting him settled, I lie down next to him over the covers and begin singing our song to him softly.

“Aunt Sophie,” he interrupts me in his small voice.

“Yeah?”

“Is my Uncle Jack still my uncle?”

“Of course,” I answer him, my voice cracking. “Uncle Jack will always your uncle.”

“But he doesn’t live here with us anymore,” he says as his brow crinkles in concern. “Can he still be my Uncle Jack in Heaven?”

“Yes, Baby,” I whisper, pressing my lips to his forehead. “No matter what happens, he’ll always be your Uncle Jack, I’ll always be your Aunt Sophie,
your mama will always be your mama. Just because sometimes people have to go be in Heaven doesn’t mean they stop loving you or being part of your life. Okay?”

Considering this, JT eventually gives me a small smile and nods.

“Okay good,” he says. “Because I still love my Uncle Jack.”

“Your Uncle Jack still loves you, too, Sweet Pea. He always will. I promise.”

“I love you, Aunt Sophie.”

“I love you, too, Sweet Pea
. I love you so much!” I say, watching him as his yawn overtakes his face again.

R
esuming the makeshift lullaby, I begin rubbing the pad of my thumb over his eyebrow like my Daddy always did for me when I was young. In minutes, he’s fast asleep.

Sneaking out silently, I pull his door mostly shut and turn to find Chase and Lucy sitting on opposite ends of the couch.
They both look up from the television, Chase smiling sweetly at me as Lucy looks at me nervously.

“You okay
?” I ask, taking in her expression.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, nodding quickly.

“Are you sure?” I ask, arching my eyebrow at her guilty expression. “Is there something you want to tell me, Lucy?”

“No,” she answers immediately. “I swear I didn’t do anything! You scared the shit out of me last time!”

“Okay,” I say, stifling a laugh as I settle onto Chase’s lap and face her as she looks at me nervously. “Stop being weird, Luce. How are things? Are you still going to your meetings?”

“Yeah,” she says, visually settling. “I’m doing okay. It’s really hard, but I’m trying my best. I haven’t had a drink in one hundred and ten days,” she says proudly.

“Oh! My God, Lucy! That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!” I say, freeing myself from Chase’s grasp to pull her to my chest.

“Thanks, Sophie,” she says, looking at me with tears in her eyes. “I couldn’
t have done it without you, you know.”

“Luce,” I say, shaking my head as I beam at her with pride. “Don’t sell yourself short, Honey. The only things you need to do this are behind that door,” I nod towards where JT is sleeping. “And right here,” I say pressing her hand to her chest over her heart. “I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

“Thank you,” she starts as a gentle sob racks through her chest. “It’s so hard. Sometimes when I get stressed out, I want to hit the bar so bad, you know?” I nod my understanding without interrupting her. “I just can barely stand it some days, but then I think about what you said to me that day that you took JT. You were right,” she says, giving me a teary smile. “He deserves more than that from me. It’s hard, but he’s worth the struggle.”

“Yes, he is,” I agree, squeezing her hand. “And so are you, Lucy. Don’t give up. If you ever need to talk or you need me to take care of JT, I’m always here for you both, you know that.”

“Thank you,” she sniffs, hugging me and resting her head against my shoulder.

“Always,” I promise her.

“Do you have a second?” she asks, pulling away. “I need you to sign something for me. Well, for JT, too.”

“What is it?” I ask curiously.

“Come here,” she says, grabbing my hand and leading me into the kitchen.

“Be right back,” I tell Chase, watching as he gives me a smile.

I sit at the kitchen table as she digs into a small file folder. Finally pulling out paperwork and thumbing through it, she sits down beside me.

“Do you remember when I asked you and Jack to be JT’s Godparents?” she asks.

“Of course,” I say.

“Well, I started thinking about things after…” she says, squeezing my hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Sophie.”

Taking a moment to compose herself she takes a deep breath and continues.

“Anyway, I decided we were long overdue for paperwork on all of this. Although we both know that if something should happen to me, I want you to take JT,” she explains. “It won’t stand up in court without paperwork. I had a lawyer put this together for me. Once you sign this, you’ll be JT’s legal guardian should anything happen to me.”

“Lucy, I’m honored,” I tell her honestly. “And hopefully we’ll never need this, but I’m proud of you for thinking of it.”

“Nobody else in this whole world loves that boy like you do,” she says. “If the good Lord takes me before he’s grown, there’s no one else I’d trust to be his momma.”

Speechless, I move my hand to my heart and hug her to me tightly.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I take a few minutes to read over the paperwork she’s given me. Halfway through, I look up at her in surprise.

“Lucy, I think there’s a mistake here,”
I start. “It says here that if you’re put back in rehab, you want me to name me his guardian. That doesn’t sound right.”

“It’s right,” she says quietly. “Sophie, I’m working real hard to make sure that doesn’t happen
for a long time, but I know myself. This here is my last shot. When I fall off again, I’m not coming back. I don’t want him to grow up that way.”

Taking a deep breath, I nod my understanding and sign my name in the appropriate places. Handing them to Lucy, she pulls a duplicate copy from the file fo
lder and gives them to me for safe keeping, explaining her lawyer had a copy as well.

“Can y’all come a little early tomorrow? We need to get one more thing signed with a notary and your Aunt Deb agreed to do it for us,” she explains. “She doesn’t know what it is, but she said she’d get here beforehand.”

“Of course,” I promise. “We’ll be here right after breakfast, around ten thirty or so.”

“Thanks,” she says as I stand, pulling me in for a hug. “I love you, girl.”

“I love you, too,” I say with a yawn.

“Aw,” she starts. “I bet you two are beat. Go get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” I smile as I make my way to Chase. “You call me if you need me, you hear?”

“I will,” she says, shutting the door behind us.

Silently, I make my way to the truck and settle in close to Chase, desperately trying to warm myself.

“You okay, Baby?” he asks, running his hand over my thigh in an attempt to warm me.
I nod silently still stunned by the conversation I’ve just had with Lucy.

When I fall off again
,
she’d said. Not if, when.