Waiting for Him (Waiting Series Book 3) (7 page)

      “Aiden, that’s enough.” He says, his voice raised. “What the fuck is wrong with you? This is your little sister that you’re talking down to. What gives you the right to judge Shelby for something that happened between her and someone she loves? I think it’s time for you to get the hell out of here and don’t come back until you can be a supportive older brother.” Aiden looks back and forth between Greyson and me before throwing his roller down on the protective layer of plastic we’ve spread out across the floor. He storms by me and a few seconds later I hear the echoing slam of the front door. I glance over at Greyson, and he looks angry. He places his roller gently down in the paint tray and walks over to me. He pulls me into his arms and rests my head against his bulky chest. He towers over me and he’s so enormous, I feel like a shrunken down version of myself. He rubs my back soothingly.

      “I’m sorry Aiden is such a dick. I don’t know why he acts like that. It makes it difficult to want to be around him. You don’t have anything to be ashamed of Seashell. I know you love Jeff and I know you’ve never gotten over Garrett. It’s okay to have feelings for two people. It will all work itself out in the end.”
I sure hope so…

Chapter Eleven

Jeff

      It’s been a couple of weeks since I saw Shelby. When I left our apartment after coming clean about the past, yes I’m still calling it ours, I had every intention of spending as much time with her as possible. When I arrived back at Lee’s apartment, he asked me what was going on and I briefly filled him in on what had happened and my plan to woo Shelby back into my arms. Lee wasn’t sure if this was a good idea.

      “Don’t you think that some time apart will do you both some good? Maybe the absence will make her miss you more?”

      “I don’t know Lee. What if that makes her miss me less?” I scratch my chin as I contemplate what he’s said. The idea isn’t without merit. She’s angry with me right now and it would probably be in my best interest to give her some space to cool down. I decide to give her another week and then I’m going to make plans with her.

      “Either way, you’ll know where she stands. Maybe she’ll want to be with you, maybe not, but wouldn’t you like to know one way or the other?” I slowly nod my head in agreement.

      “Yeah, you’re right.”

      As the week apart was winding down to the finish, I was planning on seeing if Shelby would be willing to go to dinner with me the next night. I called her and got her voicemail, so I left her a message to call me back. Later that same day I received an unexpected phone call and it wasn’t from Shelby. The University of Florida contacted me and asked me if I’d be interested in going down there for a job interview. The position they want me for is head trainer for their football team and the salary would almost double from what Beacon University is currently paying me. I agreed to fly down there and remain for a few days so that we could see if this job would be a good fit for me. Mark James the head football coach mentioned that he hadn’t spoken to anyone else about interviewing. He said he wanted me for the position and if I decided it was something I wasn’t interested in, then he would have to find another candidate.

      I ended up flying down to Florida on Sunday and staying until Wednesday. The interview process went amazingly well and I really want to accept this job. The only thing that prevented me from giving them an emphatic yes on the spot was Shelby. I have to discuss this with her and see if I can convince her to move to Florida with me. I don’t think our conversation will go how I’m hoping, but I have to give it my best shot. I really want this job and I want her to come with me.

      It’s now Saturday night and it’s been just about two weeks since Shelby and I were last together. I made plans to bring dinner over so we can talk and I’m currently standing outside her door, waiting for her to open it. My arms are loaded up with two large pizzas, two bottles of root beer and a bag of potato chips, so I can’t hug her when she opens the door. I carry it all into the kitchen and place everything down on the counter. I turn around and pull Shelby into my arms. I think I took her by surprise because she let out this tiny adorable squeak. I smile down at her.

      “Hey, I missed you,” I tell her as I caress the back of her head. Her cheek is on my chest and her eyes are closed as if she’s savoring this moment.

      “I missed you too.” She rests her chin on my chest and looks up at me. I lean down and lightly brush my lips against hers, but as I move to deepen the kiss Shelby pulls back.

      “I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “I don’t think that us kissing is a good idea. It will only cloud things and we have a lot of baggage already without adding to it.” I nod my head in agreement.

      “I understand, and I can respect that. It was just a natural reflex to want to kiss you. I always want to kiss you, Shelby, but I’m sure you must know that by now.”

      “It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you, Jeff, I just think it wouldn't be a smart thing to do. Let’s sit at the table and eat. We can come back to this topic later if you want to.” She opens the pantry and takes out some paper plates and napkins. She places them down on the counter next to the pizza and we fill our plates before sitting down. We eat mostly in silence and I pay close attention to how much food she’s consuming. Hailey told Cory, and he passed the information along to me, that the doctor was concerned with her lack of weight gain. She seems to be taking what he said to heart because she eats three slices of pizza, some chips and two glasses of root beer.

      After dinner, we settle on the couch and I know it’s time that I tell Shelby about my trip to Florida.

      “After the last time I came over I had every intention of seeing you that week, but I got a phone call from the University of Florida and they wanted me to fly down there and interview for their head trainer’s job. I went down there for four days and they offered me the job. The salary is amazing. It’s basically double what I’m making at Beacon, and I’d be the head trainer for the football team only. I’d have to travel with them to their away games, but I’d only be traveling during football season, so it wouldn’t be too bad.

      “Wow, that’s amazing. So what are you going to do?” I notice the furrow in her brow and wonder what she’s going to say to my idea.

      “I really want to accept the position. It’s my dream job and how great would it be if we didn’t have to deal with winter anymore? What do you think? Would you be willing to move down there with me?” Shelby gazes at me and I know there’s a whole lot going on in her head right now. She doesn’t like to make snap decisions. She prefers to carefully weigh out her options and then make a choice.

      “I’m really happy for you, but I don’t see how I’d be able to move down there with you. I have a job here, Jeff. It’s my dream job and I don’t want to leave Bentley Academy. I’m happy there. Also, my doctor is here and I don’t want to start all over again with a new one. How would I leave my family? I can’t imagine being so far away from them.”

      “You could get a new job down there Shelby and maybe you’d find one that’s even better than working at Bentley Academy. You can visit your family whenever you want and we could buy a house with extra bedrooms so they’d always have a place to stay if they visit. There are some great hospitals down there too.” I refute all the points she made in an attempt to get her to agree to come.

      “Jeff, have you forgotten our last conversation and what you confessed to me?”

      “No, I remember it all.”

      “Do you remember that I told you that we couldn’t come back from that. I can forgive you for what you did, but I’m never going to be able to forget about it. You tainted our entire relationship with lies and deception. We’re not ever going to be together again unless it’s purely as friends and even that might be a stretch for a while.”

      “So you’re just going to throw away the last three years and all that we’ve been through over a couple of letters that I wrote?” She laughs, and it sounds a slight bit maniacal.

      “Jeff, I think that you’re oversimplifying the impact that those letters had on my life. You tore my world apart by sending those and if you hadn’t, we never would’ve been together in the first place. Our entire relationship was built on lies and that’s not something I can forget.”

      “So does this mean that you’re getting back together with Garrett?” He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest.

      “No, not at all. I plan on being alone. I don’t want to focus on anything but the baby right now. He’s the most important thing. So when are you planning on moving to Florida?”

      “I told them I needed to finish out the school year at Beacon and then I’m free to go, but I wanted to run it by you first. I guess I should have just accepted the position while I was there.” He looks slightly aggravated.

      “Jeff, I’m not trying to hurt you or pay you back for what happened. I’m trying to do what’s best for the baby and me, that’s all. What if he’s your son? How involved do you plan on being when you’ll be so far away?” 

      “I’ll visit as much as possible and as he gets older, he can come spend part of the summers with me. I guess we’ll have to work out all of those details...if he’s mine.”

      “I’m due at the beginning of July so it’s not much longer until we’ll know for sure. Do you want to be here for his birth?”

      “Of course, I do. I love you. Nothing has changed for me. My feelings for you are as strong as ever. I’m not giving up on us yet. I’m hoping that after the baby is born, you’ll agree to move down there with me.” I know she needs some time, but I think that she may change her mind. Time can heal even the worst of heartbreaks, so surely she can get over what I did.

Chapter Twelve

Shelby

     
It’s hard to believe it’s only the middle of June with these ungodly high temps that we’re experiencing. It feels more like the end of July with the heat index being through the roof and the high humidity is wiping me out. It’s not an easy feat being pregnant this time of the year. I’ve been mostly hibernating inside my apartment, where I can control the temperature. My air conditioning has been running non-stop for the past few days. I can’t even imagine what I would do without this simple luxury.

      I’m sitting on my couch waiting for Hailey to come over for dinner. She’s bringing us some Chinese takeout and Max may also be stopping by. I haven’t seen him since school let out three weeks ago. He went to Maine with his family for vacation and I’ve been so busy trying to get everything ready for baby Liam. I finally decided on a name and now that I have, I feel a huge sense of relief. Choosing your child’s first name is more difficult than people think. It’s a huge responsibility and I wanted to make sure I chose a name that he wouldn’t be teased about or one that he would dislike. I think that Liam is a strong, manly name and I hope that as he grows and matures, he’ll be happy with the choice I made. For his middle name, I chose Jared because it was sort of a combination of Jeff and Garrett. Of course, I’m not going to share this information with the guys. I know that my method of choosing would not go over well, but it is what it is, and I love the name. I also really enjoy the way Liam Jared Tyler sounds. With my last name, it’s as if he has three first names.

      Since school let out, I’ve been staying busy by adding some final touches to Liam’s room. I washed all his little onesies and cute little outfits before putting them in his new bureau that Greyson purchased. It’s black, with five deep drawers and it matches the crib that I chose. I also purchased a glider and ottoman in a denim blue material that matches his bedding perfectly. I love the way his room came out. It has a warm and happy vibe to it.

      I haven’t seen Jeff for a couple of weeks now. He moved down to Florida ten days ago and he plans on coming back for Liam’s birth. Over the past couple of months, we’ve worked at repairing our friendship and I’m happy with the way things are going. We were friends before we were ever lovers and I never want to lose that. He’s important to me and a part of me will always love him. We’ll never again be more than friends, but there’s a part of me that misses being in a relationship with him. He was easy to be with and he always made me feel cherished. Unfortunately, our time together will always be tainted by the stigma of his deceit.

      Garrett went to my doctor’s appointment with me yesterday and he’ll be attending the final two with me over the next couple of weeks. He’s been very involved in making sure I have everything I need for Liam, and he even purchased a car seat of his own. He’s been a perfect gentleman since the last time he tried to start something romantic with me and I shut him down. We’ve settled into a friendship, although at times, it feels strained. There’s still an attraction between us that’s difficult to push down and not succumb to, but somehow we’ve managed to stay on our best behavior and keep our actions platonic. My thoughts about him are a whole different matter. They’re most definitely not platonic and only by continually reminding myself that I’m doing what’s best for Liam, am I able to resist acting on them.

      Hailey arrives with two large bags of Chinese food and as I pull one of the bags from her arms I can’t help but ask her who she thinks is going to eat all this food?

      “I wasn’t sure what you’d want so I ordered a bunch of stuff. I got all of your favorites.” The aroma wafting from the bags is practically making my mouth water as Hailey begins opening various containers on the kitchen counter. I reach up to grab some plates out of the cabinet when a sharp pain rips across my stomach.
ARGH.
I cry out and bend over clutching my stomach protectively. As I move to straighten up another pain tears through me, and I cry out from the pain.

      “Shelby, what’s wrong?” Hailey asks as she rests her hand on my back. I try to catch my breath and hold still hoping that it won’t happen again.

      “I’m not sure. There’s a sharp, burning pain that shot across my stomach a couple of times.”

      “We need to get you off your feet and see if that helps.” She says as she ushers me over to the couch. Each step I take is slow and measured. I’m still slightly bent over, but so far so good. Just as I think I’m going to be fine, another pain tears through me and I feel a gush between my legs. I look down expecting to see that my water has broken, but it’s not water. There’s blood streaming down my legs. My mouth drops open in a horrific silent scream as I can’t seem to find my voice.  I look at Hailey with complete panic on my face.

      “Oh my God, Shelby! You need to lie down.” She helps me down and quickly props my feet up before calling 911.

      The wait for the ambulance seems like forever when in actuality it was only ten minutes. Hailey lets them into my apartment and I notice that it’s Becker and his partner.
What are the odds?

      “Hey little Tyler, what’s going on?” He asks as he straps a blood pressure cuff on my arm.

      “I had a couple of extremely sharp pains in my stomach and then I started to bleed.” He glances down to my legs and notices the trail of blood and he suddenly starts barking out orders. Next thing I know, I’m strapped to the stretcher and being loaded into the ambulance. Once we’re on our way he begins to take my blood pressure and he asks me various questions about my current health and medical history. I’m answering them the best I can, but I’m so worried about my baby boy. A wave of fatigue washes over me and it’s all I can do to keep my eyes open. I’m telling him about my last doctor’s appointment when black spots appear in front of my eyes and then everything immediately goes dark.