Cherished (Wanted 4)

“Jessie, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I have to say it.”

I nodded.

“If it turns out that Scott did cheat—”

“He didn’t.”

“I know, but if he did, I want you to know that it would be my honor to take care of you and your child. I’d do everything in my power to make you both happy.”

Tears flooded my eyes as I looked into Trey’s eyes.

How can I care about someone so much when I only just met him, not even two months ago?

I got up, crawled onto his lap, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Trey,” was all I could say. Right before I fell asleep, I whispered, “I love Scott. I’ll always love Scott.” I drifted off to sleep where images of little girls with curly hair took over my dreams.

All I could hear was banging. What in the hell? My doorbell was ringing, and someone was pounding on my front door.

“I’m coming! Holy fuck, hold on to your pants!” I yelled out.

I opened the door, and Drake pushed his way past me.

“Well, hello, Drake. Merry Christmas to you, too,” I said as I shut the door.

Is it too early to have a drink? I looked at the clock. It was just after midnight.

“Where’s your phone? Your cell phone, Scott. Turn it on.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “You came over here in the middle of the night to tell me you want to use my cell phone? Buy one, old man,” I said with a chuckle.

I made my way into the kitchen. I needed coffee.

“She called.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him. “Jessie?”

He smiled and nodded.

“Holy fuck. What did she say?”

“It was a really bad connection, but she said something about being in a tropical storm.”

A tropical storm? “Drake? Are you sure you weren’t dreaming or something?”

“Yes, of course, I’m sure. I asked her where she was, and she said something, but I couldn’t hear her. She mentioned a tropical storm, and she also said she’d left you a message.”

“Did you tell her it wasn’t me? Did you tell her I didn’t cheat on her?”

Drake smiled and nodded. “I did, but I don’t know how much she heard before we were disconnected.”

I turned and quickly walked into the kitchen. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone. I turned it on and waited for the longest forty seconds of my life for that bitch to start up.

I had twenty voice mails. Jessie’s messages were the last two to come through. I hit Speaker and listened to the first one.

“Scott, um…hey, it’s Jessie. I, um…I really need to talk to you. I don’t have my phone, so I’ll try to call you in a few minutes or so. I, um…I love you, Scott. I love you, and I just need to talk to you.”

The second message started to play.

“Hey, it’s me again. I’m in Belize, but I have a flight coming back on the twenty-ninth. There’s a bad storm, so I’ll call you when the phone lines come back up. I’m using the front desk girl’s cell. I love you, Scott. I love you so much, and I’m so sorry.”